Dietary Glycemic Index and Load and Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional and Prospective Analysis within the FERTINUTS Trial.

PURPOSE: Infertility is a global health issue and nutrition plays a significant role in fertility outcomes. We aimed to investigate the cross-sectional and prospective associations of glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) with semen quality parameters in a cohort of healthy young men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 106 men aged 18-35 years from the FERTINUTS trial. Dietary intake was estimated through 3-day dietary records and several semen parameters were assessed. Multivariable linear regression analysis with the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) approach was employed. RESULTS: The cross-sectional analysis revealed positive associations between GI and GL and total sperm count, sperm concentration, and total motility. In the prospective analysis, baseline GI was associated with increases in pH, vitality, immotile sperm or abnormal midpiece and decreases in total sperm count and motility. Conversely, GL was positively associated with changes in vitality and total sperm count. CONCLUSIONS: While these findings suggest that GI may have adverse effects on several sperm quality parameters, the results were not consistently observed in the cross-sectional analysis. However, GL was consistently associated with better sperm quality in both analyses. The impact of carbohydrate quality and quantity on fertility remains uncertain and larger prospective studies are needed.

Exploring small non-coding RNAs as blood-based biomarkers to predict Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis relies on clinical symptoms complemented with biological biomarkers, the Amyloid Tau Neurodegeneration (ATN) framework. Small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) in the blood have emerged as potential predictors of AD. We identified sncRNA signatures specific to ATN and AD, and evaluated both their contribution to improving AD conversion prediction beyond ATN alone. METHODS: This nested case-control study was conducted within the ACE cohort and included MCI patients matched by sex. Patients free of type 2 diabetes underwent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma collection and were followed-up for a median of 2.45-years. Plasma sncRNAs were profiled using small RNA-sequencing. Conditional logistic and Cox regression analyses with elastic net penalties were performed to identify sncRNA signatures for A+(T|N)+ and AD. Weighted scores were computed using cross-validation, and the association of these scores with AD risk was assessed using multivariable Cox regression models. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopaedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of the identified signatures were performed. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 192 patients, including 96 A+(T|N)+ and 96 A-T-N- patients. We constructed a classification model based on a 6-miRNAs signature for ATN. The model could classify MCI patients into A-T-N- and A+(T|N)+ groups with an area under the curve of 0.7335 (95% CI, 0.7327 to 0.7342). However, the addition of the model to conventional risk factors did not improve the prediction of AD beyond the conventional model plus ATN status (C-statistic: 0.805 [95% CI, 0.758 to 0.852] compared to 0.829 [95% CI, 0.786, 0.872]). The AD-related 15-sncRNAs signature exhibited better predictive performance than the conventional model plus ATN status (C-statistic: 0.849 [95% CI, 0.808 to 0.890]). When ATN was included in this model, the prediction further improved to 0.875 (95% CI, 0.840 to 0.910). The miRNA-target interaction network and functional analysis, including GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, suggested that the miRNAs in both signatures are involved in neuronal pathways associated with AD. CONCLUSIONS: The AD-related sncRNA signature holds promise in predicting AD conversion, providing insights into early AD development and potential targets for prevention.

Lipoprotein Particle Profiles Associated with Telomere Length and Telomerase Complex Components.

Telomere length (TL) is a well-known marker of age-related diseases. Oxidative stress and inflammation increase the rate of telomere shortening, triggering cellular senescence. Although lipoproteins could have anti-inflammatory and proinflammatory functional properties, the relationship between lipoprotein particles with TL and telomerase activity-related genes has not been investigated much. In this study, we assessed the associations of lipoprotein subfractions with telomere length, TERT, and WRAP53 expression in a total of 54 pre-diabetic subjects from the EPIRDEM study. We regressed TL, TERT, and WRAP53 on 12 lipoprotein subclasses, employing a Gaussian linear regression method with Lasso penalty to determine a lipoprotein profile associated with telomere-related parameters. The covariates included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), dyslipidemia, statin consumption, and physical activity leisure time. We identified a lipoprotein profile composed of four lipoprotein subfractions associated with TL (Pearson r = 0.347, p-value = 0.010), two lipoprotein subfractions associated with TERT expression (Pearson r = 0.316, p-value = 0.020), and five lipoprotein subfractions associated with WRAP53 expression (Pearson r = 0.379, p-value =0.005). After adjusting for known confounding factors, most lipoprotein profiles maintained the association with TL, TERT, and WRAP53. Overall, medium and small-sized HDL particles were associated with shorter telomeres and lower expression of TERT and WRAP53. Large HDL particles were associated with longer telomere and lower expression of WRAP53, but not with TERT. Our results suggest that the lipoprotein profiles are associated with telomere length, TERT, and WRAP53 expression and should be considered when assessing the risk of chronic diseases.

