Inhibition of the central melanocortin system decreases brown adipose tissue activity

The melanocortin system is an important regulator of energy balance, and melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) deficiency is the most common monogenic cause of obesity. We investigated whether the relationship between melanocortin system activity and energy expenditure (EE) is mediated by brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity. Therefore, female APOE∗3...

The use of metabolising systems for in vitro testing of endocrine disruptors

Legislation and prospective legislative proposals in for instance the USA, Europe, and Japan require, or may require that chemicals are tested for their ability to disrupt the hormonal systems of mammals. Chemicals found to test positive are considered to be endocrine active substances (EAS) and may be putative endocrine disruptors (EDs). To...

Hepatic Steatosis: A Mediator of the Metabolic Syndrome. Lessons from Animal Models

Epidemiological studies in humans, as well as experimental studies in animal models, have shown an association between visceral obesity and dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recently, attention has been focused on the excessive accumulation of triglycerides (TG) in the liver as part of this syndrome. In this review,...

Effect of low-dose oral contraceptives on lipoproteins and lipolytic enzymes: Differences between two commonly used preparations

Changes in circulating lipoproteins, which may be related to the risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease, were studied in a control group and in two groups of 24 or 26 women using different preparations of low-dose oral contraceptives for 3 months. One preparation contained 150 μg levo-norgestrel and 30 μg ethinylestradiol (Stediril-d 150/30);...

Incidence of childhood diabetes in The Netherlands: A decrease from north to south over North-Western Europe?

The incidence of childhood diabetes (0-19 years of age) in The Netherlands, where there is no nationalized health-care system, was investigated retrospectively in the years 1978 to 1980 inclusive. The method chosen was a questionnaire among all Dutch paediatricians and internal physicians acting as consultants. Ascertainment was by the same...

Therelationship of diet, body composition, physical activity and quality of metabolic control to blood lipid levels in type-I-diabetic men

Twenty seven male patients, with Type-I diabetes mellitus were studied, all from the Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Internal Medicine, the Free University Hospital, Amsterdam. In comparison with healthy subjects and as regards age, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels were within normal limits, although HDL-cholesterol and...

Evaluation of histological changes in the kidneys of the alloxan diabetic rat by means of factor analysis

Renal histopathology data, obtained in a 3-month feeding study of the effects of different carbohydrates and polyols in the alloxan diabetic rat, have been subjected to factor analysis. The results indicate a primary and a secondary effect of the diabetic state on the kidney of the rat. The primary effect, the 'diabetic factor', was associated...

Glucagon receptors: Are they present on human blood cells?

Binding of glucagon to and its degradation by human mononuclear leukocytes and erythrocytes was investigated. Labeled glucagon binds to these cells, but can be displaced only by unlabeled glucagon at pharmacologically high concentrations. It is concluded that glucagon binding to human blood cells does not represent receptors of physiological...

Serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol levels in women using oral contraceptives

A study has been made of the serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-HCC) levels in six groups of women. Significant differences were found between the one pregnant group and the two reference groups as well as between the one pregnant group and two of the three groups using oral contraceptives. No significant differences were found between the...

Platinum compounds with anti-tumour activity

Ten platinum (Pt) coordination complexes with different ligands, comprising both Pt(II) and Pt(IV) complexes of which the cis-compounds all possessed at least some anti-tumour activity and the trans-compounds were inactive, were tested as to their effect on cell survival and the induction and repair of DNA damage in cultured Chinese hamster...

Sensitivity of several cell systems to acrylamide

Chick spinal ganglia, chick muscle cells combined with mouse spinal cord explants, C1300 neuroblastoma cells, Chinese hamster ovary cells and newborn rat cerebral cells were exposed to various concentrations of acrylamide in culture. Four morphological and 1 electrophysiological parameter were applied in order to score toxic effects. It appeared...