Nutritional status and oxidative stress in an elderly Sardinian population
Authors: Mandas, Antonella | Congiu, Maria Gabriella | Balestrieri, Cinzia | Mereu, Antonello | Iorio, Eugenio Luigi
Article Type: Research Article
Abstract: Weight loss and overweight/obesity – frequent consequences of malnutrition – may impair functional status and worsen concomitant morbidities in the elderly, often through changes in oxidative balance. In order to verify the relationships between these factors, a group of elderly people living on the island of Sardinia (Italy) underwent health and nutritional status assessment and oxidative balance evaluation. The elderly subjects had significantly higher d-ROMs test and body mass index (BMI) values than controls (d-ROMs 325.4 ± 66.3 vs. 295.4 ± 58.9 CARR U, p = 0.006; BMI 28.0 ± 4.6 vs. 21.7 ± 1.4 kg/m2 , p < 0.0001). …The risk of malnutrition in the elderly subjects was evaluated with the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), which showed that 32 of the 111 elderly subjects (28.8%) were at risk of malnutrition, of whom 11 (34%) were overweight and 10 (31.2%) obese. Oxidative stress was negatively and significantly correlated with nutritional status. Oxidative stress may precede malnutrition, even in the absence of weight loss. Routine evaluation of nutritional status and oxidative balance in the elderly may help identify an early risk of malnutrition so that treatment can be personalized. Show more
Keywords: Elderly, Malnutrition, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Overweight, Oxidative stress, d-ROMs test
DOI: 10.3233/s12349-008-0016-1
Citation: Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 99-107, 2008
Altered Cholesterol Ester Cycle in Skin Fibroblasts from Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Pani, Alessandra | Dessì, Sandra | Diaz, Giacomo | La Colla, Paolo | Abete, Claudia | Mulas, Claudia | Angius, Fabrizio | Cannas, Maria D. | Orru, Christina D. | Cocco, Pier Luigi | Mandas, Antonella | Putzu, Paolo | Laurenzana, Anna | Cellai, Cristina | Costanza, Antonio Mitidieri | Bavazzano, Antonio | Mocali, Alessandra | Paoletti, Francesco
Article Type: Research Article
Abstract: Intracellular cholesterol metabolism was reported to modulate amyloid-β (Aβ) generation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Results presented herein demonstrated that, like brain cells, cultured skin fibroblasts from AD patients contained more cholesterol esters than fibroblasts from healthy subjects. Particularly, Oil Red-O, Nile Red, and filipin staining highlighted higher levels of neutral lipids which responded to inhibitors of acyl-coenzyme A:cholesterol acyl-transferase (ACAT-1), associated with an increase in free cholesterol. ACAT-1 mRNA levels increased significantly in AD fibroblasts, whereas those of sterol regulatory element binding protein-2, neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase, and ATP-binding cassette transporter member 1 were markedly down-regulated. Instead, mRNA levels of …low-density lipoprotein receptor, hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, caveolin-1, and amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) were virtually unchanged. Notably, mRNA levels of both β-site AβPP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) and neprilysin were significantly down-regulated. An increase in Aβ40 ; and Aβ42 ; immunostaining and a decrease in BACE1 active form were also found in AD versus control fibroblasts. Altogether, these findings support the hypothesis that the derangement of cholesterol homeostasis is a systemic alteration involving central but also peripheral cells of AD patients, and point to cholesterol ester levels in AD fibroblasts as an additional metabolic hallmark useful in the laboratory and clinical practice. Show more
Keywords: ACAT-1, Alzheimer's disease (AD), cholesterol homeostasis, cholesterol esterification, filipin, human fibroblasts, lipids, Nile Red, Oil Red-O, peripheral AD markers
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2009-1193
Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 829-841, 2009