BackgroundUrbanization in developing countries comes along with changes in food habits and living conditions and with an increase in overweight and associated health risks. The objective of the study was to describe dietary patterns of adults in Ouagadougou and to study their relationship with anthropometric status of the subjects.MethodsA qualitative food frequency questionnaire was administered to 1,072 adults living in two contrasted districts of Ouagadougou. Dietary patterns were defined by principal component analysis and described by multivariate analysis. Logistic regression was used to study their association with overweight.ResultsThe diet was mainly made of cereals, vegetables and fats from vegetable sources. The two first components of the principal component analysis were interpreted respectively as a "snacking" score and as a "modern foods" score. Both scores were positively and independently associated with the economic level of households and with food expenditures (p ≤ 0.001 for both). The "snacking" score was higher for younger people (p = 0.004), for people having a formal occupation (p = 0.006), for those never married (p = 0.005), whereas the "modern foods" score was associated with ethnic group (p = 0.032) and district of residence (p < 0.001). Thirty-six percent of women and 14.5% of men were overweight (Body Mass Index > 25 kg/m2). A higher "modern foods" score was associated with a higher prevalence of overweight when confounding factors were accounted for (OR = 1.19 [95% CI 1.03-1.36]) but there was no relationship between overweight and the "snacking" score.ConclusionsModernisation of types of foods consumed was associated with the living conditions and the environment and with an increased risk of overweight. This should be accounted for to promote better nutrition and prevent non communicable diseases.

Apelin plays a prominent role in body fluid and cardiovascular homeostasis. To explore further upstream the role played by this peptide, nonpeptidic agonists and antagonists of the apelin receptor are required. To identify such compounds that do not exist to date, we used an original fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based assay to screen a G-protein-coupled receptor-focused library of fluorescent compounds on the human EGFP-tagged apelin receptor. This led to isolated E339-3D6 that displayed a 90 nM affinity and behaved as a partial agonist with regard to cAMP production and as a full agonist with regard to apelin receptor internalization. Finally, E339-3D6 induced vasorelaxation of rat aorta precontracted with noradrenaline and potently inhibited systemic vasopressin release in water-deprived mice when intracerebroventricularly injected. This compound represents the first nonpeptidic agonist of the apelin receptor, the optimization of which will allow development of a new generation of vasodilator and aquaretic agents.

Objectives: To study dietary diversity and its relationship with socio-economic and nutritional characteristics of women in an urban Sahelian context. Design: A qualitative dietary recall was performed over a 24-h period. Dietary diversity scores (DDS 5 number of food groups consumed) were calculated from a list of nine food groups (DDS-9) or from a list of 22 food groups (DDS-22) which detailed both micronutrient-and energy-dense foods more extensively. Body mass index (BMI), mid upper-arm circumference and body fat percentage were used to assess the nutritional status of the women. Setting and subjects: Five hundred and fifty-seven women randomly selected in two districts of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Results: The mean DDS-9 and DDS-22 were 4.9 6 1.0 and 6.5 6 1.8 food groups, respectively. In the high tertile of DDS-22, more women consumed fatty and sweetened foods, fresh fish, non-fatty meat and vitamin-A-rich fruits and vegetables. The DDS-9 was not associated with the women's socio-economic characteristics whereas the DDS-22 was higher when the women were younger, richer and had received at least a minimum education. Mean BMI of the women was 24.2 6 4.9 kg m -2 and 37% of them were overweight or obese (BMI $ 25 kg m -2 ). Neither the DDS-9 nor the DDS-22 was associated with the women's anthropometric status, even though there was a trend towards fewer overweight women in the lowest tertile of DDS-22. Conclusion: In this urban area, the qualitative measurement of dietary diversity is not sufficient to identify women at risk of under-or overweight.

