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Biomedical subjects

H Wiseman

Publications and source records attributed to H Wiseman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Psychometric properties of goal-attainment scaling in the assessment of mann's time-limited psychotherapy.

This study tested the reliability and validity of Goal-Attainment Scaling (GAS) in assessing outcome in Mann's Time-Limited Psychotherapy (TLP). Judges constructed GAS scales for 33 patients on five dimensions: severity of symptoms, self-esteem, same-sex friendships, romantic relationships, and work performance. Patients in the treatment group received 12 sessions of TLP, whereas controls were in a waiting list for the same period of time (12 weeks) before starting time-limited psychotherapy. Judges rated all patients on GAS before beginning therapy, at termination, and follow-up. Mean interrater reliability of scores between pairs of judges was r = .88. Convergent validity of the GAS was confirmed by moderate to high correlations with the Health-Sickness Rating Scale (r = .70, p < .001), the Target Complaints Scale (r = .50, p <.01), and the Brief Symptom Inventory (r = .38, p < .05). The findings are discussed and recommendations are made for the reliable and valid use of the GAS in psychotherapy outcome research.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Eating soya improves human memory.

RATIONALE: Soya foods are rich in isoflavone phytoestrogens with weak agonist activity at oestrogen receptors. Oestrogen treatment has been found to improve memory in men awaiting gender reassignment and in post-menopausal women. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of supervised high versus low soya diets on attention, memory and frontal lobe function in young healthy adults of both sexes. METHODS: Student volunteers were randomly allocated to receive, under supervision, a high soya (100 mg total isoflavones/day) or a low soya (0.5 mg total isoflavones/day) diet for 10 weeks. They received a battery of cognitive tests at baseline and then after 10 weeks of diet. RESULTS: Those receiving the high soya diet showed significant improvements in short-term (immediate recall of prose and 4-s delayed matching to sample of patterns) and long-term memory (picture recall after 20 min) and in mental flexibility (rule shifting and reversal). These improvements were found in males and females. In a letter fluency test and in a test of planning (Stockings of Cambridge), the high soya diet improved performance only in females. There was no effect of diet on tests of attention or in a category generation task. Those on the high soya diet rated themselves as more restrained and, after the tests of memory and attention, they became less tense than did those on the control diet. CONCLUSIONS: Significant cognitive improvements can arise from a relatively brief dietary intervention, and the improvements from a high soya diet are not restricted to women or to verbal tasks.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

New advances in the understanding of the role of steroids and steroid receptors in disease.

Steroids and related compounds are important in disease development and prevention, via steroid receptor-mediated and receptor-independent mechanisms. Interaction of endogenous oestrogens with the oestrogen receptor has unfortunate mitogenic effects in breast cancer. However, dietary consumption of non-steroidal weak oestrogens, such as the soy isoflavone phytoestrogens genistein and diadzein, is associated with a decreased breast cancer risk. This may arise in part from the suboptimal configuration induced in the transactivation helix of oestrogen receptor-beta.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Consumption of flavonoids in onions and black tea: lack of effect on F2-isoprostanes and autoantibodies to oxidized LDL in healthy humans.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative damage to lipids in vivo may be involved in the development of atherosclerosis and cancer. Onions and black tea are foods rich in flavonoids, predominantly the flavonoid quercetin, which is a potent in vitro inhibitor of membrane lipid peroxidation and LDL oxidation. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to investigate the effects of consuming a high-flavonoid (HF) diet enriched with onions and black tea on indexes of oxidative damage in vivo compared with a low-flavonoid (LF) diet. DESIGN: Thirty-two healthy humans were studied in a randomized crossover design. Indexes of oxidative damage used were plasma F2-isoprostanes (a biomarker of lipid peroxidation in vivo) and the titer of antibodies to malondialdehyde (MDA)-modified LDL. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the intake of macronutrients or assessed micronutrients, plasma F2-isoprostane concentrations, and MDA-LDL autoantibody titer between the HF and LF dietary treatments. In the men, however, plasma concentrations of the F2-isoprostane 8-epi-prostaglandin F2alpha were slightly higher after the HF treatment phase than after the LF treatment [0.31 +/- 0.029 nmol/L (111 +/- 10.4 ng/L) compared with 0.26 +/- 0.022 nmol/L (92 +/- 7.8 ng/L); P = 0.041]. In all subjects, plasma quercetin concentrations were significantly higher after the HF treatment phase than after the LF treatment: 221.6 +/- 37.4 nmol/L compared with less than the limit of detection of 66.2 nmol/L. CONCLUSION: Flavonoid consumption in onions and tea had no significant effect on plasma F2-isoprostane concentrations and MDA-LDL autoantibody titer in this study and thus does not seem to inhibit lipid peroxidation in humans.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Animal traceability across national frontiers in the European Union.

