Clinical significance of cardiovascular dysmetabolic syndrome

Although diabetes mellitus is predominantly a metabolic disorder, recent data suggest that it is as much a vascular disorder. Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of death and disability in patients with diabetes mellitus. A number of recent reports have emphasized that many patients already have atherosclerosis in progression by the time they are diagnosed with clinical evidence of diabetes mellitus. The increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients is related to the frequently associated dyslipidemia, hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and endothelial dysfunction. The evolving knowledge regarding the variety of metabolic, hormonal, and hemodynamic abnormalities in patients with diabetes mellitus has led to efforts designed for early identification of individuals at risk of subsequent disease. It has been suggested that insulin resistance, the key abnormality in type II diabetes, often precedes clinical features of diabetes by 5–6 years. Careful attention to the criteria described for the cardiovascular dysmetabolic syndrome should help identify those at risk at an early stage. The application of nonpharmacologic as well as newer emerging pharmacologic therapies can have beneficial effects in individuals with cardiovascular dysmetabolic syndrome and/or diabetes mellitus by improving insulin sensitivity and related abnormalities. Early identification and implementation of appropriate therapeutic strategies would be necessary to contain the emerging new epidemic of cardiovascular disease related to diabetes

The Brookhaven muon storage ring magnet

The muon g-2 experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory has the goal of determining the muon anomalous g-value a(mu) ( = (g - 2)/2) to the very high precision of 0.35 parts per million and thus requires a storage ring magnet with great stability and homogeniety. A superferric storage ring with a radius of 7.11 m and a magnetic field of 1.45 T has been constructed in which the field quality is largely determined by the iron, and the excitation is provided by superconducting coils operating at a current of 5200 A. The storage ring has been constructed with maximum attention to azimuthal symmetry and to tight mechanical tolerances and with many features to allow obtaining a homogenous magnetic field. The fabrication of the storage ring, its cryogenics and quench protection systems, and its initial testing and operation are described. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved