A Randomized Trial of Enteral Glutamine for Treatment of Burn Injuries.

Background: Glutamine is thought to have beneficial effects on the metabolic and stress response to severe injury. Clinical trials involving patients with burns and other critically ill patients have shown conflicting results regarding the benefits and risks of glutamine supplementation.

Methods: In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned patients with deep second- or third-degree burns (affecting ≥10% to ≥20% of total body-surface area, depending on age) within 72 hours after hospital admission to receive 0.

Evidence of unrestrained beta-cell proliferation and neogenesis in a patient with hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia after gastric bypass surgery.

Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia syndrome (HIHG) is a rare complication of roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. The pathology is associated with an excessive function of pancreatic beta-cells, and requires pancreas resection in patients that are recalcitrant to nutritional and pharmacological interventions. The exact prevalence is not clearly understood and the underlying mechanisms not yet fully characterized.

A RandomizEd trial of ENtERal Glutamine to minimIZE thermal injury (The RE-ENERGIZE Trial): a clinical trial protocol.

Background: Burn injury represents a significant public health problem worldwide. More than in any other injury, the inflammation and catabolism associated with severe burns can exacerbate nutrient deficiencies resulting in impaired immune function and increased risk of developing infection, organ dysfunction and death. Consequently, over the last few decades numerous trials have evaluated the impact of different nutritional strategies in severe burn injury.

Enteral glutamine supplementation in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Glutamine (GLN) has been suggested to have a beneficial influence on outcomes of critically ill patients. However, recent large-scale trials have suggested harm associated with GLN supplementation. Recently, systematic reviews on the use of parenteral GLN have been published; however, less information is available on the role of enteral GLN.

Body fat distribution modulates insulin sensitivity in post-menopausal overweight and obese women: a MONET study.

Objective: Central fat mass (CFM) correlates with insulin resistance and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications. On the other hand, increased peripheral fat mass (PFM) is associated with higher insulin sensitivity. Thus, we examined the contribution of adipose tissue distribution, as assessed by the PFM/CFM ratio, to insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese postmenopausal women.

HOMA or QUICKI: is it useful to test the reproducibility of formulas?

Aim: HOMA and QUICKI are the most widely used indices for assessing insulin sensitivity. Both are based on fasting glucose and insulin measures, and mainly differ by the log transformation of these variables in QUICKI. However, HOMA is less reproducible than QUICKI, and log HOMA does not improve its reproducibility.

Contribution of the lean body mass to insulin resistance in postmenopausal women with visceral obesity: a Monet study.

Some insulin-resistant obese postmenopausal (PM) women are characterized by an android body fat distribution type and higher levels of lean body mass (LBM) compared to insulin-sensitive obese PM women. This study investigates the independent contribution of LBM to the detrimental effect of visceral fat (VF) levels on the metabolic profile. One hundred and three PM women (age: 58.

Metabolic syndrome in three ethnic groups using current definitions.

According to two current definitions, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) among black Haitians of Montreal was <20%, 30%-36% in Algonquin Indians of Quebec, and >45% in Mexicans of Oaxaca (all aged 35-60 y). Although phenotypes were different, high triglycerides and fasting dysglycemia were good predictors of MetS in all three groups using both definitions. The international cut-offs for abdominal obesity were not predictive of MetS in the Haitian subjects.

Relationship between insulin sensitivity and the triglyceride-HDL-C ratio in overweight and obese postmenopausal women: a MONET study.

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between the triglyceride-HDL-cholesterol ratio (TG:HDL-C) and insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese sedentary postmenopausal women. The study population consisted of 131 non-diabetic overweight and obese sedentary postmenopausal women (age; 57.7+/-5.

Differential effect of burn injury on fibroblasts from wounds and normal skin.

Background: Although there are well-recognized fluctuations in the systemic concentration of cytokines and growth factors after burn injuries, the effect on wound-healing potential in patients is not well understood. The objective of this study was to characterize the proliferation rate and response of wound and dermal fibroblasts to cytokines in burn patients compared with normal subjects.

Methods: Polyvinyl alcohol sponges were implanted subcutaneously in normal subjects and burn patients soon after admission.

Relationship between the hyperinsulinemic-euglycaemic clamp and a new simple index assessing insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese postmenopausal women.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare assessment of insulin sensitivity from hyperinsulinemic euglycaemic (HIEG) clamp with indexes derived from fasting and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

Subjects And Methods: Cross-sectional study with 107 sedentary non-diabetic overweight and obese postmenopausal (BMI=32.4+/-0.

Ethnic differences in body composition and other markers of cardiovascular disease risk: study in matched Haitian and White subjects from Quebec.

Objectives: People of African descent may be at greater risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) compared with whites. We examined the associations among MS markers, body composition, and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in black Haitians and in white subjects living in Quebec, Canada.

Research Methods And Procedures: Forty randomly selected Haitians were matched with 40 white subjects for age, sex, and BMI.

Surrogate indexes vs. euglycaemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp as an indicator of insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese postmenopausal women.

Background: There is considerable interest in validating the most convenient method to estimate insulin sensitivity in clinical research protocols that could best indicate cardiovascular risk factors. To address this issue we examined the interrelationships of several cardiovascular risk factors with surrogate indexes such as fasting insulin, the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) and the revised QUICKI vs the euglycaemic-hyperinsulinemic (EH) clamp in a non-diabetic overweight or obese postmenopausal female population.

Design: Cross-sectional study involving 88 obese postmenopausal women (age: 57.

Corticosterone binding globulin regulation and thymus changes after thermal injury in mice.

Thermal injury is extremely stressful, and data characterizing the systemic endocrine stress response to this injury are sparse. The objective of this study was to measure the effects of thermal injury on mice on corticosterone (Cort) levels in relation with corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) and thymus cell populations. The endocrine stress response was determined by measuring total Cort, free Cort, CBG binding capacity, liver CBG mRNA, and circulating CBG levels at 1, 2, 5, and 10 days postburn.

Burn injury induces a change in T cell homeostasis affecting preferentially CD4+ T cells.

Burn injuries are known to be associated with altered immune functions, resulting in decreased resistance to subsequent infection. In the present study, we determined the in vivo changes in T cell homeostasis following burn injury. Two groups of mice were used: a sham-burn group receiving buprenorphine as an analgesic and a burn group receiving buprenorphine and subjected to burn injury on 20% of the total body surface area.

No detrimental effect from chronic exposure to buprenorphine on corticosteroid-binding globulin and corticosensitive immune parameters.

Opioid drugs reportedly regulate the immune system via their effects on the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The present study was carried out to assess the effects of chronic exposure to buprenorphine on HPA axis activation, corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG), the main glucocorticoid (GC) carrier, and the immune system. Results show that buprenorphine, delivered by osmotic pump subcutaneously in C57BL/6 male mice during a 10-day period, caused a marked decrease in total corticosterone (CORT) levels at day 1 of exposure.