The authors identify the fundamental requirements of a new information infrastructure for transnational animal tracking and tracing systems for use within the European Union. Relevant data for individual animals should include identification, movement history and health records. This must be maintained and available within each Member State, and should be available to other Member States on demand. A prerequisite for effective traceability is a system of unique and secure identification based on tamper-proof/tamper-evident identifiers linked directly to a database. An effective transnational traceability system requires an information infrastructure that will support the following: accuracy of information, completeness of information, common standards for interpreting data relating to animals and fast response to tracking and tracing requests. Information technology has advanced rapidly in the period since the existing animal movement control systems for Europe were first developed in the mid-1980s. The authors discuss the opportunity to use new technologies to enhance the existing systems. In particular, extensible markup language (XML) can be used to address many of the problems with data standards and interchanges in the existing infrastructure.

Animal Identification Systems↗
PubMed2000

The steady-state levels of oxidative DNA damage and of lipid peroxidation (F2-isoprostanes) are not correlated in healthy human subjects.

Oxidative damage to DNA in human tissues can be determined by measuring multiple products of oxidative damage to the purine and pyrimidine bases using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Oxidative damage to lipids (lipid peroxidation) can be quantitated by the mass spectrometry-based determination of F2-isoprostanes, specific end-products of the peroxidation of arachidonic acid residues in lipids. For both DNA base damage products and 8-epi prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha), there is a wide variation in levels between different healthy human subjects. We measured multiple products of oxidative damage to DNA bases in white cells, and 8-epi PGF2alpha in plasma, from blood samples obtained from healthy human subjects in the UK and in Portugal. No correlation of 8-epi PGF2alpha levels with levels of any modified DNA base (including 8-hydroxyguanine) was observed. We conclude that no single parameter can be measured as an index of "oxidative stress" or "oxidative damage" in vivo.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Flavonoids protect against oxidative damage to LDL in vitro: use in selection of a flavonoid rich diet and relevance to LDL oxidation resistance ex vivo?

The ability of a range of dietary flavonoids to inhibit low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation in vitro was tested using a number of different methods to assess oxidative damage to LDL. Overall quercetin was the most effective inhibitor of oxidative damage to LDL in vitro. On this basis, a diet enriched with onions and black tea was selected for a dietary intervention study that compared the effect on the Cu2+ ion-stimulated lag-time of LDL oxidation ex vivo in healthy human subjects of a high flavonoid diet compared with a low flavonoid diet. No significant difference was found in the Cu2+ ion-stimulated lag-time of LDL oxidation ex vivo between the high flavonoid and low flavonoid dietary treatments (48 +/- 1.6 min compared to 49 +/- 2.1 min).

