No clear evidence of an association between plasma concentrations of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and depressed mood in a non-clinical population

Previous research suggests that low n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3PUFA) status is associated with higher levels of depression in clinical populations. This analysis aimed to investigate the relationship between depressed mood and n-3PUFA status in a non-clinical population. The analysis was conducted on data collected as part of a large randomized controlled trial investigating the impact of n-3PUFA supplementation on depressed mood in a community-based population. On entry into the trial, data on depressed mood were collected using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Plasma concentrations of various n-3PUFAs and n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6PUFAs) were obtained from fasting venous blood samples, and various demographics were also measured. Using regression, there was no evidence of an association between either measure of depressed mood and any of the measures of n-3PUFA status or of n-6PUFA: n-3PUFA ratios. Clear associations were also not found when demographic factors were included in the analyses. These findings suggest that n-3PUFAs may not have a role in the aetiology of minor depression. This is also consistent with the results of other studies that have not demonstrated an association between depressed mood and n-3PUFA status in non-clinical populations and epidemiological studies that have not demonstrated an association between depressed mood and n-3PUFA intake in these populations. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Linoleic acid increases monocyte chemotaxis and adhesion to human aortic endothelial cells through protein kinase C- and cyclooxygenase-2-dependent mechanisms

The effects of polyunsaturated n-6 linoleic acid on monocyte-endothelial interactions were investigated with particular emphasis on the expression of platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM)-1 and the role of protein kinase C (PKC) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). As a diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids may favour atherosclerosis in hyperglycaemia, this study was performed in both normal and high-glucose media using human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC). The HAEC were preincubated with normal (5 mM) or high (25 mM) d-glucose for 3 days before addition of fatty acids (0.2 mM) for 3 days. Linoleic acid enhanced PECAM-1 expression independently of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a and significantly increased TNF-a-induced monocyte adhesion to HAEC in comparison to the monounsaturated n-9 oleic acid. Chronic glucose treatment (25 mM, 6 days) did not modify the TNF-a-induced or fatty acid-induced changes in monocyte binding. The increase in monocyte binding was accompanied by a significant increase in E-selectin and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 expression and could be abrogated by an interleukin (IL)-8 neutralising antibody and by the PKC and COX inhibitors. Inhibition of PKC-d reduced VCAM-1 expression regardless of experimental condition and was accompanied by a significant decrease in monocyte binding. Conditioned medium from linoleic acid-treated HAEC grown in normal glucose conditions significantly increased THP-1 chemotaxis. These results suggest that linoleic acid-induced changes in monocyte chemotaxis and subsequent binding are not solely mediated by changes in adhesion molecule expression but may be due to secreted factors such as IL-8, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 or prostaglandins (PGs) such as PGE2, as IL-8 neutralisation and COX-2 inhibition reduced monocyte binding without changes in adhesion molecule expression.

The effects of new topical treatments on management of glaucoma in Scotland:An examination of ophthalmological health care

Background: The management of glaucoma has been changed in the past decade by the introduction of new drugs. The impact of these changes on clinical care of patients was examined by examining operation and prescribing rates for glaucoma in four geographical areas of Scotland for the years 1994 to 1999. Methods: A retrospective analysis of national health statistics: primary care prescribing data, hospital derived operation rates, consultant numbers, optometrist numbers, and eye test data, expressed by estimated population at risk of glaucoma. The outcome measures were prescribing volume and cost for glaucoma medications, and operation rates, corrected for population estimated to be at risk of glaucoma (PEG), for trabeculectomy, for Scotland as a whole, and for four geographical "regions" (north east, south east, central, and south west Scotland). Results: Prescribed items per 1000 population estimated to have glaucoma (PEG) increased by 24.9% between 1994 and 1999. This was above the general increase in prescribing in Scotland (17.8%). This increase varied in the four health regions evaluated (14.3% to 31.9%). Prescribing of topical ß blockers increased little (6.4%), but there was a large increase in the use of new products (topical prostaglandins, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, and a agonists), at the expense of miotics (47.7% fall), and older sympathomimetics. This change in prescribing pattern was accompanied by a 61.5% increase in cost (range 42.2% to 73.4% in the four regions). New drugs accounted for more than half of total glaucoma expenditure in 1999. Operation rates (corrected for PEG) fell by 45.9% (range 43.1 to 58.6%) between 1994 and 1999. Other indicators suggested increased activity in ophthalmic areas (for example, cataract operations, eye tests, numbers of optometrists and ophthalmic surgeons all increased). Within north east Scotland operation rates decreased and prescribing increased less than in other regions, both from lowest regional baseline in 1994. Conclusions: The introduction of new drug classes has had dramatic effects on the prescribing of glaucoma treatments. There has been a decline in older treatments and an increase in new agents, which has been associated with a large reduction in operation rates for glaucoma in Scotland over 6 years. Comparison of prescribing and operation data indicates regional differences in healthcare delivery for glaucoma.

The United Kingdom Glaucoma Treatment Study:a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial: design and methodology

Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for the deterioration of open-angle glaucoma (OAG); medical IOP reduction is the standard treatment, yet no randomized placebo-controlled study of medical IOP reduction has been undertaken previously. The United Kingdom Glaucoma Treatment Study (UKGTS) tests the hypothesis that treatment with a topical prostaglandin analog, compared with placebo, reduces the frequency of visual field (VF) deterioration events in OAG patients by 50% over a 2-year period.

Prostaglandin E2 as a regulator of germ cells during ovarian development

CONTEXT: The formation of primordial follicles occurs during fetal life yet is critical to the determination of adult female fertility. Prior to this stage, germ cells proliferate, enter meiosis, and associate with somatic cells. Growth and survival factors implicated in these processes include activin A (INHBA), the neurotrophins BDNF and NT4 (NTF5), and MCL1. The prostaglandins have pleiotrophic roles in reproduction, notably in ovulation and implantation, but there are no data regarding roles for prostaglandins in human fetal ovarian development.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate a possible role for prostaglandin (PG) E(2) in human fetal ovary development.

DESIGN: In vitro analysis of ovarian development between 8 and 20 wk gestation was performed.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The expression patterns of PG synthesis enzymes and the PGE(2) receptors EP2 and EP4 in the ovary were assessed, and downstream effects of PGE(2) on gene expression were analyzed.

RESULTS: Ovarian germ cells express the PG synthetic enzymes COX2 and PTGES as well as the EP2 and EP4 receptors, whereas COX1 is expressed by ovarian somatic cells. Treatment in vitro with PGE(2) increased the expression of BDNF mRNA 1.7 +/- 0.16-fold (P = 0.004); INHBA mRNA, 2.1 +/- 0.51-fold (P = 0.04); and MCL1 mRNA, 1.15 +/- 0.06-fold (P = 0.04), but not that of OCT4, DAZL, VASA, NTF5, or SMAD3.

CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate novel roles for PGE(2) in the regulation of germ cell development in the human ovary and show that these effects may be mediated by the regulation of factors including BDNF, activin A, and MCL1.