Specific patterns of food consumption and preparation are associated with diabetes and obesity in a Native Canadian community.

We examined the relationship between usual patterns of food intake, fattiness of food preparation and consumption, and diabetes and obesity status in a Native Canadian reserve in northwestern Ontario. Patterns of intake were estimated using a 34-item food frequency instrument. Scales and scores were developed using factor analysis procedures and were tested for reliability using coefficient alpha.

Common genomic variation in the APOC3 promoter associated with variation in plasma lipoproteins.

We hypothesized that common genomic variation that affected the expression and/or function of the products of the APOC3, APOE, FABP2, and PON1 genes would be associated with variation in biochemical phenotypes in a previously unstudied human sample. We determined genotypes of functional genomic variants of APOC3, APOE, FABP2, and PON1 in 509 adult aboriginal Canadians from an isolated community in Northern Ontario. We tested for genotype associations with plasma lipoprotein traits.

Low dietary fiber and high protein intakes associated with newly diagnosed diabetes in a remote aboriginal community.

The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus in North American aboriginal populations may be due to recent changes in lifestyle, including the adoption of a high-fat, low-fiber diet. To determine whether fat or fiber intakes were associated with new cases of diabetes, we studied 72% (728/1018) of residents aged > 9 y from a remote aboriginal community in northern Ontario using the 75-g oral-glucose-tolerance test and 24-h dietary recall. The mean fat intake of this population (36% of energy) was typical for North America, but fiber intake (1.

Paraoxonase-2 gene (PON2) G148 variant associated with elevated fasting plasma glucose in noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Defining the genetic determinants of NIDDM requires evidence from several complementary approaches, including both linkage and association analyses using both discrete phenotypes and intermediate quantitative traits. We tested for association between common genomic variation in three genes that map to chromosome 7q21-q22 and quantitative traits related to NIDDM in a sample of Oji-Cree. We found that a common genomic variation in codon 148 (alanine or glycine) of the paraoxonase-2 gene (PON2) demonstrated a significant association with a variation in fasting plasma glucose (P < 0.

Serum immunoreactive leptin concentrations in a Canadian aboriginal population with high rates of NIDDM.

Objective: To better understand the relationship between leptin and the anthropometric and physiological variables associated with diabetes, we measured this protein in an isolated Canadian aboriginal population with very high rates of NIDDM.

Research Design And Methods: There were 728 individuals aged 10-79 years who participated in a population-based survey to determine the prevalence of NIDDM and its associated risk factors. Fasting blood samples for glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and leptin were collected; a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test was administered and a second blood sample drawn after 120 min.

Common genomic variants associated with variation in plasma lipoproteins in young aboriginal Canadians.

We hypothesized that common genomic variants would be associated with variation in lipoprotein phenotypes in young subjects. We determined genotypes of FABP2, PON, APOC3, and APOE in 188 aboriginal Canadians, aged 9 to 17 years. We found that 13 of 32 possible genotype-phenotype associations were significant: (1) the FABP2 codon 54 genotype was associated with variation in plasma triglycerides (P = .

Angiotensinogen gene variation associated with variation in blood pressure in aboriginal Canadians.

We measured blood pressure and related clinical phenotypes in 497 adult native Canadians from an isolated community in Northern Ontario. We analyzed their DNA for genotypes of angiotensinogen. We found that the frequency of the T235 variant of the angiotensinogen gene was 0.

The prevalence of NIDDM and associated risk factors in native Canadians.

Objective: To determine the true prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), NIDDM, and associated risk factors by age and sex in an isolated native community.

Research Design And Methods: A community-wide prevalence survey using a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was undertaken in the remote native reserve of Sandy Lake, Ontario, Canada. Measurements for obesity included waist-to-hip circumference, BMI, and percentage body fat.

Body image concepts differ by age and sex in an Ojibway-Cree community in Canada.

Community-based studies of body image concepts can be useful for developing health interventions to prevent obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease in specific populations. First Nations peoples, in particular, face increased obesity-related health problems as a result of acculturative changes in diet and activity. This study examined body shape perception in an Ojibway-Cree community in Northern Ontario, Canada.

Genetic variation of intestinal fatty acid-binding protein associated with variation in body mass in aboriginal Canadians.

We hypothesized that genomic variation affecting the primary amino acid sequence of the intestinal fatty acid-binding protein would be related to variation in body mass index and associated clinical phenotypes in aboriginal Canadians. We studied 507 adult native Canadians from an isolated community in Northern Ontario. We found that the frequency of the T54 variant of the intestinal fatty acid-binding protein gene was 0.

Motor neuron disease, lymphoproliferative disease, and bone marrow biopsy.

