GLP-1 levels both at fasting and in response to a meal are blunted in lean women with PCOS compared to healthy women. Short term oral contraception do not alter GLP-1 secretion in PCOS. Disturbance in incretin secretion dynamics might contribute to the risk of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes in PCOS.

The aim of this study was to compare the level of maternal knowledge and the blood phenylalanine (Phe) control in phenylketonuria (PKU; OMIM 261600). The study was conducted on 144 children (81 boys, 63 girls) with PKU, aged between 1 and 15 years, at Hacettepe University Ihsan Dogramaci Children's Hospital, Metabolism and Nutrition Unit. All subjects were treated with a low-Phe diet using a Phe-exchange system. A 20-question multiple-choice questionnaire was applied to the mothers to determine their knowledge about PKU and its dietary treatment. Questions in the test consisted of the knowledge about the disease (6 questions), general dietary knowledge (14 questions) and knowledge about specific exchange within the dietary questions (6 questions). The median blood Phe concentration for the previous 3-year period was used as an indicator of metabolic control. Eighty-seven children had a median blood Phe concentration above the MRC Working Party Guidelines. There was a negative correlation between maternal knowledge about exchange and median blood Phe concentration in the child (p<0.05). Maternal knowledge about a standard 15 mg Phe exchange system is correlated with dietary compliance as measured by blood Phe concentrations in our subjects. We would like to implement an easier method of measuring Phe exchanges to improve dietary knowledge in the mothers.

No abstract

Basal and stimulated hunger and satiety hormones in lean PCOS patients are not different from lean healthy women, except for a lower meal-stimulated ghrelin response. Short-term use of a low-dose oral contraceptive does not have an effect on appetite regulation of PCOS.

No abstract

SummaryBackground: Replacement of animal protein with soy protein in the diet is associated with decreased cholesterol levels. However, the effects of soy protein diet on endothelial function are not well known.Hypothesis: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of soy protein diet on plasma lipids and endothelial function parameters assessed by two different methods.Methods: Twenty hypercholesterolemic, nonsmoker male patients (age 50.1 k 1 1.8 years), with a normal body mass index, were included. After calculating their daily requirements, a diet with 25-30% of energy from fats, 10-12% from proteins, and the rest from carbohydrates was instituted. Sixty percent of the animal source proteins of the diet were substituted by soy. The anthropometric measures, lipid parameters, and endothelial functions of the subjects were assessed at baseline and 6 weeks after soy protein diet. Flow-mediated endothelium-dependent dilatation (EDD) and plasma thrombomodulin (TM) levels were evaluated as endothelial function parameters.Results: After diet, plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and triglyceride lev-

The use of corn oil in white cheese production instead of milk fat was investigated and its effects on the quality parameters of cheese were studied. It was demonstrated that the use of corn oil significantly affected the levels of dry matter, fat in dry matter, protein, salt in dry matter and titratable acidity and pH value of samples (p< 0.05). The water-soluble nitrogen based ripening indices of cheeses increased throughout the ripening period. However, there were not large quantitative differences among the peptide profiles of all the cheese samples. The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), the polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratios (PUFA/SFA) and total cis fatty acid contents were found to be higher whilst the saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid content were found to be lower than those of the control cheese (p<0.05). It was found that the use of corn oil instead of milk fat in cheese production decreased the cholesterol content of the cheese samples (p<0.05). The sensory scores of corn oil cheese were almost similar to the control cheese. The results indicated that corn oil utilization in cheese production has commercial potential in overcoming the defects related to fat reduction.

Background: The metabolic syndrome is a complex disorder which occurs as a result of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. The interaction between the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) Pro12Ala polymorphism and dietary fats has been proposed to act in the pathogenesis of syndrome. This study aimed to verify whether dietary nutrient intake interacts with the PPARγ Pro12Ala polymorphism to modulate the features of the syndrome. Methods: A total of 150 patients with metabolic syndrome participated. All subjects underwent a clinical, anthropometrical, biochemical and nutritional assessment and analysis of Pro12Ala polymorphism of PPARγ genotype. Results: The polymorphism was detected in 14% of the sample (1.3% AlaAla homozygote and 12.7% AlaPro heterozygote). Biochemical indicators of lipid profile, glucose and liver function did not differ significantly with PPARγ genotype (p>0.05). Amongst the anthropometrical measurements, only lean body mass was significantly different with PPARγ genotype (p=0.032). There was no evidence that the association of either individual macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat) or type of fatty acids (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated) with metabolic syndrome were modified by PPARγ Pro12Ala genotype (p>0.05 for all). Conclusions: The results suggest that PPARγ Pro12Ala polymorphism cannot modulate the association between dietary fat intake and components of the metabolic syndrome.