Characteristics of High-density Lipoprotein Subclasses Distribution for Subjects with Desirable Total Cholesterol Levels

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate alteration of high density lipoproteins (HDL) subclasses distribution in different total cholesterol (TC) levels, mainly the characteristics of HDL subclasses distribution in desirable TC levels and analyze the related mechanisms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>ApoA-I contents of plasma HDL subclasses were determined by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with immunodetection. 486 Chinese Adults subjects were assigned to different TC groups according to the third Report of NCEP (ATP- III) guidelines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The increase in contents of small preβ₁-HDL, HDL_3c, HDL_3b, and HDL_3aparticles clustered and reduce in HDL_2bwith increased of TC. The distribution of HDL subclasses have shown abnormality characterized by the lower HDL_2b(324.2 mg/L) contents and the higher preβ₁-HDL (90.4 mg/L) contents for desirable TC Chinese subjects. Among 176 desirable TC subjects, 58.6% subjects with triglyceride (TG) < 2.26 mmol/L, 61.2% subjects with HDL-C ≥1.03 mmol/L and 88.6% subjects with low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) < 3.34 mmol/L, and the profile of HDL subclasses distribution for above these subjects was reasonable.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The particles size of HDL subclasses shifted towards smaller with increased TC levels. The TC was liner with HDL_2bcontents and those can be reduced 17 mg/L for 0.5 mmol/L increment in TC levels. The HDL subclasses distribution phenotype was not expectation for Chinese Population with desirable TC levels. Thus, from the HDL subclasses distribution point, when assessing the coronary heart disease(CHD) risk not only rely on the TC levels, but also the concentrations of TG, HDL-C and LDL-C must considered in case the potential risk for desirable TC subjects with other plasma lipids metabolism disorders.</p

Aloperine attenuates high glucose-induced oxidative injury in Schwann cells via activation of NRF2/HO-1 pathway

Purpose: To determine the involvement of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the action of aloperine on Schwann cell injury caused by high glucose (HG).Methods: Cell viability was determined using MTT assay while the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was determined by biochemical assay. Apoptosis was assessed using flow cytometry, while the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined by Annexin V-FIT staining. Glutathione Stransferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: Treatment with HG suppressed RSC96 cell viability and increased LDH release, while aloperine reversed these results (p &lt; 0.05). Apoptosis of RSC96 cells was induced by HG stimulation, but was abolished by aloperine. The levels of ROS, MDA, and GST were enhanced in cells followingtreatment with HG, but was reversed by aloperine (p &lt; 0.05). The decreased level of GPX caused by HG in RSC96 cells was elevated by aloperine. Moreover, aloperine upregulated NRF2 and HO-1 in RSC96 cells treated with HG (p &lt; 0.05).Conclusion: Aloperine attenuates HG-induced oxidative injury in Schwann cells via activation of NRF2/HO-1 pathway, suggesting its potential as a potent drug for the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Keywords: Aloperine, Schwann cells, High glucose, Oxidative stress, NRF2, HO-

Effect of bedtime administration of blood-pressure lowering agents on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring results: A meta-analysis

Background: Bedtime administration of antihypertensive drugs currently receives more at­tention, but no clear consensus has been reached on the blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect of this strategy. Methods: We systematically searched literature for clinical trials of ingestion time of anti­hypertensive drugs evaluated by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) to perform a meta-analysis which aimed at determining the difference in diurnal, nocturnal, and 24-h mean of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP), absolute BP reduction from baseline between bedtime administration group (experimental group) and morning (awaking) administration group (control group). Results: The synthesis analysis showed that the level of BP in bedtime administration group was lower than the morning administration group, which reduced diurnal SBP/DBP by 1.67/1.13 mm Hg (p = 0.36/0.48), 24-h SBP/DBP by 2.78/0.36 mm Hg (p = 0.09/0.62), nocturnal SBP/DBP by 6.32/3.17 mm Hg (p = 0.03/0.007). Furthermore, there was lack of statistically significant differences in the diurnal mean of SBP/DBP reduction from baseline between the two groups (p = 0.94/0.85), but bedtime administration resulted in significant reduction from baseline in the nocturnal mean of SBP/DBP, by –4.72/–3.57 mm Hg (p = 0.01/0.05). Funnel plot demonstrated that there was no evidence of publication bias. Conclusions: Administration of ≥ 1 antihypertensive drugs at bedtime or evening results in a greater reduction of nocturnal hypertension than dosing in the morning without loss of efficacy of diurnal and 24 h mean BP reduction

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

A systematic review of unilateral versus bilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty/percutaneous kyphoplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the unilateral and bilateral approaches in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Methods: Based on the principles and methods of the Cochrane systematic reviews, the records of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese Bio-medicine database, China Journal Full-text Database, VIP database, and Wanfang database were reviewed until October 2014. The randomized controlled trials on unilateral and bilateral approaches to percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP)/percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures were included. The risk of bias of included trials was assessed based on the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version. The RevMan Software 5.0 was used for meta-analysis. Results: Fifteen randomized controlled trials with a total of 850 patients were included. Risk of bias in the included studies was inevitable. There was no statistically significant difference in visual analog scale, vertebral height, kyphotic angular, and quality of life. The main operative complications were bone cement leakage and adjacent vertebral fracture, without difference between the two groups. Conclusions: In view of the current evidence, there is insufficient evidence to show any difference between the unilateral and bilateral approaches in both the PVP and PKP treatment in osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Level of Evidence: Level I, Therapeutic study. Keywords: Minimally invasive surgery, Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture, Percutaneous kyphoplasty, Percutaneous vertebroplasty, Systematic revie

A review of perovskite photovoltaic materials' synthesis and applications via chemical vapor deposition method

Perovskite photovoltaic materials (PPMs) have emerged as one of superstar object for applications in photovoltaics due to their excellent properties-such as band-gap tunability, high carrier mobility, high optical gain, astrong nonlinear response-as well as simplicity of their integration with other types of optical and electronic structures. Meanwhile, PPMS and their constructed devices still present many challenges, such as stability, repeatability, and large area fabrication methods and so on. The key issue is: how can PPMs be prepared using an effective way which most of the readers care about. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technology with high efficiency, controllability, and repeatability has been regarded as a cost-effective road for fabricating high quality perovskites. This paper provides an overview of the recent progress in the synthesis and application of various PPMs via the CVD method. We mainly summarize the influence of different CVD technologies and important experimental parameters (temperature, pressure, growth environment, etc.) on the stabilization, structural design, and performance optimization of PPMS and devices. Furthermore, current challenges in the synthesis and application of PPMS using the CVD method are highlighted with suggested areas for future research.Published versio