Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “protocol optimization”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,747 records · Page 97Linked to original sources

Prenatal and postpartum Pap smears: do we need both?

PURPOSE: The need to perform a Pap smear at the time of entry to prenatal care, as well as at the postpartum check-up, is questionable. A comparison of the rates of recovery of endocervical cells and the incidence of dysplasia on the prenatal and postpartum Pap smears may be helpful in determining an optimal preventive care protocol for patients who are pregnant. METHODS: Demographic and clinical data were collected from the records of 1,377 obstetrical patients at a midwest family practice residency. The yield of endocervical cells and the incidence of dysplasia was determined for both the prenatal and the postpartum Pap smears performed for this group of patients. RESULTS: In women having both exams, endocervical cells were recovered in 44.1% of prenatal Pap smears compared to 82.0% of postpartum smears. The incidence of dysplasia was 2.6% on prenatal Pap smears and 4.8% on postpartum smears. In this study population, 33% of women did not return for their postpartum check-up. CONCLUSIONS: The postpartum Pap smear is of value due to a significant yield of dysplasia. The sensitivity of the prenatal Pap test may be less than desired. Efforts directed toward increased patient compliance regarding the postpartum check-up are needed.

Adolescent↗

Gene transplantation: combined antisense inhibition and gene replacement strategies.

Optimal gene replacement protocols would include both inhibition of the endogenous gene and overexpression of the preferred (or mutant) gene. We have developed a novel gene transfer method to test whether antisense-resistant genes (designed by deletion of antisense RNA target sequences) can replace the function of endogenous genes. Immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that inducible anti-fos RNA (antisense directed against the c-fos gene) reduces endogenous c-fos expression by 90%, but did not affect the transfected antisense-resistant mutant c-fos genes. Cell growth studies demonstrated that full-length and minimally truncated c-fos expression vectors could restore serum-induced DNA synthesis but that C-terminally truncated Fos mutants including FBR v-fos could not. Transcriptional studies demonstrate that the endogenous c-fos protein contributes to AP-1 activity and normally suppresses regulated SRE (serum response element) activity. This "gene transplant" method for inhibition of endogenous genes and replacement with preferred genes has implications for gene therapy of hereditary hematologic disorders and for the correction or "repair" of oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in leukemias and lymphomas.

Blood Physiological Phenomena↗

Sampling requirements for dynamic cardiac PET studies using image-derived input functions.

The utilization of image-derived input functions is becoming common in quantitative PET studies of the heart. Consequently, imaging protocols must be designed to sample both blood and tissue concentrations adequately. Most clinical imaging protocols consist of a series of short initial scans to measure the rapid change in blood and tissue tracer concentration levels, followed by scans of gradually increasing length. The number of initial short scans must be matched to the shape of the input function. In this paper, noise-free simulation studies were performed to evaluate the effect of temporal sampling on estimates of the parameters of a two-compartment kinetic model. In addition, the consequences of varying tracer infusion length and timing were studied. The kinetic model parameters' bias decreased when infusion times were lengthened or sampling rates increased. Our results indicated that tracer infusions of 30 sec were best suited for these studies. Two currently employed clinical imaging protocols were then optimized for use with this infusion scheme. Ten initial scans with durations of 10 sec, or twenty of 5 sec length produced unbiased estimates of kinetic model parameters that describe myocardial physiology. Noisy simulations with the equivalent of one million events confirmed these results.

Heart↗

Pharmacologic cardiovascular support.

The availability of newer and better inotropic agents has led to their widespread application in critically ill medical and surgical patients. Although the elective use of inotropic drugs has been associated with adverse outcomes in patients with cardiomyopathy and chronic heart failure, inotropic drugs used as part of treatment protocols designed to optimize oxygen delivery to tissues have been shown to improve outcome in critical illness. Future research must be aimed toward better definition of clinical settings in which outcome can be improved with inotropes and toward identifying safer agents with fewer adverse side effects.

