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Biomedical subjects

R Tsay

Publications and source records attributed to R Tsay.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Modifiable dietary habits and their relation to metabolic abnormalities in men and women with human immunodeficiency virus infection and fat redistribution.

We assessed the relationship between dietary intake, body composition, and metabolic parameters in 85 consecutive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with fat redistribution. Dietary history and values for fasting glucose, insulin, lipids, and oral glucose tolerance were obtained for 62 men and 23 women with HIV infection and fat redistribution (mean age +/- standard error of the mean [SEM], 43.5+/-0.9 years; mean body mass index [BMI] +/- SEM, 26.3+/-0.5 kg/m2). A multivariate regression analysis was used to predict insulin area under the curve (AUC) following the oral glucose tolerance test; this included age, sex, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, kilocalories, duration of protease inhibitor (PI) use, fat redistribution pattern, alcohol intake, dietary fiber intake, and polyunsaturated-to-saturated (P:S) fat ratio. Only age (P=.004), PI use duration (P=.02), and P:S fat ratio (P=.003) were positively associated with insulin AUC. Dietary fiber intake was inversely associated with the insulin AUC (P=.001). In a similar analysis, alcohol consumption was a significant positive predictor of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Polyunsaturated fats, fiber, and alcohol are strongly associated with insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia in this population and may be important targets for dietary modification.

Adipose Tissue↗

Meal palatability, substrate oxidation and blood glucose in young and older men.

We investigated the effects of food palatability on the thermic effect of feeding (TEF), substrate oxidation and circulating glucose and insulin. Healthy young men (23.4+/-1.0, SD, years, n=10) and older men (69.4+/-1.3, years, n=9) were resident in a metabolic unit for two 2-day study periods. On the second day of each period, they consumed in random order either a palatable test meal containing 2.93 MJ or a nonpalatable control meal containing the same foods in identical amounts but blended and freeze-dried into biscuit form. TEF and respiratory quotient (RQ) were measured over 6 h and blood samples were taken for measurement of glucose and insulin. Age group had no effect on TEF, RQ or circulating glucose other than to delay the time of peak TEF (P<0.002 for both meals). There was no significant effect of meal type on TEF, but RQ and circulating glucose were higher following consumption of the palatable meal (P<0.001 for both parameters). These results suggest that over 6 h postprandial, consumption of palatable foods does not increase TEF, but is instead associated with increased glycemic response and increased carbohydrate oxidation. These changes, combined with previous work on the glycemic index, predict an accelerated return of hunger and increased energy intake at subsequent meals following consumption of palatable vs. control foods. Further studies are needed to examine the possible mechanism for this previously suggested "second meal" effect of diet palatability on energy intake.

Adult↗

Arginine, citrulline, and nitric oxide metabolism in end-stage renal disease patients.

The kidneys are thought to be a major site of net de novo arginine synthesis, but the quantitative status of arginine metabolism and its substrate precursor relationship to nitric oxide (NO) synthesis in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have not been characterized. We have investigated kinetic aspects of whole body arginine metabolism in six patients with ESRD. They received two pre- and two post-hemodialysis intravenous tracer infusion studies with L-[guanidino-(15)N(2)]arginine and L-[(13)C]leucine during the first study, and L-[5-(13)C]arginine and L-[5-(13)C-ureido,5,5, (2)H(2)]citrulline during the second study. Arginine homeostasis in ESRD patients was found to be associated with a lower rate of arginine oxidation, and despite the decrease in renal function, the rate of de novo arginine synthesis appeared to be preserved. Plasma citrulline concentrations and flux were also elevated in these subjects compared with healthy adults. The rate of whole body NO synthesis was increased in the ESRD patients, but apparently not different pre- and post-hemodialysis therapy. The anatomic site(s) responsible for the maintenance of net de novo arginine synthesis and for the elevated NO synthesis and its pathophysiological importance in ESRD remain to be established.

Adult↗

Use of food quotients in human doubly labeled water studies: comparable results obtained with 4 widely used food intake methods.

