BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Although preclinical studies suggest that garlic has potential preventive effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, clinical trials and reports from systematic reviews or meta-analyses present inconsistent results. The contradiction might be attributed to variations in the manufacturing process that can markedly influence the composition of garlic products. To investigate this issue further, we performed a meta-analysis of the effects of garlic powder on CVD risk factors. MATERIALS/METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane, Science Direct and EMBASE through May 2014. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed on 22 trials reporting total cholesterol (TC), 17 trials reporting LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), 18 trials reporting HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), 4 trials reporting fasting blood glucose (FBG), 9 trials reporting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 10 trials reporting diastolic blood pressure (DBP). RESULTS: The overall garlic powder intake significantly reduced blood TC and LDL-C by -0.41 mmol/L (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.69, -0.12) (-15.83 mg/dL [95% CI, -26.64, -4.63]) and -0.21 mmol/L (95% CI, -0.40, -0.03) (-8.11 mg/dL [95% CI, -15.44, -1.16]), respectively. The mean difference in the reduction of FBG levels was -0.96 mmol/L (95% CI, -1.91, -0.01) (-17.30 mg/dL [95% CI, -34.41, -0.18]). Evidence for SBP and DBP reduction in the garlic supplementation group was also demonstrated by decreases of -4.34 mmHg (95% CI, -8.38, -0.29) and -2.36 mmHg (95% CI, -4.56, -0.15), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis provides consistent evidence that garlic powder intake reduces the CVD risk factors of TC, LDL-C, FBG and BP.
Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Fasting ; Garlic* ; Risk Factors*

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of dietary calcium on plasma lipoprotein profile in castrated and ovariectomized hamsters.

METHODSMale, castrated, female and ovariectomized hamsters (n=36 each group) were randomly divided into three sub-groups (n=12) and fed one of the three diets containing 0, 2, and 8 g calcium per kg diet for a period of six weeks. Changes in plasma lipoprotein profile were monitored at the end of week 0, 3 and 6.

RESULTSPlasma total cholesterol (TC), non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), triacylglycerols (TG) and TC/HDL-C were decreased only in intact female and ovariectomized hamsters. In contrast, three levels of dietary calcium had no effect on lipoprotein profiles in both intact male and castrated hamsters.

CONCLUSIONBeneficial modification of lipoprotein profile by dietary calcium was gender-dependent at least in hamsters.

Animals ; Calcium, Dietary ; therapeutic use ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Cholesterol, Dietary ; adverse effects ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cricetinae ; Female ; Male ; Triglycerides ; blood

Animals ; Arteriosclerosis ; blood ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Coronary Artery Disease ; blood ; Fatty Liver ; blood ; Humans ; Triglycerides ; blood

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a Yoga program on decreasing blood pressure in elderly patients with essential hypertension and to suggest a yoga program effective as a nursing intervention tool to reduced blood pressure with increasing life satisfaction. METHOD: The subjects of this study were 24 elderly's essential hypertension, who practiced yoga by three times a week for 8 weeks. In order to evaluate the effect of the yoga program, blood pressure, physiological parameters (Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides) and level of life satisfaction were measured before and after the training. Collected date were analyzed by SPSSWIN program. RESULT: 1) There were significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. 2) There were significant reductions in total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides but no significant increased in HDL. 3) Blood pressure changes were time specific: Both of systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly reduced after 2weeks. 4) There was a significant increase in life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The results proved that a yoga program was an effective nursing intervention to reduce blood pressure and to increased life satisfaction for elderly patients with essential hypertension.
Aged ; Blood Pressure* ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Nursing ; Triglycerides ; Yoga*

This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of red-yeast-rice supplementation on cholesterol-lowering and glucose control in subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFT) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). We conducted a doubleblind, placebo-controlled study with 3 groups ; placebo, low dose group (red yeast rice 210.0 mg/capsule, 2.52 g/day)and high dose group (red yeast rice 420.0 mg/capsule, 5.04 g/day), which were randomly assigned to subjects with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. We measured fasting serum concentrations of total-, LDL-, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, insulin, free fatty acid (FFA) and 2 h oral glucose tolerence test (OGTT) before and after the supplementation. Both low dose and high dose groups had significant decrease in LDL cholesterol and atherogenic index (AI) compared with placebo group (p < 0.05). Additionally, total and HDL cholesterol improved significantly in high dose group compared with placebo group (p < 0.05). Fasting serum glucose decreased in test groups and increased in placebo group after intervention. However, it was not significant differences. In subjects which fasting blood glucose is more than 110 mg/dL, fasting glucose had a tendency to decrease in high dose group (p < 0.1) and Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) had significant decrease in low dose group (p < 0.05), while insulin and HOMA-IR had a tendency to increase in placebo group after intervention. Mean changes of glucose related parameters (fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR) compared with placebo group did not show significant differences. In conclusion, subjects with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance were significantly improved in serum lipid profile by red yeast rice supplementation without serious side effects. These are more effective in the case of a high dose. The effects of red yeast rice supplementation on glucose control were insignificant.
Biological Agents ; Blood Glucose ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hemoglobins ; Insulin ; Lovastatin ; Yeasts