Animals↗

Effect of leukocyte concentration and inoculum volume on the laboratory identification of cytomegalovirus in peripheral blood by the centrifugation culture-antigen detection methodology.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the rate of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) detection in peripheral blood by shell vial assay-indirect immunofluorescent assay technology using two leukocyte inocula concentrations and different inoculum volumes containing equivalent cell concentrations. DESIGN: Leukocyte inocula concentrations of 2 x 10(5) and 4 x 10(5) cells per 0.2 mL were assayed for the presence of CMV by shell vial assay-indirect immunofluorescent assay. The effect of different inoculum volumes (0.2 and 0.4 mL) containing an equivalent cell concentration of 4 x 10(5) was evaluated as well. The data were compared to conventional MRC-5 tube cultures, including blind passage. PATIENTS: Ninety-five patients (101 specimens) were tested sequentially. The test population consisted primarily of patients suffering from the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. SETTING: The diagnostic virology laboratory, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome clinics, and hospital wards. RESULTS: Among the 101 specimens tested by shell vial assay-indirect immunofluorescent assay, the rate of CMV sensitivity increased by 36% using the higher leukocyte inoculum concentration of 4 x 10(5) cells per 0.2 mL (P = .002; Cochran's Q test). No significant difference in CMV yield was identified using equivalent cell concentrations with inocula volumes of 0.2 or 0.4 mL. The CMV sensitivity rate using the higher leukocyte inoculum surpassed that obtained by conventional tube culture-blind passage. CONCLUSION: These data denote the importance of leukocyte concentration on the rate of CMV detection in peripheral blood by the shell vial assay-indirect immunofluorescent assay. The data also point out the need to establish a standardized blood preparation protocol to achieve optimal clinical relevance of this widely used laboratory test.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

The combined effects of sublethal damage repair, cellular repopulation and redistribution in the mitotic cycle. II. The dependency of radiosensitivity parameters alpha, beta and t(0) on biological age for Chinese hamster V79 cells.

In this paper, an analytical formalism, designated the R3 model, is applied to the problem of understanding changes in cellular radiosensitivity as a function of the position of the cell in the generation cycle. The model describes the survival probability for cells exposed to ionizing radiation and incorporates the effects of sublethal damage repair, repopulation and redistribution in the cell cycle. The importance of this problem stems in part from the increasing reliance on in vitro, single-cell model systems to design optimal radiotherapy treatment protocols, and in particular from the fact that arguments used to justify newer methodologies often bear quite heavily on descriptors (e.g. alpha and beta) meant to be employed for cells homogeneous in radiosensitivity--a situation hardly applicable to tissues. From the analysis of two sets of data for Chinese hamster V79 cells (Sinclair and Morton, Nature 205, 247-250, 1964; Gillespie et al., Radiat. Res. 64, 353-364, 1975) the linear-quadratic parameters (alpha, beta) are obtained as a function of cell cycle age. The results indicate substantial variation of these parameters inside each phase of the cycle. Moreover, it is noticeable that alpha and beta show different patterns of variation during the cycle and therefore the ratio alpha/beta will also change. At the regions of the cycle where beta is large (the beginning of G1 phase, at the G1/S-phase border and during G2 phase) dose-rate effects would be expected to be important. The data for V79 cells are consistent with the view that sublethal damage repair occurs predominantly in S phase, with very little (if any) repair in the other phases of the cycle.

Animals↗

Long-term octreotide therapy in growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas: evaluation with serial MR.

PURPOSE: To compare the changes in tumor volume with length of octreotide treatment in patients with acromegaly, to analyze signal alterations of the pituitary mass during treatment, and to determine an optimal MR imaging protocol. METHODS: Eighteen patients with growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary adenomas were studied with MR imaging before and during octreotide treatment. The length of follow-up was 9 to 70 months. Tumor volume, extension, and signal characteristics were evaluated. RESULTS: The total pituitary volume decreased in 16 patients by a mean of 37%. In 11 patients the tumor could be demarcated from the normal gland, and mean tumor reduction was 51%. Most of the tumor reduction took place within the first year, but an additional effect was noted in four patients during the following 3 years. Tumor reexpansion, hemorrhage, or necrosis did not occur. Serum GH levels were effectively lowered within the first year, with slight additional reductions thereafter. CONCLUSION: In long-term octreotide treatment of GH-secreting pituitary adenomas, tumor shrinkage occurs primarily during the first year, but effects are noted up to 4 years. The treatment may be considered an alternative to surgery in the select group of patients in whom the peripheral effects of chronic GH elevation, as determined by serum insulinlike growth factor I (IGF-I), are controlled. We suggest MR imaging with T1-weighted coronal and sagittal images at baseline and after 3 and 12 months, with additional MR imaging if GH or IGF-I levels rise during treatment. At baseline, both noncontrast and contrast-enhanced images should be obtained. Unenhanced images may be sufficient during follow-up unless tumor reexpansion occurs or surgery is anticipated.

