lower-cholesterol-20.matches:
lower cholesterol
Serum cholesterol concentrations in parasuicide.

Gallerani M, Manfredini R, Caracciolo S, Scapoli C, Molinari S, Fersini C.

Emergency Department, St Anna Hospital, Corso Giovecca, Ferrara, Italy.

OBJECTIVE--To evaluate whether people who have committed parasuicide have low serum cholesterol concentrations. DESIGN--Results of blood tests in subjects admitted to hospital for parasuicide compared with those of a control group of non-suicidal subjects; comparison in subgroup of parasuicide subjects of two sets of blood test results (one set from admission for parasuicide and the other from admission for some other illness). SETTING--General hospital, Ferrara, Italy. SUBJECTS--331 parasuicide subjects aged 44 (SD 21) years (109 with two sets of blood test results) and 331 controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Serum cholesterol concentrations and possible association with parasuicide, considering sex, violence of method of parasuicide, and underlying psychiatric disorder. RESULTS--Lower serum cholesterol concentrations (4.96 (SD 1.16) mmol/l) were found in the parasuicide subjects than in the controls (5.43 (1.30); P < 0.001), regardless of sex and degree of violence of parasuicide method. Both men and women with two sets of blood test results had lower cholesterol concentrations after parasuicide. Linear regression analysis showed that the difference in cholesterol concentrations was significantly related to the length of time between the taking of the two sets of blood samples. CONCLUSION--The study showed low cholesterol concentrations after parasuicide. This finding agrees with previous studies, which suggest an association between low cholesterol concentration and suicide.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7795448&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-20.matches:
lower cholesterol
Role of Akata cell membrane fluidity in susceptibility to Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Pozzi D, Lisi A, Grimaldi S.

Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Patologia, Universita La Sapienza, Roma.

Infection by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a B lymphotropic human herpesvirus, of its target cells is initiated by the binding of the viral envelope glycoprotein gp350/220 to a 145-kDa cell membrane glycoprotein (CD21, CR2) which also serves as the receptor for the complement fragment C3d (Fingeroth et al., 1984; Nemerow et al., 1987). We used the fluorescent probe 1-6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH), extremely sensitive to the polar environment, in order to analyse the membrane viscosity distribution in single cells of two lymphoid cell lines, Raji and Akata. Lipid analysis on both cell lines showed a slightly lower cholesterol:phospholipid molar ratio on Akata than on Raji cells. Measurements of cell fluidity by DPH polarization in native cells and after cholesterol enrichment indicated that the apparent Akata membrane viscosity was lower than the viscosity of Raji cells. To examine the possibility that this difference could be correlated to a difference in the behaviour of Akata and Raji cells in expressing EBV early antigens, both lines were superinfected with the EBV non-transforming P3HR1 strain. We report here evidence that lipid composition can regulate EBV entry into cells.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8539494&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-21.matches:
lower cholesterol
Serum cholesterol and aggression in hospitalized male forensic patients.

Hillbrand M, Spitz RT, Foster HG.

Whiting Forensic Institute, Middletown, Connecticut 06457, USA.

Human studies of the link between serum cholesterol and aggression have yielded equivocal results. Depending on the type of aggression studied (e.g., criminal violence or Type A hostility), investigators have found either a negative or a positive association between cholesterol and aggressive behavior. We conducted a retrospective analysis of aggressive incidents in a sample of hospitalized male forensic patients. The whole sample had lower cholesterol levels than the general population. Patients with low cholesterol levels (< 200 mg/dl) engaged in more frequent aggressive behavior but showed no difference in severity of aggression. They also showed no difference in verbal vs physical aggression. The relationship between cholesterol and frequency of aggression was curvilinear, with the most frequent acts of aggression committed by patients with moderately low cholesterol levels. Current research findings regarding the cholesterol-aggression association suggest the need for further clarification of the behavioral parameters under investigation.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7595950&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-21.matches:
lower cholesterol
Variable activation of lovastatin by hydrolytic enzymes in human plasma and liver. 4.

Tang BK, Kalow W.

Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Canada.

