Research Summary Archives

The auditory system is an important sensory system, permitting the rapid perception of sounds that reach us, helping us orient ourselves within the surroundings. Through coordination with proprioceptor and the visual systems, the auditory system also helps in fine-tuning the self-awareness and menta...

One of the most common afflictions in people is gingivitis, a mild inflammation of the gums. Uncontrolled gingivitis can lead to periodontitis, inflammation of the tissue structures underlying the gums, affecting the integrity and anchoring of the teeth. Severe periodontitis was recently reported to...

Guest Article Joyce A. Nettleton, D.Sc. Past Editor, PUFA Newsletter   How far omega-3 (n-3) PUFA research has come! The 1936 medical observations of Israel Rabinowitch describing the rarity of arteriosclerosis among the Inuit of the eastern Canadian Arctic and similarly among the northwest...

Obesity is frequently accompanied by dyslipidemia, consisting of changes in triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol levels in blood outside the ranges considered normal. Many obese subjects have significantly elevated concentrations of cholesterol incorporated in the lipoprotein particle LDL (low-density ...

In end-stage renal disease, over 90% of kidney function has been lost. Hemodialysis has long been a solution to prolong the life of end-stage renal disease patients. Depressive symptoms and distress are very common in chronic hemodialysis patients with end-stage renal disease, with an estimated prev...

Interferons are a class of cytokines with important immunoregulatory properties, including antiviral and anticarcinogenic effects. They are especially important in the body’s innate immune response to viral infections and are widely used in the primary and adjunct treatment of hepatitis B and C viru...

Whether the consumption of fish or long-chain omega-3 PUFAs (n-3 LC-PUFAs) found mainly in fish and shellfish are associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is uncertain. In spite of many studies having searched for a relationship, the evidence for any risk reduction is meager. A review ...

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common complications of pregnancy. The condition is a concern because it poses health risks to the mother and offspring and is increasing, thanks to the increase in overweight and obesity. GDM is associated with poorer perinatal outcomes, increa...

Use of fish oil to relieve the pain of rheumatoid arthritis goes back more than 25 years to the work of Kremer and colleagues. High-dose fish oil as an adjunct treatment in rheumatoid arthritis is under-appreciated, in part because its effectiveness is not widely known, doses of at least 2.7 g EPA +...

Clifford Woolf, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, once described pain as being “like love, all consuming” and “when you have it, not much else matters.” Shorn of its poetry, the International Association for the Study of Pain writes that pain is “an unpleasant sensory and emo...

The importance of long-chain (LC) PUFAs in pregnancy and early infancy is well recognized. The mother’s dietary intake largely determines her tissue stores and the concentration of these fatty acids in her breast milk. Maternal transfer during the last trimester of pregnancy and breastfeeding ensure...

Exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the primary cause of nonmelanoma skin cancers, the most common cancer among white-skinned individuals. Although the condition carries a very low mortality rate, morbidity and treatment costs can be high. The incidence of these cancers is increasing...