| For medical practitioners and the general public - Cholesterol Journal Article Catalog. |
| First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page |
| A longitudinal study of blood pressure, cholesterol and left ventricular muscle volume in children: the Shimane Heart Study Abe, K., T. Nishio, et al. (1993), Acta Paediatr Jpn 35(2): 130-7. Abstract: Three hundred and forty-four healthy schoolchildren living in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, were assessed at 3 year intervals from 6 to 15 years, starting in 1978 (Cohort 1) or 1981 (Cohort 2). Tracking indices (Ti) were calculated as follows: Ti = (2x + y - z)/N/0.89, where x, y and z refer to the total number in the same, adjacent and remote trisections, respectively, and N = x + y + z. If Ti > 1, there is positive tracking. For systolic blood pressure (SBP) measurements (except at 6 years old) and serum cholesterol levels, all Ti were greater than 1.0 regardless of the time when tracking was commenced. Tracking indices were slightly greater in the serum cholesterol levels than in the SBP measurements. Left ventricular muscle volume indices (LVMVI) were calculated by echocardiographic measurements. In girls, the LVMVI was larger only in the above-median SBP group at the age of 12 years (P < 0.01), but the LVMVI of the higher SBP (above median) group was larger than in the lower (below median) group at every age in boys; the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05) at 12 and 15 years of age. Left ventricular mass enlargement may occur in the prehypertensive stage in humans as well as in rats. |
| A low prevalence of coronary heart disease among subjects with increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, including those with plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein deficiency Moriyama, Y., T. Okamura, et al. (1998), Prev Med 27(5 Pt 1): 659-67. Abstract: BACKGROUND: Use of genetic analysis may improve the predictive value of risk factors for disease. A high plasma level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is a strong negative risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) deficiency causes increased levels of HDL cholesterol. However, recent studies suggest that CETP deficiency is a risk factor for CHD despite elevated HDL cholesterol levels. METHODS: Plasma lipid levels, CHD prevalence, resting electrocardiograms, and common CETP gene mutations were analyzed cross-sectionally in a population of 19,044 male and 29,487 female Japanese subjects (ages 45-79 years). RESULTS: High HDL cholesterol levels (serum HDL cholesterol >/=80 mg/dl, >/=95th percentile) were found in 6 and 5% of Japanese men and women, respectively. In the group with HDL cholesterol >/=80 mg/dl, common CETP gene mutations were identified in 23-24% of men and 31-49% of women. The prevalence of CHD in the group with high HDL cholesterol (>/=80 mg/dl) was low among both men (1.0%) and women (1.3%). There was no difference in CHD prevalence between hyper-HDL-cholesterolemic subjects with and without CETP mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with very high HDL levels (HDL cholesterol >/=80 mg/dl) as well as mild-to-moderate HDL elevations (60-79 mg/dl) appear to be protected against CHD, whether or not they have CETP deficiency, a genetic cause of elevated HDL. |
| A low-fat diet decreases high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels by decreasing HDL apolipoprotein transport rates Brinton, E. A., S. Eisenberg, et al. (1990), J Clin Invest 85(1): 144-51. Abstract: Diets that reduce atherosclerosis risk lower levels of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), but the significance of this is unclear. To better understand the mechanism of this phenomenon we studied the turnover of HDL apolipoproteins A-I and A-II in 13 subjects on two contrasting metabolic diets. Upon changing from high to low intake of saturated fat and cholesterol the mean HDL-C decreased 29% from 56 +/- 13 (SD) to 40 +/- 10 mg/dl, while apo A-I levels fell 23% from 139 +/- 22 to 107 +/- 22 mg/dl (both P less than 0.001). Mean apo A-II levels did not change. The fractional catabolic rate (FCR) of apo A-I increased 11% from 0.228 +/- 0.048 to 0.254 +/- 0.063 pools/d, while its absolute transport rate (TR) decreased 14% from 12.0 +/- 2.7 to 10.3 +/- 3.4 mg/kg per d (both P = 0.005). The decrease in HDL-C and apo A-I levels correlated with the decrease in apo A-I TR (r = 0.79 and 0.83, respectively; P less than 0.001), but not with the increase in apo A-I FCR (r = -0.04 and -0.02, respectively). In contrast, within each diet the HDL-C and apo A-I levels were inversely correlated with apo A-I FCR both on the high-fat (r = -0.85 and -0.77, P less than 0.001 and = 0.002, respectively) and low-fat diets (r = -0.67 and -0.48, P = 0.012 and 0.098, respectively) but not with apo A-I TR. In summary, diet-induced changes in HDL-C levels correlate with and may result from changes in apo A-I TR. In contrast, differences in HDL-C levels between people on a given diet correlate with and may result from differences in apo A-I FCR. Therefore, the mechanism of dietary effects on HDL levels differs substantially from the mechanism explaining the differences in levels between individuals on a fixed diet. In assessing coronary heart disease risk, it may be inappropriate to conclude that diet-induced decreases in HDL are equivalent to low HDL within a given diet. |