Lovastatin, widely used to lower cholesterol, is a pro-drug that requires metabolic activation through hydrolysis by carboxyesterases. There appear to be at least three distinct esterases in humans capable of catalysing this reaction, one in plasma and two in the liver. The rate of lovastatin hydroxy acid formation was measured as 15.8 pmol.ml-1.min-1 in plasma, 2.13 pmol.mg-1 protein.min-1 in hepatic microsomes and 0.92 pmol.mg-1 protein.min-1 in cytosol. The data suggest that on average the three esterases together are capable of activating about 220 nmol (90 micrograms) lovastatin per minute per person, to which the esterases of plasma, liver microsomes and liver cytosol contribute approximately 18, 15 and 67%, respectively. All three esterases showed evidence of inter-individual variability. In one of 17 livers, both cytosolic and microsomal esterase activity was completely missing, while two other liver specimens lacked one esterase. Such variability must be expected to influence the therapeutic efficacy of the drug, and they might be related to its occasional toxicity.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7720768&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-21.matches:
lower cholesterol
Glutathione and morbidity in a community-based sample of elderly.

Julius M, Lang CA, Gleiberman L, Harburg E, DiFranceisco W, Schork A.

Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109, USA.

This study examined the association of blood glutathione level, a potential marker of physiological/functional aging, with a number of biomedical/psychological traits in a subgroup (N = 33) of a representative sample of community-based elderly. Higher glutathione levels were associated with fewer number of illnesses (p < 0.05), higher levels of self-rated health (p < 0.01), lower cholesterol (p < 0.05), lower body mass index, and lower blood pressures. Subjects with diagnoses of arthritis, diabetes, or heart disease (as assessed by physicians) had at least marginally significant lower glutathione levels than those who were disease free. Glutathione, together with age and a measure of suppressed anger, accounted for 39% of the variance of an index of morbidity. Glutathione, by itself, accounted for 24% of the variance. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of an association of higher glutathione levels with higher levels of physical health in a sample of community-based elderly. Further studies in large samples are needed to investigate glutathione as a potential overall health risk factor for morbidity among the elderly.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7730904&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-21.matches:
lower cholesterol
Total cholesterol and suicidality in depression.

Sullivan PF, Joyce PR, Bulik CM, Mulder RT, Oakley-Browne M.

University Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch School of Medicine, Christchurch, New Zealand.

There exists considerable controversy regarding an association between low total cholesterol and increased mortality from suicide. As suicide mortality is a crude marker for suicidal ideation and behavior, we investigated the association between total cholesterol and suicidality in a depressed sample. Ninety men and women meeting structured criteria for a major depressive episode of at least moderate severity participated in a study of predictors of treatment response. A three level variable codified the degree of suicidality in the previous month: no suicidal thoughts (39/90), suicidal ideation or plan (38/90), and a suicide attempt (13/90). There was a significant univariate association between lower cholesterol levels and increasing degrees of suicidality. In a multivariate analysis, this association was the only one that neared statistical significance (p = 0.068). Although it is premature to conclude that these variables are causally associated, data from a number of sources suggest that this association is worthy of further study.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7811844&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-11.matches:
lower cholesterol
The influence of the incorporation of cholesterol and water on the particle size, bilayer thickness, melting behavior, and relative sucrose ester composition of reversed vesicles.

Mollee HM, Steenvoorden DP, De Vringer T, Crommelin DJ.

Yamanouchi Europe B.V., P.O. Box 108, NL/2350 AC Leiderdorp, The Netherlands. mollee.nl yamanouchi-eu.com

The influence of the incorporation of cholesterol and water on the particle size, bilayer thickness, melting behavior, and relative sucrose ester composition of reversed vesicles was studied. Reversed vesicles (RVs) were prepared of sucrose ester in silicon oil by sonication. The RVs were characterized by polarized light microscopy, laser diffraction, high-performance liquid chromatography, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and differential scanning calorimetry. The particle size distributions of the studied dispersions were bimodal with peaks at 5 and 0.4 microm. There was no significant difference in the sucrose ester composition of these two size categories of RVs. The incorporation of cholesterol and water had no effect on the size distribution of the RVs. The SAXS results showed that the RVs prepared without cholesterol and water consisted of bilayers with fully interdigitated alkyl chains. The incorporation of high concentrations of cholesterol caused a phase separation within the bilayers. The incorporation of water also resulted in a phase separation within the bilayers but at a lower cholesterol concentration. The presence of two different size classes of RVs in one RVs dispersion and the phase separation within the bilayers of certain compositions can have consequences for the application of RVs. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11288103&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-22.matches:
lower cholesterol
Lipid and protein composition of exovesicles released from human erythrocytes following treatment with amphiphiles.

