Coffee is one of the most widely consumed drinks around the world, while depression is considered the major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. However, the investigation on coffee consumption and depression is limited and results may be confounded by the overall dietary pattern. We assessed the relationship between coffee intake and the risk of depression, controlling for adherence to the Mediterranean diet. We studied 14,413 university graduates of the ‘Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra’ (SUN) cohort, initially free of depression. We evaluated coffee consumption using a validated food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Incident depression cases were adjudicated only if the participant met two criteria simultaneously: (a) validated physician-diagnosed depression together with (b) new onset of habitual antidepressant use. Both criteria were needed; participants meeting only one of them were not classified as cases. Participants who drank at least four cups of coffee per day showed a significantly lower risk of depression than participants who drank less than one cup of coffee per day (HR: 0.37 (95% CI 0.15–0.95)). However, overall, we did not observe an inverse linear dose–response association between coffee consumption and the incidence of depression (p for trend = 0.22).

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase-10 (MMP-10) levels increase progressively starting from early diabetic kidney disease (DKD) stages. Vitamin D₃ (vitD₃) deficit is associated with a higher risk of diabetic microangiopathy. Reduced MMP-10 expression has been observed after exposure to vitD₃. Aim: to assess how vitD₃ status is related to MMP-10 levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: 256 patients with T2D were included in this cross-sectional study. Demographic, clinical and serum MMP-10 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25(OH)D₃) levels were collected from each patient. The association between MMP-10 and (25(OH)D₃) levels was assessed using a correlation analysis and fitting a multivariate linear regression model. Results: Serum MMP-10 levels were inversely correlated with circulating 25(OH)D₃ (rho = −0.25; p < 0.001). In the subgroup analysis this correlation was significant in patients with DKD (rho = −0.28; p = 0.001) and in subjects with vitD₃ deficit (rho = −0.24; p = 0.005). In the regression model adjusted for kidney function, body adiposity, smoking and vitD supplementation MMP-10 levels were 68.7 pg/mL lower in patients with 25(OH)D₃ > 20 ng/mL, with respect to ≤20 ng/mL (p = 0.006). Conclusions: vitD₃ repletion status is an independent predictor of MMP-10 levels in T2D patients. Perhaps, high 25(OH)D₃ values should be targeted in these patients in order to prevent vascular complications.

Introduction: Over the past few years, the incidence of retinal ischemic disorders has been increasing, due to a rising prevalence of such socially burdensome diseases as diabetes and hypertension, which ultimately lead to ocular vascular pathology. The identification of new treatment options that would prevent retinal neuron death is a crucial task of modern pharmacology. Materials and methods: The research was carried out on male Wistar rats. Retinopathy was modeled by inducing a 30-min ischemic episode, with a 72-hour period of reperfusion and subsequent administration of Retinalamin and Emoxypine for 10 days. The effectiveness of the drugs was evaluated by electroretinographic, ophthalmoscopic and morphological assessments. Results and discussion: On Day 14 of the experiment, a dose-dependent preservation of the electroretinogram b-wave/a-wave amplitude ratio was observed in the animals treated with Retinalamin depending on a dose (1.39±0.06, 1.46±0.03 and 1.49±0.04 in low (0.214 mg/kg), medium (0.428 mg/kg) and high (0.857 mg/kg) Retinalamin dose groups, respectively). The ophthalmoscopic picture of the fundus oculi also improved following the treatment with Retinalamin (1.42, 1.69 and 1.90 times lower ophthalmoscopic scores compared to placebo-treated animals in low, medium and high dose groups, respectively). The morphologic “coefficient of change” applied to ganglion cell layer was 2.2, 1.7 and 1.6 points in low, medium and high dose Retinalamin groups, respectively. These results are significantly different from both intact and placebo group (p<0.05). Based on the aforementioned experimental findings, we conclude that Retinalamin has a retinoprotective effect and is superior to the drug of comparison (Emoxypine). Conclusion: The greatest neuroprotective effects were shown in the groups receiving Retinalamin. In these groups, the ERG b-wave/a-wave amplitude ratio was preserved, the ophthalmoscopic picture was less pathologic and retinal morphology features were close to those of the intact retina.