| A low-viscosity soluble-fiber fruit juice supplement fails to lower cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic men and women Davidson, M. H., L. D. Dugan, et al. (1998), J Nutr 128(11): 1927-32. Abstract: This study was designed to determine whether a soluble dietary fiber supplement containing gum arabic and pectin in apple juice would lower serum lipids in 110 hypercholesterolemic men and women. Subjects were stabilized on an American Heart Association Phase I Diet for 8 wk. Those with elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, despite dietary modification, continued to follow the diet and were randomly assigned to receive 720 mL/d of apple juice containing 0 (control), 5, 9 or 15 g of gum arabic and pectin (4:1 ratio) for 12 wk, followed by a 6-wk apple juice-only washout phase. Serum lipid profiles, body weight and 3-day diet records were collected at 3-wk intervals. No significant differences among groups were observed in serum lipid responses during treatment or washout. During the treatment phase, mean serum total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations increased by 3.5 and 28.5%, respectively (all groups combined, P < 0.0001). The high density lipoprotein cholesterol level did not change significantly from baseline in any group. During washout, mean total cholesterol concentration rose by an additional 2.4% (P < 0.05) compared with the value at the end of the treatment period, suggesting that the apple juice used to deliver the fiber supplement may have contributed to the adverse changes observed in the serum lipid profile. These findings do not support the hypothesized hypocholesterolemic effect of the gum arabic/pectin (4:1) mixture studied, but do underline the importance of selecting appropriate vehicles for delivery of dietary fiber mixtures. |
| A major locus influencing plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the San Antonio Family Heart Study. Segregation and linkage analyses Mahaney, M. C., J. Blangero, et al. (1995), Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 15(10): 1730-9. Abstract: To detect and measure the effects of a single locus on quantitative variation in plasma concentrations of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), we conducted statistical genetic analyses on data from 526 Mexican American individuals in 25 randomly ascertained pedigrees. By using maximum-likelihood complex segregation analysis, we found evidence for a major locus with a codominant mixture model that included the phenotypic means, standard deviations, relative frequency of a low HDL-C allele, and heritability for plasma HDL-C levels, plus the effects of sex (genotype specific), age-by-sex, age2-by-sex, plasma concentrations of apolipoprotein (apo)AI and triglycerides (genotype specific), exogenous sex hormone use, and menopausal status under an unrestricted general model. Inclusion of the four covariates (in addition to the sex and age-by-sex effects) accounted for nearly 79% of the variance in total plasma HDL-C levels. Of the remaining 21% of the variance, the detected major locus accounted for approximately 55% in men and 21% in women; the total genetic contributions to the variance by genes were approximately 82% in men and 69% in women. Linkage analyses with penetrance parameter estimates from the segregation analysis excluded tight linkage between the detected major locus and markers for the following candidate loci: the apoAI/apoCIII genomic region (P <.05), apoB (P <.01), hepatic lipase (P <.001), lipoprotein lipase (P <.001), and the LDL receptor (P <.001). While not excluding the apoE locus (LOD = -0.348, P <.21), the analysis provided no support for tight linkage between it and the detected major locus. |
| A marked decline in the prevalence and incidence of intermittent claudication in Icelandic men 1968-1986: a strong relationship to smoking and serum cholesterol--the Reykjavik Study Ingolfsson, I. O., G. Sigurdsson, et al. (1994), J Clin Epidemiol 47(11): 1237-43. Abstract: The epidemiology of peripheral vascular disease has been studied much less extensively than the epidemiology of coronary heart disease (CHD). The prospective Reykjavik Study gave an opportunity to monitor secular trends from 1968 to 1986 of clinical intermittent claudication (IC) amongst Icelandic males, aged 34-80 and to assess the importance of possible risk factors. Both prevalence and incidence of IC decreased sharply after 1970 in all age groups, and this decline occurred a few years earlier than the decline of CHD in Iceland. The only significant risk factors for intermittent claudication, in addition to age, were smoking which increased the risk of IC 8- to 10-fold and serum cholesterol level. Approximately one-half of the striking decline in the incidence of IC can be explained by decreased smoking and cholesterol levels amongst Icelandic men. A follow-up study verified that IC patients stood twice the risk of cardiovascular and total mortality as non-IC patients, indicating that IC is a high risk group which should receive all possible preventive measures. |
