Effects of antioxidants on postprandial oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes.

AIM: To compare changes in the oxidation-reduction balance and endothelial function before and after meal in patients with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance and determine the effects of standard antioxidant supplementation. METHODS: Forty diabetics and 40 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance were compared with a control group. We assessed before and after a test meal (homogenized milkshake containing 80 g of saturated fat, amounting to 1,480 kcal), some reactive oxygen species, inflammation markers and flow-mediated vascular dilatation. These parameters were then reassessed after standard antioxidant treatment. RESULTS: After the meal, diabetics, subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and controls had higher levels of oxidant compounds compared to fasting levels. In subjects with diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), Vascular Adhesion Molecule-1 and CRP were higher after the meal--diabetic subjects exhibited lower fasting flow-mediated dilatation, which deteriorated significantly after the meal. Antioxidant administration significantly improved the parameters investigated in all subjects. CONCLUSIONS: In diabetic subjects, altered glycaemia and lipaemia are closely correlated with markers of systemic oxidative stress. Our results show that the abnormal changes in oxidative-reductive balance parameters are paralleled by similar changes in markers of endothelial dysfunction and inflammation at 4 h after ingestion of a fatty meal. Supplementation with a pool of antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in healthy subjects and, more importantly, in IGT patients. This previous aspect suggests that the timing of antioxidant supplementation has an important role in endothelium protection in healthy and pre-diabetic subjects, and along with prompt antioxidant treatment before irreversible endothelial damage has occurred, may have an important protective role in subjects with IGT-patients who require administration of adequate dietary antioxidants.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray data for the human transthyretin-retinol-binding protein (RBP) complex bound to an anti-RBP Fab.

A macromolecular complex of human transthyretin, human retinol-binding protein and an anti-retinol-binding-protein Fab was crystallized by vapour diffusion in sitting drops. Diffraction from these crystals at cryogenic temperatures was consistent with the space group C222, with cell parameters a = 159.34, b = 222.40 and c = 121.27 A. Crystals diffracted to a resolution limit of 3.36 A using synchrotron radiation. Based on a 2:2:1 stoichiometry for the Fab-retinol-binding-protein-transthyretin complex and the presence of one such complex per asymmetric unit, a reasonable Vm coefficient of 2.74 A3 Da-1 could be estimated.

[Continent urinary diversion using a pre-peritoneal ileal graft and Benchekroun's hydraulic valve]. / Dérivation urinaire continente utilisant un greffon iléal pré-péritonéal et la valve hydraulique de Benchekroun.

The authors describe the creation of a continent pre-peritoneal ileal urinary reservoir with Benchekroun's valve. This system, performed on 10 occasions with no postoperative complications and currently perfect results, has the following advantages: decreased risk of distension of the reservoir because of its pre-peritoneal position, protection of Benchekroun's valve due to its distance from the reservoir at the end of the antiperistaltic loop, the great ease of creation of the diversion and the superficial situation facilitating any subsequent surgical revisions.

[Long-term results of spinal cord electrostimulation in the treatment of micturition disorders associated with neurogenic bladder]. / Résultats à long terme de l'électrostimultation de la moelle dans le traitement des troubles mictionnels des neurovessies.

The authors report their experience of long-term (7 years) spinal electrostimulation (SES) in 34 cases of neurogenic bladder (spina bifida: 4 cases; traumatic paraplegia: 3 cases; multiple sclerosis: 23 cases; arachnoiditis: 4 cases). SES, performed via the epidural route, reduced urgent micturition and urge by 90%, urge incontinence by 70% and dysuria by 50%. In the majority of patients, urodynamic evaluation revealed a significant reduction in detrusor hyperactivity and uninhibited contractions, an increase in the electrical activity of the striated sphincter, a significant reduction (80%) in vesico-sphincteric dyssynergy with improvement in flow and an increase by more than 70% in the vesical capacity. After three years, the efficacy tended to slowly decrease and became significantly reduced over 5 years. After 7 years, only 2 of the first 10 cases continued to use SES. SES represents a non-aggressive technique and, at the present time, warrants widespread use due to its safety and simplicity.