Some have suggested that nonfamilial motor neuron disease (MND) may be autoimmune, and the neurological disorder may benefit from immunotherapy. There have been reports of over 30 cases of lymphoproliferative disease (lymphoma, multiple myeloma, Waldenström's macroglobulinemia) with MND, and these patients might he offered immunosuppressive therapy. Bone marrow examination might increase the sensitivity of the diagnostic workup for lymphoma and other lymphoproliferative disorders.

Metabolic activation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids by human, rat and avocado microsomes.

Two pyrrolizidine alkaloids and one pyrrolizidine alkaloid-N-oxide were incubated with microsomal preparations from humans, rat and avocado and the product profiles examined. The alkaloids were converted to dehydroretronecine, the putative toxic metabolite, by both rat and human microsomal preparations. In addition, alkaloid-N-oxides, the major detoxication products from pyrrolizidine alkaloids, were also formed.

Analysis, separation, and bioassay of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from comfrey (Symphytum officinale).

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been linked to liver and lung cancers and a range of other deleterious effects. As with many natural toxicants, major problems arise in determining the effects of the different members of the class and the importance of various forms of ingestion. In this study we have investigated the levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey (Symphytum officinale), determined the levels in different parts of the plant and in herbal remedies, separated the alkaloids into two main groups--the principal parent alkaloids and the corresponding N-oxides--and, finally, carried out a simple bioassay based upon the mutagenic capability of the separated compounds in a human cell line.

Cancer mortality among Chinese migrants: a review.

Background: Epidemiological studies of cancer among migrant groups are beneficial in that they can provide insight into genetic and environmental factors in disease aetiology. Seven studies in the epidemiological literature have examined cancer mortality in migrants from China; methodological features and findings, which display remarkable consistencies between studies, are reviewed here.

Methods: Papers were included that compare site-specific cancer mortality patterns in first and second generation migrants to the experience in the host regions using vital statistics and census data.

Use of surnames to identify individuals of Chinese ancestry.

The objectives of this study were to develop and test surname lists for identifying Chinese ancestry. The Ontario all-cause mortality database for the period 1982-1989 was randomly split into source and test data sets. Frequencies by birthplace were compiled for each surname in the source data set, by sex, and the surnames were weighted based on their positive likelihood ratios.

The manipulation of DNA with restriction enzymes in low water systems.

The cleavage of phage lambda (lambda) DNA by the restriction enzyme HindIII in low water systems has been investigated. Two types of low water systems have been studied--those which contain a surfactant in a reverse micelle environment and a surfactant-free system in which a solid support (celite) is used. The effect of the surfactants themselves in a normal aqueous environment has also been studied.

DNA methylase from Pisum sativum.

DNA methylase activity was detected in nuclei from pea shoots. The enzyme can only be extracted by low-salt treatment if the nuclei are pretreated with micrococcal nuclease. Only a single enzyme was detected, and it was purified to a specific activity of 1620 units/mg of protein.

DNA demethylation in erythroleukaemia cells.

Despite a fall in the proportion of CGs methylated, evidence has not been obtained for significant demethylation of prelabelled DNA when mouse erythroleukaemia cells are induced to differentiate. There is, however, a delay in the methylation of the DNA that is synthesised in the early period of induction, leading to its undermethylation by 30-50% and this may be a contributory cause of the observed fall in CG methylation.

The effect of feeding brassica vegetables and intact glucosinolates on mixed-function-oxidase activity in the livers and intestines of rats.

Significant induction of mixed-function-oxidase (MFO) activity was observed in the small intestines of rats within 4-6 hr of ingestion of a single meal containing a Brassica vegetable (cabbage). Intact Brussels sprouts and a fractionated methanol-water extract of Brussels sprouts induced similar degrees of MFO activity in the livers, and small and large intestines of rats. However, the residue left after extraction of the polar compounds did not induce MFO activity.

Chemical and biological properties of indole glucosinolates (glucobrassicins): a review.

Glucosinolates are a group of secondary products commonly, but not exclusively, found in plants of the family Cruciferae. They give rise, upon enzymic hydrolysis, to a range of volatile, pungent and physiologically active compounds. Recently, particular attention has been focused upon those that are trytophan-derived--the indole glucosinolates (glucobrassicins).

Differential induction of mixed-function oxidase (MFO) activity in rat liver and intestine by diets containing processed cabbage: correlation with cabbage levels of glucosinolates and glucosinolate hydrolysis products.

Both white and Savoy-type cabbage added to a semi-purified diet at 25% dry weight and fed to rats ad lib. for 5 days significantly induced ethoxyresorufin (ERR) deethylation in the small and large intestine. Savoy cabbage also induced hepatic activity and, in general, exhibited a greater inducing effect than white cabbage.