Men Gain Additional Psychological Benefits by Adding Exercise to a Weight‐Loss Program

Objective: Adding exercise to a comprehensive weight‐loss program might not only attenuate any psychological distress associated with weight‐loss attempts but also may provide psychological benefits. This study examined whether a diet‐plus‐exercise weight‐loss program improved psychological outcomes more than a diet‐only weight‐loss program or an assessment‐only control group. Research Methods and Procedures: This study was part of a larger 1‐year randomized weight‐loss trial examining the effects of diet and exercise on cardiovascular disease risk factors in 264 overweight adults. Psychological measures specific to weight control (e.g., cognitive restraint, disinhibition, hunger, and body dissatisfaction) as well as traditional measures of psychological distress (e.g., symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress) were obtained at baseline and 1 year. Results: Men and women in either weight‐loss program reported greater restraint, less disinhibition, and less hunger at 1 year than those in no program. Men in the diet‐plus‐exercise program experienced additional increases in restraint and decreases in hunger than did men in the diet‐only program. Women in the diet‐plus‐exercise program did not experience additional psychological benefits specific to weight control than those in the diet‐only program, despite increases in aerobic capacity. Discussion: The pattern seen for overweight men in the diet‐plus‐exercise program at 1 year—greater restraint, less disinhibition, and less hunger—is similar to the pattern seen in successful weight maintainers. These results underscore the need for innovative strategies that will enhance and sustain the pattern of psychological benefits specific to weight control associated with successful weight loss, especially for overweight women.     

Relationship between myeloperoxidase activity and the ontogenic response of rat gastric mucosa to ethanol.

We have examined the gastric luminal content of Na+, K+, and protein and mucosal levels of myeloperoxidase in rats between the ages of 10 and 60 days in response to luminal instillation of ethanol (20 and 50% w/v). In control animals the appearances of ions and protein and myeloperoxidase activities were low and similar in all age groups. Luminal content of cations and protein increased in response to both 20 and 50% ethanol and were greater in animals older than 20 days when compared with younger rats. However, ethanol treatment resulted in a significant degree of mucosal cellular disruption and erosions in both young and mature rats. Myeloperoxidase activities in response to ethanol were not greater than control until animals were older than 20 days. Treatment of rats aged 10-60 days with intraperitoneal glycogen (1%) resulted in peritoneal granulocyte infiltration. The concentration of peritoneal cells increased as animals aged. With the exception of day 15, the myeloperoxidase content of the peritoneal leukocytes did not vary significantly at other ages examined. These data suggest that (1) mucosal efflux of Na+, K+, and protein in response to luminal ethanol increase as rats age from 10 to 60 days; (2) the ontogenic development of ethanol-induced cation and protein appearance parallel the increase in myeloperoxidase activity in the gastric mucosa; and (3) the increase in mucosal myeloperoxidase activity in response to ethanol likely reflects increased granulocyte infiltration as rats age.     

Localization of alpha-D-glucosyl and alpha-D-mannosyl groups of mucosubstances with concanavalin A and horseradish peroxidase.

Concanavalin A is a lectin which is known to bind specifically to alpha-D-glucosyl and alpha-D-mannosyl groups in the mucosubstances of mammalian tissues. The lectin molecule is bivalent; after its attachment to mucosubstances present in a histological specimen it can also bind horseradish peroxidase, a mannose-containing glycoprotein. The attached peroxidase may then be visualized by virtue of its histochemically demonstrable enzymatic activity. Other investigators have utilized this principle in the electron microscopic localization of cell-surface carbohydrates. A histochemical technique for light microscopy is described here, along with three control procedures which establish the specificity of the method. The technique is somewhat more sensitive than earlier ones in which fluorescent-labelled concanavalin A was used, and has the additional advantages that all the required reagents are commercially available and that sacilities for fluorescence microscopy are not needed.     

Complete Staining of Neuromuscular Innervation with Bromoindigo and Silver

Frozen sections of musde fixed in buffered formaldehyde (pH 7.3) are first incubated for localization of esterase using 5-bromoindoxyl acetate as substrate. The sections are then mounted on slides and stained by a urea-silver nitrate method for axons. Result: subneural apparatus—blue; axons—black; other tissue components in various shades of grey.     

