Ribose-cysteine protects against the development of atherosclerosis in apoE-deficient mice

Ribose-cysteine is a synthetic compound designed to increase glutathione (GSH) synthesis. Low levels of GSH and the GSH-dependent enzyme, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in both mice and humans. Here we investigate the effect of ribose-cysteine on GSH, GPx, oxidised lipids and atherosclerosis development in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice. Female 12-week old apoE-/- mice (n = 15) were treated with 4-5 mg/day ribose-cysteine in drinking water for 8 weeks or left untreated. Blood and livers were assessed for GSH, GPx activity and 8-isoprostanes. Plasma alanine transferase (ALT) and lipid levels were measured. Aortae were quantified for atherosclerotic lesion area in the aortic sinus and brachiocephalic arch and 8-isoprostanes measured. Ribose-cysteine treatment significantly reduced ALT levels (p50% in both the aortic sinus and brachiocephalic branch (p<0.05). Ribose-cysteine promotes a significant GSH-based antioxidant effect in multiple tissues as well as an LDL-lowering response. These effects are accompanied by a marked reduction in atherosclerosis suggesting that ribose-cysteine might increase protection against CVD

Lipoprotein(a), Interleukin-10, C-Reactive Protein, and 8-Year Outcome After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background: This prospective study investigated the association between preprocedural biomarker levels and incident major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in complex patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with sirolimus-eluting stenting. Hypothesis: Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) have long-term prognostic value in patients undergoing PCI. Methods: Between April 2002 and February 2003, 161 patients were included in the study. Blood was drawn before the procedure, and biomarkers were measured. Patients were followed-up for MACE (death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and repeat revascularization). Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine risk of MACE for tertiles of biomarkers. Both 1-year and long-term follow-up (median, 6 years; maximum, 8 years) were evaluated. Results: Mean age was 59 years, and 68% were men. During long-term follow-up, 72 MACE occurred (overall crude cumulative incidence: 45% [95% confidence interval (CI): 37%-52%]). Lp(a) was associated with a higher 1-year risk of MACE, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 3.1 (95% CI: 1.1-8.6) for the highest vs the lowest tertile. This association weakened and lost significance with long-term follow-up. IL-10 showed a tendency toward an association with MACE. The 1-year HR was 2.1 (95% CI: 0.92-5.0). Long-term follow-up rendered a similar result. The association of CRP with MACE did not reach statistical significance at 1-year follow-up. However, CRP was associated with long-term risk of MACE, with an HR of 1.9 (95% CI: 1.0-3.5). Conclusions: In this prospective study, preprocedural Lp(a) level was associated with short-term prognosis after PCI. The preprocedural CRP level was associated with long-term prognosis after PCI. Clin. Cardiol. 2012 DOI: 10.1002/clc.21988 The authors have no funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose

Study of fast-ion transport induced by fishbones on JET

The impact of fishbone oscillations onto a confined fast-ion population is simulated for a JET plasma and benchmarked against experiment quantitatively with the help of neutron rate measurements. The transient drops in volume integrated neutron emission are found to be mainly caused by the spatial redistribution of the (neutral beam injected) fast-ion population confined in the plasma rather than by fast-ion loss. The simulations yield a quadratic dependence of the neutron drop on the fishbone amplitude. It is found that the simulations are able to correctly reproduce the magnitude of the experimentally observed drop in volume integrated neutron emission to within a factor 2. Furthermore, frequency chirping is found to be important. Omitting the fishbone frequency chirp in the simulations reduces the magnitude of the neutron rate drop (and hence fast-ion redistribution) to about half its original value

Non-resonant magnetic braking on JET and TEXTOR

The non-resonant magnetic braking effect induced by a non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbation is investigated on JET and TEXTOR. The collisionality dependence of the torque induced by the n = 1, where n is the toroidal mode number, magnetic perturbation generated by the error field correction coils on JET is observed. The observed torque is located mainly in the plasma core (normalized radius