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and childhood asthma. METHODS: This retrospective study included 86 children with asthma admitted to the Changzhou Second People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from July 2020 to August 2022 as the asthma group and 149 healthy children undergoing physical examination during the same period as the control group. Metabolic parameters including total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood glucose, as well as general information of the children such as height, weight, body mass index, presence of specific dermatitis, history of inhalant allergen hypersensitivity, family history of asthma, and feeding history, were collected. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to study the relationship between AIP, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and asthma. The value of AIP, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol for predicting asthma was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: The AIP and triglyceride levels in the asthma group were significantly higher than those in the control group, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly lower (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol between the two groups (P>0.05). Before and after adjusting for height, weight, presence of specific dermatitis, history of inhalant allergen hypersensitivity, family history of asthma, feeding method, and blood glucose, multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that AIP, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with asthma (P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the optimal cutoff value for predicting asthma with AIP was -0.333, with a sensitivity of 80.2%, specificity of 55.0%, positive predictive value of 50.71%, and negative predictive value of 82.85%. The area under the curve (AUC) for AIP in predicting asthma was significantly higher than that for triglycerides (P=0.009), but there was no significant difference in AUC between AIP and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.686). CONCLUSIONS AIP, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol are all associated with asthma. AIP has a higher value for predicting asthma than triglycerides and comparable value to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Humans ; Child ; Retrospective Studies ; Blood Glucose ; Triglycerides ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Asthma/etiology* ; Dermatitis ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Endothelial dysfunction, the initial pathogenic factor in atherosclerosis, can be alleviated via transient limb ischemia. We observed the effects of regular transient limb ischemia (RTLI) on atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. METHODS: Twenty-eight rabbits were randomized to control, cholesterol, sham, ischemia groups (n = 7 each) between October 2010 and March 2011. They were fed a normal diet in the control group and hypercholesterolemic diet in other groups for 12 weeks. Six cycles of RTLI were performed once per day on the ischemia group. Serum samples were prepared to measure the total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) before the experiment (W0), at the end of weeks 4, 8, 12 (W4, W8, W12). The whole aorta was harvested at W12 and stained using Sudan IV to identify the plaque. The plaque area was measured using Image J. Results were analyzed by analysis of variance or rank sum test. RESULTS: Concentrations of TC in the cholesterol group were higher than those in the control group at W4 (29.60 [23.75, 39.30] vs. 1.00 [0.80, 1.55], Z = -2.745, P = 0.006), W8 (41.78 [28.08, 47.37] vs. 0.35 [0.10, 0.68], Z = -2.739, P = 0.006), W12 (48.32 [40.04, 48.95] vs. 0.61 [0.50, 0.86], Z = -2.739, P = 0.006). Similar results were obtained for HDL-C and LDL-C. Serum concentrations of TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C in the hypercholesterolemic groups had no differences (all P > 0.05). The percentage of plaque area in the cholesterol group was higher than that in the control group (47.22 ± 23.89% vs. 0, Z = -2.986, P = 0.003). Square root of the percentage of plaque area was smaller in the ischemia group than that in the cholesterol (0.44 ± 0.13 vs. 0.67 ± 0.18, P = 0.014) or sham groups (0.44 ± 0.13 vs. 0.61 ± 0.12, P = 0.049). CONCLUSION In hypercholesterolemic rabbits, RTLI might prevent atherosclerosis progression by reducing the percentage of plaque area.
Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; blood ; prevention & control ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Extremities ; pathology ; Hypercholesterolemia ; blood ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; blood ; Ischemic Postconditioning ; methods ; Male ; Rabbits ; Triglycerides ; blood

