No abstract available.
Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/*therapy ; *Nutrition Assessment ; *Nutritional Support

Postmenopausal women are at an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease. This is due to primarily dyslipidemia accompanying the loss of estrogen secretion. Soy isoflavones are known to have weak estrogenic effects. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether isoflavone supplement improves the risk of cardiovascular disease in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women. Subjects consisted of 39 Korean postmenopausal women with hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol > or = 200 mg/dl or LDL cholesterol > or = 130 mg/dl). Subjects were divided into 2 groups; placebo group (PG), isoflavone supplement group (IG). During 12 weeks, subjects were given placebo and 80mg isoflavone daily. Anthropometric measurement, blood sample analysis and dietary intake measurement were taken at baseline and after 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, systolic blood pressure was decreased significantly (p<0.01) and plasma HDL cholesterol level was increased significantly (p<0.05) in IG. But there were no significant changes in plasma total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels after isoflavone supplementation. There was a negative correlation between initial plasma HDL cholesterol level and the extent of plasma HDL cholesterol reduction in IG (r=-0.572, p=0.012). Atherogenic index (AI), total-/LDL- cholesterol ratio and LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio were improved significantly after isoflavone supplementation. In subjects whose initial plasma LDL cholesterol level were above 160 mg/dl, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) level were decreased and total antioxidant status (TAS) were increased significantly after isoflavone supplement (p<0.05). However there were no significant changes in flow-mediated dilator (FMD), the marker of endothelium-dependent vasodilation and nitroglycerine-mediated dilator (NMD), the marker of endothelium-independent vasodilation and the extent of DNA damage after isoflavone supplement. In conclusion, these results indicate that isoflavone supplement may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease via improving blood pressure, HDL cholesterol level and AI in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women. Futhermore, in case of subjects with elevated LDL cholesterol level, isoflavone supplementation may have more antiatherogenic effects via improving antioxidant status.
Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Coronary Artery Disease ; DNA Damage ; Dyslipidemias ; Estrogens ; Female ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Isoflavones ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Malondialdehyde ; Menopause ; Plasma* ; Triglycerides ; Vasodilation

In middle-aged men, abdominal obesity has been an important risk factor of coronary artery disease (CAD) as well as a predictor of hypertension, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. Particularly, risks from abdominal obesity increase when adipose tissue accumulates in visceral compartment. Many studies showed that weight reduction by caloric restriction improves abdominal obesity and reduces lots of cardiovascular risk factors. Testosterone treatment also results in a significant decrease in visceral fat area and normalizes endocrine metabolism. However there is no study that compare the effect of caloric restriction with that of testosterone treatment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of caloric restriction and that of testosterone treatment on body fat distribution, serum lipids and glucose metabolism in male patients with CAD. Forty five middle-aged overweight-obese men with CAD participated in 12 weeks' program. They were matched with age, body weight, body mass index (BMI) and divided into three groups: control group (n=15) , caloric restriction group (-300 kcal/day, n=15) and testosterone treatment group (testosterone undecanoate tablets, n=15) . After 12 weeks, control group did not have any changes in anthropometries, lipid profile, body fat distribution, glucose metabolism and hormonal status. Expectedly, caloric restriction group showed decreases in body weight, BMI, waist to hip ratio, % body fat. Ten percentage of total cholesterol and 23% of triglyceride in serum were also decreased. In body fat distribution, total fat areas at both L1 and L4 levels were significantly reduced in this group without reduction in muscle of thigh and calf. However, testosterone treatment group did not have any significant changes in body weight, % body fat, serum lipid profile and abdominal fat distribution. In conclusion, weight reduction by caloric restriction is more beneficial in body fat distribution and serum lipid level than testosterone treatment in overweight male patients with CAD. This result suggests that modest weight reduction is possible to help decrease risk factors of CAD.
Abdominal Fat ; Adipose Tissue* ; Body Fat Distribution* ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Caloric Restriction* ; Cholesterol ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Dyslipidemias ; Glucose ; Glucose Intolerance ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Insulin Resistance ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Male* ; Metabolism ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Overweight* ; Risk Factors ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Tablets ; Testosterone* ; Thigh ; Triglycerides ; Waist-Hip Ratio ; Weight Loss

Chitosan, hydroxycitrate and L-carnitine have been known to be antiobesity components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined effects of chitosan, hydroxycitrate and L-carnitine mixture as a potential antiobesity supplement in overweight women. Pre-menopausal healthy females who were overweight (percent ideal body weight >110) were included in this study. Forty-nine subjects randomly received a placebo (n=25) or antiobesity-supplement (n=24), which was a mixture of chitosan, hydroxycitrate, and L-carnitine. Before and after the eight-week experimental period, anthropometric parameters, blood components and computerized tomography were measured. At baseline, the two groups were well matched in terms of age, body mass index and lipid profile. After the eight weeks of potential antiobesity supplementation, the subjects' body fat percent had decreased significantly (p<0.001) by 5.6% (39.1+/-1 vs 36.9+/-1%) while lean body mass increased (p<0.01). Vsceral fat area at the L4 vertebra decreased significantly (p<0.01) by 8.6% in the supplemented group and the total fat area at the L4 vertebra showed a tendency to decrease (p=0.051) by 2.4%. Also, in the group given the antiobesity-supplement rather than the placebo, the fasting triglyceride level decreased significantly (p<0.05) by 10.0%. In addition, serum total cholesterol levels in the antiobesity-supplement group showed a tendency to decrease (p=0.159) by 2.7% (194+/-6 vs 189+/-6 mg/dl). No side effects were found in either group during the intervention. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that taking a mixture of chitosan, hydroxycitrate, and L-carnitine as a potential antiobesity supplement for eight weeks produced advantageous changes in the weight and visceral fat accumulation of overweight women without any side effects.
Adipose Tissue ; Body Mass Index ; Carnitine ; Chitosan ; Cholesterol ; Fasting ; Female ; Humans ; Ideal Body Weight ; Intra-Abdominal Fat* ; Overweight* ; Spine ; Triglycerides ; Weight Loss*