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Dietary and endogenous fatty acids could play a role in low-grade inflammation. In this cross-sectional study the proportions of erythrocyte membrane fatty acids (EMFA) and the concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and adiponectin were measured and their confounder-adjusted associations examined in 1373 randomly selected Finnish men aged 45–70 years participating in the population based Metsim study in Eastern Finland. The sum of n −6 EMFAs, without linoleic acid (LA), was positively associated with concentrations of CRP and IL-1Ra ( r partial =0.139 and r partial =0.115, P <0.001). These associations were especially strong among lean men (waist circumference <94 cm; r partial =0.156 and r partial =0.189, P <0.001). Total n −3 EMFAs correlated inversely with concentrations of CRP ( r partial =−0.098, P <0.001). Palmitoleic acid (16:1 n −7) correlated positively with CRP ( r partial =0.096, P <0.001). Cis-vaccenic acid (18:1 n −7) was associated with high concentrations of adiponectin ( r partial =0.139, P <0.001). In conclusion, n −6 EMFAs, except for LA, correlated positively with the inflammatory markers. Palmitoleic acid was associated with CRP, whereas, interestingly, its elongation product, cis-vaccenic acid, associated with anti-inflammatory adiponectin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) gene has been consistently associated with an increased risk of obesity. We investigated whether the SNP rs9939609 (T/A) of the FTO is associated with risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including serum levels of C - reactive protein (CRP), the chemokine RANTES (Regulated on Activation, Normal T Cell Expressed and Secreted; CCL5), and serum and lipoprotein lipids in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS). Furthermore, we examined whether the rs9939609 increased the CVD risk in the DPS and if these results could be replicated in a larger cross-sectional population-based random sample of Finnish men (the METSIM).Methods and Results: In the DPS, altogether 490 (BMI≥25kg/m(2)) subjects with impaired glucose tolerance were genotyped for rs9939609. Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality data were collected during the median follow-up of 10.2 years. The replication study was a population-based cross-sectional study of 6214 men. In the DPS, the AA genotype of rs9939609 was associated, independently of BMI, with increased RANTES (p=0.002) and decreased HDL cholesterol concentrations (p=0.007) in men. During the follow-up, the AA genotype was associated with an adjusted 2.09-fold risk (95% CI 1.17-3.73, p=0.013) of CVD in men. In the METSIM Study, the association with a history of myocardial infarction was replicated in the subgroup of men with type 2 diabetes.Conclusion: We suggest that the variation in the FTO gene may contribute to the development of CVD in men with an abnormal glucose metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on topics related to radionuclide imaging in chronic heart failure, including characterisation of cardiac phenotype in genetically homogenous hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients, the effects of candesartan on cardiac sympathetic nerve activity in congestive heart failure patients and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction, and the link between impaired myocardial blood flow and flow reserve and increased coronary resistance in persistent idiopathic atrial fibrillation.

Reports that the duration and metabolic control of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus are important predictors of coronary heart disease, particularly in women.