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Introduction: Neopterin, kynurenine and tryptophan can be used to measure activation of monocytes and macrophages during immunological events such as exercise inducing inflammation. Endurance exercise and high-impact sports have shown significant increases in these biomarkers. Measurement is typically conducted by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using C18 or SCX columns. However, kynurenine and tryptophan are not measured simultaneously to neopterin using these separation systems. Here we have used an amine column for separation and simultaneous determination of neopterin, kynurenine and tryptophan.

: Objective: To identify the optimal AUSDRISK threshold score to screen for pre?diabetes and diabetes. Methods: A total of 406 adult patients not diagnosed with diabetes were screened in General Practices (GP) between May and October 2019. All patients received a point of care (POC) HbA1c test. HbA1c test results were categorised into diabetes (?6.5% or ?48 mmol/mol), pre?diabetes (5.7?6.4% or 39?47 mmol/mol), or normal ( Results: Of these patients, 9 (2%) had undiagnosed diabetes and 60 (15%) had pre?diabetes. A Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to predict the presence of pre?diabetes and diabetes; the area under the ROC curve was 0.72 (95%CI 0.65?0.78) indicating modest predictive ability. The optimal threshold cut point for AUSDRISK score was 17 (sensitivity 76%, specificity 61%, + likelihood ratio (LR) 1.96, ? likelihood ratio of 0.39) while the accepted cut point of 12 performed less well (sensitivity 94%, specificity 23%, +LR=1.22 ?LR+0.26). Conclusions: The AUSDRISK tool has the potential to be used as a screening tool for pre?diabetes/diabetes in GP practices. A cut point of ?17 would potentially identify 75% of all people at risk and three in 10 sent for further testing would be positive for prediabetes or diabetes. Implications for public health: Routine case?finding in high?risk patients will enable GPs to intervene early and prevent further public health burden from the sequelae of diabetes., Pre?diabetes is a condition where a person's fasting glucose is elevated but has not reached the diabetes threshold and it is a significant risk factor for the development of type [...]

KEY POINTS * Iron is required for the transport of oxygen and numerous metabolic functions, including the production of energy. * Dietary iron exists in two forms: haem iron is [...]

KEY POINTS * Zinc is an essential nutrient, required for numerous metabolic functions, including gene expression, growth and immunity. * Manifestations of zinc deficiency include growth retardation, high rates of [...]

Continuing education and the APD program This quiz is an ideal activity for APD members to include in your CPD log, where it relates to personal learning goals. Record the [...]

Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is considered a risk factor for coronary heart disease, Our aim was to investigate the effect of individual fatty acids on postprandial plasma Lp(a) and its association with lipemia and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA). Five test fats dominated by (approximately 43% g/kg) stearic (S), palmitic (P), oleic, C18:1 trans (T), or linoleic acid were produced by interesterification. Sixteen young healthy men were served the individual test fats incorporated into meals (1g fat/kg body wt) after a 12-h fast in random order on different days, separated by 3-wk washout periods. Blood samples were drawn before and 2, 4, 6, and 8 h after eating. There was a pronounced increase in Lp(a) concentrations after intake of the test meals, and the test fats resulted in a difference in Lp(a) response (P < 0.001 ; diet x time interaction). However, T fat did not change Lp(a) during the time course studied. T fat resulted in less area under the plasma Lp(a) concentration curve compared to S and P fat (P [less than or equal to] 0.003). Test fat with saturated fatty acids resulted in the highest Lp(a) and lowest plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) response, with the reversed situation for T fat. There was no association between Lp(a) and t-PA. In conclusion, intake of meals high in individual dietary fatty acids increased postprandial plasma Lp(a) differently. There seems to be a complex regulatory role of plasma TAG on nonfasting plasma Lp(a) concentrations. KEY WORDS: * lipoprotein(a) * postprandial lipemia * stearic acid * trans fatty acid * oleic acid

Fruit and vegetable consumption is inversely associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of supplementation with dehydrated juice concentrates from mixed fruit and vegetables on selected plasma vitamins and antioxidant status. We assessed CHD risk by measuring the concentrations of homocysteine, lipids, lipoproteins, glucose and insulin. Men were recruited to participate in a randomized double-blind, crossover trial with 2 periods of 6 wk, separated by a 3-wk wash-out period. Supplementation with the encapsulated mixed extract (Juice Plus) was compared with physically similar placebo capsules. Thirty-two men (13 smokers, 19 nonsmokers) completed the study with a mean compliance of 88%. Compared with placebo, supplementation increased the concentrations of plasma [beta]-carotene (0.24 [+ or -] 0.15 vs. 1.12 [+ or -] 0.70 [micro]mol/L; mean [+ or -] SD; P < 0.0001), retinol (1.87 [+ or -] 0.33 vs. 2.00 [+ or -] 0.43 [micro]mol/L; P < 0.05), [alpha]-tocopherol (16.8 [+ or -] 7.3 vs. 19.3 [+ or -] 6.8 [micro]mol/L; P < 0.01), ascorbic acid (72.1 [+ or -] 19.4 vs. 84.1 [+ or -] 13.5 [micro]mol/L; P < 0.002) and folic acid (24.5 [+ or -] 10.0 vs. 44.9 [+ or -] 16.9 nmol/L; P < 0.0001). Plasma homocysteine was reduced (8.2 [+ or -] 1.5 vs. 7.6 [+ or -] 1.1; P < 0.05) and inversely related (r = -0.40, P < 0.001) with serum folate concentrations. Plasma vitamin C was positively correlated with the resistance of LDL to oxidation (r = 0.26, P < 0.05) and the plasma ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) tended to be greater after supplementation than after the placebo period (1125.5 [+ or -] 144.1 vs. 1180.3 [+ or -] 158.1 [micro]mol/L; P < 0.065). Plasma glucose, insulin and lipid concentrations were unaffected. Responses of smokers and nonsmokers did not differ. In the absence of dietary modification, supplementation with a fruit and vegetable concentrate produced responses consistent with a reduction in CHD risk. KEY WORDS: * fruit and vegetable concentrates * vitamins * homocysteine