Publications by authors named "Tomas Merono"

Wholegrain rye, considered one of the cereals with the highest content of dietary fiber and bioactive compounds, has been linked with reduced risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Thus, biomarkers reflecting its intake and/or the metabolic effect after consumption are essential to better elucidate its health effects. Our aim was to identify plasma metabolite biomarkers associated with a high-fiber rye intervention and to assess the associations between these metabolites, gut microbiota composition, and cardiometabolic risk factors in a 12-week randomized controlled trial comparing a hypocaloric diet with high-fiber rye ( = 108) or refined wheat ( = 99) in participants with obesity.

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Adherence to healthy dietary patterns, including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, is linked to improved health outcomes. However, limited research has explored this association in Latin American populations. This study aimed to investigate the association between adherence to a healthy eating score (unweighted and weighted) and all-cause mortality risk in a Chilean population.

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Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Gram-negative bacteria has been one of the most studied pathogen-associated molecular patterns triggering rapid inflammatory reactions. However, evidence shows that not all LPS molecules are proinflammatory ("bad"), and that "good" LPS from gut commensal bacteria exert immunomodulatory actions. The Limulus amebocyte lysis test commonly used to quantify LPS in circulation, only targets "bad" LPS, when not inactivated by plasma components.

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Background: Tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor, has been associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) risk in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study evaluated tofacitinib's effects on lipid parameters and the impact of prior biological agents' therapy in RA patients.

Methods: Thirty female RA patients starting tofacitinib were assessed at baseline and after 3 months.

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Objective: To evaluate the association between dairy products consumption and the probability of frailty transitions in community-dwelling older adults.

Design: Longitudinal study.

Setting And Participants: We included 863 community-dwelling participants ≥65 years from the Chianti region in Italy.

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Background: Older subjects are at risk of elevated intestinal permeability (IP) which can lead to immune system activation and low-grade systemic inflammation. Dietary changes are a potential strategy to reduce IP. The MaPLE project evaluated the hypothesis that increasing (poly)phenol intake would beneficially impact on several important markers and pathways related to IP.

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Biomarkers associated with dietary fibre intake, as complements to traditional dietary assessment tools, may improve the understanding of its role in human health. Our aim was to discover metabolite biomarkers related to dietary fibre intake and investigate their association with cardiometabolic risk factors. We used data and samples from the Danish Diet Cancer and Health Next Generation (DCH-NG) MAX-study, a one-year observational study with evaluations at baseline, six and 12 months ( = 624, 55% female, mean age: 43 years, 1353 observations).

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Article Synopsis
  • A study on plant-based diets in a Danish population examined how these diets relate to metabolic syndrome (MetS) and identified specific metabolites linked to dietary patterns.
  • The research involved 676 participants who provided dietary information and underwent health examinations, leading to the classification of diet quality using healthful (hPDI) and unhealthful (uPDI) indices.
  • Findings showed that higher hPDI scores correlated with a decreased risk of MetS, while higher uPDI scores increased the risk, with specific metabolites identified as key indicators of these associations.
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Background: Hypothyroidism is associated with impaired glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a recognized cardiovascular disease (CVD), and mortality risk factor. In older adults, this association remains unexplored. We aimed to determine the relationship of elevated TSH with GFR in an elderly population at high CVD risk.

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Berries are rich in (poly)phenols, and these compounds may be beneficial to human health. Estimating berry consumption through self-reported questionnaires has been challenging due to compliance issues and a lack of precision. Estimation via food-derived biomarkers in biofluids was proposed as a complementary alternative.

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Background And Aims: Polyphenol-rich foods have beneficial properties that may lower cardiometabolic risk. We aimed to prospectively investigate the relationship between intakes of dietary polyphenols, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components, in 676 Danish residents from the MAX study, a subcohort of the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health-Next Generations (DCH-NG) cohort.

Methods And Results: Dietary data were collected using web-based 24-h dietary recalls over one year (at baseline, and at 6 and 12 months).