| A mathematical representation of the expert panel's guidelines for high blood cholesterol case-finding and treatment Weissfeld, J. L., L. A. Weissfeld, et al. (1990), Med Decis Making 10(2): 135-46. Abstract: The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) for high blood cholesterol case-finding and treatment recommended discrete treatments according to the results of sequential measurements of continuous variables (total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL-C). These measurements are subject to intra- and interindividual variability. The authors describe a computer simulation of the NCEP that acknowledges these complexities. The simulation reduces the NCEP into steps, which are represented in a decision tree. The calculation of probabilities at chance nodes takes into account the conditional nature of sequential measurements of blood cholesterol. The simulation tracks medical resource use and estimates LDL-C reductions within 20 strata, each defining 5% of population distribution for LDL-C. This approach enables a detailed representation of the case-finding process--the sequence of blood cholesterol tests and associated cut-off values that identify individuals needing more intensive evaluation and treatment. |
| A method for defining the stages of low-density lipoprotein oxidation by the separation of cholesterol- and cholesteryl ester-oxidation products using HPLC Kritharides, L., W. Jessup, et al. (1993), Anal Biochem 213(1): 79-89. Abstract: A new high-performance liquid chromatographic system for the identification of some of the lipid oxidation products of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidized by copper is described. Using a reversed-phase C-18 column and an isocratic solvent system of acetonitrile/isopropanol/water (44/54/2, v/v/v), a number of oxidized lipid moieties were resolved and detected simply by their 234-nm absorbance. The nature of several of these compounds was determined by chromatographic criteria, chemiluminescence, and mass spectrometry. The production of compounds within 4 h oxidation corresponded to the production of lipid hydroperoxides, the quantitatively most important of which is cholesteryl linoleate hydroperoxide, and to the rapid decrease in the cholesteryl ester content of LDL detected at 210 nm. More prolonged copper oxidation (up to 48 h) of LDL resulted in decreased quantities of lipid hydroperoxide moieties and increased amounts of a number of other, nonhydroperoxide, compounds. 7-Ketocholesterol and cholesterol linoleate hydroxide are two of the major products of prolonged oxidation. The detection of oxidation products correlates with the modification of LDL protein, permits a four-stage definition of metal-mediated LDL oxidation, and enables the calculation of a quantitative index of oxidation (lipoprotein oxidation index). This method will be generally applicable to cell- and copper-mediated oxidation, and will enable standardization of, and direct comparison between, different preparations of oxidized LDL. |
| A method for quantitative assessment of cholesterol absorption Roitman, A. P., V. V. Dolgov, et al. (1994), Klin Lab Diagn(1): 32-4. |
| A method for separation of phosphatidylcholine, triacylglycerol, non-esterified fatty acids and cholesterol esters from plasma by solid-phase extraction Burdge, G. C., P. Wright, et al. (2000), Br J Nutr 84(5): 781-7. Abstract: Efficient isolation of individual lipid classes is a critical step in the analysis of plasma and lipoprotein fatty acid compositions. Whilst good separations of total lipid extracts are possible by TLC, this method is time consuming and a major rate-limiting step when processing large numbers of specimens. A method for rapid separation of phosphatidylcholine (PC), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), cholesterol ester (CE) and triacylglycerol (TAG) from total plasma lipid extracts by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using aminopropyl silica columns has been developed and validated. Following initial separation of polar and neutral lipids, individual classes were isolated by application of solvents with increasing polarity. Recoveries for combined plasma extraction with chloroform-methanol and SPE were (%): PC 74.2 (SD 7.5), NEFA 73.6 (SD 8.3), CE 84.9 (SD 4.9), and TAG 86.8 (SD 4.9), which were significantly greater for TAG and NEFA than by TLC Both GC-flame ionisation detector and GC-MS analysis of fatty acid methyl esters demonstrated that there was no cross-contamination between lipid classes. Measurements of repeatability of fatty acid composition for TAG, PC, CE and NEFA fractions showed similar CV for each fatty acid. The magnitude of the CV appeared to be related inversely to the fractional fatty acid concentration, and was greatest at concentrations of less than 1 g/100 g total fatty acids. There was no evidence of selective elution of individual fatty acid or CE species. In conclusion, this method represents an efficient, rapid alternative to TLC for isolation of these lipid classes from plasma. |
