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Background: Repeated nucleotide sequences combined with proteins called telomeres cover chromosome ends and dictate cells lifespan. Many factors can modify telomere length, among them are: nutrition and smoking habits, physical activities and socioeconomic status measured by education level. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of above mentioned factors on peripheral blood mononuclear cells telomere length.Methods: Study included 28 subjects (seven male and 21 female, age 18-65 years.), smokers and non-smokers without any serious health problems in past and present. Following a basic medical examination, patients completed the food frequency questionnaire with 17 foods and beverages most common groups and gave blood for testing. PBMC telomere length were measured with qualitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (rtPCR) method and expressed as a T/S ratio.Results: Among nine food types (cereal, fruits, vegetables, diary, red meat, poultry, fish, sweets and salty snacks) and eight beverages (juices, coffee, tea, mineral water, alcoholic- and sweetened carbonated beverages) only intake of red meat was related to T/S ratio. Individuals with increased consumption of red meat have had higher T/S ratio and the strongest significant differences were observed between consumer groups: "never" and "1-2 daily" (p = 0.02). Smoking habits, physical activity, LDL and HDL concentrations, and education level were not related to telomere length, directly or as a covariates.Conclusions: Unexpected correlation of telomere length with the frequency of consumption of red meat indicates the need for further in-depth research and may undermine some accepted concepts of adverse effects of this diet on the health status and life longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study that determined whether rapid consumption of 1 liter (L) of apple juice raises blood antioxidant capacity and apple polyphenols or fructose-induced elevation of plasma uric acid contributes to post-juice increase of blood antioxidant activity. Blood antioxidant capacity is measured as ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and serum 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity. Consumption of all juices transiently raised FRAP and serum DPPH-scavenging activity.

Background: Heat shock protein (Hsp) 27 expression in cardiomyocytes increases in response to ischaemia. The extracellular release of Hsp27 from cardiomyocytes is proportional to its intracellular levels., Aim: To assess the influence of significant coronary artery disease (CAD), which by definition results in chronic myocardial ischaemia, on blood serum levels of Hsp27., Methods: Blood serum levels of Hsp27 in 62 patients with at least 50% lumen diameter narrowing in at least one main epicardial coronary artery on angiography and in 21 controls with normal coronaries were measured., Results: Patients with CAD tended to have higher serum level of Hsp27 than controls [0.463 (0.158-0.809) vs. 0.184 (0.099-0.337) ng/ml, p = 0.084]. Serum Hsp27 level in patients with CAD affecting more than a single vessel was significantly increased [0.529 (0.192-1.004) ng/ml] compared with controls (p = 0.035) and with one artery narrowed [0.276 (0.087-0.549) ng/ml, p = 0.041]. No correlation between Hsp27 serum levels and severity of coronary narrowings assessed by Gensini score was found (r = 0.21, p = 0.11)., Conclusions: Serum level of Hsp27 seems to be a potential marker of myocardial ischaemia caused by advanced 2- or 3-vessel CAD.

Infective endocarditis (IE) and surgical procedures related to cardiac surgery are accompanied by inflammatory responses that may alter production of oxidants by phagocytes. This study evaluates luminol enhanced whole blood chemiluminescence (LBCL) as a measure of oxidative production by circulating phagocytes in 26 IE patients in comparison to 27 matched patients with acquired valvular heart disease and 25 healthy controls. Blood was collected the day before and 3, 7, 12 and 21 days after valve replacement surgery for LBCL measurement; resting (rCL) and agonist (fMLP)-stimulated total light emission (tCL). Preoperative rCL and tCL with values observed after 3, 7, 14, and 21 days from surgery were higher (P<0.01) in patients with IE than in healthy controls. Median preoperative rCL, and tCL was about 2.5-times higher (P<0.01) in IE group than in patients with valvular heart disease (4.3 vs. 1.7 U/10(4) phagocytes and 2473 vs. 782 Uxs/10(4) phagocytes). Three days after valve replacement, LBCL rose three times (P<0.01) in both operated groups. With patient recovery, LBCL decreased and no differences were noted between groups. Patients with IE had elevated LBCL reflecting increased oxidants release from circulating phagocytes that may predispose to the development of oxidative stress.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, perhaps due to causative exacerbations of systemic oxidative stress. Putative oxidative stress related to numerous episodes of intermittent hypoxia, may be an oxidants chief driving force in OSAS patients., Methods: We assessed the resting and n-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP)- induced whole blood chemiluminescence (as a measure of oxidant production by polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes), ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and H2O2 generation in the whole blood of 27 untreated OSAS patients, 22 subjects after a night of CPAP therapy and 11 controls without OSAS. All of them were matched to age, BMI (body mass index) and smoking habits. All parameters were measured before and after polysomnography-controlled sleep, individual results were obtained as a mean from duplicated experiments., Results: No significant differences were distinguished between evening and morning blood chemiluminescence, H2O2 activity and FRAP within and between all three study groups.For instance patients with untreated OSAS had similar morning and evening resting whole blood chemiluminescence (2.3 +/- 2.2 vs. 2.4 +/- 2.2 [aU.10-4 phagocytes]), total light emission after stimulation with fMLP (1790 +/- 1371 vs. 1939 +/- 1532 [aU.s.10-4 phagocytes]), as well as FRAP after 3 min. plasma incubation (602 +/- 202 vs. 671 +/- 221 [uM]). Although, in the subgroup of 11 patients with severe OSAS (apnea/hypopnea index 58 +/- 18/h and oxygen desaturation index 55 +/- 19/h), the morning vs. evening resting chemiluminescence and total light emission after stimulation with fMLP observed a propensity to elevate 2.5 +/- 2.7 vs. 1.9 +/- 1.8 [aU.10-4 phagocytes] and 1778 +/- 1442 vs. 1503 +/- 1391 [aU.s.10-4 phagocytes], respectively, these did not attain statistical significance (p > 0.05)., Conclusion: Our investigation exposed no evidence in the overproduction of oxidants via circulating phagocytes, once considered a culprit in the oxidative stress of OSAS patients.