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Background: Yoga has been shown to be a simple and economical therapeutic modality that may be considered as a beneficial adjuvant for type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study investigated the impact of Hatha yoga and conventional physical training (PT) exercise regimens on biochemical, oxidative stress indicators and oxidant status in patients with type 2 diabetes.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is one of the major carriers of cholesterol in the blood. It attracts particular attention because, in contrast with other lipoproteins, as many physiological functions of HDL influence the cardiovascular system in favourable ways unless HDL is modified pathologically. The functions of HDL that have recently attracted attention include anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities. High anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of HDL are associated with protection from cardiovascular disease. Atheroprotective activities, as well as a functional deficiency of HDL, ultimately depend on the protein and lipid composition of HDL. Further, numerous epidemiological studies have shown a protective association between HDL-cholesterol and cognitive impairment. Oxidative stress, including lipid peroxidation, has been shown to be the mediator of the pathologic effects of numerous risk factors of Alzheimer's disease. Lifestyle interventions proven to increase HDL- cholesterol levels including “healthy” diet, regular exercise, weight control, and smoking cessation have also been shown to provide neuro-protective effects. This review will focus on current knowledge of the beneficial effects of HDL-cholesterol as it relates to cardiovascular diseases, breast and lung cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, as well as its neuroprotective potential in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Background:Oxidative stress promotes endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis in chronic renal disease.Objectives:This study investigated the impact of Hatha yoga on oxidative stress indicators and oxidant status, in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis.Design:This prospective randomized study consisted of 33 ESRD patients in the Hatha yoga exercise group who were matched with 35 ESRD patients in the control group.Outcome Measures:The oxidative stress indicators (malondialdehyde - MDA, protein oxidation - POX, phospholipase A2 - PLA2 activity) and the oxidative status (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities) were determined in the blood samples taken at the pre-hemodialysis treatment, at baseline (0 months) and after four months.Results:In patients in the Hatha yoga exercise group, lipid peroxidation, as indicated by MDA decreased by 4.0% after four months (P = 0.096). There was also a significant reduction in the activity of PLA from 2.68 ± 0.02 IU / L to 2.34 IU / L (− 12.7%; P = 0.010) and POX from 2.28 ± 0.02 nmol / mg to 2.22 ± 0.01 nmol / mg (− 22.6%; P = 0.0001). The activity of SOD significantly increased from 12.91 ± 0.17 U / L to 13.54 ± 0.15 U / L (4.65%; P = 0.0001) and catalase from 79.83 ± 0.63 U / L to 80.54 ± 0.80 U / L (0.90%; P = 0.0001). There was a significant correlation between the pre-hemodialysis oxidative stress parameters at the zero month and after four months for the activities of PLA (r = 0.440), catalase (r = 0.872), and SOD (r = 0.775).Conclusions:These findings suggest that the Hatha yoga exercise has therapeutic, preventative, and protective effects in ESRD subjects, by decreasing oxidative stress.

Aims:Previous studies have shown that diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in females to a greater extent than in males. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the lipid profiles of type 2 diabetic males and females.Materials and Methods:The study included 107 type 2 diabetic patients (41 males and 66 females), and 122 hypertensive type 2 diabetic patients (39 males and 83 females), aged 15 years and older. Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations were assayed for each group using standard biochemical methods.Results:The mean TC, TG, VLDL-C, HDL-C and LDL-C concentrations, TG/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were higher in type 2 diabetic and hypertensive type 2 diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic, and hypertensive non-diabetic control subjects, although these were not significant (P > 0.05). Hypertensive type 2 diabetic females had significantly higher serum TC (7.42 ± 1.63 mmol/L) than hypertensive non-diabetic males (5.76±1.57 mmol/L; P < 0.05). All the other lipid and lipoprotein parameters except HDL-C were non-significantly higher in females with type 2 DM and those with hypertension and type 2 DM, compared with type 2 diabetic and hypertensive type 2 diabetic males, respectively (P > 0.05).Conclusion:This study demonstrated that dyslipidemia exists in our type 2 diabetic population with greater TC in hypertensive type 2 diabetic females compared with hypertensive type 2 diabetic males. This suggests that hypertensive type 2 diabetic females are exposed more profoundly to risk factors including atherogenic dyslipidemia compared with males.