Acromegaly↗

[The fragile X chromosome syndrome: DNA analysis in families with familial occurrence of mental retardation].

The fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited mental retardation, is characterized by unique genetic mechanisms, which include amplification of a CGG repeat and abnormal DNA methylation. Direct DNA analysis of fragile X mutations has already shown its clear superiority for postnatal and prenatal diagnosis of the disorder and for carrier detection. In this, paper the authors report on the results of DNA analysis in families with familial mental retardation. They present the various alternatives (probe/enzymes combinations) for Southern blot based diagnosis and protocols which gave optimal results for detection of patients segregating for fragile X syndrome. Totally, 36 members from 10 families were analyzed by Southern blotting, including 18 mentally affected patients. No CGG expansion was detected in 9 clinically affected patients of 5 families. Expansion of the CGG repeats was found in 9 clinically and cytogenetically affected males, in 5 unaffected carriers of premutation, and in 1 carrier of full mutation in the remaining 5 families. Carriers represented mothers of the patients. These results correlated with cytogenetic and clinical expression of fragile X syndrome. The application of the method for diagnosis of the disease is discussed. (Tab. 2, Fig. 3, Ref. 21.)

Blotting, Southern↗

Complete protective immunity induced in mice by immunization with the 19-kilodalton carboxyl-terminal fragment of the merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP1[19]) of Plasmodium yoelii expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: correlation of protection with antigen-specific antibody titer, but not with effector CD4+ T cells.

The 19-kDa carboxyl-terminal fragment of the merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP1) is a leading malaria vaccine candidate but is unable to induce immunity in all monkeys or all strains of mice. The mechanism of immunity is unclear, although data show that cell-mediated immunity plays a critical role following immunization with the larger mature MSP1 protein. We optimized a vaccine protocol using the MSP1(19) fragment of Plasmodium yoelii expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, such that following exposure of mice to parasites, they remained undetectable in peripheral blood, whereas control animals all died at very high parasitemia within 10 days. We then depleted the vaccinated mice of >99% of CD4+ T cells by anti-CD4 mAb treatment and could show that infections in most animals remained subpatent following challenge. Furthermore, mice in which the gene for the mu-chain of Ig had been disrupted could not be immunized with MSP1(19). Immunity in normal mice did not depend on the presence of an intact spleen nor production of nitric oxide, persisting unabated when >70% of splenic macrophages were depleted. Thus, while effector CD4+ T cells may contribute to immunity, neither they nor factors associated with a Th1-type cell mediated immune response appeared to play the major role in MSP1(19)-induced protection in normal mice. Furthermore, T cells were not sufficient for immunity in mice lacking B cells. In normal mice, protection correlated with a very high titer of MSP1(19)-specific Abs (>6,400,000), predominantly G1 and G2b, which may function by merozoite neutralization.

Animals↗

Statistical classification of seafood quality.

Discriminant function analysis (DFA) was used to classify the freshness quality of lean fish, fatty fish, and shrimp as either acceptable (Class 1), marginal (Class 2), or unacceptable (Class 3). Fresh and frozen survey samples were statistically classified following an initial precategorization using sensory, chemical, and microbiological indices as predictor variables. Computer elimination of nonsignificant predictor tests, p > 0.05, was used to optimize the test protocol. DFA correctly classified 98.5% of 67 preclassed lean fish samples (34 Class 1; 13 Class 2; 20 Class 3), 86.2% of 58 preclassed fatty fish samples (22 Class 1; 16 Class 2; 20 Class 3), and 98.7% of 79 preclassed shrimp samples (45 Class 1; 18 Class 2; 16 Class 3) by using all the quality indices. Computer selection of significant predictor indices at p < 0.05 yielded correct predicted classifications of 95.5, 81.0, and 97.5%, respectively. The number of tests required to effectively categorize quality were reduced from 15 to 3 for lean fish, from 13 to 3 for fatty fish, and from 11 to 6 for shrimp, with minimal losses in prediction accuracy and a substantial reduction in analysis time.

