Awareness of hypertension and depressive symptoms: a cross-sectional study in a primary care population

Objective: To investigate the association of hypertension awareness and depressive symptoms, and to analyse factors predisposing aware hypertensives to depressive symptoms.Design: Cross-sectional study in a primary care population.Setting: Cardiovascular risk factor survey in two semi-rural towns in Finland.Subjects: Two thousand six hundred seventy-six middle-aged risk persons without an established cardiovascular or renal disease or type 2 diabetes.Main outcome measures: Depressive symptoms, previous and new diagnosis of hypertension.Results: Hypertension was diagnosed in 47.9% of the subjects, of whom 34.5% (442/1 282) had previously undetected hypertension. Depressive symptoms were reported by 14% of the subjects previously aware of their hypertension, and by 9% of both unaware hypertensives and normotensive subjects. In the logistic regression analysis, both the normotensive (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.45–0.86) (p = 0.0038) and the unaware hypertensive subjects (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.35–0.84) (p = 0.0067) had lower risk for depressive symptoms than the previously diagnosed hypertensives. Among these aware hypertensives, female gender (OR 3.61, 95% CI 2.06–6.32), harmful alcohol use (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.40–4.64) and obesity (OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.01–6.21) predicted depressive symptoms. Non-smoking (OR 0.57, 95% Cl 0.33–0.99) and moderate leisure-time physical activity compared to low (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.33–0.84) seemed to buffer against depressive symptoms.Conclusion: Depressive symptoms are common in hypertensive persons even without comorbidities, if the person is already aware of his/her hypertension. Many modifiable, lifestyle associated factors may contribute to the association of hypertension and depressive symptoms.</p

Xenopus as a Model System for the Study of GOLPH2/GP73 Function: Xenopus golph2 Is Required for Pronephros Development

GOLPH2 is a highly conserved protein. It is upregulated in a number of tumors and is being considered as an emerging biomarker for related diseases. However, the function of GOLPH2 remains unknown. The Xenopus model is used to study the function of human proteins. We describe the isolation and characterization of Xenopus golph2, which dimerizes and localizes to the Golgi in a manner similar to human GOLPH2. Xenopus golph2 is expressed in the pronephros during early development. The morpholino-mediated knockdown of golph2 results in edema formation. Additionally, Nephrin expression is enhanced in the glomus, and the expression of pronephric marker genes, such as atp1b1, ClC-K, NKCC2, and NBC1, is diminished in the tubules and duct. Expression patterns of the transcription factors WT1, Pax2, Pax8, Lim1, GATA3, and HNF1β are also examined in the golph2 knockdown embryos, the expression of WT1 is increased in the glomus and expanded laterally in the pronephric region. We conclude that the deletion of golph2 causes an increase in the expression of WT1, which may promote glomus formation and inhibit pronephric tubule differentiation

Cs in fishes and water in Finnish lakes - considerations for radiological risk assessment

The deposition from Chernobyl in spring 1986 was most unevenly distributed in Finland and elevated the 137Cs contents of fishes in Finnish lakes significantly. High activity concentrations of 137Cs still occur in fish from certain lakes in the areas of the highest deposition. Activity concentrations of 137Cs in perch varied from 20 to 7 800 and those in lake water from 4 to 330 Bq/m3 in 1998 and 2002. Concentration factors (Bq/kg in perch / Bq/kg in lake water) ranged from 1 300 to 30 000 in the lakes studied. Ecological halftimes of 137Cs in perch in certain lakes, monitored regularly since 1986, and representing different types in terms of environmental transfer, were estimated as examples. The longest halftimes of 137Cs in perch were approximately 8 years and the shortest approximately 3 years determined for the time period of 1988-2002. Except for estimation of radiation doses to people eating fish, data on changes of activity concentrations in various parts of the aquatic system are also needed when estimating radiation doses to fish and other biota. Slow recovery of the habitat and feed from 137Cs results in higher exposure of biota than in case of rapid activity decrease

Regional variation of

The aim of this study was to see if differences in the transfer and behaviour of 137Cs in fishes can be found in large fishery areas. Based on watercourses the country can be divided into eight large areas. The study is focused mainly to four of these areas, most important for freshwater fishing in Finland and based on long-term analysing programmes of freshwater fishes carried out after the Chernobyl deposition in each area. Deposition from Chernobyl was distributed most unevenly in Finland. Average depositions of 137Cs to the areas studied varied from 4 kBq/m2 to 34 kBq/m2. The transfer of 137Cs into fishes differed somewhat in various areas. Regional averages of 137Cs in fishes per unit deposition varied between 0.04 to 0.2 m2/kg. Average concetration ratios of 137Cs in predatory, non-predatory and intermediate fish and water were 7000, 2400 and 6200, respectively, in 1998. After peak values 137Cs in fishes decreases with a half-life of 2.2 - 7.5 years in the four large fishery areas. The type of the catchment plays an important role in the long-term behaviour of 137Cs both in surface water and in fishes