| A method for the simultaneous determination of alkylacylglycerol, diacylglycerol, monoalkylglycerol, monoacylglycerol, and cholesterol by high-performance liquid chromatography Warne, T. R. and M. Robinson (1991), Anal Biochem 198(2): 302-7. Abstract: We describe a method for the quantitative analysis of the individual subclasses (1-O-alkyl and 1-acyl) of diradylglycerols and monoradylglycerols. These lipids, along with cholesterol, were separated from other neutral and polar lipids on silica columns and analyzed by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as their benzoate derivatives. Cholesterylbenzoate, alkylacylglycerolbenzoate, diacylglycerolbenzoate, monoalkylglyceroldibenzoate, and monoacylglyceroldibenzoate eluted from HPLC in five distinct zones. The derivatives of diradylglycerols and monoradylglycerols were further separated within each discrete zone on the basis of the total number of aliphatic carbons at the sn-1 and sn-2 positions. Radiolabeled cholesterol and dihexadecanoylglycerol were used to monitor recovery. Amounts of synthetic alkylacylglycerol, diacylglycerol, monoalkylglycerol, and monoacylglycerol as low as 0.2 nmol per subclass could be accurately quantified. The technique was used to determine the content of diradylglycerol and monoradylglycerol subclasses in Madin-Darby canine kidney and CFTL-12 mast cells. This method should prove useful for the quantitation of lipid second messengers in cultured cells. |
| A method of determination of cholesterol contents on the surface of the human skin and prospects of its use. I. Atherosclerosis Khalilov, E. M., E. S. Fortinskaia, et al. (1994), Klin Lab Diagn(5): 12-5. Abstract: Proceeding from published data on lipid content and composition in human skin and on the possible relationship between cholesterol level in skin biopsy specimens and status of blood vessels, the authors measured cholesterol content in skin layers available for external extraction in patients with atherosclerosis with different types of dyslipoproteinemias. Effective conditions of extraction were developed permitting after external rapid atraumatic treatment extraction of the maximally possible amount of cholesterol, 1.5 to 1.6 mkg from 1 cm2 of the palm skin surface, this being a constant value for each examinee (coefficient of variations after 3-4 repetitions 5%). Though slight, but statistically reliable increase of the amount of surface-extractable cholesterol was observed in atherosclerosis patients. This parameter did not correlate with the blood serum concentration of lipid components. A correlation (r = 0.54, p < 0.001) was observed with an only serum lipoprotein parameter, the so-called dyslipoproteinemia coefficient representing the sum of "atherogenic" parameters (cholesterol+triglycerides) divided by alpha-lipoprotein cholesterol. Measurements of surface-extractable skin cholesterol may be used as an available discriminant of atherosclerosis; the method seems to find application in other diseases as well. |
| A method of determination of cholesterol contents on the surface of the human skin and prospects of its use. II. Psoriasis Fortinskaia, E. S., T. I. Torkhovskaia, et al. (1994), Klin Lab Diagn(5): 15-7. Abstract: A noninvasive method for cholesterol extraction from the surface layers of the epidermis is suggested. Levels of cholesterol and its fractions were measured in extracts obtained from the foci of psoriasis and apparently intact skin of 105 patients with psoriasis. Cholesterol levels were found noticeably increased, mainly at the expense of its free fraction in involved foci and in apparently intact skin. A conclusion is made on the good informative value of the suggested method. |
| A micro-enzymatic method to measure cholesterol and triglyceride in lipoprotein subfractions separated by density gradient ultracentrifugation from 200 microliters of plasma or serum Belcher, J. D., J. O. Egan, et al. (1991), J Lipid Res 32(2): 359-70. Abstract: A micro-enzymatic method was developed to measure total cholesterol (CHOL) and triglyceride (TG) in lipoproteins and their subfractions separated by density gradient ultracentrifugation. This method had a detection limit and sensitivity below 2 mg/dl and accuracy (bias to reference sera) and imprecision (coefficient of variation) of less than 3% between 2 and 30 mg/dl for both CHOL and TG. In addition, the method was in good agreement with standardized Abell-Kendall CHOL (r = 0.98) and enzymatic TG (r = 0.99) methods. Lipoproteins from 200 microliters of plasma or serum were separated by either equilibrium (EQ)- or rate zonal (RZ)-density gradient