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Deep sea water (DSW) is a natural marine resource that has been utilized for food, agriculture, cosmetics, and medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate whether DSW has beneficial lipid metabolic effects in an animal model. Our previous in vitro study indicated that DSW significantly decreased the intracellular triglyceride and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. DSW also inhibited the gene levels of adipocyte differentiation, lipogenesis, and adipocytokines, and up-regulated gene levels of lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation. In the present study, the results showed that body weight, liver, adipose tissue, hepatic triglycerides and cholesterol, and serum parameters in the high-fat diet (HFD) + DSW groups were significantly lower compared to the HFD group. Moreover, the fecal output of total lipids, triglycerides, and cholesterol in the HFD + DSW groups was significantly higher than that of the HFD group. Regarding gene expression, DSW significantly increased the gene levels of lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation, and decreased the gene levels of adipocytokine in the adipose tissue of rats with HFD-induced obesity. These results indicate a potential molecular mechanism by which DSW can suppress obesity in rats with HFD-induced obesity through lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to investigate the characteristics of adult clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) with rapid progressive interstitial lung disease (ILD). Hospitalized patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM) between 1998 and 2005 in the Shanghai Renji Hospital were retrospectively studied. One hundred and forty-five patients were classified into CADM, classic DM or PM according to the modified Sontheimer’s definition or Bohan–Peter’s classification criteria. They were further stratified based on the presence or absence of clinical ILD. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and COX regression were performed. The predictive factors for ILD and other clinical properties of CADM-ILD were explored. The presence of clinical ILD was a significant risk factor for the poor outcome of DM/PM (OR = 4.237, CI 95%: 1.239–14.49, p = 0.021). Other risk factors are the presence of rashes and elevated urea nitrogen. Patients with DM/PM complicated by ILD had different clinical courses. Patients with CADM-ILD showed a rapidly progressive pattern with 6-month survival rate of 40.8%. The DM-ILD manifested a progressive pattern with a 5-year survival rate of 54%, while PM-ILD was chronic with 5- and 10-year survival rate of 72.4% and 60.3%, respectively. Better preserved muscle strength, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and hypoalbuminemia may herald ILD in DM/PM. Patients with CADM-ILD who later died had lower PO2, higher lactate dehydrogenase, and prominent arthritis/arthralgia compared with those who survived. The presence of antinuclear antibody seems to be protective. Rapid progressive CADM-ILD is refractory to conventional treatment. ILD is a common complication in over 40% of our hospitalized DM/PM cohort and is also a prominent prognostic indicator. CADM is a special phenotype of DM/PM. CADM-ILD, which is usually rapidly progressive and fatal, requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]