Publications by authors named "Shirmila D Premaratna"

Obesity is a growing health problem worldwide. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is present in adipose tissue, and evidence suggests that it is involved in both diet-induced obesity and the inflammation associated with obesity. The present experiments determined the effect of (1) different angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (captopril, perindopril, enalapril) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs: telmisartan, losartan) on adiposity of mice fed a high-fat diet for 28 days (2); acute treatment with the ACE-inhibitor captopril on gene expression of inflammatory markers in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD); and (3) short-term (2 days) and chronic (28 days) treatment of ACE-inhibition on energy expenditure (EE) and energy balance in mice fed HFD (AL), as well as receiving HFD limited to the amount of calories eaten by controls (pair-fed (PF) group).

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Dietary deficiency of ω3 fatty acid during development leads to impaired cognitive function. However, the effects of multiple generations of ω3 fatty-acid deficiency on cognitive impairment remain unclear. In addition, we sought to test the hypothesis that the cognitive impairments of ω3 fatty-acid-deficient mice are mediated through the arachidonic acid-cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway.

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Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency, particularly during the prenatal period, can cause hypertension in later life. This study examined the effect of different sources of alpha-linolenic acid (canola oil or flaxseed oil) in the prevention of hypertension and other metabolic symptoms induced by an omega-3 fatty acid-deficient diet. Dams were provided one of three experimental diets from 1 week before mating.

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