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes of reactive oxygen species(ROS), and the effect of Tongmai Tang on ROS. METHODS: Forty rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups: a normal control group,a model group, a low dosage Tongmai Tang, and a high dosage Tongmai Tang administration group (n=10).The normal control group was fed with common food twice daily. The model group was fed with high cholesterol diet. The low dosage Tongmai Tang administration group was fed with high cholesterol diet as in the model group, together with Tongmai Tang at a lower dosage. The high dosage Tongmai Tang administration group was fed with high cholesterol diet as in the model group, together with Tongmai Tang at a higher dosage. After 16 weeks, the concentration of serum malondialdehyde (MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD), and serum lipid were detected. RESULTS: In the model group, the concentration of serum SOD was significantly lower, while levels of serum MDA,CHO, and LDL were significantly higher than those in the control group(P<0.01). In the low dosage Tongmai Tang administration group, the concentration of serum CHO and LDL significantly decreased (P<0.05). In the high dosage Tongmai Tang administration group, the concentration of serum SOD significantly increased (P<0.05), whereas the level of serum MDA, CHO and LDL significantly decreased (P<0.01). MDA was positively correlated with serum CHO, LDL (r= 0.397 and 0.443, P<0.05), and SOD was negatively correlated with serum CHO, LDL(r= -0.407 and -0.429, P<0.01). CONCLUSION Tongmai Tang can decrease the concentration of serum CHO and LDL, and increase the level of SOD. Tongmai Tang may have antioxidation in atherosclerosis.
Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; blood ; Cholesterol, Dietary ; adverse effects ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; Rabbits ; Superoxide Dismutase ; blood ; Triglycerides ; blood

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of serum glucose and lipids by on chronically lanthanum exposure in rat.

METHODSThe Wistar rats were treated with oral exposure dose 0.1, 2 and 40 mg/kg of lanthanum chloride (LaCl(3)) respectively, after 90 days the rats were sacrificed and the blood was collected for measuring the glycosylated hemoglobin A (HbA1c), the serum was used for measuring glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels.

RESULTSThere were no any differences among the control and 3 dose LaCl(3) exposed rats on the blood HbA1c and serum Glu, TG and LDL-C levels (P > 0.05). The serum TC in 0.1 and 2 mg/kg LaCl(3) dose group rats were (1.38 +/- 0.14) mmol/L and (1.37 +/- 0.26) mmol/L respectively. It was lower than that of the controls (1.57 +/- 0.14) mmol/L significantly (P < 0.05), the serum HDL-C in 0.1 mg/kg dose group rats was (0.79 +/- 0.12) mmol/L and obviously lower than that of control group rats (0.93 +/- 0.10) mmol/L (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION0.1 - 40 mg/kg LaCl(3) chronically exposed have not greater effect on serum glucose, TG and LDL-C levels in rats, but the lower dose LaCl(3) chronic exposure might cause serum TC and HLD-C level decreasing.

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Environmental Exposure ; Glycated Hemoglobin A ; Lanthanum ; toxicity ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Triglycerides ; blood

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the blood lipids and risk factors such as age in middle-aged and elderly men.

METHODS1603 men aged over 50 years old who took health examinations in June 2006 in the Chinese PLA General hospital were taken into the study. The total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), fasting serum glucose (FBG), serum creatinine (Cr) and blood uric acid (UA) were detected, and the clinical data such as age, body height, body weight and blood pressure were recorded.

RESULTS(1) The detection rates of hyperlipidemia, abnormal TC, abnormal TG, abnormal HDL-c and abnormal LDL-c were 56.27%, 36.74%, 28.20%, 10.79% and 6.92% respectively, and the TC and/or TG abnormality were the majority. (2) Compared with the 50 59 years old group, the elderly men aged over 80 years old had lower detection rates of abnormal TC and abnormal HDL-c, lower levels of TC and TG and higher levels of HDL-c (P < 0.05). After adjusting for BMI, SBP, DBP, UA, FBG and CCr, the multiple regression analysis showed that the levels of TC and TG decreased by 0.097 mmol/L and 0.087 mmol/L respectively every 10 years older, while the level of HDL-c increased by 0.113 mmol/L.

CONCLUSIONThe study showed that the majority types of hyperlipidemia in middle-aged and elderly men were abnormal TC and abnormal TG. The levels of TC, TG were correlated with age positively and the HDL-c was negatively correlated with age. The blood lipids metabolism characteristics of elderly men aged over 80 years old should be considered before the treatment of hyperlipidemia.

Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; blood ; prevention & control ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides ; blood