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Isoflavone phytoestrogens consumed in soy decrease F(2)-isoprostane concentrations and increase resistance of low-density lipoprotein to oxidation in humans.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative damage to lipids may be involved in the etiology of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease in general, and cancer. The soy isoflavone phytoestrogens, genistein and daidzein, and equol (a daidzein metabolite produced by intestinal microflora) are antioxidants in vitro; equol is a particularly good inhibitor of LDL oxidation and membrane lipid peroxidation. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the effects of a diet enriched with soy containing isoflavones on in vivo biomarkers of lipid peroxidation and resistance of LDL to oxidation, compared with a diet enriched with soy from which the isoflavones had been extracted. DESIGN: : A randomized, crossover design was used to compare diets enriched with soy that was low or high in isoflavones in 24 subjects. Plasma concentrations of an F(2)-isoprostane, 8-epi-prostaglandin F(2)(alpha) (8-epi-PGF(2)(alpha)), a biomarker of in vivo lipid peroxidation, and resistance of LDL to copper-ion-induced oxidation were determined. RESULTS: Plasma concentrations of 8-epi-PGF(2)(alpha) were significantly lower after the high-isoflavone dietary treatment than after the low-isoflavone dietary treatment (326 +/- 32 and 405 +/- 50 ng/L, respectively; P = 0.028) and the lag time for copper-ion-induced LDL oxidation was longer (48 +/- 2.4 and 44 +/- 1.9 min, respectively; P = 0.017). Lag time for oxidation of unfractionated plasma and plasma concentrations of malondialdehyde, LDL alpha-tocopherol, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and isoflavonoids did not differ significantly between dietary treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of soy containing naturally occurring amounts of isoflavone phytoestrogens reduced lipid peroxidation in vivo and increased the resistance of LDL to oxidation. This antioxidant action may be significant with regard to risk of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease in general, and cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Interindividual variation in metabolism of soy isoflavones and lignans: influence of habitual diet on equol production by the gut microflora.

The soy isoflavones, daidzein and genistein, and the lignans, matairesinol and secoisolariciresinol, are phytoestrogens metabolized extensively by the intestinal microflora. Considerable important evidence is already available that shows extensive interindividual variation in isoflavone metabolism, and we have investigated the extent of this variation in a crossover study of a soy-containing food low or high in isoflavones (each treatment period lasted for 17 days, and the 2 treatment periods were separated by a 25-day washout period) in 24 healthy subjects [19 women and 5 men, mean age 30 yr, range 19-40, mean body mass index 22.5 +/- 3.5 (SD) kg/m2]. There was a 16-fold variation in total isoflavonoid excretion in urine after the high-isoflavone treatment period. The variation in urinary equol excretion was greatest (664-fold), and subjects fell into two groups: poor equol excretors and good equol excretors (36%). A significant negative correlation was found between the proportion of energy from fat in the habitual diet and urinary equol excretion (r = -0.55; p = 0.012). Good equol excretors consumed less fat as percentage of energy than poor excretors (26 +/- 2.3% compared with 35 +/- 1.6%, p < 0.01) and more carbohydrate as percentage of energy than poor excretors (55 +/- 2.9% compared with 47 +/- 1.7%, p < 0.05). Interindividual variation in the urinary excretion of O-desmethyl-angolensin (O-DMA) was also apparent (76-fold after the high-isoflavone treatment period), but there was no relationship between equol excretion and O-DMA excretion. Enterolactone was the major lignan metabolite in urine and plasma but showed less interindividual variation than equol and O-DMA. It is suggested that the dietary fat intake decreases the capacity of gut microbial flora to synthesize equol.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The therapeutic potential of phytoestrogens.

Phytoestrogens, such as the soya isoflavones genistein and daidzein, are currently being extensively investigated through both molecular, preclinical and clinical studies to determine their potential health benefits. Phytoestrogens may protect against chronic diseases such as hormone-dependent cancer (e.g., breast and prostate cancer), cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Investigations of phytoestrogen metabolism and bioavailability are also of great relevance. Conversion by gut microflora of daizein to its isoflavan metabolite equol, which is a more potent oestrogen and anti-oxidant, occurs only in some individuals (about 35% of subjects tested are equol excretors). This has considerable implications for daidzein bioavailability and also for cancer risk. Oxidative damage has been implicated in the development of heart disease and cancer and soya phytoestrogens have been reported to decrease plasma F(2)-isoprostane concentrations (biomarker for in vivo lipid peroxidation) and increase low density lipoprotein oxidation resistance. This anti-oxidant action of phytoestrogens could potentially contribute to their therapeutic efficacy. The findings from the current ongoing studies are all likely to contribute to determining the potential use of phytoestrogens as therapeutic agents.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effect of dietary quercetin on oxidative DNA damage in healthy human subjects.

