Background: Hypercholesterolemia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Orally administered chitosan binds lipids in the small intestine and reduces their absorption. Chitosan has been shown to decrease serum cholesterol in animal and human studies. This study investigated the effectiveness of chitosan in reducing serum cholesterol without concomitant diet therapy. Methods: Ninety female volunteers (age 34 -70 y) with confirmed mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia were enrolled into the study. They were randomly assigned to receive chitosan (1.2 g per day) or placebo in a double-blind manner. Serum lipids, body weight and adverse events were assessed at baseline and after 28 and 56 days of treatment. Subjects maintained their usual diet and documented the type and gross amount of food consumed. Results: Eighty-four subjects (41 chitosan, 43 placebo) were included in the analysis. Chitosan significantly (F ¼ 3.19, P ¼ 0.04) reduced total cholesterol compared to placebo. In a subgroup of subjects with over 60 y of age, chitosan group significantly reduced total and LDL cholesterol (F ¼ 4.21, P ¼ 0.02, and F ¼ 3.46, P ¼ 0.04, respectively) compared with placebo. Adverse effects were few; no serious events were reported. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that chitosan is safe and effective for lowering cholesterol. However, the effect of chitosan for decreasing cholesterol is mild.

Urinary levels of alpha 1-microglobulin (alpha 1M) and of ulinastatin (UT) and the alpha 1M/UT ratio did not differ significantly between age-matched controls and patients with Parkinson's disease, and among subdivided groups based on Yahr's stages in Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, these indexes did not correlate with Yahr's stages. Although alpha 1M and UT levels did not correlate in patients with Parkinson's disease, a positive correlation was observed in the control group. The non-existence of a positive correlation between alpha 1M and UT levels distinguishes Parkinson's disease from other neuropsychiatric diseases such as dementia (Alzheimer-type and vascular dementia), schizophrenia and mood disorder.

This single-centre, randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effects of administering a mixture of four amino acids (lysine, proline, alanine and arginine) with or without conjugated linoleic acid to healthy overweight humans before and after exercising. Fortyone healthy subjects (body mass index ≥ 23 to < 30 kg/m 2 ) completed the study following randomization to receive either placebo or one of three test supplements: amino acid mixture 0.76 g/day; amino acid mixture 1.52 g/day; or amino acid mixture 1.52 g/day coadministered with conjugated linoleic acid 1.6 g/day. Each of the study treatments was administered 30 min before and immediately after a period of daily exercise, which was delivered by an exercise expert, for a period of 12 weeks. When compared with the placebo group, several indicators, such as waist and hip circumferences, were found to have significantly decreased in the test supplement groups compared with the placebo. These results suggest that ingestion of these supplements might enhance the fat-burning effects of exercise.

No abstract

Summary: To determine the mechanism for prolongation of pre-ejection period (PEP) in the hypertensive heart with normal systolic function, cardiac catheterizations, echocardiograms, and electrocardiograms were performed at the baseline period (CS, control stage) and eight weeks (HS, hypertensive stage) after the induction of systemic hypertension by Page's method in unanesthetized dogs. Mean aortic blood pressure increased significantly (96 f 12 to 137 f26 mmHg) (p ~0 . 0 5 ) .Diastolic aortic pressure also increased significantly (80f 12 to I18f24 mmHg) (~~0 . 0 1 ) . Left ventricular (LV) PEP of HS was significantly prolonged (725 12 vs. 87f22 ms, CS vs. HS). The ratio of LV pre-ejection period to ejection time (PEPIET) also increased significantly (0.33 f0.04 to 0.42 f0.07) (p