10 research outputs found
Combined acute effects of red wine consumption and cigarette smoking on haemodynamics of young smokers
Increased arterial intima-media thickness is related to LP(A) levels in children heterogygous for familial hypercholesterolemia
Improvement of vascular endothelial function using the oral endothelin receptor antagonist Bosentan in patients with systemic sclerosis
Objective. Increased endothelin activity may play a role in the
pathogenesis of vascular injury, a primary feature of systemic sclerosis
(SSc; scleroderma). Our goal was to test the hypothesis that treatment
with the oral endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan might improve
vascular endothelial function in SSc patients.
Methods. A 4-week, prospective, parallel-group study compared 12 SSc
patients who did not receive bosentan treatment with 12 patients who did
receive treatment (125 mg/day) for pulmonary hypertension and/or digital
ulcers. There were no differences in demographic and clinical
characteristics or medications between the 2 groups. Baseline
endothelial dysfunction was documented by decreased brachial artery
ultrasound-derived flow-mediated dilation (FMD%; <5.5). Pulse wave
analysis, venous occlusion plethysmography, and measurement of serum
vascular markers were performed in parallel.
Results. FMD%, the main end point, increased significantly from a mean
+/- SD of 3.1 +/- 13% to 8.4 +/- 2.6% after 4 weeks of bosentan
treatment (P < 0.001, compared with a change from 2.4 +/- 1.6% to 2.4
+/- 2.2% in control patients). Arterial blood pressure,
endothelium-independent vascular function, augmentation index,
peripheral flow reserve, as well as circulating intercellular adhesion
molecule 1, E-selectin, vascular endothelial growth factor, and
endothelin 1 were not significantly affected by bosentan treatment. In
patients continuously treated for 4 months, during which the dosage of
bosentan remained at 125 mg/day (n = 5) or increased to 250 mg/day (n =
5), the 4-week results remained unchanged.
Conclusion. Small doses of bosentan improve endothelial function without
affecting hemodynamic parameters or endothelial activation-related
processes, thus supporting a direct, reversible effect of endothelin in
SSc-associated vascular injury. A long-term, controlled trial to examine
the potentially global clinical benefit of endothelin receptor blockade
in patients with early SSc may be warranted
Acute combined effects of olive oil and wine on pressure wave reflections: another beneficial influence of the Mediterranean diet antioxidants?
Red Wine Acutely Induces Favorable Effects on Wave Reflections and Central Pressures in Coronary Artery Disease Patients
Red Wine Acutely Induces Favorable Effects on Wave Reflections and Central Pressures in Coronary Artery Disease Patients
Red Wine Acutely Induces Favorable Effects on Wave Reflections and Central Pressures in Coronary Artery Disease Patients
Forest overstory composition influences both light and nutrient availability in the mixed boreal forest. The influence of stand composition on understory cover and biomass was investigated on two soil types (clay and till deposits). Four forest composition types were considered in this study: aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and a mixture of balsam-fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). The cover of all understory species was recorded while the biomass of two important and ubiquitous species was measured: mountain maple (Acer spicatum Lam.) of the shrub layer and large-leaved aster (Aster macrophyllus L.) of the herb layer. Soil analyses were conducted to evaluate the influence of overstory composition on understory biomass through its influences on soil characteristics. Analyses of variance showed a significant effect of forest canopy type on mountain maple biomass, understory cover and shrub cover but not on herb cover and large-leaved aster biomass. Path analysis was performed to explore the relationships between canopy type, nutrient availability and understory biomass. Contrary to what was expected, the variation in plant biomass associated with forest composition was weakly related to soil nutrient availability and more strongly related to stand structural attributes
Paclitaxel chemotherapy and vascular toxicity as assessed by flow-mediated and nitrate-mediated vasodilatation
Background: Antitumor activity of paclitaxel is based on promotion of
abnormal microtubule (MT) assembly but it is also considered to have
significant pro-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic effects in vivo and
thus may cause vascular dysfunction.
Methods: We studied 27 women treated with paclitaxel-containing
combinations for breast or ovarian cancer. The control group was
represented by 10 women with carcinoma of the uterine cervix who
received low doses of weekly cisplatin as radiation sensitizer. We
measured endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and
nitrate-mediated dilatation (NMD) of the right brachial artery by
ultrasonography, as well as levels of the inflammatory cytokines
TNF-alpha and IL-6 before and after chemotherapy.
Results: Patients who received paclitaxel and an anthracycline had the
most marked reduction in both FMD (p = 0.005) and NMD (p = 0.027). A
significant reduction in FMD was also observed in patients treated with
weekly paclitaxel (p = 0.045), whereas NMD was not affected (p = 0.421).
Although TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels were different among chemotherapy
groups after treatment, no significant differences were observed between
levels of both markers before and after chemotherapy.
Conclusion: Treatment with paclitaxel-containing combinations impairs
endothelial function in vivo but endothelial function deterioration is
not related to the serum levels of inflammation markers. (C) 2010
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Paclitaxel chemotherapy and vascular toxicity as assessed by flow-mediated and nitrate-mediated vasodilatation
Background: Antitumor activity of paclitaxel is based on promotion of
abnormal microtubule (MT) assembly but it is also considered to have
significant pro-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic effects in vivo and
thus may cause vascular dysfunction.
Methods: We studied 27 women treated with paclitaxel-containing
combinations for breast or ovarian cancer. The control group was
represented by 10 women with carcinoma of the uterine cervix who
received low doses of weekly cisplatin as radiation sensitizer. We
measured endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and
nitrate-mediated dilatation (NMD) of the right brachial artery by
ultrasonography, as well as levels of the inflammatory cytokines
TNF-alpha and IL-6 before and after chemotherapy.
Results: Patients who received paclitaxel and an anthracycline had the
most marked reduction in both FMD (p = 0.005) and NMD (p = 0.027). A
significant reduction in FMD was also observed in patients treated with
weekly paclitaxel (p = 0.045), whereas NMD was not affected (p = 0.421).
Although TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels were different among chemotherapy
groups after treatment, no significant differences were observed between
levels of both markers before and after chemotherapy.
Conclusion: Treatment with paclitaxel-containing combinations impairs
endothelial function in vivo but endothelial function deterioration is
not related to the serum levels of inflammation markers. (C) 2010
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved