Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 17, Issue 8, 2011

Currently, nutrition therapy, in addition to their dietary support, can exert therapeutic effects without the undesirable effects that accompany the classical pharmacotherapy. In the last years, it has been highlighted that consumption of some foods as well as a nutritive function, has a profound influence on health outcomes. Importantly, recent research has suggested that dietary patterns such as the traditional Mediterranean di Read More

Chronic inflammation is a critical factor in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory disease states including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, degenerative joint diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. Chronic inflammatory states are poorly understood, however it is known that dietary habits can evoke or attenuate inflammatory responses. Popular methods to deal with inflammation and its associated sympt Read More

After decades of epidemiological, clinical and experimental research, it has become clear that consumption of Mediterranean dietary patterns rich in olive oil has a profound influence on health outcomes, including obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and diabetes mellitus. Traditionally, many beneficial properties associated with this oil have been ascribed to its high oleic acid content. Olive oil, however, is a functional food that Read More

Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest nutritional models used in developed countries. The actual interest in this dietary model is based in two main premises. First, the high palatability for the consumer, which aids to the adherence to the model on a life-long basis, and second, the mounting evidence on the beneficial properties that its consumption provokes in cardiovascular risk factors, cancer and cognitive age as Read More

In addition to its high proportion of oleic acid (which is considered as “neutral” in terms of cardioprotection), extra virgin olive oil is rich in phenolic compounds, which other vegetable oils do not contain. This review critically appraises the current scientific evidence of a healthful role of olive phenols, with particular emphasis on hydroxytyrosol and related molecules.

Consumption of olive oil has been related to reduced risk of several diseases, including various neoplasms. In this paper, we reviewed epidemiological studies on olive oil and cancer published up to 2010. We performed a systematic literature search in the Medline database and, after assessment of relevant papers, we included 25 studies providing original data on olive oil consumption and cancer risk. We also pe Read More

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. In addition to genetic and endocrine factors, the environment, and specifically dietary habits, plays a key role in the aetiology of this malignancy. Epidemiological and, especially, experimental studies have shown a relationship between dietary lipids and breast cancer although there are conflicting results concerning their potential to modify cancer ri Read More

Traditionally, nutrients such as fatty acids have been viewed as substrates for the generation of high-energy molecules and as precursors for the biosynthesis of macromolecules. However, accumulating data from multiple lines of evidence suggest that dietary fatty acids are linked not only to health promotion but also to disease pathogenesis. Metabolism in humans is regulated by complex hormonal signals and substrate inter Read More

NGAL (Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin) is a small 25-kD peptide belonging to the lipocalin superfamily. Several studies highlight its role as an organ injury and disease activity biomarker. In the present review, instead, we wanted to study NGAL as a precocious marker of therapeutic response in renal and non-renal diseases (glomerulonephritis, vasculitis, LES, Crohn's disease and other chronic inflammatory pathologi Read More