Information on the macronutrient composition of the diet is needed in doubly labeled water studies to convert measured rates of carbon dioxide production into values for total energy expenditure. There is no general consensus, however, about the best method to determine food intake for this purpose. Four common methods of measuring food intake (7-day weighed food intake, 24-hour recall, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Block and Willett food frequency questionnaires) were tested for their ability to provide comparable food quotient and total energy expenditure data in doubly labeled water studies in 10 young and 10 older women. All methods gave mean values for total energy expenditure that were within 1% of each other. Individual values obtained using the 24-hour recall and food frequency questionnaires were within +/- 3% (standard deviation) of values determined using data from the 7-day weighed food record. These results suggest that it is not necessary to use time-consuming and expensive 7-day food records in doubly labeled water studies; instead, food intake data obtained more easily by 24-hour recall or food frequency questionnaire can provide comparable data.

Adult↗

Evaluation of four methods for determining energy intake in young and older women: comparison with doubly labeled water measurements of total energy expenditure.

The accuracy and precision of four different food intake assessment methods were evaluated in young and older women by comparing reported energy intakes with doubly labeled water measurements total energy expenditure (TEE). A study lasting 8 d was conducted in 10 young women aged 25.2+/-1.1 y (-x+/-SEM) and in 10 older women aged 74.0+/-1.4 y. Free-living TEE was measured over 7 d and food consumption was determined from weighed food intake data (7 d), a 24-h food recall (in duplicate), and two different food-frequency questionnaires [Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC)/Block and Willett, both in duplicate]. In addition, body composition was determined by using hydrodensitometry, and strenuous physical activity and the extent of dietary restraint were determined by questionnaire. In young women, 24-h recall gave mean energy intakes that were closest to measures of TEE (-0.34+/-3.71 MJ/d compared with TEE, P=0.178), and energy intakes by food-frequency questionnaires were the only intake data that correlated significantly with individual values for TEE (P<0.05). In older women, food-frequency questionnaires gave mean energy intakes that were closest to measured TEE (+0.53+/-2.95 MJ/d with the Willett questionnaire and -1.19+/-3.02 MJ/d with FHCRC/Block questionnaire). No energy intake data from this group correlated significantly with values for TEE. The 7-d weighed dietary intakes were significantly lower than measured TEE in both young and older women (-2.0 MJ/d in young and older women combined, P<0.001), and did not correlate significantly with values for TEE, although they did most closely mirror the mean difference in TEE between the young and older women (2.30 MJ/d for TEE and 2.11 MJ/d for 7-d weighed intake). These data suggest that none of the methods studied gave accurate estimates of the usual energy requirements of individual subjects. In addition, the results suggest that for some types of studies, simple methods for assessing group mean dietary intake may actually give more accurate information than weighed dietary intakes.

Adult↗

Aberrant snacking patterns and eating disorders in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Appetitive symptoms, particularly carbohydrate craving, have been shown to occur in patients whose conditions responded to treatment with drugs that enhance serotonin-mediated neurotransmission. This suggested that patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who also frequently respond to serotonergic drugs also might have similar distributions of appetitive and eating patterns. METHOD: A survey study of 170 OCD patients and 920 controls was conducted using a questionnaire that inquired about snacking behavior, including food preference, mood changes after eating, and previous diagnosis of eating disorders. The frequency responses in the two groups were tested for statistical significance. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between the OCD and control groups with respect to the reported incidence of eating disorders, snacking patterns, and mood response to food. CONCLUSION: This finding of different snacking patterns in OCD mirrors that found in other disorders that have been shown to be responsive to serotonergic drugs. The high incidence of carbohydrate snacking among OCD patients compared with the control group provides additional evidence that brain serotonin may be involved in this disorder.

Adult↗

Dexfenfluramine, fluoxetine, and weight loss among female carbohydrate cravers.

