No abstract

Age-associated dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are currently epidemic. Neither their cause nor connection to the metabolic syndrome (MS) is clear. Suppression of deacetylase survival factor sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a key host defense, is a central feature of AD. Age-related MS and diabetes are also causally associated with suppressed SIRT1 partly due to oxidant glycotoxins [advanced glycation end products (AGEs)]. Changes in the modern diet include excessive nutrient-bound AGEs, such as neurotoxic methyl-glyoxal derivatives (MG). To determine whether dietary AGEs promote AD, we evaluated WT mice pair-fed three diets throughout life:, and regular (Reg) chow. Older MG + -fed mice, similar to old Reg controls, developed MS, increased brain amyloid-β 42 , deposits of AGEs, gliosis, and cognitive deficits, accompanied by suppressed SIRT1, nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase, AGE receptor 1, and PPARγ. These changes were not due to aging or caloric intake, as neither these changes nor the MS were present in age-matched, pair-fed MG − mice. The mouse data were enhanced by significant temporal correlations between high circulating AGEs and impaired cognition, as well as insulin sensitivity in older humans, in whom dietary and serum MG levels strongly and inversely associated with SIRT1 gene expression. The data identify a specific AGE (MG) as a modifiable risk factor for AD and MS, possibly acting via suppressed SIRT1 and other host defenses, to promote chronic oxidant stress and inflammation. Because SIRT1 deficiency in humans is both preventable and reversible by AGE reduction, a therapeutic strategy that includes AGE reduction may offer a new strategy to combat the epidemics of AD and MS.neural | insulin resistance | obesity | nutrition | caloric restriction

An examination is made of data on dental caries amongst 12-year-old children and sugar consumption of the total population for 90 countries. For the whole data set, DMFT score tends to rise with sugar consumption. The linear relationship between the logarithm of DMFT and sugar is estimated to have a slope of 0.021 per kg/year per head of population (P < 0.0001), and accounts for 28% of the variation in DMFT. In contrast, when data from 29 industrialised nations are analysed separately, there is no evidence of a sugar-caries relationship; the slope of the linear regression line is estimated to be -0.013, not significantly different from zero. This latter result is in agreement with the considerable evidence of a lack of strong relationship between the amount of sugar consumed and caries occurrence in Western countries. These results suggest that, in addition to sugar, other factors, such as other aspects of diet, exposure to fluoride and genetic effects, must be taken into account when seeking to explain variations in caries prevalence, and when making recommendations for caries control.

Background and objectives Cystinuria is a rare inherited renal stone disease. Mutations in the amino acid exchanger System b 0,+ , the two subunits of which are encoded by SLC3A1 and SLC7A9, predominantly underlie this disease. The work analyzed the epidemiology of cystinuria and the influence of mutations in these two genes on disease severity in a United Kingdom cohort.Design, setting, participants, & measurements Prevalent patients were studied from 2012 to 2014 in the northeast and southwest of the United Kingdom. Clinical phenotypes were defined, and genetic analysis of SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 combining Sanger sequencing and multiplex ligation probe-dependent amplification was performed.Results In total, 76 patients (42 men and 34 women) were studied. All subjects had proven cystine stones. Median age of presentation (first stone episode) was 24 years old, but 21% of patients presented after 40 years old. Patients had varied clinical courses, with 37% of patients having $10 stone episodes; 70% had evidence of CKD, and 9% had reached ESRD as a result of cystinuria and its complications. Patients with cystinuria received a variety of different therapies, with no obvious treatment consensus. Notably, 20% of patients had staghorn calculi, with associated impaired renal function in 80% of these patients. Genetic analysis revealed that biallelic mutations were present in either SLC3A1 (n=27) or SLC7A9 (n=20); 22 patients had only one mutated allele detected (SLC3A1 in five patients and SLC7A9 in 17 patients). In total, 37 different mutant variant alleles were identified, including 12 novel mutations; 22% of mutations were caused by large gene rearrangements. No genotypephenotype association was detected in this cohort.Conclusions Patients with cystinuria in the United Kingdom often present atypically with staghorn calculi at $40 years old and commonly develop significant renal impairment. There is no association of clinical course with genotype. Treatments directed toward reducing stone burden need to be rationalized and developed to optimize patient care.