ultracentrifugation and the resulting fractions were analyzed for CHOL and TG by the micro-enzymatic method. Lipoprotein measurements by these micro-enzymatic/density gradient methods were highly correlated with standardized Lipid Research Clinic (LRC) procedures and preparative ultracentrifugation. The EQ-density gradient procedure also allowed determination of CHOL and TG in LDL and HDL subfractions within any desired density interval. These methods will facilitate the measurements and study of lipoproteins and their subfractions especially in infants, children, the elderly, and small animals. In addition, the micro-enzymatic method may be adapted to other modes of lipoprotein separation such as liquid chromatography, electrophoresis, and precipitation. CHOL or TG determinations could be made on approximately 500 density gradient fractions per hour. |
| A microprecipitation technique suitable for measuring alpha-lipoprotein cholesterol Puppione, D. L. and S. Charugundla (1994), Lipids 29(8): 595-7. Abstract: A semi-automated method has been developed for determining alpha-lipoprotein cholesterol values. Precipitation of apolipoprotein B containing lipoproteins takes place in wells of microtiter plates after 100 microL of serum are mixed with 20 microL of a heparin/MnCl2 solution. A Beckman (Fullerton, CA) Biomek 1000 work station is used to transfer sera, supernatants and reagents between tubes and microtiter plates. Supernatant cholesterol is determined enzymatically, and absorbances are read at 490 nm using a Molecular Devices Corporation (Palo Alto, CA) plate reader. Values obtained on both fresh and frozen serum samples agreed with corresponding data obtained at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC; Atlanta, GA). For the fresh samples, the average bias was 2.87%. The within-run coefficients of variations were between 2.2 and 0.6% for the data obtained on CDC frozen control pools. The results indicate that the semi-automated method is suitable for obtaining accurate and precise data for alpha-lipoprotein cholesterol. The method lends itself to the analysis of large numbers of samples and is particularly suited for the study of lipoproteins of small mammals. |
| A microscopic interaction model of maximum solubility of cholesterol in lipid bilayers Huang, J. and G. W. Feigenson (1999), Biophys J 76(4): 2142-57. Abstract: We recently reported the equilibrium maximum solubility of cholesterol in a lipid bilayer, chi*chol, to be 0.66 in four different phosphatidylcholines, and 0.51 in a phosphatidylethanolamine (Huang, J.,J.T. Buboltz, and G. W. Feigenson. 1999. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. in press). Here we present a model of cholesterol-phospholipid mixing that explains these observed values of chi*chol. Monte Carlo simulations show that pairwise-additivity of nearest-neighbor interactions is inadequate to describe all the chi*chol values. Instead, if cholesterol multibody interactions are assigned highly unfavorable energy, then jumps occur in cholesterol chemical potential that lead to its precipitation from the bilayer. Cholesterol precipitation is most likely to occur near three discrete values of cholesterol mole fraction, 0.50, 0.57, and 0.67, which correspond to cholesterol/phospholipid mole ratios of 1/1, 4/3, and 2/1, respectively. At these solubility limits, where cholesterol chemical potential jumps, the cholesterol-phospholipid bilayer mixture forms highly regular lipid distributions in order to minimize cholesterol-cholesterol contacts. This treatment shows that dramatic structural and thermodynamic changes can occur at particular cholesterol mole fractions without any stoichiometric complex formation. The physical origin of the unfavorable cholesterol multibody interaction is explained by an "umbrella model": in a bilayer, nonpolar cholesterol relies on polar phospholipid headgroup coverage to avoid the unfavorable free energy of cholesterol contact with water. Thus, at high cholesterol mole fraction, this unfavorable free energy, not any favorable cholesterol-phospholipid interaction, dominates the mixing behavior. This physical origin also explains the "cholesterol condensing effect" and the increase in acyl chain order parameter in cholesterol-phospholipid mixtures. |
| A minimal model for human whole body cholesterol metabolism Ostlund, R. E., Jr. (1993), Am J Physiol 265(3 Pt 1): E513-20. Abstract: Important work by others has shown that human whole body cholesterol metabolism can be described by a three-compartment model computed from plasma cholesterol specific activity after an intravenous infusion of labeled cholesterol. However, some parameters of that model cannot be estimated precisely coefficient of variation (CV) 15-19% after 40 wk of follow-up, making its use in routine clinical investigation difficult. On the other hand, a simpler two-compartment model can be calculated with excellent precision from only 10 wk of data (CV 2-8%), but its parameters are inaccurate (for example, the size of the central pool is overestimated