Insulin resistance -- the role of ethnicity: evidence from Caucasian and African cohorts.

The risk for insulin resistance and subsequent type 2 diabetes varies between different ethnic populations due to differences in the genetic and environmental background. However, obesity and unhealthy lifestyle, crucial determinants of insulin resistance, are on the rise throughout all population groups though the susceptibility towards those factors may differ. Up to the present day it is not clear whether insulin resistance is based on metabolic changes due to lifestyle modifications or rather an ethnic and thus genetic grounded phenomenon.

A comparison of uric acid levels in Black African vs Caucasian women from South Africa: the POWIRS study.

Objectives: Elevated levels of uric acid are often associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. The aim of this study was to determine whether uric acid levels differ between African and Caucasian women and whether uric acid is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors within the two ethnic groups.

Methods: Women from African (N=102) and Caucasian (N=115) descent were recruited and their uric acid levels measured.

Hyperuricaemia is an independent factor for the metabolic syndrome in a sub-Saharan African population: a factor analysis.

Objective: To assess the risk factor pattern of the metabolic syndrome and its association with insulin resistance and hyperuricaemia in a sub-Saharan African population with different levels of urbanisation.

Methods: Four hundred forty-eight black South African volunteers, men and women aged 15 years and older were investigated in a cross-sectional, comparative, population-based survey. Subjects were stratified into three groups representing different levels of urbanisation in rural and urban areas.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine is associated with parameters of glucose metabolism in Caucasian but not in African women from South Africa.

Aim: Ethnic differences in obesity and obesity related disorders prompted us to search for possible contributors. The impact of the novel cardiovascular risk factor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) has been never determined in the African population. The present observational study aimed to compare ADMA levels between healthy African (102) and Caucasian women (115) from South Africa, and its impact on glucose metabolism.

Metabolic syndrome risk in black South African women compared to Caucasian women.

Rapid urbanisation has led African women to have an obesity prevalence double than that of Caucasian women, and this also holds true for the stroke prevalence in Africans. The study aimed to compare various metabolic syndrome (MS) criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) of body mass index and age-matched African (n=102) and Caucasian women (n=115). More Caucasian (30.

Generalizing the dynamic field theory of spatial cognition across real and developmental time scales.

Within cognitive neuroscience, computational models are designed to provide insights into the organization of behavior while adhering to neural principles. These models should provide sufficient specificity to generate novel predictions while maintaining the generality needed to capture behavior across tasks and/or time scales. This paper presents one such model, the dynamic field theory (DFT) of spatial cognition, showing new simulations that provide a demonstration proof that the theory generalizes across developmental changes in performance in four tasks-the Piagetian A-not-B task, a sandbox version of the A-not-B task, a canonical spatial recall task, and a position discrimination task.

Differences and similarities regarding adiponectin investigated in African and Caucasian women.

Objective: Concentrations of adiponectin, an adipocytokine with insulin-sensitizing actions, may vary according to ethnic group. This study aimed to determine whether fasting adiponectin levels of Caucasian and African women differ. A second objective was to determine which components of the metabolic syndrome are more closely related to adiponectinemia in both groups.

Planning "discrete" movements using a continuous system: insights from a dynamic field theory of movement preparation.

The timed-initiation paradigm developed by Ghez and colleagues (1997) has revealed two modes of motor planning: continuous and discrete. Continuous responding occurs when targets are separated by less than 60 degrees of spatial angle, and discrete responding occurs when targets are separated by greater than 60 degrees . Although these two modes are thought to reflect the operation of separable strategic planning systems, a new theory of movement preparation, the Dynamic Field Theory, suggests that two modes emerge flexibly from the same system.

Two alpha subunits and one beta subunit of meprin zinc-endopeptidases are differentially expressed in the zebrafish Danio rerio.

Meprins are members of the astacin family of metalloproteases expressed in epithelial tissues, intestinal leukocytes and certain cancer cells. In mammals, there are two homologous subunits, which form complex glycosylated disulfide-bonded homo- and heterooligomers. Both human meprin alpha and meprin beta cleave several basement membrane components, suggesting a role in epithelial differentiation and cell migration.

Protective effect against type 2 diabetes mellitus identified within the ACDC gene in a black South African diabetic cohort.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is currently one of the fastest growing noncommunicable diseases in the world. It is induced by the pathogenic interaction between insulin resistance and secretion. This group of clinically heterogeneous disorders currently affects approximately 4% of the general population, but it is rapidly increasing, especially in developing regions such as sub-Saharan Africa.

Aging influences the level and functions of fasting plasma ghrelin levels: the POWIRS-Study.