The consumption of excess calories as carbohydrates (CHO)-rich, protein-poor snacks characterizes the overeating of obese CHO cravers, premenstrual women, patients with Seasonal Affective Disorder, and former smokers. This specific appetite for CHOs may involve brain serotonin, as the synthesis and release of this neurotransmitter can increase following consumption of CHO-rich foods. To examine whether weight loss produced by serotoninergic drugs involves a selective reduction in CHO intake, obese females who consumed at least 30% of their daily calories from CHO-rich snacks were treated with dexfenfluramine ([DF] 15 mg b.i.d.); fluoxetine ([FL] 20 mg t.i.d.); or placebo (PL) for 12 weeks. Weekly weight loss for 25 of 29 PL completers was 0.22 kg +/- 0.06 (mean +/- SEM); for 21 of 28 DF completers, 0.56 +/- 0.08 kg; and for 18 of 30 FL completers, 0.58 +/- 0.09 kg (PL < DF = FL; p = .039). Seven FL subjects, 2 PL subjects, and 1 DF subject withdrew from the study due to side effects; other withdrawals were due to intercurrent illness or personal problems. Prior to treatment, subjects consumed over 40% of their daily CHO intake from snacks. Both of the drugs selectively decreased CHO snack intake (p < 0.05); DF, but not FL, also decreased meal CHO intake (p < .025). These results suggest that weight loss following treatment with serotoninergic drugs may relate to a selective decrease in CHO appetite.

Adult↗

A three-dimensional junction-pore-matrix model for capillary permeability.

A three-dimensional model is presented for the hydraulic conductivity and diffusive permeability of capillary endothelial clefts with a junctional strand with discrete pores and a fiber matrix in its wide parts. The model attempts to provide new insight into long-standing issues concerning the relative importance of open junction discontinuities, restricted slit regions, and matrix components in determining the permeability and selectivity of the capillary wall. The predictions drawn from the model are used to formulate new experiments to test two hypotheses concerning the molecular organization of the junction strand and the location of matrix structures in the wide part of the cleft. Using the three-dimensional theoretical approach recently developed by Tsay, Weinbaum, and Pfeffer (Chem. Eng. Comm. 82, 67-102, 1989), the model first explores the behavior of three different molecular models for the junctional strand discontinuities: (i) a more frequent circular pore of 5.5-nm radius formed by isolated missing junction proteins; (ii) a restricted rectangular slit of four to eight missing proteins and 8-nm gap height; and (iii) larger more infrequent breaks of four to eight missing proteins with a gap height of 22 nm, equal to the width of the wide part of the cleft. For the circular and 8-nm gap height pores the primary molecular sieve can be located at the level of the junction strand, whereas for the 22-nm gap height pores, matrix components must be present in at least some portion of the cleft to provide the molecular filter. The water flow through the cross-bridging fibers in the wide part of the cleft is described either by a new exact three-dimensional theory (Tsay and Weinbaum, J. Fluid Mech. 226, 125-148, 1991) for an ordered periodic array or by a new approximate theory for a random array of perpendicular fibers. Both this theory and the new approximate theory for diffusion presented herein take into account for the first time the interaction between the fibers and plasmalemma boundaries. The principal predictions of the model are that (i) infrequent larger breaks are most likely required to account for small solute permeability; (ii) these larger breaks must be accompanied by a sieving matrix, but this matrix probably occupies only a small portion of the depth of the cleft and/or its entrance at the luminal surface; (iii) neither junctional pore, restricted slit, or fiber matrix models can by themselves satisfy permeability and selectivity data; and (iv) one-dimensional models are a poor description of a cleft with infrequent larger breaks since the solute will be confined to small wakelike regions on the downstream side of the junction strand discontinuities and thus not fill the wide part of the cleft.

Capillary Permeability↗

Underfeeding and body weight regulation in normal-weight young men.

