Hypolipidemic and Hepatic Steatosis Preventing Activities of the Wood Ear Medicinal Mushroom Auricularia auricula-judae (Higher Basidiomycetes) Ethanol Extract In Vivo and In Vitro.

Obesity, a rapidly growing threat to human health worldwide, is responsible for a large proportion of the total burden of disease. Therefore, obesity control could be a vital scheme to prevent many diseases. The aim of this study was to examine the activities and mechanism of Auricularia auricula-judae 70% ethanol extract (AAE) in preventing hypolipidemic and hepatic steatosis. A normal diet (ND) and a high-fat diet (HFD) with or without 0.1% (w/w), 0.3% (w/w), and 1% (w/w) AAE were given to male C57BL/6 mice. Plasma lipids and liver enzymes were measured and tissue sections of liver were examined. Further mechanistic studies of mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes were performed in vitro by verifying triglyceride, glycerol, and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity and messenger RNA expression of adipogenic and lipogenic genes using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification. Body weight and adipose tissue mass were significantly reduced in mice fed an ND and a HFD plus AAE compared with mice fed an HFD. In AAE-supplemented groups, plasma lipids and liver enzymes decreased dose-dependently. AAE suppressed the expression of adipogenic/lipogenic genes (PPARγ, C/EBPα, FAS) in 3T3-L1 cells without cytotoxicity. These findings suggest that AAE may reduce the risk of hepatic steatosis by modulating plasma lipids via the regulation of adipogenic/lipogenic transcriptional factors. AAE may have interesting applications to improve plasma lipids and liver enzymes.

Screening, diagnosis, and management of dyslipoproteinemia in children.

The authors provide an extensive and comprehensive review of dyslipoproteinemia in children. An effective program for CVD reduction in this population will include an accessible screening program to identify high-risk children, high-quality measurements of TC and LP-C, careful follow-up of screening results with multiple measurement to classify risk status and diagnose primary dyslipidemia, a key role for family and education, and consistent and long-term follow-up for diet and drug adherence, efficacy, and safety.

[Prevention of stress dyslipidemia by adapting animals to the periodic action of hypoxia]. / Preduprezhdenie stressornoi dislipidemii s pomoshch'iu adaptatsii zhivotnykh k periodicheskomu deistviiu gipoksii.

Emotional-painful stress in rats results in the increase of atherogenic and decrease of antiatherogenic lipoprotein fractions. Adaptation of animals to periodic intermittent hypoxia significantly enhanced the proportion of antiatherogenic lipoproteins in the blood and reduced the degree of post-stress dyslipidemia.

Frequency and clustering of nonlipid coronary risk factors in dyslipoproteinemia. The Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

In a defined population of 4349 men and 3398 women, we evaluated the frequency and clustering of five nonlipid coronary heart disease risk factors--obesity, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption--in nine categorical lipoprotein phenotypes--normal, types I or V, IIA, IIB, III, IV, hypoHDL (high-density lipoprotein), hypoLDL (low-density lipoprotein), and hyperHDL. This analysis indicated that compared with the normal phenotype, nonlipid coronary risk factors tend to be more frequent and thus cluster in individuals with "high risk" phenotypes, and occur somewhat less frequently in those with "low risk" phenotypes. Thus, identification of a high-risk phenotype suggests the presence of nonlipid risk factors as well, and the clinician should be alert to this possibility. A multivariable analysis of the independent associations of each of the risk factors with the lipid and lipoprotein components that define the phenotypes suggested that several behavioral risk factors may directly affect lipid and lipoprotein levels. This observation raises the possibility that certain intervention strategies, such as weight loss, smoking cessation, and regular exercise, may favorably influence dyslipoproteinemia.