Animals↗

Reversal by desferrioxamine of tau protein aggregates following two days of treatment in aluminum-induced neurofibrillary degeneration in rabbit: implications for clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease.

A clinical trial in patients with Alzheimer's disease has indicated that frequent intramuscular (i.m.) treatment with desferrioxamine (DFO) slows progression of the disease. Confirmatory trials have not been carried out, partly because of the rigors of twice daily intramuscular injections over a period of 2 years, even though the initial report gave promising results. The aim of the present study was to determine an optimal DFO treatment protocol in an animal model exhibiting Alzheimer's-like intraneuronal protein aggregates, previously shown to be partially reversed by such treatment. New Zealand white rabbits were injected intracisternally with either aluminum (Al) maltolate or with saline on day 0. Intramuscular injections of DFO were given to selected rabbits for 2 days prior to sacrifice on days 4, 6 or 8. Bielschowsky's silver impregnation demonstrated widespread neurofibrillary degeneration (NFD) in neuronal cell bodies and neurites of brain and spinal cord from Al-treated rabbits. Monoclonal antibodies Tau-2, AT8, PHF-1 and Alz-50, all of which characteristically stain neurofibrillary tangles associated with Alzheimer's disease, strongly labeled the Al-induced NFD. The number of positive neurons and staining intensities were much less in rabbits treated with Al and subsequently with DFO, than in animals only given Al. Control rabbit receiving intracisternal saline were negative for NFD. The results of quantitative immunohistochemistry using image analysis confirmed that immunostaining densities with all tau mAbs were higher in Al-treated than in Al-DFO-treated or in saline-treated controls. Furthermore, it appears that hyperphosphorylation of tau does not make this protein resistant to degradation once Al has been removed by DFO treatment. The effectiveness of only two days of DFO treatment in reversing Al-induced neurofibrillary degeneration suggests that further clinical trials of DFO for treatment of Alzheimer's disease should be attempted using much less frequent administration of DFO than in the initial study (Crapper McLachlan et al., 1991).

Aluminum↗

Sustained gene expression in retrovirally transduced, engrafting human hematopoietic stem cells and their lympho-myeloid progeny.

Inefficient retroviral-mediated gene transfer to human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and insufficient gene expression in progeny cells derived from transduced HSC are two major problems associated with HSC-based gene therapy. In this study we evaluated the ability of a murine stem cell virus (MSCV)-based retroviral vector carrying the low-affinity human nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) gene as reporter to maintain gene expression in transduced human hematopoietic cells. CD34(+) cells lacking lineage differentiation markers (CD34(+)Lin-) isolated from human bone marrow and mobilized peripheral blood were transduced using an optimized clinically applicable protocol. Under the conditions used, greater than 75% of the CD34(+) cell population retained the Lin- phenotype after 4 days in culture and at least 30% of these expressed a high level of NGFR (NGFR+) as assessed by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. When these CD34(+)Lin-NGFR+ cells sorted 2 days posttransduction were assayed in vitro in clonogenic and long-term stromal cultures, sustained reporter expression was observed in differentiated erythroid and myeloid cells derived from transduced progenitors, and in differentiated B-lineage cells after 6 weeks. Moreover, when these transduced CD34(+)Lin-NGFR+ cells were used to repopulate human bone grafts implanted in severe combined immunodeficient mice, MSCV-directed NGFR expression could be detected on 37% +/- 6% (n = 5) of the donor-type human cells recovered 9 weeks postinjection. These findings suggest potential utility of the MSCV retroviral vector in the development of effective therapies involving gene-modified HSC.

