University of Tennessee Health Science Center

About: University of Tennessee Health Science Center is a education organization based out in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 15716 authors who have published 26884 publications receiving 1176697 citations.

Guidelines of care for the management of atopic dermatitis: Section 4. Prevention of disease flares and use of adjunctive therapies and approaches

Abstract: Atopic dermatitis is a common, chronic inflammatory dermatosis that can affect all age groups. This evidence-based guideline addresses important clinical questions that arise in its management. In this final section, treatments for flare prevention and adjunctive and complementary therapies and approaches are reviewed. Suggestions on use are given based on available evidence.

Therapeutic Applications of Curcumin Nanoformulations

Abstract: Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a bioactive and major phenolic component of turmeric derived from the rhizomes of curcuma longa linn For centuries, curcumin has exhibited excellent therapeutic benefits in various diseases Owing to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, curcumin plays a significant beneficial and pleiotropic regulatory role in various pathological conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, inflammatory disorders, neurological disorders, and so on Despite such phenomenal advances in medicinal applications, the clinical implication of native curcumin is hindered due to low solubility, physico-chemical instability, poor bioavailability, rapid metabolism, and poor pharmacokinetics However, these issues can be overcome by utilizing an efficient delivery system Active scientific research was initiated in 2005 to improve curcumin’s pharmacokinetics, systemic bioavailability, and biological activity by encapsulating or by loading curcumin into nanoform(s) (nanoformulations) A significant number of nanoformulations exist that can be translated toward medicinal use upon successful completion of pre-clinical and human clinical trials Considering this perspective, current review provides an overview of an efficient curcumin nanoformulation for a targeted therapeutic option for various human diseases In this review article, we discuss the clinical evidence, current status, and future opportunities of curcumin nanoformulation(s) in the field of medicine In addition, this review presents a concise summary of the actions required to develop curcumin nanoformulations as pharmaceutical or nutraceutical candidates

Genome-wide association for abdominal subcutaneous and visceral adipose reveals a novel locus for visceral fat in women.

Abstract: Body fat distribution, particularly centralized obesity, is associated with metabolic risk above and beyond total adiposity. We performed genome-wide association of abdominal adipose depots quantified using computed tomography (CT) to uncover novel loci for body fat distribution among participants of European ancestry. Subcutaneous and visceral fat were quantified in 5,560 women and 4,997 men from 4 population-based studies. Genome-wide genotyping was performed using standard arrays and imputed to ,2.5 million Hapmap SNPs. Each study performed a genome-wide association analysis of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), VAT adjusted for body mass index, and VAT/SAT ratio (a metric of the propensity to store fat viscerally as compared to subcutaneously) in the overall sample and in women and men separately. A weighted z-score meta-analysis was conducted. For the VAT/SAT ratio, our most significant p-value was rs11118316 at LYPLAL1 gene (p=3.1610E-09), previously identified in association with waist–hip ratio. For SAT, the most significant SNP was in the FTO gene (p=5.9610E-08). Given the known gender differences in body fat distribution, we performed sex-specific analyses. Our most significant finding was for VAT in women, rs1659258 near THNSL2 (p=1.661008), but not men (p=0.75). Validation of this SNP in the GIANT consortium data demonstrated a similar sex-specific pattern, with observed significance in women (p=0.006) but not men (p=0.24) for BMI and waist circumference (p=0.04 [women], p=0.49 [men]). Finally, we interrogated our data for the 14 recently published loci for body fat distribution (measured by waist–hip ratio adjusted for BMI); associations were observed at 7 of these loci. In contrast, we observed associations at only 7/32 loci previously identified in association with BMI; the majority of overlap was observed with SAT. Genome-wide association for visceral and subcutaneous fat revealed a SNP for VAT in women. More refined phenotypes for body composition and fat distribution can detect new loci not previously uncovered in large-scale GWAS of anthropometric traits. Citation: Fox CS, Liu Y, White CC, Feitosa M, Smith AV, et al. (2012) Genome-Wide Association for Abdominal Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Reveals a Novel

β-Ketoacyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Synthase III (FabH) Is a Determining Factor in Branched-Chain Fatty Acid Biosynthesis

Abstract: Bacteria synthesize fatty acids by using the type II, or dissociated, fatty acid synthase system. This biosynthetic pathway has been studied primarily in Escherichia coli, providing a fairly complete picture of the mechanisms that govern the synthesis of straight-chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (for reviews, see references 7, 24, and 25). The pathway consists of a collection of individual proteins encoded by unique genes that function in concert to produce the variety of fatty acid products found in bacteria. The genomes of a number of bacteria are now known, and all these organisms possess a highly related, and clearly identified, set of genes that carry out the reactions in the pathway. E. coli and many other gram-negative bacteria synthesize even-chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Fatty acid synthesis is initiated by the condensation of acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) with malonyl-acyl carrier protein (malonyl-ACP) by β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III, the product of the fabH gene (14, 15, 31). However, other bacteria produce such a great variety of fatty acid structures that E. coli cannot be considered typical (25). Many gram-positive organisms, such as the bacilli, staphylococci, and streptomycetes, produce odd- and even-carbon-number branched-chain fatty acids (20). These branched-chain fatty acid structures have either iso- or anteiso-methyl branches, and it is tenable to hypothesize that the FabH component in organisms like B. subtilis would be able to accept isovaleryl-CoA, isobutyryl-CoA, and 2-methylbutyryl-CoA as primers to produce these fatty acids. Thus, earlier work by Butterwork and Bloch (5), showing that acyl-CoA:ACP transacylase activity, one of the reactions catalyzed by FabH (31), in Bacillus cell extracts was selective for branched-chain acyl-CoAs is consistent with the idea that bFabH prefers these primers. Genetic experiments with B. subtilis demonstrate that these CoA thioesters are essential intermediates in fatty acid synthesis and arise from iso- and anteiso-branched α-keto acids derived from the biosynthetic pathways for the amino acids valine, leucine, and isoleucine (33, 34). The enzyme responsible for the formation of these acyl-CoAs is a specialized branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex, and mutations in the activity of this enzyme system result in strains that are auxotrophic for branched-chain acids (34). The Streptomyces glaucescens FabH enzyme efficiently utilizes both butyryl-CoA and isobutyryl-CoA and is thought to be responsible for initiating branched-chain fatty acid synthesis in this organism (10). eFabH is selective for acetyl-CoA (12, 14, 15, 31), and its low activity with butyryl-CoA (12) suggests that bulkier branched-chain CoA thioesters may not be substrates, although this idea has not been experimentally tested. In addition to the FabH component, it is also possible that all of the enzymes of the elongation cycle in gram-negative organisms (FabF, FabG, FabZ, and FabI) cannot utilize branched-chain intermediates. The goal of this study was to biochemically characterize the FabH enzymes of B. subtilis and determine if the FabH component is unique among the enzymes of type II fatty acid synthases in its selectivity toward branched-chain intermediates.

Screening Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer for Cardiomyopathy: Comparison of Echocardiography and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract: Purpose To compare two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography, the current method of screening for treatment-related cardiomyopathy recommended by the Children's Oncology Group Guidelines, to cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, the reference standard for left ventricular (LV) function. Patients and Methods Cross-sectional, contemporaneous evaluation of LV structure and function by 2D and three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography and CMR imaging in 114 adult survivors of childhood cancer currently median age 39 years (range, 22 to 53 years) exposed to anthracycline chemotherapy and/or chest-directed radiation therapy. Results In this survivor population, 14% (n = 16) had an ejection fraction (EF) less than 50% by CMR. Survivors previously undiagnosed with cardiotoxicity (n = 108) had a high prevalence of EF (32%) and cardiac mass (48%) that were more than two standard deviations below the mean of normative CMR data. 2D echocardiography overestimated the mean EF of this population by 5%. Compared with CMR, 2...