ABSTRACT

       Background and Objective: The association of Triglyceride/High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio with fasting serum insulin, which is an alternative method of insulin resistance (IR) measurement, is well-recognized. Thus, the measurement of TG/HDL-C ratio is useful to determine both IR and dyslipidemia, which itself is a characteristic of individuals with IR. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between TG/HDL ratio as an indicator of IR, with different fasting blood glucose levels.

      Methods: This case-control study was performed on 343 volunteers with no history of diabetes or use of blood glucose-lowering medications and fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels of less than 126 mg/dl. After sampling, the subjects were divided into three groups based on their FBS level. First group included healthy subjects with FBS of less than 100 mg/dl. Second group consisted of subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and FBS of 110-100 mg/dl and a third group including those with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and FBS of 110-125 mg/dl.

       Results: The amount of TG/HDL-C ratio was 3.8 ± 2.8, 4.0 ± 2.1 and 5.4 ± 3.8 for the healthy group, individuals with IFG and IGT, respectively. The TG/HDL index was significantly different among the tested groups with no significant difference between healthy subjects and subjects with IFG. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between the IGT and IFG groups with healthy individuals.

       Conclusion: Considering the significant increase of the TG/HDL ratio in groups with impaired glucose, using this index can be helpful in evaluation of glycemic disorder.

  

ABSTRACT
        Background and Objectives: The unfavorable lipid profile in obese individuals is associated with high incidence of various diseases including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, etc. Dieting for weight loss and physical activity are among the most important factors affecting the serum lipid profile. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of diet with and without physical activity on body mass index and serum lipid profile of obese women.
      Methods: This clinical trial was performed in 2011 on 39 obese women referred to a weight loss and nutrition counseling center. Subjects were randomly divided into an active group (diet and exercise) and inactive group (diet without exercise). Blood sampling was done before the intervention and two months after the intervention. Data was analyzed using SPSS-16 and t-test.
       Results: Mean level of triglyceride reduced significantly in both groups. Mean level of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein decreased significantly only in the active group. The Mean level of high-density lipoprotein in the two groups had no significant difference.
Conclusion: The results indicate that dieting for weight loss along with short-term physical activity improves serum levels of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, but does not affect serum HDL level.
        Keywords: Diet, Exercise, Triglyceride, Cholesterol, LDL, HDL.

ABSTRACT
             Background and Objectives: Apolipoprotein O (apoO) is a 198 amino acids protein that exists predominantly in high-density lipoprotein (HDL). It may exert cardioprotective effects via decreasing fat accumulation and increasing removal of cholesterol from macrophages. Although the health benefits of exercise are well documented, no study has yet investigated the effects of various types of training, including resistance training on apoO level. Therefore, we aimed to determine effects of five weeks of circuit resistance training with different intensities on plasma levels of apoO, HDL, total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) in young untrained men.
             Methods: Forty-five age- and weight-matched healthy untrained men were randomly assigned to a control group (n=10) and four training groups: training at 20% intensity (n=9), training at 40% intensity (n=8), training at 60% intensity (n=7) and training at 80% intensity (n=8). The subjects performed circuit resistance training at 10 stations (30 seconds at each station) with three repetitions, without rest between stations and with 3-minute active rest between the repetitions. The training was carried out for 45 minutes per session, three sessions a week, for five weeks. Venous blood samples were taken 48 hours before the first exercise session and 48 hours after the last training session. Plasma levels of apoO, HDL, TC and TG were measured using commercial kits. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test at significance level of 0.05.
             Results: After the training intervention, mean plasma level of TC and TG did not differ significantly between the study groups (P>0.05). Training at 80% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) caused a slight decrease in the apoO concentrations. Moreover, apoO concentration was significantly higher in the 20% 1RM training group compared to other study groups (F=11.599, P<0.002).
             Conclusion: Our results indicate that circuit resistance training at 80% of 1RM can decrease HDL-associated apoO level but does not significantly alter other parameters.
             KEYWORDS: Circuit resistance training, HDL-O, TC, TG, Young men.

ABSTRACT
            Background and Objectives: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. It is well established that low level of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) is a strong and independent risk factor for CAD. Apolipoprotein M (apoM) is a component of HDL, which is involved in pre-β-HDL formation and cholesterol efflux to HDL. It is believed that resistance and aerobic exercise can significantly reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, especially by increasing serum levels of HDL-C. However, little is known about effects of these activities on HDL-apoM levels. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of circuit resistance training at different intensities on HDL-associated apoM levels in young untrained men.
            Methods: Forty-five age- and weight-matched healthy untrained men were randomly assigned to a control group (n=10) and four training groups: 20% 1-repetition maximum (1RM) (n=9), 40% 1RM (n=8), 60% 1RM (n=7) and 80% 1RM (n=8). The subjects performed circuit resistance training consisting of barbell bench press, underarm flab, seated barbell curl, triceps exercise with chains, lying leg curl, squats, hyperextension, abs workout, sit-ups and quadriceps workouts (30 seconds each) in three bouts without rest between stations and with active rest (3 minutes) between sets or bouts. The training protocol was carried out for 45 minutes per session, three sessions a week, for five weeks. Venous blood samples were taken 48 hours before the first exercise session and 48 hours after the last training session. After separating plasma, HDL-associated apoM was measured using commercial ELISA kits. SPSS 16 was used for analysis of data using two-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test at significant level of 0.05.
            Results: After the training intervention, the exercise groups had higher apoM levels in total HDL and HDL-2 compared to the control group (P>0.05). However, no significant difference in HDL-associated apoM level was observed between the study groups.
            Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that various intensities of circuit resistance training can alter HDL-associated apoM levels. The decreased HDL-3-associated apoM level could indicate increased rate of apoM transfer to HDL-2, which could potentially prevent development of atherosclerosis and CAD by enhancing the antioxidant effects of HDL.
            Keywords: Circuit Resistance Training, Total HDL-M, HDL3-M, HDL2-M.

Background and objective:  Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant disorder that mainly affects adults. Although mutations in the IT15 gene have been known as the main cause of the disease, patients with HD like (HDL) syndrome have mutations in genes other than the IT15 gene.  In this study, we investigate the frequency of mutations in SCA17/TBP, JPH3 and PRNP genes in patients with HDL syndrome.
 
      Methods: The frequency of mutations in SCA17/TBP, JPH3 and PRNP genes was studied in 56 patients with HDL phenotype but without trinucleotide expansion in the IT15 gene. DNA was extracted from peripheral whole blood by the salting out method. PCR was performed using specific primers for each gene. PCR products were separated on polyacrylamide gel. Sequencing was performed on some samples to confirm the PCR results.
 
      Results: We found neither trinucleotide expansion in the JPH3 and SCA17, nor octapeptide insertion in the PRNP gene.
 
      Conclusion: Based on the results, Iranian patients with HDL syndrome do not have mutation in the TBP, JPH3 and PRNP genes. However, this result may be due to population differences, rarity of the mutations in the studied genes and the small number of study subjects. Therefore, studies with a larger study population that investigate other mutations, such as point mutations in the mentioned genes may help clarify the exact cause of HDL phenotype in Iranian patients.