Recently a striking elevation of the activity of chitotriosidase, an endo beta-glucosaminidase distinct from lysozyme, was found in plasma from patients with Gaucher type I disease (McKusick 230800). Plasma chitotriosidase originates from activated macrophages and this elevation is secondary to the basic defect in Gaucher disease. To investigate the specificity of this phenomenon, we have investigated 24 different lysosomal storage diseases. In 11 different diseases increased chitotriosidase activity in plasma was found (in 28% of the patients). None of these diseases showed elevations as high as in Gaucher disease. Chitotriosidase was not significantly elevated in plasma from 20 different non-lysosomal enzymopathies or in plasma from patients with infectious diseases associated with hepatomegaly. The results show that marked elevation of chitotriosidase activity in plasma appears to be specific for Gaucher disease. The data further suggest that elevated levels of chitotriosidase activity in plasma from patients with unexplained diseases may be indicative for a lysosomal disorder.
The association between low serum selenium, vitamin A, and vitamin E levels and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) was investigated in a case-control study nested in a 9-yr prospective study in the Netherlands. For 10,532 persons aged greater than or equal to 5 yr who participated in a 1975-1978 medical survey, serum was stored at -20 degrees C. For the 84 of 106 subjects aged 37-87 yr who died of CVD after the baseline exam, 168 cohort members alive at the end of 1983 and matched for age and gender were selected as controls. No significant associations between serum selenium. vitamin A, vitamin E, and CVD mortality were observed before and after multivariate analyses. The adjusted risk of death from CVD for subjects in the lowest selenium quintile (less than 105.0 micrograms/L) was 1.6 (95% CI, 0.8-3.2). For coronary and stroke death risk, estimates were 1.1 (95% CI, 0.5-2.6) and 3.2 (95% CI, 0.8-12.1). Our findings do not show a clear CVD risk from low selenium and vitamin levels. Although some of the risk estimates were strong, larger studies are required for definitive conclusions.
The associations between pregnancy and serum lipids were investigated in a cohort of 831 Dutch women, initially aged 5-19 years. These women were examined yearly from 1975 to 1985 for an average period of six years, as part of a longitudinal survey of risk factors for coronary heart disease. During this period, 62 women became pregnant, and their serum total and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels were compared with those of an age-matched reference series of nonpregnant women, derived from the same cohort. Pregnant women showed higher total cholesterol levels (235 +/- 7.4 mg/100 ml) than nonpregnant women (205 +/- 2.7 mg/100 ml). Pregnant women also had higher levels of HDL cholesterol (66 +/- 2.1 mg/100 ml) than their referents (57 +/- 1.0 mg/100 ml). Total and HDL cholesterol increased with duration of pregnancy. When serum lipid levels of pregnant women were compared with the levels one year before and one year after pregnancy, it was observed that the year after pregnancy, HDL cholesterol levels dropped below pre-pregnancy concentrations. At the final examination, women who had ever been pregnant showed lower HDL cholesterol levels than those who had never been pregnant. The difference was most marked in users of oral contraceptives. These observations suggest that serum total and HDL cholesterol levels are elevated during pregnancy, probably because of hormonal changes. Furthermore, they point to a possibly lowering effect of parity on HDL cholesterol. These findings may help to explain the reported positive association between parity and the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.
In a double-blind controlled trial, 91 middle-aged and elderly women with mild to moderate hypertension who were not on antihypertensive medication were randomly assigned to treatment with magnesium aspartate-HCl (20 mmol Mg/d) or placebo for 6 mo. Magnesium aspartate-HCl in the given dose was well-tolerated and was not associated with an increased frequency of diarrhea compared with placebo. At the end of the study, systolic blood pressure had fallen by 2.7 mm Hg (95% CI -1.2, 6.7; P = 0.18) and diastolic blood pressure by 3.4 mm Hg (1.3, 5.6; P = 0.003) more in the magnesium group than in the placebo group. Blood pressure response was not associated with baseline magnesium status, as measured by dietary magnesium intake and urinary magnesium excretion. Urinary magnesium excretion in the magnesium group increased by 50% during the intervention period. No changes were seen in other biochemical indexes, including serum concentrations of total and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. The findings suggest that oral supplementation with magnesium aspartate-HCl may lower blood pressure in subjects with mild to moderate hypertension.
The association of serum selenium with the subsequent risk of death from cancer was investigated in a case-control study that was nested in a prospective nine-year follow-up study in the Netherlands. In 1975-1978, 10,532 persons in the Dutch town of Zoetermeer who were aged five years or more participated in a medical survey. Serum samples were collected and stored at -20 C. For the 82 persons who died of cancer since the baseline examination, 164 cohort members still alive by the end of 1983 were selected as controls and matched for age, sex, and smoking. Cancer deaths that occurred in the first year of follow-up were excluded, leaving 69 cases for statistical analyses. The mean serum selenium level of 116.7 +/- 4.0 micrograms/liter among male cancer deaths (n = 40) was significantly different (p = 0.04) from that in the control subjects (126.4 +/- 3.1 micrograms/liter). In females, selenium levels were similar among cases and controls. The adjusted risk of death from cancer for men in the lowest quintile of serum selenium (below 100.8 micrograms/liter) was more than twice that of subjects with higher levels (relative risk = 2.7,90% confidence interval = 1.2-6.2). These data support recent findings of an increased cancer risk associated with low serum selenium levels in men but not in women.
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