The effect of dietary intake of flavonols (predominantly quercetin) on oxidative DNA damage was studied in thirty-six healthy human subjects (sixteen men, twenty women). The study was a randomised crossover study, comprising two 14 d treatments of either a low-flavonol (LF) or high-flavonol (HF) diet with a 14 d wash-out period between treatments. Subjects were asked to avoid foods containing flavonols, flavones and flavanols during the LF dietary treatment period and to consume one 150 g onion (Allium cepa) cake (containing 89.7 mg quercetin) and one 300 ml cup of black tea (containing 1.4 mg quercetin) daily during the HF dietary treatment. A 7 d food diary was kept during each dietary period and blood samples were taken after each dietary treatment. Products of oxidative damage to DNA bases were measured in DNA from leucocytes. The study had more than 95% power to detect a change of 20% in DNA damage products Plasma vitamin C and plasma quercetin concentrations were also measured. No significant differences in intake of macronutrients or assessed micronutrients, measured DNA base damage products, or plasma vitamin C were found between the HF and LF dietary treatments. The plasma quercetin concentration was significantly higher after the HF dietary treatment period (228.5 (SEM 34.7) nmol/l) than after the LF dietary treatment period (less than the limit of detection, i.e. <66.2 nmol/l). These findings do not support the hypothesis that dietary quercetin intake substantially affects oxidative DNA damage in leucocytes.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Antioxidant action and potential antidiabetic properties of an isoflavonoid-containing soyabean phytochemical extract (SPE).

The potential role of oestrogenic agents, antioxidants and intestinal glucose-uptake inhibitors in the treatment of diabetes is briefly reviewed. Reports in the literature suggest that oestrogen replacement therapy may favourably modulate glucose homeostasis. A soya phytochemical extract (SPE) containing the isoflavone phytoestrogens genistein and daidzein (mostly in their glycone forms as genistin and daidzin) was investigated as an antioxidant and modulator of intestinal glucose-transport. In the present study, SPE was found to protect against glucose-induced oxidation of human low density lipoproteins (LDL) in vitro. Equol (a gut bacterial metabolite of daidzein) was a more effective antioxidant than daidzein or genistein in this system and was of similar antioxidant potency to the dietary flavonols quercetin and kaempferol and to the endogenous antioxidant 17beta-oestradiol. SPE was found to be an inhibitor of glucose uptake into rabbit intestinal brush border membrane vesicles in vitro, though of weaker potency than the classical sodium dependent glucose transporter (SGLT) inhibitor, phlorizin. Thus SPE displays a range of properties which may be of benefit in diabetes, namely as an oestrogenic agent, an inhibitor of intestinal glucose-uptake and a preventive agent for glucose-induced lipid peroxidation.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

The bioavailability of non-nutrient plant factors: dietary flavonoids and phyto-oestrogens.

The bioavailability in human subjects of non-nutrient plant factors, including dietary flavonoids and phyto-oestrogens, is of great importance relative to their reported health protective effects. These effects include protection against heart disease, and also in the case of the phyto-oestrogens, hormone-dependent cancers. Epidemiological studies have shown flavonoid intake (mostly quercetin) to be inversely associated with mortality from CHD. Quercetin is a potent antioxidant in vitro, and protection against the oxidative damage to LDL implicated in atherogenesis has been suggested as a possible mechanism. Human subjects can absorb significant amounts of quercetin (particularly in the glucoside form) and it would appear to be sufficiently bioavailable to act as an antioxidant in vivo; however, following our recent study (J O'Reilly, TAB Sanders and H Wiseman, unpublished results), it is currently less clear whether quercetin really can act as an antioxidant in vivo. The isoflavone phyto-oestrogens genistein and daidzein are much less effective antioxidants than quercetin in vitro, however, they are well-absorbed by human subjects and appear to be sufficiently bioavailable to act as antioxidants in vivo. In our recent study (O'Reilly et al. 1998) lower plasma isoprostane concentrations and increased resistance of LDL to oxidation were observed following the high-isoflavone dietary phase compared with the low-isoflavone dietary phase. Considerable inter-individual variation in isoflavone metabolite excretion has been observed, in particular the production of equol (the gut bacterial metabolite of daidzein; a more potent antioxidant and more oestrogenic than daidzein), and this appears to be influenced by habitual diet. Further studies on the bioavailability of these non-nutrient plant factors and related influencing factors are clearly still required.

Biological Availability↗