by 20%, and the rate constant for fractional excretion of cholesterol from the body is underestimated by 15%). Thus both three-compartment and two-compartment models of cholesterol turnover have important limitations. An alternative is provided by a minimal model that takes advantage of the increased precision expected in the solution of models with fewer parameters. A three-compartment structure is used, but only four (rather than 6 or more) parameters are calculated: the mass of the rapidly mixing central cholesterol compartment, the fractional rate of cholesterol elimination from the body, and the average forward and reverse rate constants for cholesterol transfer between the rapid compartment and both slower compartments. Each of these parameters can be determined unambiguously (without the need to use a minimum or maximum estimate), accurately (mean values within 2% of theory), and with precision (CV 3-13%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) |
| A mixed green vegetable and fruit beverage decreased the serum level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic patients Suido, H., T. Tanaka, et al. (2002), J Agric Food Chem 50(11): 3346-50. Abstract: The effects of a canned mixed green vegetable and fruit beverage, containing broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.) as main materials, on serum lipid levels in hypercholesterolemic patients were investigated. Thirty-one adult subjects were administered two cans of the beverage (160 g/can) per day for 3 weeks. Their serum total cholesterol (TC) levels significantly decreased from 6.7 +/- 0.8 to 6.1 +/- 0.6 mmol/L, and, more strikingly, the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) significantly decreased from 4.4 +/- 0.8 to 3.8 +/- 0.7 mmol/L. At 9 weeks after the cessation of the administration, these levels had returned to the preadministration levels. Furthermore, 14 other subjects who were administered one can of the sample for 12 weeks also showed a significant reduction in the levels of serum TC and LDL-C. Thus, daily consumption of this mixed green vegetable and fruit beverage may be useful in lowering serum TC and LDL-C levels in hypercholesterolemic patients. |
| A mixture of organisms affects cholesterol metabolism together with rat cecal flora Fukushima, M., S. Doi, et al. (1999), Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 63(7): 1160-4. Abstract: The effects of a mixture of organisms on cecal fermentation and cholesterol metabolism in sham-operated and cecectomized rats were investigated. Male F344 rats, allocated into four groups: cecectomized rats fed a mixture of organisms (CEMO), cecectomized rats fed rice bran (CERB), sham-operated rats fed a mixture of organisms (SHMO), and sham-operated rats fed rice bran (SHRB) for 4 weeks. The diets had 0.5% cholesterol and 0.125% sodium cholate added. There were no significant differences in the body weight gain and food intake among the groups. The cecal pH in the SHMO group was significantly lower than that in the other groups. The total cholesterol and (VLDL + IDL + LDL)-cholesterol concentrations in serum were significantly lower in the SHMO group than that in the SHRB group, and the triacylglycerol concentration in the sham-operated rats tended to decrease compared to the cecectomized rats. The fecal cholesterol excretion in the CERB group was higher than that in the other groups, and that in the SHMO group was significantly higher than in the SHRB group. The acetic acid, propionic acid, n-butyric acid, and total short-chain fatty acid concentrations in the cecum contents were significantly higher in the SHMO group than those in the other groups. Streptococcus, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus in the SHMO group tended to be higher than the other groups and Bacteroidaceae in the CEMO and CERB groups were significantly higher than that in the SHMO group. The results demonstrate that the mixture of organisms was fermented with the cecal contents and that the metabolites such as short-chain fatty acid lowered the serum total cholesterol and liver cholesterol concentrations in the rats fed a cholesterol-containing diet. |
| A model for cholesterol reduction in a corporate research setting Haselhorst, B. L. (1991), Aaohn J 39(5): 241-8. Abstract: Cardiovascular risk reduction programs at the worksite may be effective in reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease due to elevated blood cholesterol levels in the employee population. Employers have a vested interest to provide a work environment conductive to lowering an individual's risk of coronary heart disease. CHD translates into a multitude of costs for both employers and employees. The worksite can provide an excellent opportunity for a corporation to improve and maintain the health of human resources, their most valuable asset. Occupational health nurses are in a key position to identify employees at risk, provide education, make appropriate referrals, and facilitate long term lifestyle changes through tracking and follow up. |