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Biomedical subjects

T A Wang

Publications and source records attributed to T A Wang.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Effects of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on blood lipids, estrogen metabolism, and in vivo oxidative stress in postmenopausal vegetarian women.

BACKGROUND: Vegetarians are generally deficient in long-chain n-3 fatty acids. Long-chain n-3 fatty acids have a beneficial effect on plasma lipid levels, and some studies showed that they had breast cancer suppression effect. One of the biomarkers of breast cancer risk is the ratio of urinary 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE(1)) to 16alpha-hydroxyestrone (16alpha-OHE(1)). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) supplementation on blood lipids, estrogen metabolism and oxidative stress in vegetarians. DESIGN: Single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. INTERVENTIONS: Twenty-seven postmenopausal vegetarian women were recruited. After a 2-week run-in period with 6 g placebo corn oil, the subjects were subsequently randomized to receive either 6 g corn oil (n=13) or 6 g DHA-rich algae oil (2.14 g of DHA/day) (n=14) for 6 weeks. Two subjects in corn oil group withdrew before completion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Plasma lipids, urinary 2-OHE(1) and 16alpha-OHE(1), urinary F(2)-isoprostanes and plasma alpha-tocopherol. RESULTS: Plasma LDL-DHA and EPA level increased significantly by DHA supplementation. DHA decreased plasma cholesterol (C) levels (P=0.04), but did not influence the levels of plasma TG, LDL-C and HDL-C, alpha-tocopherol, urinary F(2)-isoprostanes, 2-OHE(1), 16alpha-OHE(1) and ratio of 2-OHE(1) to 16alpha-OHE(1) as compared to corn oil. CONCLUSION: DHA supplementation at a dose of 2.14 g/day for 42 days decreases plasma cholesterol but neither does it show beneficial effects on estrogen metabolism, nor does it induce deleterious effects on the observed in vivo antioxidant or oxidative stress marker in postmenopausal vegetarian women. SPONSORSHIP: A grant (# DOH89-TD-1062) from Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan.

Biomarkers↗

Cartilage viability with interpolated skin flaps: an experimental study.

Although composite cartilage grafts are often used in conjunction with a midline forehead flap to repair full-thickness nasal defects, the timing of pedicle division, which optimizes cartilage viability, has yet to be determined. A rabbit animal model was designed to investigate this question. The skin flap pedicle was divided at 0 days, 4 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 10 weeks in each of five groups of five animals. Although early pedicle division led to partial skin flap necrosis, the cartilage grafts tolerated this ischemic period better. Cartilage viability was approximately 70% and did not differ significantly between the five groups. It is concluded that a larger composite graft and better definition of the skin flap's critical period are needed to determine optimum timing for pedicle division in this animal model.

Analysis of Variance↗

Eukaryotic DNA replication.

Recent discoveries suggest that the initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication involves at least two steps--one occurring near the completion of mitosis and the other at the onset of S phase--that bring about the ordered assembly of initiator proteins at the origin. The identification and characterization of components involved in promoting or antagonizing each of these steps has provided a preliminary understanding of how replication initiation is regulated so precisely during the cell cycle.

Animals↗

The impact of embryo quality and quantity on implantation and the establishment of viable pregnancies.

The role of cleavage rates, number of embryos transferred, and some other variables in pregnancy outcome in 222 human embryo transfers was studied. Pregnancy rates were significantly higher in a group of 117 patients receiving at least one embryo that had reached the four-cell stage at 40 hr postinsemination (26% total pregnancies/transfer and 18% ongoing pregnancies/transfer) than in the 105 patients receiving embryos developing at a slower rate (7% total pregnancies/transfer and 2% ongoing pregnancies/transfer). Of the 23 ongoing or term pregnancies produced, 21 came from transfers of at least one embryo that had reached four-cell stage by 40 hr postinsemination. Pregnancy rates were unaffected in either the fast-cleaving or the slower-cleaving embryos by culturing in vitro for an additional 24 hr. The presence of anucleate cell fragments also had no effect on pregnancy rates. Pregnancy rates increased progressively with the transfer of more embryos per transfer. These results suggest that procedures to improve ovulation induction and in vitro embryo culture technique may better the success of in vitro fertilization by providing a high number of rapidly cleaving embryos for transfer.

Cleavage Stage, Ovum↗

The influence of exogenous human chorionic gonadotropin cycles with spontaneous luteinizing hormone surges on the outcome of in vitro fertilization.

Thirty consecutive patients who displayed endogenous luteinizing hormone (LH) surges and reached oocyte recovery for the purpose of in vitro fertilization were reviewed (LH surge group). Another 37 patients receiving human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the absence of an LH surge served as a control group (no surge-hCG group). All patients underwent ovulation induction using clomiphene citrate (CC) plus human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG). The numbers of oocytes recovered and embryos transferred were significantly lower in the LH surge group compared with the no surge-hCG group (P less than 0.05). Nevertheless, the pregnancy rate per oocyte recovery between the two groups appeared similar (20 versus 16%). Among the 30 patients with a LH surge, 9 received hCG after a LH surge was verified, whereas the others did not. Addition of hCG to the LH surge increased the numbers of oocytes recovered, embryos transferred, and the pregnancy rate (3 out of 9 versus 3 out of 21); however, this difference is not statistically significant. Furthermore, the addition of exogenous hCG to a spontaneous LH surge appears to be necessary to maximize the number of oocytes recovered, embryos transferred, and pregnancies obtained.

Adult↗