Effects of Nutrition on Cognitive Function in Adults with or without Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials.

New dietary approaches for the prevention of cognitive impairment are being investigated. However, evidence from dietary interventions is mainly from food and nutrient supplement interventions, with inconsistent results and high heterogeneity between trials. We conducted a comprehensive systematic search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in MEDLINE-PubMed, from January 2018 to July 2021, investigating the impact of dietary counseling, as well as food-based and dietary supplement interventions on cognitive function in adults with or without cognitive impairment. Based on the search strategy, 197 eligible publications were used for data abstraction. Finally, 61 articles were included in the analysis. There was reasonable evidence that dietary patterns, as well as food and dietary supplements improved cognitive domains or measures of brain integrity. The Mediterranean diet showed promising results, whereas the role of the DASH diet was not clear. Healthy food consumption improved cognitive function, although the quality of these studies was relatively low. The role of dietary supplements was mixed, with strong evidence of the benefits of polyphenols and combinations of nutrients, but with low evidence for PUFAs, vitamin D, specific protein, amino acids, and other types of supplements. Further well-designed RCTs are needed to guide the development of dietary approaches for the prevention of cognitive impairment.

Características clínicas de los niños con hipotiroidismo congénito en Santander, Colombia / Clinical features of children with congenital hypothyroidism in Santander, Colombia

Resumen Introducción. El hipotiroidismo congénito (HC) es la primera causa de retraso mental prevenible. El inicio temprano de su tratamiento con la hormona tiroidea garantiza un desarrollo neurológico normal. Objetivos. Describir la etiología y las manifestaciones clínicas del HC y relacionar la discapacidad cognitiva con el inicio del tratamiento en una serie de casos de niños con esta enfermedad en el departamento de Santander, Colombia. Materiales y métodos. Estudio descriptivo a través de serie de casos. La información se recolectó de historias clínicas de pacientes con HC diagnosticado entre 1999 y 2013 y atendidos por el Servicio de Endocrinología Pediátrica del Hospital Universitario de Santander Empresa Social del Estado. Se analizaron 15 variables en el programa Microsoft Excel 2013. Resultados. Se recolectaron 59 casos, con una relación sexo femenino/masculino de 1.7:1. En el 49.2% de los casos se realizó tamizaje neonatal. Las disgenesias tiroideas fueron la etiología más común; la ictericia neonatal prolongada, la hernia umbilical y la hipotonía fueron las características más frecuentes. El retraso mental se presentó en el 64.4% de los casos. Conclusiones. El tamizaje neonatal es la mejor estrategia para captar la mayoría de los casos e iniciar tratamiento oportuno. En Colombia, la ictericia neonatal prolongada debe alertar un posible caso de HC.

Abstract Introduction: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is the leading cause of preventable intellectual disability worldwide. Early initiation of thyroid hormone treatment ensures normal neurological development. Objectives: To describe the etiology and clinical manifestations of CH and to correlate cognitive disability with the initiation of the treatment in a case series of children with this disease in the department of Santander, Colombia. Materials and methods: Descriptive study on a case series. The information was collected from clinical charts of patients with CH diagnosed between 1999 and 2013 by the Pediatric Endocrinology Service of the Hospital Universitario de Santander Empresa Social del Estado. Fifteen variables were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2013. Results: Fifty-nine cases were collected, with a male/female ratio of 1.7:1. Newborn screening was performed in 49.2% of the cases. Thyroid dysgenesis was the most common etiology, while prolonged neonatal jaundice, umbilical hernia, and hypotonia were the most common features. Intellectual disability was diagnosed in 64.4% of the cases. Conclusions: Newborn screening is the best strategy for detecting cases and initiating early treatment. In Colombia, prolonged neonatal jaundice may signal a possible case of CH.