Apelin, a (neuro)vasoactive peptide, plays a prominent role in controlling cardiovascular functions and water balance. Because the in vivo apelin half-life is in the minute range, we aimed to identify metabolically stable apelin-17 (K17F) analogs. We generated P92 by classic chemical substitutions and LIT01-196 by original addition of a fluorocarbon chain to the N terminus of K17F. Both analogs were much more stable in plasma (half-life >24 h for LIT01-196) than K17F (4.6 min). Analogs displayed a subnanomolar affinity for the apelin receptor and behaved as full agonists with regard to cAMP production, ERK phosphorylation, and apelin receptor internalization. Ex vivo, these compounds induced vasorelaxation of rat aortas and glomerular arterioles, respectively, precontracted with norepinephrine and angiotensin II, and increased cardiac contractility. In vivo, after intracerebroventricular administration in water-deprived mice, P92 and LIT01-196 were 6 and 160 times, respectively, more efficient at inhibiting systemic vasopressin release than K17F. Administered intravenously (nmol/kg range) in normotensive rats, these analogs potently increased urine output and induced a profound and sustained decrease in arterial blood pressure. In summary, these new compounds, which favor diuresis and improve cardiac contractility while reducing vascular resistances, represent promising candidates for the treatment of heart failure and water retention/hyponatremic disorders.-Gerbier, R., Alvear-Perez, R., Margathe, J.-F., Flahault, A., Couvineau, P., Gao, J., De Mota, N., Dabire, H., Li, B., Ceraudo, E., Hus-Citharel, A., Esteoulle, L., Bisoo, C., Hibert, M., Berdeaux, A., Iturrioz, X., Bonnet, D., Llorens-Cortes, C. Development of original metabolically stable apelin-17 analogs with diuretic and cardiovascular effects.

Because the use of spectral powers of blood pressure (BP) and R-R interval (RR) in the low (LF) and high frequencies (HF) to quantify sympathetic and parasympathetic activities is still under debate, we questioned whether nonlinear methods may give better results. The BP signal was recorded for 30 min before and after intravenous injection of hexamethonium (20 mg/kg), atropine (0.5 mg/kg), atenolol (1 mg/kg), and prazosin (1 mg/kg) in conscious, normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. Three nonlinear indexes [percentage of recurrence, percentage of determinism, and length index ( L max)] extracted from the recurrence plot method were used to analyze the BP signal. Sympathetic but not parasympathetic blockade reduced BP level and its LF component. RR increased and decreased after β- and α-blockades, respectively. Hexamethonium increased HF, and atropine reduced LF, of RR. Sympathetic blockade and, in particular, α-sympathetic blockade increased nonlinear indexes of BP. In contrast, parasympathetic blockade by atropine increased nonlinear indexes of RR. These results suggest that, compared with spectral indexes, nonlinear indexes may be more specific markers of sympathetic and parasympathetic tones.

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Common carotid artery (CCA) hypertrophy has long been recognized in the neonatal period of development in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), but the mean circumferential and shear stresses acting on the arterial wall have never been investigated in vivo. We investigated intra-arterial blood pressure in conscious rats, CCA diameter (echotracking techniques), blood flow velocity (pulsed Doppler), wall thickness (histomorphometry), and ganglionic blockade (hexamethonium) in Wistar rats and SHR at 5 and 12 weeks of age. During this interval, weight gain was identical in the strains, whereas the increase in wall thickness and blood pressure was greater in SHR. CCA diameter was identical at week 5 and increased similarly at week 12 in both strains. During ganglionic blockade, a larger diameter was observed in SHR at week 5 for the same BP level, whereas equivalent values were observed at week 12. Blood flow velocity decreased with age but to a significantly greater extent in SHR. Mean circumferential stress and shear stress index were identical in both strains at week 12. However, from weeks 5 to 12, mean circumferential stress increased with age similarly in both strains, whereas the age-related decrease in mean shear stress index was much greater in SHR than Wistar rats. Thus, despite a higher blood pressure, SHR exhibit the same carotid diameter as Wistar rats during early development. Because the kinetics of shear stress are different in both strains, altered flow-dilatation mechanisms, and possibly resulting endothelial dysfunction, may be involved in the diameter changes.

Cardiomyopathy in GRMD dogs is characterized by profound LV subendocardial dysfunction, abnormal sarcomeric protein phosphorylation, and impaired e/nNOS, which can be normalized by bradykinin treatment. These data provide new insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms accounting for DMD cardiomyopathy and open new therapeutic perspectives.