Effect Of Chronic Exposure To Low Levels Of Lead On Renal Function And Renal Ultrastructure In SD Rats

Chronic exposure to lead is associated with adverse effects on renal function in laboratory animals and man. There is controversy concerning the direction of change of renal function parameters following chronic lead intoxication. The renal effects of low-dose lead exposure, as opposed to acute and pharmacological doses, require further scrutiny. In order to determine the effect of prolonged low-dose lead exposure, male Sprague Dawley rats (initial weight, 150.5±17.4g; final weight, 300.5±17.4g; n=10) administered lead acetate (100 p.p.m.) in drinking water over a period of 3 months, were investigated for renal function parameters. Treated rats had elevated blood pressures (114.4±4.2 vs. 95.7±3.5 mmHg;

Lead-induced hypertension is associated with impaired nitric oxide bioactivity

This study was designed to discern whether alteration in baroreceptor sensitivity, renin-angiotensin system, calcium coupling mechanism or nitric oxide activity is/are responsible for lead-induced hypertension. The effect of exposure to 100 ppm of lead in tap water for 4 months on mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were investigated in male Sprague-Dawley. After the treatment period, femoral artery and vein were cannulated for blood pressure measurement and infusion of drugs respectively. Baroreceptor sensitivity was determined through bilateral carotid occlusion (BCO), while the effect of angiotensin II, calcium channel and nitric oxide were blocked by infusing 1 mg/kg-body weight of captopril, 10 mg/kg-body weight of diltiazem and 30 mg/kg-body weight of L-NAME respectively. Exposure to chronic lead led to an increase (

The effects of sour tea (Hibiscus sabdariffa) on hypertension in patients with type II diabetes

To compare the antihypertensive effectiveness of sour tea (ST; Hibiscus sabdariffa) with black tea (BT) infusion in diabetic patients, this double-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out. Sixty diabetic patients with mild hypertension, without taking antihypertensive or antihyperlipidaemic medicines, were recruited in the study. The patients were randomly allocated to the ST and BT groups and instructed to drink ST and BT infusions two times a day for 1 month. Their blood pressure (BP) was measured on days 0, 15 and 30 of the study. The mean of systolic BP (SBP) in the ST group decreased from 134.4±11.8 mm Hg at the beginning of the study to 112.7±5.7 mm Hg after 1 month (P-valu

Oxidative injury in neonatal erythrocytes

Erythrocytes are continuously exposed to free radicals (FR) injury due to their high cellular oxygen concentration and heme iron. The autoxidation of oxyhaemoglobin to methaemoglobin, generating superoxide anion radical, represents the main source of FR in erythrocytes. The erythrocyte membrane is particularly sensitive to oxidative damage due to its high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, and hence, it represents an important system to evaluate the effect of oxidative stress (OS). Information on how red cells OS is triggered and mechanisms of erythrocytes oxidative pressure from plasma may provide a partial answer to questions about the causes of the anaemia of prematurity and about red cell involvement in hypoxia. The recent insights about the mechanism of oxidative injury of red cells and the evidence of relationships between erythrocyte, OS and hypoxia suggest that increased haemolysis is induced by severe hypoxia and acidosis in the perinatal perio