Modulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Elders: The MOXIE Study

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women in the United States. Endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness increase with advancing age and are early predictors of future CVD outcomes. We designed the Modulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Elders (MOXIE) study to examine the effects of 100% watermelon juice as a “food-first” intervention to reduce CVD risk among African American (AA) and European American (EA) women aged 55–69 years. Vascular dysfunction is more pronounced in AA compared to EA women due in part to lower nitric oxide bioavailability caused by higher oxidative stress. However, bioactive compounds in watermelon may improve vascular function by increasing nitric oxide bioavailability and antioxidant capacity. This trial will use a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design to investigate the potential of 100% watermelon juice to positively impact various robust measures of vascular function as well as serum biomarkers of oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity. This nutrition intervention and its unique methodology to examine both clinical and mechanistic outcomes are described in this article.

Effect of experimentally induced hypertension on cerebellum of postmenopausal rat

“…Therefore, most of NO sources were suppressed with L-NAME administration. The decreased serum NO level and the increased ROS production may be the causes of increased lipid peroxides and decreased catalase in both serum and cerebellar tissue in L-NAME treated groups either intact or OVX (Ellis, Dudenbostel, Locher, & Crowe-White, 2016).…”

“…The development of hypertension, beyond the limits of cerebral auto-regulation, led to breakdown of the blood brain barrier in the cerebellum and development of posterior fossa edema secondary to the focal transudation of protein and fluid (Li, Lian, & Zhu, 2015). The increased ROS production in hypertension, specifically in rat's cerebellum, led to multiple cerebellar damages (Ellis et al, 2016). In this study, in the H-group, the structural changes were (1-7) by facilitating NO release to counteract the adverse effects of the renin angiotensin system components (O'Donnell, Floras, & Harvey, 2014).…”

“…Therefore, most of NO sources were suppressed with L ‐NAME administration. The decreased serum NO level and the increased ROS production may be the causes of increased lipid peroxides and decreased catalase in both serum and cerebellar tissue in L ‐NAME treated groups either intact or OVX (Ellis, Dudenbostel, Locher, & Crowe‐White, ). In turn, cerebellar injury was more obvious with hypertension in the present study which was in the same line of another study (Iyagba & Onwuchekwa, ).…”

Variation of Serum Lycopene in Response to 100% Watermelon Juice: An Exploratory Analysis of Genetic Variants in a Randomized Controlled Crossover Study

“…A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, crossover trial (NCT03626168) with postmenopausal women ( n = 16, mean ± SD age: 60 ± 4.1 y) assessed the effect of 100% watermelon juice on mechanistic and clinical outcomes influencing vascular function ( 23 ). By study design, participants were normotensive, nonsmokers with a BMI of 18.5–29.9 kg/m 2 , and in overall good health.…”

Common Protective Strategies in Neurodegenerative Disease: Focusing on Risk Factors to Target the Cellular Redox System

“…Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) and nuclear factor- κ B (NF- κ B) are two interconnected master regulators of cellular responses to oxidative stress and inflammation, respectively [ 31 ]. Recently, several studies demonstrated that dysfunctions in redox homeostasis are a common mechanism in cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic diseases [ 32 , 33 ]. However, oxidative stress was hitherto not pharmacologically targetable, and the only strategy tested so far, using antioxidants, was unsuccessful or even harmful.…”