Immunoglobulin free light chains as an inflammatory biomarker of heart failure with myocarditis.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we measured immunoglobulin free light chains (FLC), a biomarker of inflammation in the sera of patients with heart failure due to myocarditis. METHODS: FLC kappa and FLC lambda were assayed in stored serum samples from patients with heart failure with myocarditis from the US myocarditis treatment trial by a competitive-inhibition multiplex Luminex® assay. RESULTS: The median concentration of circulating FLC kappa/lambda ratio was significantly lower in the sera from patients with heart failure with myocarditis than in healthy controls, and FLC kappa/lambda ratio had good diagnostic ability for identification of heart failure with myocarditis. Further, FLC kappa/lambda ratio was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival, and allowed creation of three prognostic groups by combining with N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that FLC kappa/lambda ratio is a promising biomarker of heart failure with myocarditis.

Cruciferous vegetable intake questionnaire improves cruciferous vegetable intake estimates.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a validated, focused Cruciferous Vegetable Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) as an assessment tool for specific quantification of dietary cruciferous vegetable exposure. DESIGN/METHODS: Participants (n=107; 18 to 76 years old) completed a standard FFQ and the Cruciferous Vegetable FFQ twice over a 2-week period. Repeat dietary recalls were collected on 3 days over the same 2-week period. Urinary dithiocarbamate was determined as a biomarker of cruciferous vegetable intake. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Descriptive statistics of intake; paired t tests and sign tests for comparison of intake estimates between instruments; Spearman correlations to assess reliability and associations between diet instruments and urinary dithiocarbamate. RESULTS: Cruciferous vegetable intake was significantly correlated between the two FFQs (r(s)=0.58), although the Cruciferous Vegetable FFQ estimated intake 35 g higher than the standard FFQ. The Cruciferous Vegetable FFQ was reliable, with a repeated measures correlation of 0.69 (P

Dietary change in an intervention trial of wheat bran fiber and colorectal adenoma recurrence.

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to determine whether participants in the Wheat Bran Fiber (WBF) trial exhibited changes in diet over time, and whether these changes were differential by assigned treatment group. METHODS: The WBF trial was a randomized trial with participants assigned to one of two groups: a low-fiber (2.0 g/d) or high-fiber (13.5 g/d) wheat bran fiber cereal supplement. A total of 685 participants from both treatment groups completed the Arizona Food Frequency Questionnaire (AFFQ) at baseline, year one, and year three of the trial. Means were calculated for nutrient intake, change in nutrient intake, number of food group servings, and change in number of food group servings. RESULTS: For both treatment groups combined, significant increases were observed for most micronutrients and vitamins at years one and three, while fat intake significantly decreased. Participants from both groups significantly increased their consumption of cereals, breads, and crackers, but decreased the number of servings from the meat, poultry, and egg group, the fats group, and the salty snacks group. The only differential changes in intake between the treatment groups were for sugar and iron, which increased to a lesser extent among those assigned to the high-fiber treatment as compared with the low-fiber group. CONCLUSIONS: Although differential dietary intake was not appreciable in the WBF trial, participants exhibited longitudinal changes. Future intervention studies should carefully monitor dietary changes during the trial with multiple dietary assessment tools to assess potential secular and treatment-related diet changes.