Objective: Ghrelin, known for its orexigenic activity, also have functions such as vasodilation and a growth hormone releasing action. It is uncertain whether these functions change with increasing age. This study aimed to determine whether ghrelin levels differ between young and older women with different levels of obesity; and secondly whether the associations of ghrelin with metabolic syndrome (MS) components, adipocytokines, coagulation factors, and cortisol change with increasing age.

Ethnic differences in C-peptide secretion but not in non-esterified fatty acid metabolism in pre-menopausal women with and without abdominal obesity.

The present study aimed to reveal racial differences in the metabolic pattern of C-peptide and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), and in their associations with cardiovascular measures in healthy urban African (102) and Caucasian women (115) from South Africa. An oral glucose tolerance test was performed with measurements before and at 30, 60, 90 and 120min. Various cardiovascular parameters and blood lipids were assessed.

The influence of testosterone on blood pressure and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a black South African population.

Objectives: Traditionally high testosterone levels have been thought to have a detrimental effect on lipid profiles. Recently, reports have shown that testosterone has a beneficial effect on lipid profiles. On the other hand, androgens may increase blood pressure via the renin-angiotensin system.

Differences in the association of PAI-1 activity with the metabolic syndrome between African and Caucasian women.

Background And Aims: The association between PAI-1(act) and markers of the metabolic syndrome is well established in Caucasian populations, but data on African subjects is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate possible differences between the association of PAI-1(act) and markers of the metabolic syndrome in Caucasian and African women.

Methods And Results: Cross-sectional data were collected from 95 African and 114 Caucasian women in the Potchefstroom district of the North West Province, South Africa.

Inflammation, obesity and cardiovascular function in African and Caucasian women from South Africa: the POWIRS study.

The integrated relationship between inflammation, obesity and cardiovascular disease is currently a subject of much research interest. These specific relationships, however, have not been studied in-depth in South African population groups in order to determine the role of ethnicity. It is known that Africans, compared to Caucasians, suffer from a high prevalence of hypertension.

Modulation of baroreflex sensitivity by walnuts versus cashew nuts in subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Background: Impaired baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) is associated with cardiovascular diseases and the metabolic syndrome. Because lipid abnormalities have been associated with impaired BRS, this study aimed to determine whether diets known to improve the lipid profile, namely a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (walnuts) or monounsaturated fatty acids (cashew nuts), would improve BRS in subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS).

Methods: A controlled feeding trial with a randomized, controlled, parallel study design was undertaken, which involved 62 subjects with MS.

Toward a formal theory of flexible spatial behavior: geometric category biases generalize across pointing and verbal response types.

Three experiments tested whether geometric biases--biases away from perceived reference axes--reported in spatial recall tasks with pointing responses generalized to a recognition task that required a verbal response. Seven-year-olds and adults remembered the location of a dot within a rectangle and then either reproduced its location or verbally selected a matching choice dot from a set of colored options. Results demonstrated that geometric biases generalized to verbal responses; however, the spatial span of the choice set influenced performance as well.

Cardiovascular function of African women with different BMIs and blood pressures: the POWIRS study.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the cardiovascular profiles of a group of African women with different body mass indices and blood pressures.

Materials And Methods: The study included a sample of 98 apparently healthy African women. The subjects were divided into three groups: lean normotensive (lean NT), overweight/obese normotensive (OW/OB NT), and overweight/obese hypertensive (OW/OB HT).

Specific coping strategies of Africans during urbanization: comparing cardiovascular responses and perception of health data.

Specific coping mechanisms of Africans during urbanization were compared to and correlated with cardiovascular responses and perception of health data. Subjects included men (N=286) and women (N=360). The COPE questionnaire classified subjects as active (AC) or passive (PC) copers and the General Health Questionnaire measured subjective perception of health.

Mirtazapine orally disintegrating tablets versus venlafaxine extended release: a double-blind, randomized multicenter trial comparing the onset of antidepressant response in patients with major depressive disorder.

This randomized, multicenter, double-blind study was designed to compare specifically the onset of antidepressant action of mirtazapine orally disintegrating tablets (ODT) with venlafaxine extended-release (XR) formulation in outpatients with major depression. Both treatments were administered in a rapidly escalating dosing regimen. Target doses (mirtazapine ODT, 45 mg OD; venlafaxine XR, 225 mg OD) were reached by day 6 of treatment.

Plasma endothelin-1 is not increased in overweight/obese hypertensive African women.

Introduction: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been found to be higher in hypertensive African Americans and obese hypertensive Caucasians compared to normotensive controls with an enhanced ET-1-dependent vasoconstrictor tone. ET-1 levels and the associations thereof with cardiovascular function in overweight/obese normotensive and hypertensive African women have not been investigated. It is therefore hypothesized that ET-1 levels are elevated in overweight/obese hypertensive African women compared to overweight/obese and lean normotensive controls.