Metabolic risk factors and renal disease

Accumulating evidence supports that components of the metabolic syndrome coexist with both albuminuria and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The article by Tomaszewski et al. indicates that this interrelation exists in young obese men before overt renal or cardiovascular disease and also suggests that early treatment of hypertension is especially compelling to prevent the evolution of renal hyperfiltration to CKD

Synovial and systemic pharmacokinetics (PK) of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) following intra-articular (IA) injection of an extended-release microsphere-based formulation (FX006) or standard crystalline suspension in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA)

Objective: Intra-articular (IA) corticosteroids relieve osteoarthritis (OA) pain, but rapid absorption into systemic circulation may limit efficacy and produce untoward effects. We compared the pharmacokinetics of IA triamcinolone acetonide (TA) delivered as an extended-release, microsphere-based formulation (FX006) vs a crystalline suspension (TAcs) in knee OA patients. Method: This Phase 2 open-label study sequentially enrolled 81 patients who received a single IA injection of FX006 (5 mL, 32mg delivered dose, N=63) or TAcs (1 mL, 40mg, N=18). Synovial fluid (SF) aspiration was attempted in each patient at baseline and one post-IA-injection visit (FX006: Week1, Week6, Week12, Week16 or Week20; TAcs: Week6). Blood was collected at baseline and multiple post-injection times. TA concentrations (validated LC-MS/MS, geometric means), pharmacokinetics (non-compartmental analysis models), and adverse events (AEs) were assessed. Results: SF TA concentrations following FX006 were quantifiable through Week12 (pg/mL: 231,328.9 at Week1; 3590.0 at Week6; 290.6 at Week12); post-TAcs, only 2 of 8 patients had quantifiable SF TA at Week6 (7.7 pg/mL). Following FX006, plasma TA gradually increased to peak (836.4 pg/mL) over 24 hours and slowly declined to <110 pg/mL over Weeks12-20; following TAcs, plasma TA peaked at 4 hours (9,628.8 pg/mL), decreased to 4,991.1 pg/mL at 24 hours, and was 149.4 pg/mL at Week6, the last post-treatment time point assessed. AEs were similar between groups. Conclusion: In knee OA patients, microsphere-based TA delivery via a single IA injection prolonged SF joint residency, diminished peak plasma levels, and thus reduced systemic TA exposure relative to TAcs

Resposta da produtividade de grãos e outras características agronômicas do trigo EMBRAPA-22 irrigado ao nitrogênio em cobertura

As doses e a época de aplicação do nitrogênio (N) podem influenciar as características agronômicas do trigo (Triticum aestivum L.) irrigado e, conseqüentemente, a produtividade de grãos. Neste sentido, foram instalados dois experimentos na Estação Experimental da Universidade Federal de Viçosa, localizada em Coimbra (MG), em 1995 e 1996. Os tratamentos foram constituídos pela combinação de quatro doses de N (30, 60, 90 e 120 kg ha-1), quatro formas de parcelamento (dose total aos 20 dias da emergência (DAE); ½ aos 20 + ½ aos 40 DAE; 1/3 aos 20 + 2/3 aos 40 DAE e 2/3 aos 20 + 1/3 aos 40 DAE) e uma testemunha (sem N em cobertura), dispostos em esquema fatorial 4 x 4 + 1, no delineamento em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições. A altura e o acamamento das plantas, a biomassa seca, o índice de colheita, a massa de mil grãos, o peso hectolítrico e a produtividade de grãos foram influenciados pelas doses de N. Em 1996, o número de espigas por metro quadrado e o número de perfilhos férteis por planta diminuíram, em conseqüência do acamamento precoce das plantas, enquanto o número de grãos por espiga e o número de grãos por metro quadrado aumentaram com o incremento nas doses de N. As formas de parcelamento influenciaram somente o acamamento das plantas

Hemolymph osmolality and cation concentrations in Litopenaeus vannamei during exposure to artificial sea salt or a mixed-ion solution: Relationship to potassium flux

Interest in culturing the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei in low-salinity and brackish-well waters has led to questions about the ability of this species to osmo- and ionoregulate in environments containing low concentrations of ions and in environments with ionic ratios that differ from those found in sea water. After seven days, hemolymph osmolality and potassium, sodium and calcium values were all significantly affected by salinity (as artificial sea salt) with values decreasing with decreasing salinity. These decreases were small, however, relative to decreases in salinity, indicating iono- and osmoregulation with adjustment for gradients. The hemolymph osmolality and sodium and calcium concentrations in shrimp exposed to either 2 g/L artificial sea salt or 2 g/L mixed-ion solution (a mixture of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium chlorides that approximate the concentrations and ratios of these cations found in 2 g/L dilute seawater) did not differ significantly. However, hemolymph potassium levels were significantly lower in shrimp held in the mixed-ion environment. Potassium influx rates were similar in shrimp held in either artificial sea salt or mixed ions. The results of this study indicate that salinity affects hemolymph-cation concentrations and osmolality. Further, differential potassium-influx rates do not appear to be the basis for low hemolymph potassium levels observed in shrimp held in mixed-ion environments

Relative androgenicity, blood pressure levels, and cardiovascular risk factors in young healthy women

To test the hypothesis that androgens may play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and hypertension, we investigated the association of Δ5 dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate[DHEAS]) and Δ4 (free testosterone EFTI) androgens with the resting, seated blood pressure (BP) levels and cardiovascular risk factors in 280 young, healthy women 18 to 24 years of age. After application of multiple regression analysis, systolic BP was positively and independently correlated with the ratio of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate to free testosterone (DHEAS/FT), fasting insulin levels, and the diastolic BP with DHEAS/FT only. The DHEAS/FT ratio proved to be a stronger predictor of the BP levels than either hormone alone. Further, uric acid concentrations and HDL/total cholesterol ratio were independently correlated with both FT and body mass index in these young women. Serum triglycerides were independently correlated with FT and central body fat distribution. These data suggest that serum androgen concentrations are important independent predictors of cardiovascular risk factors and that the ratio of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate to free testosterone ratio is an independent predictor of blood pressure levels in young women. © 1995 by the American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd