Oligosaccharides in colostrum of Italian and Burkinabe women.

Human milk contains a large number of compounds to provide nutrition and defense for the newborn. Among these, oligosaccharides are present in concentrations up to 12 g/L, and their composition varies during lactation. Colostrum from 53 Burkinabe women were collected at the maternity department of St Camille Medical Centre in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, West Africa).

Elevated levels of plasma homocysteine in postmenopausal women in Burkina Faso.

Background: Low levels of plasma homocysteine have been found in children and adult populations living in Burkina Faso in association with a low prevalence of coronary heart disease.

Methods: Based on this finding, the levels of plasma homocysteine and other thiols (cysteine, cysteinylglycine, glutathione) in postmenopausal women living in Burkina Faso were evaluated with the aim of investigating whether age and life conditions influence plasma homocysteine and other thiol levels.

Results: It was found that in older postmenopausal women the mean level of homocysteine was higher (16.

Oxidized LDL antibodies (OLAB) in patients with beta-thalassemia major.

Thalassemic (TM) patients are subjected to peroxidative tissue injury because of continuous blood transfusions. It has been documented that circulating LDL from TM patients show marked oxidative modification, that could represent an event leading to atherogenesis. We investigated in 75 beta-TM patients the levels of oxidized LDL antibody (OLAB) to asses their correlation with total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides Apo A-1 and Apo B.