Animals↗

Optimization of high-performance liquid chromatography-radioimmunoassay protocols for the analyses of substance P and some of its metabolic fragments.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure combined with radioimmunoassay (HPLC-RIA) was developed and optimized for the concomitant quantitation of substance P (SP) and some of its C- and N-terminal fragments in the extracts of the spinal cord of mice. A selective and efficient solid-phase extraction protocol was used for preparative purification of sample homogenates prior to analyses. The sensitivity of the HPLC assay was 18.75 ng for SP and some of its fragments of interest. Recoveries of peptides were calculated from spiked aqueous standards carried through the experimental protocol and ranged from 53 to 98%. The precision of the peptide recoveries from aqueous-based standards, expressed as coefficient of variation, ranged from 2 to 28%. The sensitivities for the RIA procedure using SP antiserum were 1.5, 3.4 and 4.6 fmol SP1-11, SP2-11 and SP5-11, respectively. The percentage cross-reactivity of SP1-11 antiserum with the C-terminal fragments was complete whereas the cross-reactivities of the N-terminal fragments were essentially zero. The molar limits of detectability of SP and some of its C-terminal fragments determined by HPLC alone were several orders of magnitude greater than those determined from the same spinal cord samples using RIA after HPLC fractionation.

Animals↗

QuantiLyse: reliable DNA amplification from single cells.

Amplification of DNA sequencesfrom single cells via PCR is increasingly used in basic research and clinical diagnostics but remains technically difficult. We have developed a cell lysis protocol that uses an optimized proteinase K solution, named QuantiLyse and permits reliable amplification from individual cells. This protocol was compared to other published methods by means of real-time PCR with molecular beacons. The results demonstrate that QuantiLyse treatment of single lymphocytes renders gene targets more availablefor amplification than other published proteinase K methods or lysis in water. QuantiLyse and an optimized alkaline lysis were equally effective in terms of target availability, although QuantiLyse offers greaterflexibility, as it does not require neutralization and can comprise a higher percentage of the final PCR volume. Maximum gene target availability is also obtained following QuantiLyse treatment of samples containing up to 10000 cells (the largest number tested). Thus, QuantiLyse maximizes the chances that targeted DNA sequences will be available for amplification during the first cycle of PCR, thereby reducing the variability among replicate reactions as well as the likelihood of amplification failure or allele drop-out. QuantiLyse will be useful in a range of investigations aimed at gene detection in small numbers of cells.

Alkalies↗

Combinatorial optimization of the DNA cleaving Ni(II) x Xaa-Xaa-His metallotripeptide domain.

A positional-scanning combinatorial protocol was employed to optimize the deoxyribose-based cleavage of B-form DNA by Ni(II) x Xaa-Xaa-His metallopeptides. This procedure employed 18 naturally occurring amino acids (excluding Cys and Trp) to generate two libraries in which the first and second positions of the peptide ligand were varied. Increased direct DNA cleavage relative to Ni(II) x Gly-Gly-His was observed when (1) the amino-terminal peptide position contained Pro, Met, Arg, or Lys (with Pro exhibiting the greatest activity) and (2) the second peptide position contained Lys, Arg, Met, Ser, or Thr (with Lys exhibiting the greatest activity); the optimized metallopeptide, Ni(II) x Pro-Lys-His, was found to cleave DNA an order of magnitude better than Ni(II) x Gly-Gly-His. While metal complexation and the A/T-rich site selectivity of the optimized metallopeptides were not altered, DNA binding affinity was slightly increased relative to Ni(II) x Gly-Gly-His, however, not to an extent necessary to account for the observed increase in reactivity. Examination of molecular models of Ni(II) x Pro-Lys-His bound to the minor groove of DNA via hydrogen bonding of the His N3 imidazole hydrogen to the N3 of adenine or O2 of thymine suggests that the Pro residue can make hydrophobic contacts with the sugars lining the walls of the groove while the Lys residue is able to form a salt bridge with a proximal phosphate; with these interactions, the metal center is poised to abstract the C4'-H of an adjacent nucleotide suggesting that noncovalent interactions result in a positioning which contributes to increased DNA cleavage activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The high proliferative potential-quiescent (HPP-Q) cell assay allows an optimized evaluation of gene transfer efficiency into primitive hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

