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I pazienti portatori dell'allele G della adiponectina sono esposti ad un rischio maggiore di sviluppare sindrome metabolica dei portatori dell'allele T, indipendentemente dakll'introito calorico giornaliero

Background and aim: There is uncertainty regarding the prevention of migraine crises by changing the lifestyle of patients. The aim of this randomized, crossover intervention trial was to evaluate the effects of a low lipid intake on the incidence and severity of migraine crises, in comparison to a diet with moderate lipid intake. Methods and results: After a 2-month run-in when patients received preventive medication but were left on their habitual diet, a low-lipid or a normal-lipid diet was randomly prescribed for 3 months and thereafter diets were crossed over for the following 3 months. Headache was diagnosed based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders (IHCD) III criteria. The number and severity of attacks were assessed using a self-reported calendar. Adherence to the diet was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire. An analysis was performed on the 83 episodic or chronic migraineurs (63 female and 20 male), in the age range of 18e57 years, who completed both intervention periods. Obese subjects had a significantly higher number of attacks than those overweight or with normal body weight (24.7 8, 16.3 12, and 15.6 11, respectively, p < 0.03) with a significant relationship between the body mass index (BMI) and the number of monthly attacks (r Z 0.238, p < 0.03). The number (2.9 3.7 vs. 6.8 7.5, p < 0.001) and severity (1.2 þ 0.9 vs. 1.7 0.9, p < 0.01) of attacks significantly decreased during both intervention periods, with a significant difference in favour of the lowlipid diet. Conclusions: In this group of patients, the low-lipid diet significantly affected the number and severity of migraine attacks in comparison to a normal-lipid diet.

Although it is well known that some dietary measures are able to beneficially affect blood pressure (BP) levels, hypertensive patients find it very difficult to definitively change their nutritional habits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects on BP of a return to the habitual diet following a dietary intervention period. Three hundred and seven hypertensive patients (149 females, 158 males) with a mean age of 52+/-12 years were included in the study. All enrolled patients had reported having reverted to their habitual diet after a period of at least 6 months on a prescribed low-energy and/or low-sodium diet. Nutritional habits were investigated by a simple semiquantitative 24-item food-frequency questionnaire. Patients were divided into tertiles according to their systolic BP. The groups differed in regard to their body mass index (27.6+/-4, 28.7+/-4, and 30.4+/-6 kg/m(2), respectively, for the low- to high-systolic BP groups, but were similar in regard to the number of antihypertensive pills taken (2.1+/-0.9, 2.2+/-1.2, 2.2+/-1.3) and metabolic parameters. Patients in the lowest tertile consumed a diet significantly lower in the percentage of energy from saturated fats and sodium content and significantly higher in the percentage of energy from carbohydrate, and the fiber and potassium content in comparison to the highest tertile. The number of servings of legumes, fish and cooked vegetables was higher and that of salami and cheese lower in the 1st tertile. Definitively changing a habitual diet to a healthier one is a difficult task for hypertensive patients. However, those who return to a diet richer in vegetables, legumes and fish and poorer in saturated fat and salt achieve better control of their BP, without increasing the number of antihypertensive pills.