Association between aortic stiffness and left ventricular function in inflammatory bowel disease

Background: Recent studies have reported an increased incidence of both aortic stiffness and left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic dysfunction in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the association between aortic stiffness and the LV function has not been fully defined. We aimed to investigate the relationship between aortic stiffness and the LV function in IBD patients. Methods and Results: Seventy-two patients with IBD (56 cases of ulcerative colitis and 16 cases of Crohn’s disease) and 50 healthy controls were consecutively enrolled in this study. The LV systolic and diastolic functions were assessed using conventional echocardiographic techniques, including tissue Doppler echocardiography. The degree of aortic strain and distensibility were calculated based on the aortic diameters measured on M-mode echocardiography at the level of 3 cm above the aortic valve and the blood pressure values obtained on sphygmomanometry. There were significant differences between the IBD and control group in the degree of aortic strain and distensibility. Significant differences were also observed between the patient and control groups in the parameters of the LV systolic and diastolic functions. Moreover, aortic stiffness was found to be associated with the LV function in the patient group. Conclusions: There is a significant relationship between aortic stiffness and LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction in patients with IBD, based on the findings of this study. The parameters of aortic elasticity measured according to 2-dimensional echocardiographic methods can be beneficial for predicting early cardiovascular risk in cases of IBD. (

Maternal obesity and its short - and long-term maternal and infantile effectes

Obesity, in childhood or in adulthood, remains to be a global health problem. The worldwide prevalence of obesity has increased in the last few decades, and consequently, the women of our time suffer more gestational problems than women in the past. The prevalence of obesity is greater in older women than in younger ones and in women with low educational level than in their counterparts with a higher level of education. Maternal obesity during pregnancy may increase congenital malformations and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Maternal obesity is associated with a decreased intention to breastfeed, decreased initiation of breastfeeding, and decreased duration of breastfeeding. We discuss the current epidemiological evidence for the association of maternal obesity with congenital structural neural tube and cardiac defects, fetal macrosomia that predisposes infants to birth injuries and to problems with physiological and metabolic transition, as well as potential for long-term complications secondary to prenatal and neonatal programming effects compounded by a reduction in sustained breastfeeding

The role of pentoxifylline on neuroprotection in neonatal rat model ofhypoxic ischemic brain injury

Despite important progress in obstetric and neonatal care, Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) is one of the common causes of neonatal brain damage. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible neuroprotective effects of two different dosages of pentoxifylline (60 and 100 mg/kg) (PTX) on a model of perinatal HIE. Seven-day-old Wistar rat pups were subjected to right common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (92% nitrogen and 8% oxygen) for 2h. They were treated with PTX or saline both immediately after hypoxia-ischemia (HI) and after 2h. In sham group animals, neither ligation, nor hypoxia was performed. Neuronal apoptosis was evaluated by the caspase-3 immunostaining methods. The numbers of caspase-3 immunoreactive cells in the parietal cortex and dentate gyrus were observed to have significantly increased in the HI, PTX60 and PTX100 groups compared to the sham group, and, no differences were detected between the HI, PTX60 and PTX100 groups. The numbers of caspase-3 immunoreactive cells in the cornu ammonis regions of the hippocampus were significantly higher in the HI, PTX60 and PTX100 groups than in the sham group. But, elevated in the PTX60 group was significantly lower than that determined in the HI group. However, the number of necrotic cells in all regions of brain were significantly lower PTX60 than HI and PTX100 groups. These results show that PTX administration after hypoxia-ischemia reduces neuronal apoptosis and necrosis. Therefore, PTX may be an effective drug to use to decrease the severity of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.</p