Various protocols have been described to optimize gene transfer into hematopoietic cells. However, most of these methods do not specify whether they are associated with an improved transduction of the more primitive stem/progenitor cells, the best candidates for long-term engraftment. The majority of these primitive cells remains in quiescence because of the negative control of TGF-beta1, effective on these cells at low concentrations (10 pg/ml). In this study, CD34- cells were activated by a 10 h pretreatment with anti-TGF-beta1 followed by four successive retroviral supernatant incubations of 6 h each. After 12 h (two incubations), a significant increase in TGF-beta1 mRNA in CD34+ cells was observed. We wondered whether neo-synthesized autocrine TGF-beta1 could induce reversion to quiescence of the more primitive CD34+ cells transduced after one cell cycle. This would prevent their subsequent detection in a classic clonal assay. Using the HPP-Q assay comparing a rapid mixed colony assay with or without anti-TGF-beta1, we indeed observed, that in clonal growth conditions the more primitive transduced cells were activated and detectable only with anti-TGF-beta1. Therefore, this assay represents not only a rapid means to detect quiescent multipotent stem/progenitor cells but also a necessary step for the detection of the more primitive transduced cells which have returned to quiescence after retroviral induction of TGF-beta1 secretion.

Antigens, CD↗

Intrinsic nature of the three-dimensional structure of proteins as determined by distance geometry with good sampling properties.

A protocol for distance geometry calculation is shown to have excellent sampling properties in the determination of three-dimensional structures of proteins from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data. This protocol uses a simulated annealing optimization employing mass-weighted molecular dynamics in four-dimensional space (Havel, T.F. (1991) Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol., 56, 43-78). It attains an extremely large radius of convergence, allowing a random coil conformation to be used as the initial estimate for the succeeding optimization process. Computations are performed with four systems of simulated distance data as tests of the protocol, using an unconstrained L-alanine 30mer and three different types of proteins, bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, the alpha-amylase inhibitor Tendamistat, and the N-terminal domain of the 434-repressor. The test of the unconstrained polypeptide confirms that the sampled conformational space is that of the statistical random coil. In the larger and more complicated systems of the three proteins, the protocol gives complete convergence of the optimization without any trace of initial structure dependence. As a result of an exhaustive conformational sampling by the protocol, the intrinsic nature of the structures generated with distance restraints derived from NMR data has been revealed. When the sampled structures are compared with the corresponding X-ray structures, we find that the averages of the sampled structures always show a certain pattern of discrepancy from the X-ray structure. This discrepancy is due to the short distance nature of the distance restraints, and correlates with the characteristic shape of the protein molecule.

Animals↗

Effects of chronic obesity and weight loss on plasma ghrelin and leptin concentrations in dogs.

The objective of this study was to evaluate, in dogs, the effects of obesity and weight loss on plasma total ghrelin and leptin concentrations. Twenty-four Beagle dogs, 12 control lean and 12 obese dogs of both genders and aged between 1 and 9 years, were used for the experiments. Mean body weight was 12.7+/-0.7 kg for the lean group and 21.9+/-0.8 kg for the obese group. The trial was divided into three phases. During phase 1, all 24 Beagle dogs were fed a maintenance diet. During phase 2, the obese dogs were submitted to a weight loss protocol with a high protein-low energy diet. The weight loss protocol ended once dogs reached optimal body weight. During phase 3, the dogs that were submitted to the weight loss protocol were maintained at their optimal body weight for 6 months. Plasma total ghrelin, leptin, insulin and glucose concentrations were measured to evaluate the effects of obesity and weight loss on these parameters in dogs. Body weight, body condition score, thoracic and pelvic perimeters, and ingested food amounts were also recorded during the study. Obese dogs demonstrated a significant decrease in plasma ghrelin and a significant increase in plasma leptin and insulin concentrations when compared with control dogs. During weight loss, significant increases in plasma total ghrelin and glucose and significant decreases in plasma leptin and insulin were observed. The increase in plasma ghrelin concentrations seemed to be transient. Body weight and the morphometric parameters correlated positively with leptin concentrations and negatively with total ghrelin concentrations. These results suggest that ghrelin and leptin could play a role in dogs in the adaptation to a positive or negative energy balance, as observed in humans.

Animals↗