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Anthocyanins (ACNs) are (poly)phenols associated with reduced cardiometabolic risk. Associations between dietary intake, microbial metabolism, and cardiometabolic health benefits of ACNs have not been fully characterized. Our aims were to study the association between ACN intake, considering its dietary sources, and plasma metabolites, and to relate them with cardiometabolic risk factors in an observational study.

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Background: healthy dietary patterns have been associated with lower risk for age-related cognitive decline. However, little is known about the specific role of dietary fibre on cognitive decline in older adults.

Objective: this study aimed to examine the association between dietary fibre and cognitive decline in older adults and to assess the influence of genetic, lifestyle and clinical characteristics in this association.

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Pancreatic cancer is primarily considered to be a metastatic disease with a low 5-year survival rate. We aimed to detect if plasma-isolated anthocyanins and their metabolites (PAMs) modulate pancreatic cancer cells migration and to describe molecular targets of PAMs in this process. Plasma metabolites were isolated by solid-phase extraction before and after a 28-days intervention trial involving 35 healthy subjects comparing effects of a daily anthocyanin-rich juice intake vs.

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A polyphenol-rich diet reduced intestinal permeability (IP) in older adults. Our aim was to evaluate if participants categorized according to urolithin metabotypes (UMs) exhibited different responses in the MaPLE trial. Fifty-one older adults (mean age: 78 years) completed an 8-week randomized-controlled-crossover trial comparing the effects of a polyphenol-rich vs.

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Cancer mortality is mainly due to metastasis. Therefore, searching for new therapeutic agents suppressing cancer cell migration is crucial. Data from human studies regarding effects of anthocyanins on cancer progression, however, are scarce and it is unclear whether physiological concentrations of anthocyanins and their metabolites reduce cancer cell migration in vivo.

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There is an increasing interest in investigating dietary strategies able to modulate the gut microbial ecosystem which, in turn, may play a key role in human health. Dietary fibers (DFs) are widely recognized as molecules with prebiotic effects. The main objective of this systematic review was to: (i) analyze the results available on the impact of DF intervention on short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production; (ii) evaluate the interplay between the type of DF intervention, the gut microbiota composition and its metabolic activities, and any other health associated outcome evaluated in the host.

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Scope: Dietary polyphenols can alter the gut microbiota (GM) and promote the production of bioactive metabolites. Several indoles result of GM metabolism of dietary tryptophan have been associated with intestinal barrier integrity. Our aim is to study the changes in GM-derived indoles during a polyphenol-rich (PR) diet intervention in older adults.

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Orexin-A, a hormone secreted by orexin neurons, is involved in caloric-intake regulation. Current understanding is based primarily on animal studies. Studies of orexin in humans are scarce, and to our knowledge there are no prior studies in adolescents.

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Orexin-A, a hormone secreted by orexin neurons, is involved in caloric-intake regulation. Current understanding is based primarily on animal studies. Studies of orexin in humans are scarce, and to our knowledge there are no prior studies in adolescents.

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Objective: To investigate the relationship of a healthy eating score with depression in Chilean older adults.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Older adults from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016-2017.

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Background: In general, plant protein intake was inversely associated with mortality in studies in middle-aged adults. Our aim was to evaluate the long-term associations of animal and plant protein intake with mortality in older adults.

Methods: A prospective cohort study including 1 139 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 75 years, 56% women) living in Tuscany, Italy, followed for 20 years (InCHIANTI study) was analyzed.

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Background: Dietary biomarkers may complement dietary intake assessment made by dietary questionnaires. We developed an a-posteriori dietary biomarkers score based on Mediterranean diet food groups and evaluated its association with mortality.

Methods: 642 participants (56% female), aged ≥65 years, with complete data on dietary biomarkers were followed during 20 years in the InCHIANTI cohort study (Tuscany, Italy).

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Purpose: Aging can be characterized by increased systemic low-grade inflammation, altered gut microbiota composition, and increased intestinal permeability (IP). The intake of polyphenol-rich foods is proposed as a promising strategy to positively affect the gut microbiota-immune system-intestinal barrier (IB) axis. In this context, we tested the hypothesis that a PR-dietary intervention would affect the presence of bacterial factors in the bloodstream of older adults.

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