Agreement between clinical measures to classify foot posture in asymptomatic adults

Abstract Background Various clinical measures of static foot posture have been developed and used. However, consensus among clinical measures to classify foot posture remains to be established. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the level of agreement as a reliability component between two common clinical methods in asymptomatic adults: the normalised navicular height truncated (NNHt) and the Foot Posture Index-6 (FPI-6). Methods The NNHt and FPI-6 were conducted on 102 asymptomatic adults. The measurement sequence was randomly arranged for each participant. Weighted Kappa (K w ) was used to determine the agreement between the methods. Results Both the NNHt and FPI-6 achieved similar foot posture distributions: approximately 40–50% of the participants had a normal foot, approximately 40% had a pronated foot and approximately 10–20% had a supinated foot. The agreement between the methods to classify foot posture was excellent (K w  = 0.84). Conclusions The present study found excellent agreement between two commonly used clinical measures. This finding highlights the NNHt and FPI-6 consensus for foot posture classification in asymptomatic adults

Curcumin Protects against Cadmium-Induced Vascular Dysfunction, Hypertension and Tissue Cadmium Accumulation in Mice

Curcumin from turmeric is commonly used worldwide as a spice and has been demonstrated to possess various biological activities. This study investigated the protective effect of curcumin on a mouse model of cadmium (Cd)—induced hypertension, vascular dysfunction and oxidative stress. Male ICR mice were exposed to Cd (100 mg/L) in drinking water for eight weeks. Curcumin (50 or 100 mg/kg) was intragastrically administered in mice every other day concurrently with Cd. Cd induced hypertension and impaired vascular responses to phenylephrine, acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. Curcumin reduced the toxic effects of Cd and protected vascular dysfunction by increasing vascular responsiveness and normalizing the blood pressure levels. The vascular protective effect of curcumin in Cd exposed mice is associated with up-regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) protein, restoration of glutathione redox ratio and alleviation of oxidative stress as indicated by decreasing superoxide production in the aortic tissues and reducing plasma malondialdehyde, plasma protein carbonyls, and urinary nitrate/nitrite levels. Curcumin also decreased Cd accumulation in the blood and various organs of Cd-intoxicated mice. These findings suggest that curcumin, due to its antioxidant and chelating properties, is a promising protective agent against hypertension and vascular dysfunction induced by Cd

Mamao Pomace Extract Alleviates Hypertension and Oxidative Stress in Nitric Oxide Deficient Rats

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative stress plays a major role in pathogenesis of hypertension. Antidesma thwaitesianum (local name: Mamao) is a tropical plant distributed in the tropical/subtropical areas of the world, including Thailand. Mamao pomace (MP), a by-product generated from Mamao fruits, contains large amounts of antioxidant polyphenolic compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the antihypertensive and antioxidative effects of MP using hypertensive rats. For this purpose, male Sprague-Dawley rats were given Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), an inhibitor of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), in drinking water (50 mg/kg) for three weeks. MP extract was orally administered daily at doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg. l-NAME administration induced marked increase in blood pressure, peripheral vascular resistance, and oxidative stress. MP treatment significantly prevented the increase in blood pressure, hindlimb blood flow and hindlimb vascular resistance of l-NAME treated hypertensive rats (p < 0.05). The antihypertensive effect of MP treatment was associated with suppression of superoxide production from carotid strips and also with an increase in eNOS protein expression and nitric oxide bioavailability. The present results provide evidence for the antihypertensive effect of MP and suggest that MP might be useful as a dietary supplement against hypertension

Effect of THU on the relative wall thickness (A), circumferential extension ratio (B), E_p (C), and E_inc (D) of mice thoracic aortas in all experimental groups.

<p>Results are expressed as mean ± SEM., n = 6–8/group. In animals not treated with Cd, THU has no effect on aortic elasticity of normal control mice (data not shown). (A)^*<i>P</i><0.05 compared with normal control group at various pressures. ^†<i>P</i><0.05 compared with Cd control group at various pressures. (B)^*<i>P</i><0.05 compared with normal control group at pressures ranging from 160–200 mmHg; ^‡<i>P</i><0.05 compared with normal control group at pressures ranging from 180–200 mmHg); ^†<i>P</i><0.05 compared with Cd control group at pressures ranging from 160–200 mmHg. (C)^*<i>P</i><0.001 compared with normal control group at pressures ranging from 100–200 mmHg; ^‡<i>P</i><0.5 compared with normal control group at pressures ranging from 120–200 mmHg; ^†<i>P</i><0.05 compared with Cd control group at pressures ranging from 120–200 mmHg. (D)^*<i>P</i><0.05 compared with all group (from 1.7); ^‡<i>P</i><0.05 compared with normal control (from 1.9); ^†<i>P</i><0.05 compared with Cd control group (from 1.7).</p

Effect of THU on smooth muscle cell numbers and percent of area fraction of collagen and elastin content in the aortic media of mice with or without Cd exposure.

<p>Panels A, B and C are representative photographs of aortic samples (×250) stained with H&E, picrosirius red and Miller's elastic stain, respectively. Results are expressed as mean ± SEM., n = 6–8/group. ^*<i>P</i><0.05 compared with normal control group; ^†<i>P</i><0.05 compared with Cd control group.</p

Effect of THU on MMP-2 (A) and MMP-9 (B) localization assessed by immunohistochemistry in the aortas of all experimental groups.

<p>Panels A and B are representative photographs of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expressions respectively (400×). Results are expressed as mean ± SEM., n = 6–8/group. ^*<i>P</i><0.001 compared with normal control group; ^†<i>P</i><0.001 compared with Cd control group.</p

Effect of THU on eNOS (A) and iNOS (B) protein expressions in the aortas of mice in all experimental groups.

<p>Plots show the densitometric intensities of eNOS and iNOS protein expressions for each condition, normalized against β-actin expression and presented as percentage of untreated control values. Results are expressed as mean ± SEM., n = 5–6/group. ^*<i>P</i><0.001 compared with normal control group; ^†<i>P</i><0.001 compared with Cd control group.</p