Commentary on Metabolic Health Disparities Affecting the Rio Grande Valley Mexican American Population: Seeking Answers Using Animal Models.

Mexican Americans living in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) have a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The US-Mexico border frontier has a unique blended culture of American lifestyle and Mexican traditions. Some examples of the cultural traditions are the food and the use of herbal medicine, but these traditions are in danger of disappearing after a very short number of generations living in the United States.

Modulation of bone turnover by Cissus quadrangularis after ovariectomy in rats.

In women, age-related bone loss is associated with increased risk of bone fracture. Existing therapies are associated with severe side effects; thus, there is a need to find alternative medicines with less or optimal side effects. Cissus quadrangularis (CQ), an Ayurvedic medicine used to enhance fracture healing, was tested for its bone protective properties and studied to discern the mechanism by which it is beneficial to bone.

Molecular Modulation of Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts in Type 2 Diabetes.

Diabetes is a common disease affecting majority of populations worldwide. Since 1980, there has been an increase in the number of people diagnosed as prediabetic and diabetic. Diabetes is characterized by high levels of circulating glucose and leads to most microvascular and macrovascular complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, stroke, and myocardial infarction.

Causes, consequences, and treatment of osteoporosis in men.

Men undergo gradual bone loss with aging, resulting in fragile bones. It is estimated that one in five men will suffer an osteoporotic fracture during their lifetime. The prognosis for men after a hip fracture is very grim.

Dietary coral calcium and zeolite protects bone in a mouse model for postmenopausal bone loss.

In patients diagnosed with osteoporosis, calcium is lost from bones making them weaker and easily susceptible to fractures. Supplementation of calcium is highly recommended for such conditions. However, the source of calcium plays an important role in the amount of calcium that is assimilated into bone.

Inhibition of Bone Loss by Cissus quadrangularis in Mice: A Preliminary Report.

Women drastically loose bone during and after menopause leading to osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass increasing the risk of fractures with minor trauma. Existing therapies mainly reduce bone resorption, however, all existing drugs have severe side effects. Recently, the focus is to identify alternative medicines that can prevent and treat osteoporosis with minimal or no side effects.

Alternative therapies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a medical condition that affects millions of men and women. People with this condition have low bone mass, which places them at increased risk for bone fracture after minor trauma. The surgeries and treatments required to repair and heal bone fractures involve long recovery periods and can be expensive.

Endogenously produced n-3 fatty acids protect against ovariectomy induced bone loss in fat-1 transgenic mice.

Aging is associated with bone loss, leading to increased risk of fractures. Recently, there is growing interest in identifying nutritional supplements that can prevent bone loss with minimum side effects. There is increasing evidence for the beneficial effects of n-3 fatty acids in the prevention of bone loss.

Phellodendron amurense bark extract prevents progression of prostate tumors in transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate: potential for prostate cancer management.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in Western society. Epidemiological studies suggest that a reduced risk of cancer is associated with the consumption of a phytochemical-rich diet that includes fruits and vegetables. Strategies to delay clinically significant prostate cancer will have a tremendous impact in reducing the overall incidence of prostate cancer as well as improving quality of life for elderly men.

Endogenous n-3 fatty acids protect ovariectomy induced bone loss by attenuating osteoclastogenesis.

Beneficial effects of n-3 fatty acids (FA) on bone mineral density (BMD) have been reported in mice, rats and human beings, but the precise mechanisms involved have not been described. This study used the Fat-1 mouse, a transgenic model that synthesizes n-3 FA from n-6 FA to directly determine if outcome of bone health were correlated with n-3 FA. Ovariectomized (Ovx) and sham operated wild-type (WT) and Fat-1 mice were fed an AIN-93M diet containing 10% corn oil for 24 weeks.

Beneficial effects of conjugated linoleic acid and exercise on bone of middle-aged female mice.

Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) are a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids that has recently been shown to have several beneficial effects on different diseases, including prevention of bone loss. The important feature of CLA is to reduce fat mass, thereby reducing body weight significantly. Although loss of body weight is known to increase bone loss, there is increasing evidence that CLA maybe beneficial to bone.

Effects of n-3 fatty acids on autoimmunity and osteoporosis.

Decreased consumption of n-3 fatty acids (FA) and diets rich in animal proteins, saturated fats and n-6 vegetable oils are associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), certain malignancies and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), and renal disease. Recent studies show that reduced calorie intake and supplementation of diet with n-3 FA delays the onset of autoimmune renal disease, primarily, due to increased antioxidant enzyme activities, decreased NF-kappaB activation and decreased IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-alpha mRNA expression in the kidney tissue. Studies in rodents show that addition of n-3 FA and soy protein to diet affords protection against bone loss induced by ovariectomy in mice due to NF-kappaB expression and decreased activation of osteoclasts.

Conjugated linoleic acid protects against age-associated bone loss in C57BL/6 female mice.

Osteoporosis is one of the major causes of morbidity in the elderly. Inflammation exerts a significant influence on bone turnover, inducing the chronic form of osteoporosis. Dietary nutrition has the capacity to modulate inflammatory response.

Inhibition of inflammatory response in transgenic fat-1 mice on a calorie-restricted diet.

Both n-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) and calorie-restriction (CR) exert anti-inflammatory effects in animal models of autoimmunity and inflammation. In the present study we investigated the synergistic anti-inflammatory effects of n-3 FA and CR on LPS-mediated inflammatory responses using fat-1 transgenic mice that generate n-3 FA endogenously. Wild-type (WT) and fat-1 mice were maintained on ad libitum (AL) or CR (40% less than AL) diet for 5 mo; splenocytes were cultured in vitro with/without LPS.

Biological effects of conjugated linoleic acids in health and disease.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of octadecadienoic acid [linoleic acid (LA), 18:2n-6] commonly found in beef, lamb and dairy products. The most abundant isomer of CLA in nature is the cis-9, trans-11 (c9t11) isomer. Commercially available CLA is usually a 1:1 mixture of c9t11 and trans-10, cis-12 (t10c12) isomers with other isomers as minor components.

Effects of conjugated linoleic acid and exercise on bone mass in young male Balb/C mice.

There is an increase in obesity among the population of industrialized countries, and dietary supplementation with Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) has been reported to lower body fat mass. However, weight loss is generally associated with negative effects on bone mass, but CLA is reported to have beneficial effects on bone. Furthermore, another factor that is well established to have a beneficial effect on bone is exercise (EX).

Inhibition of osteoporosis in autoimmune disease prone MRL/Mpj-Fas(lpr) mice by N-3 fatty acids.

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease involving the breakdown of cartilage and juxta-articular bone, which is often accompanied by decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and increased risk of fracture. Anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids may prevent arthritis and bone loss in MRL/lpr mice model of arthritis and in humans.

Methods: In this study, the effect of long term feeding of 10% dietary n-3 (fish oil (FO)) and n-6 (corn oil (CO)) fatty acids begun at 6 weeks of age on bone mineral density (BMD) in different bone regions in an MRL/lpr female mouse model of RA was measured at 6, 9, and 12 months of age by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).

Site-specific effects of cerivastatin on bone in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

It is well established that age-related bone loss occurs in men and male SD rats. This study was designed to determine whether cerivastatin will prevent age-related bone loss in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) was used as a positive control.

Some properties of beta-D-galactosidase from the adult filarial nematode Setaria digitata.

beta-D-galactosidase (beta-D-galactoside galactohydrolase, E.C. 3.