Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0948265 (metabolic syndrome)
 24,271 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Abnormal liver tests, as well as morphological changes in the liver, are frequent among obese patients. Other frequent disturbances are visceral fat accumulation, insulin resistance, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension; these are set of aberrations known as the metabolic syndrome. In order to investigate a possible relationship between the metabolic syndrome and impaired liver status we examined associations between liver tests, metabolic variables (insulin, glucose, and triglycerids), body composition and nutrition in 1,083 men (BMI 28.8-63.8 kg/m2) and 1,367 women (BMI 26.7-68.0 kg/m2) in the ongoing intervention study of Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS). Standard biochemical techniques were used to assess liver status and metabolic variables. Lean body mass (LBM) and masses of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT) were estimated by means of computed tomography (CT) calibrated anthropometric equations. In both genders aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were, or tended to be, positively correlated to fasting serum insulin, visceral AT (women), and alcohol intake. In women, the aminotransferases were also correlated with fasting blood glucose. In both genders alkaline phosphatase was, or tended to be, positively associated with visceral AT, insulin (women), and glucose. Bilirubin was negatively correlated to insulin and visceral AT in men and women. Additional multivariate analyses indicated that alcohol had less explanatory power than serum insulin for the examined liver tests, especially among women. These results suggest that pathological liver tests in the obese may represent an expression of the metabolic syndrome.
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PMID:Are elevated aminotransferases and decreased bilirubin additional characteristics of the metabolic syndrome? 911 45

Bilirubin belongs to a phylogenetically old superfamily of tetrapyrrolic compounds, which have multiple biological functions. Although for decades bilirubin was believed to be only a waste product of the heme catabolic pathway at best, and a potentially toxic compound at worst; recent data has convincingly demonstrated that mildly elevated serum bilirubin levels are strongly associated with a lower prevalence of oxidative stress-mediated diseases. Indeed, serum bilirubin has been consistently shown to be negatively correlated to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), as well as to CVD-related diseases and risk factors such as arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. In addition, the clinical data are strongly supported by evidence arising from both in vitro and in vivo experimental studies. This data not only shows the protective effects of bilirubin per se; but additionally, of other products of the heme catabolic pathway such as biliverdin and carbon monoxide, as well as its key enzymes (heme oxygenase and biliverdin reductase); thus, further underlining the biological impacts of this pathway. In this review, detailed information on the experimental and clinical evidence between the heme catabolic pathway and CVD, and those related diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity is provided. All of these pathological conditions represent an important threat to human civilization, being the major killers in developed countries, with a steadily increasing prevalence. Thus, it is extremely important to search for novel markers of these diseases, as well as for novel therapeutic modalities to reverse this unfavorable situation. The heme catabolic pathway seems to fulfill the criteria for both diagnostic purposes as well as for potential therapeutical interventions.
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PMID:The role of bilirubin in diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases. 2249 81

This review highlights the protective roles of bilirubin against the atherosclerotic process. Bilirubin belongs to the superfamily of tetrapyrrolic compounds formed during heme catabolism. Although for decades bilirubin was considered to be a harmful waste product, recent epidemiologic studies have shown that serum bilirubin levels have consistently been inversely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well as cardiovascular risk factors such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes. These clinical studies are supported by in vitro and in vivo experimental data and have demonstrated that bilirubin not only has an ability to scavenge overproduced reactive oxygen species and inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation but, additionally, has anti-inflammatory effects. In this review, we will discuss the inverse association of serum bilirubin and CVD and cardiovascular risk factors established in various clinical studies. We also review detailed experimental studies about the effect of bilirubin on atherosclerotic processes. In vitro, animal and human studies have proved that bilirubin inhibits oxidation of cholesterol which is an important step of atherosclerosis. Bilirubin attenuates chemotactic activity of monocytes and strongly inhibits adhesion of leukocytes to venule and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Bilirubin has inhibited serum-driven smooth muscle cell cycle progression at the G1 phase. Lastly, we will discuss briefly the influence of bilirubin on lipoprotein composition and endothelial dysfunction.
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PMID:Effects of serum bilirubin on atherosclerotic processes. 2472 Jun 2