Properties of fetal and adult red blood cell arginase: a possible prenatal diagnostic test for arginase deficiency.

Prenatal diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism has been possible only if the enzyme affected is expressed in amniotic fluid cells grown in culture. Arginase is essentially undetectable in normal human fibroblasts, amniotic fluid, and amniotic fluid cells but is present in high amounts in red blood cells. It is absent in the red blood cells of patients with liver arginase deficiency. The properties of the enzyme in the red cells of healthy children and adults were compared to those of the enzyme obtained from cord blood red cells of 13--20-week fetuses obtained at hysterotomy. The activities, heavy metal requirements, heat stability, pH optimum, kinetic properties, and reaction with anti-arginase antibody were examined. Both enzyme species were either identical or substantially similar by all criteria. The adult and fetal enzymes are, therefore, probably determined by the same structural gene. Fetal red cells obtained during amniocentesis and amnioscopy should then be a suitable tissue to use to make the prenatal diagnosis of arginase deficiency.     

The cellular prion protein and its role in Alzheimer disease

The cellular prion protein (PrP^C) is a membrane-bound glycoprotein especially abundant in the central nervous system (CNS). The scrapie prion protein (PrP^Sc, also termed prions) is responsible of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), a group of neurodegenerative diseases which affect humans and other mammal species, although the presence of PrP^C is needed for the establishment and further evolution of prions.The present work compares the expression and localization of PrP^C between healthy human brains and those suffering from Alzheimer disease (AD).In both situations we have observed a rostrocaudal decrease in the amount of PrP^C within the CNS, both by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry techniques. PrP^C is higher expressed in our control brains than in AD cases. There was a neuronal loss and astogliosis in our AD cases. There was a tendency of a lesser expression of PrP^C in AD cases than in healthy ones. And in AD cases, the intensity of the expression of the unglycosylated band is higher than the di- and monoglycosylated bands.With regards to amyloid plaques, those present in AD cases were positively labeled for PrP^C, a result which is further supported by the presence of PrP^C in the amyloid plaques of a transgenic line of mice mimicking AD.The work was done according to Helsinki Declaration of 1975, and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Navarre.Key words: cellular prion protein, Alzheimer disease, transgenic mice     

Heterogenous vasodilator pathways underlie flow-mediated dilation in men and women

This study investigated the sex differences in the contribution of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PGs) to flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Radial artery (RA) FMD, assessed as the dilatory response to 5-min distal cuff occlusion, was repeated after three separate brachial artery infusions of saline (SAL), N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), and ketorolac (KETO) + L-NMMA in healthy younger men (M; n = 8) and women (W; n = 8). In eight subjects (4 M, 4W) RA FMD was reassessed on a separate day with drug order reversed (SAL, KETO, and L-NMMA + KETO). RA FMD was calculated as the peak dilatory response observed relative to baseline (%FMD) and expressed relative to the corresponding area under the curve shear stress (%FMD/AUC SS). L-NMMA reduced %FMD similarly and modestly (P = 0.68 for sex * trial interaction) in M and W (all subjects: 10.0 ± 3.8 to 7.6 ± 4.7%; P = 0.03) with no further effect of KETO (P = 0.68). However, all sex * trial and trial effects on %FMD/AUC SS for l-NMMA and KETO + l-NMMA were insignificant (all P > 0.20). There was also substantial heterogeneity of the magnitude and direction of dilator responses to blockade. After l-NMMA infusion, subjects exhibited both reduced (n = 14; range: 11 to 78% decrease) and augmented (n = 2; range: 1 to 96% increase) %FMD. Following KETO + l-NMMA, seven subjects exhibited reduced dilation (range: 10 to 115% decrease) and nine subjects exhibited augmented dilation (range: 1 to 212% increase). Reversing drug order did not change the nature of the findings. These findings suggest that RA FMD is not fully or uniformly NO dependent in either men or women, and that there is heterogeneity in the pathways underlying the conduit dilatory response to ischemia.