Association of bradykinin receptor 2 (BDKRB2) variants with physical performance and muscle mass: Findings from the LACE sarcopenia trial.

Introduction: Understanding genetic contributors to sarcopenia (age-related loss of muscle strength and mass) is key to finding effective therapies. Variants of the bradykinin receptor 2 (BDKRB2) have been linked to athletic and muscle performance. The rs1799722-9 and rs5810761 T alleles have been shown to be overrepresented in endurance athletes, possibly due to increased transcriptional rates of the receptor.

Activin type I receptor polymorphisms and body composition in older individuals with sarcopenia-Analyses from the LACE randomised controlled trial.

Background: Ageing is associated with changes in body composition including an overall reduction in muscle mass and a proportionate increase in fat mass. Sarcopenia is characterised by losses in both muscle mass and strength. Body composition and muscle strength are at least in part genetically determined, consequently polymorphisms in pathways important in muscle biology (e.

ACE I/D genotype associates with strength in sarcopenic men but not with response to ACE inhibitor therapy in older adults with sarcopenia: Results from the LACE trial.

Background: Angiotensin II (AII), has been suggested to promote muscle loss. Reducing AII synthesis, by inhibiting angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity has been proposed as a method to inhibit muscle loss. The LACE clinical trial was designed to determine whether ACE inhibition would reduce further muscle loss in individuals with sarcopenia but suffered from low recruitment and returned a negative result.

Effect of perindopril or leucine on physical performance in older people with sarcopenia: the LACE randomized controlled trial.

Background: This trial aimed to determine the efficacy of leucine and/or perindopril in improving physical function in older people with sarcopenia.

Methods: Placebo-controlled, parallel group, double-blind, randomized two-by-two factorial trial. We recruited adults aged ≥ 70 years with sarcopenia, defined as low gait speed (<0.

Texting to Reduce Alcohol Misuse (TRAM): main findings from a randomized controlled trial of a text message intervention to reduce binge drinking among disadvantaged men.

Aims: To test the effectiveness of a theoretically based text-message intervention to reduce binge drinking among socially disadvantaged men.

Design: A multi-centre parallel group, pragmatic, individually randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Community-based study conducted in four regions of Scotland.

Modifying Alcohol Consumption to Reduce Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study of a Complex Community-based Intervention for Men.

Objectives: Being obese and drinking more than 14 units of alcohol per week places men at very high risk of developing liver disease. This study assessed the feasibility of a trial to reduce alcohol consumption. It tested the recruitment strategy, engagement with the intervention, retention and study acceptability.

Modifying Alcohol Consumption to Reduce Obesity (MACRO): development and feasibility trial of a complex community-based intervention for men.

Background: Obese men who consume alcohol are at a greatly increased risk of liver disease; those who drink > 14 units of alcohol per week have a 19-fold increased risk of dying from liver disease.

Objectives: To develop an intervention to reduce alcohol consumption in obese men and to assess the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to investigate its effectiveness.

Design Of The Intervention: The intervention was developed using formative research, public involvement and behaviour change theory.

Hypoxia attenuates the p53 response to cellular damage.

The tumour suppressor activity of p53 in vivo can be subject to pressure from the physiological stress of hypoxia and we report on the development of a cell system to define the p53-dependent stages in the adaptation of cells to hypoxia. p53(+/+) cells exposed to hypoxia exhibited a transient arrest in G2/M, but escaped from this checkpoint and entered a long-term G(0)/G(1) arrest. By contrast, isogenic p53-null cells exposed to hypoxic conditions exhibited a 6-10-fold higher level of apoptosis, suggesting that p53 acts as a survival factor under limiting oxygen concentrations.