Hagerstrand H, Isomaa B.

Department of Biology, Abo Akademi University, Abo/Turku, Finland.

Human erythrocytes were treated with different water-soluble amphiphiles (detergents) at sublytic concentrations, whereafter released exovesicles and treated cells were isolated. Lipid analyses showed that exovesicles had a lower cholesterol/phospholipid ratio and a higher phosphatidylserine/phospholipid ratio compared to parent cells. Protein analyses revealed that exovesicles were, relative to their total protein content, depleted in spectrin, actin and band 6 protein and enriched in band 3 protein and acetylcholinesterase. Exovesicles contained all major glycoproteins. By using a radiolabeled amphiphile ([14C]cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) it was shown that the amphiphile/phospholipid ratio was similar in the vesicle membrane and in the parent cell membrane. This indicates that no significant segregation of the intercalated amphiphile between the exovesicle membrane and the parent cell membrane occurs during the vesiculation process. It is suggested that the redistributions of membrane lipids and proteins during the vesiculation process are secondary to the detachment of the cytoskeletal network from the membrane.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8142443&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-22.matches:
lower cholesterol
RCS rat retinal rod outer segment membranes exhibit different cholesterol distributions than those of normal rats.

Boesze-Battaglia K, Organisciak DT, Albert AD.

Department of Biochemistry, University at Buffalo, School of Medcine SUNY 14214.

Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats exhibit an hereditary defect in phagocytosis of the tips of the photoreceptor cell rod outer segments (ROS) which leads to degeneration of the retinal visual cells. The lipid composition of outer segment membranes of these rats was analysed and compared to those of normal rats to determine whether there are differences between the normal and mutant rat ROS. The cholesterol distribution in ROS disk membranes from normal and RCS rats was investigated using a digitonin induced change in membrane density. Normal rat ROS disks varied in cholesterol to phospholipid mole ratio from 0.36 to 0.03. The disk membranes from RCS rats, however, do not exhibit the same marked cholesterol heterogeneity. The mean molar ratio of cholesterol to phospholipid in the disk membranes of normal rats is 0.11 while that found in the RCS rats is 0.14. The ROS plasma membrane of dystrophic rats also has a lower cholesterol to phospholipid ratio (0.20) than is found in the normal rat (0.40). The phospholipid headgroup composition of RCS disks and plasma membrane were determined. RCS disks were shown to differ from those of normal animals. The cholesterol content of ROS disks may be governed by the phospholipid composition.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8174652&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-23.matches:
lower cholesterol
Infectious glomerulopathy induced by a defined agent (Schistosoma mansoni): progression despite early elimination of the causal agent.

Sobh MA, Moustafa FE, Hamed SM, Ghoneim MA.

Urology and Nephrology Center, University of Mansoura, Egypt.

Thirty Syrian golden hamsters were infected with Schistosoma mansoni and 10 were used as negative controls. Hamsters were infected by 50 cercaria; 15 were treated by praziquantil in doses of 100 mg/kg at 12, 13, 14 and 15 weeks postinfection, and 15 hamsters were left as positive control. Five from each subgroup were sacrificed at 24, 28 and 32 weeks postinfection. Animals were subjected to weekly analysis for total plasma protein, serum creatinine, albumin, cholesterol, 24-hour urine volume, and urinary total protein excretion. At the end point, animals were sacrificed and the mesenteric venous plexus was explored for adult worms. Kidney and liver specimens were examined by light microscopy, immunofluorescence microscopy, and electron microscopy. Complete parasite eradication was achieved in treated animals. Although there were significantly higher plasma total protein, albumin, and lower cholesterol in the treated group, there were no significant differences in proteinuria or renal histopathologic changes between treated and untreated animals. We conclude that in golden hamsters, with complete and early parasite eradication no regression occurs in S. mansoni-related nephropathy. Moreover, we suggest that in this glomerulopathy, short exposure to an antigen may be sufficient to set in motion a cascade of events which is irreversible and which leads to permanent glomerular damage.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8081976&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol