16 research outputs found
Menstruation angina: a case report
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Menstruation is commonly associated with migraine and irritable bowel but is rarely correlated with angina or myocardial ischaemia. Only a small number of cases have been reported suggesting a link between menstruation and myocardial ischaemic events.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A case of menstruation angina is reported in order to raise awareness of this association. A 47-year-old South Asian woman presented with recurrent chest pains in a monthly fashion coinciding with her menstruations. Each presentation was associated with troponin elevation. Angioplasty failed to resolve her symptoms but she eventually responded to hormonal therapy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The possibility of menstruation angina should always be taken into account in any female patients from puberty to menopause presenting with recurrent chest pains. This can allow an earlier introduction of hormonal therapy to arrest further myocardial damage.</p
Diabetic endothelial dysfunction: the role of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation
Diabetic patients frequently suffer from retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy and accelerated atherosclerosis. The loss of endothelial function precedes these vascular alterations. Here we report that activation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is an important factor in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction in diabetes. Destruction of islet cells with streptozotocin in mice induced hyperglycemia, intravascular oxidant production, DNA strand breakage, PARP activation and a selective loss of endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Treatment with a novel potent PARP inhibitor, starting after the time of islet destruction, maintained normal vascular responsiveness, despite the persistence of severe hyperglycemia. Endothelial cells incubated in high glucose exhibited production of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species, consequent single-strand DNA breakage, PARP activation and associated metabolic and functional impairment. Basal and high-glucose-induced nuclear factor-kappaB activation were suppressed in the PARP-deficient cells. Our results indicate that PARP may be a novel drug target for the therapy of diabetic endothelial dysfunction
Impaired endothelial function in female adolescents with type 1 diabetes measured by peripheral artery tonometry
Abstract: The reactive hyperemia peripheral artery tonometry (RH-PAT) is a newly developed method for non-invasive endothelial function assessment. The goal of this study is to determine whether a significant difference in RH-PAT score is present between adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in comparison with controls. Thirty-four adolescents with T1D and 25 control subjects (age 12-20 years) underwent RH-PAT endothelial function testing after an overnight fast. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), fasting lipid profile, Tanner stage, and glucose level were determined in each child. Adolescents with T1D had significantly lower RH-PAT scores compared to healthy controls, and this difference remained significant when overweight cases were not considered (p < 0.05). This difference was also observed in the female subgroup (p = 0.005). The interindividual variability in RH-PAT observations in T1D cases was not explained by BMI standard deviation score (SDS), BP SDS, age, duration of T1D, hemoglobin A1c, triglycerides, and pubertal stage, respectively. The RH-PAT technique is used as a non-invasive test to assess for early vascular changes in high-risk patient groups. Endothelial dysfunction, measured by RH-PAT, was present in diabetic adolescent, especially in the female subgroup. Although additional longitudinal studies are required, early detection of this reversible process may have therapeutic and prognostic implications