The mechanisms of energy regulation invoked by moderate dietary restriction were investigated in seven healthy young men of normal body weight leading unrestricted lives. Following a baseline period of weight maintenance, subjects were underfed by 806 +/- 162 (mean +/- SE) kcal/day for 21 days. Changes in total energy expenditure (TEE) and resting energy expenditure (REE) and subsequent voluntary nutrient intakes were measured. The REE, averaged for fasting and fed states, decreased during underfeeding by 100 +/- 29 kcal/day (P less than 0.01). TEE decreased nonsignificantly by 296 +/- 170 kcal/day, equivalent to an average of 37% of the decrease in energy intake. Body energy stores were estimated to decrease by 510 +/- 172 kcal/day (P less than 0.03), thus compensating for 63% of the dietary energy deficit on average. Voluntary energy intake following dietary restriction increased above the initial amount required for body weight maintenance, was proportional to the weight loss during underfeeding (P less than 0.03), and was associated with a rapid regain of weight lost during underfeeding. These results indicate that energy balance is regulated by adaptive variations in both energy intake and energy expenditure in normal-weight young men leading unrestricted lives but do not support the hypothesis that energy-wasting mechanisms contribute substantially to body energy regulation.

Adult↗

Dietary energy requirements of young adult men, determined by using the doubly labeled water method.

We examined the hypothesis that current recommendations on dietary energy requirements may underestimate the total energy needs of young adult men, by measuring total energy expenditure (TEE) and resting energy expenditure (REE) in 14 weight-maintaining healthy subjects leading unrestricted lives. TEE and body composition were measured by using 2H(2)18O, and REE was measured by using indirect calorimetry. All subjects had sedentary full-time occupations and participated in strenuous leisure activities for 34 +/- 6 (SE) min/d. TEE and REE were 14.61 +/- 0.76 and 7.39 +/- 0.26 MJ/d, respectively, and 202 +/- 2 and 122 +/- 2 kJ.kg-1.d-1. There were significant relationships between TEE and both body fat-free mass (r = 0.732, P less than 0.005) and measured REE (r = 0.568, P less than 0.05). Measured TEE:REE values were significantly higher than the recommended energy requirement (1.98 +/- 0.09, compared with 1.55 or 1.67, P less than 0.005). These results are consistent with the suggestion that the current recommended energy intake for young adult men may underestimate total energy needs.

Adult↗

Calorie and nutrient intakes of elderly and young subjects measured under identical conditions.

The calorie and nutrient intakes of elderly and young healthy males and females were monitored for four days at the MIT Clinical Research Center. Subjects were free to select foods for meals and snacks from among a variety of high protein and high carbohydrate foods; when necessary, fat was added to make the foods isocaloric. The elderly subjects consumed significantly fewer calories, carbohydrates, and fat than the young subjects, both absolutely and when adjusted for differences in body weight (p less than .001). Mealtime protein intake when adjusted for body weight was similar among males of both age groups and significantly greater than the intakes of both young and elderly females (p less than .001). However, young males consumed more protein from snacks than young females or older adults and thus exhibited the highest daily protein intakes. The two age groups differed significantly in their pattern of food intake from meals and snacks. Elderly adults consumed almost 85% of their total calories from meals, whereas the younger adults consumed about 72% (p less than .001) from meals. Both groups snacked mainly on carbohydrate-rich foods. The elderly subjects consumed significantly fewer snacks than the young; their daily average consumption was 2.2 and that of the young, 4.5 (p less than .001). The persistence of different patterns of food intake between young and elderly individuals when measured under identical clinical conditions suggests that age per se, in addition to age-associated lifestyle changes, may affect eating behavior.

Adult↗

d-Fenfluramine selectively suppresses carbohydrate snacking by obese subjects.

Twenty obese inpatients who claimed to crave carbohydrate-rich foods were given d-fenfluramine (15 mg p.o., twice daily) or its placebo, double-blind, for two consecutive eight-day periods. Food choices were measured on treatment days 1, 7, and 8 by giving the subjects access to unlimited portions of six isocaloric meal foods (three high in carbohydrate and three high in protein) and of 10 isocaloric snack foods (five high in protein and five high in carbohydrate) available 24 hours a day in a computerized vending machine. d-fenfluramine reduced mealtime calorie intake by only 16% (from 1940 +/- 94 to 1630 +/- 92; p < .001), mealtime carbohydrate by 22%, and had no significant effect on mealtime protein consumption; in contrast, snack calorie intake was reduced by 41% (from 707 +/- 97 to 414 +/- 46; p < .001), and snack carbohydrate intake by the same proportion. The mean number of carbohydrate-rich snacks consumed per day decreased from 5.8 +/- 0.8 to 3.4 +/- 0.4 (p < .01), while that of protein-rich snacks failed to change signficantly (i.e., from 0.7 +/- 0.2 to 0.5 +/- 0.2).

Adult↗

Can protein-fortified pasta serve as a meat substitute?

A seventeen-day metabolic balance study was conducted with 13 healthy adult subjects to test the protein utilization of a meat-based diet and a protein-fortified pasta diet in an isonitrogenous, isocaloric inpatient study (averaging 112 gm of protein, and 2,500 cal). Intakes of calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates, as well as ratios of meat protein or protein-fortified pasta protein (PEP), were controlled throughout the diets. The study was comprised of three experimental periods: a seven-day meat-protein control period, representing the typical american diet (TAD), averaging 18% protein, 40% fat, and 42% carbohydrate, a seven-day protein-enriched pasta control period (PEP), averaging 18% protein, 29% fat, and 53% carbohydrates, and a three-day PEP period composed of varied recipes, averaging 18% protein, 29% fat, and 53% carbohydrates. The subjects who consumed both the TAD and PEP diets achieved nitrogen balance (2.5 gN +/- 0.7 on the TAD, 2 gN +/- 0 on PEP with the PEP diet resulting in a decrease in plasma cholesterol (32 mg/dl, P less than .005), and a decrease in systolic (5.25 mm/Hg P less than .025) and diastolic blood pressure (5 mm/Hg, P less than .05), which was associated with an increase in urinary sodium excretion (19 +/- 17 mEq/day, P less than .025). In this study, it was determined that protein-fortified pasta may serve as a meat alternative. The PEP diet, which includes a beneficial change in fat/carbohydrate ratio, can alter lipid profiles, blood pressure, and sodium excretion, thus leading to improved health status and a decrease in cardiac risk factors.

Adult↗

Control of food intake in older men.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of aging on mechanisms of body energy regulation and thereby determine the causes of unexplained weight loss in older persons, a factor predisposing to premature death and disability. DESIGN: Dietary intervention study. SETTING: Metabolic ward and outpatient. PARTICIPANTS: The subjects were 35 healthy younger and older men of normal body weight consuming a diet of typical composition and performing usual activities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjects were either overfed by a mean (+/- SD) of 4.09 (+/- 0.26) MJ/d (n = 17) or underfed by 3.17 (+/- 0.68) MJ/d (n = 18) for 21 days. Measurements were made of changes in body weight, body composition, and energy expenditure during overfeeding or underfeeding, and of subsequent voluntary nutrient intakes and changes in body weight. RESULTS: There was no significant effect of aging on changes in body composition, body weight, or energy expenditure with overfeeding or underfeeding. However, following overfeeding, younger men exhibited spontaneous hypophagia, whereas the older men did not (mean [+/- SD] changes in energy intake relative to control values were -2.11 [+/- 2.18] and 1.55 [+/- 2.11] MJ/d, respectively; P = .006). As a result, the younger men lost the excess body weight gained during overfeeding but the older men did not. Similarly, following underfeeding, the younger men exhibited hyperphagia while the older men did not (mean [+/- SD] changes in energy intake relative to control values were 1.88 [+/- 2.31] and -0.52 [+/- 1.54] MJ/d, respectively; P = .02), and as a result the older men failed to regain the weight lost during underfeeding. CONCLUSIONS: These results in 35 men suggest that aging may be associated with a significant impairment in the ability to control food intake following overeating or undereating. Since overeating and undereating occur routinely as part of the normal pattern of energy regulation, the findings reported herein may help to explain the vulnerability of older persons to unexplained weight gain and weight loss.

Adult↗