Advances in Renal Denervation in the Treatment of Hypertension

Hypertension significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular events and it is associated with high rates of disability and mortality. Hypertension is a common cause of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents, which severely affect patients’ quality of life and lifespan. Current treatment strategies for hypertension are based primarily on medication and lifestyle interventions. The renal sympathetic nervous system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension, and catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) has provided a new concept for the treatment of hypertension. In recent years, studies on RDN have been performed worldwide. This article reviews the latest preclinical research and clinical evidence for RDN

Cardioneuroablation for successful treatment of symptomatic bradycardia in a 12-year-old child after a 6-month follow-up

BackgroundCardioneuroablation (CNA) is recognized as a promising therapeutic option for adults with severe symptomatic bradycardia caused by excessive vagal tone. However, no pediatric cases have been reported to date. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of CNA in children.MethodsA 12-year-old male patient was hospitalized with symptoms of fatigue, palpitations, and syncope for more than 2 months, and was definitively diagnosed with functional sinoatrial node dysfunction by using a 12-lead electrocardiogram, 24-h Holter monitoring, loading dose of atropine test (0.04 mg/kg), and treadmill exercise test. Simultaneously, whole-exome sequencing was performed on the child and his core family members. After completing the preoperative examination and signing the informed consent form, the child underwent CNA therapy.ResultsFirst, the electroanatomic structures of both atria were mapped out by using the Carto 3 system, according to the protocol of purely anatomy-guided and local fractionated intracardiac electrogram–guided CNA methods. Then, the local fractionated intracardiac electrograms of each cardiac ganglionated plexus (GP), including the GP between the aortic root and the medial wall of the superior vena cava, the GP between the posterior wall of the coronary sinus ostium and the left atrium, the GP between the anterior antrum of the right superior pulmonary vein and the superior vena cava, the GP in the superolateral area around the root of the left superior pulmonary vein, the GP around the root of the right inferior pulmonary vein, and the GP around the root of the left inferior pulmonary vein, were used as targets for ablation at a power of 30 W with an ablation index of 350–400. At a 6-month follow-up, the child's heart rhythm saw a complete restoration to sinus rhythm and clinical symptoms disappeared.ConclusionThe first application of CNA in a child with symptomatic sinus bradycardia was achieved with better clinical outcomes. CNA can be carried out cautiously in children under suitable indications

INTERMITTENT HYPOXIA-INDUCED RENAL ANTIOXIDANTS AND OXIDA- TIVE DAMAGE IN MALE MICE: HORMETIC DOSE RESPONSE

Obstructive sleep apnea causes cardiovascular disease via chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH), which may be related to oxidative stress. Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is an important cellular defense mechanism against oxidative stress by regulating its down-stream multiple antioxidants. The present study was to define whether IH can induce renal pathogenic damage and if so, whether Nrf2 and its down-stream antioxidants are involved in IH-induced pathogenic changes. Mice were culled for exposure to inter- mittent air as control or IH that consisted of 20.9% O2/ 8% O2 FIO2 alternation cycles (30 episodes per h) with 20 seconds at the nadir FIO2 for 12 h a day during daylight. Short term IH exposure (3 – 7 days) induced significant increases in renal inflammatory response and antioxidant levels along with a reduction of the spontaneous content of mal- ondialdehyde while long-term IH exposure (8 weeks) induced a significant decrease of antioxidant levels and significant increases of renal inflammation, oxidative damage, cell death, and fibrosis. This study suggests that IH induces a hormetic response, i.e.: short term IH exposure is able to induce a protective response to protect the kidney from oxidative damage while long-term IH exposure is able to induce a damage effect on the kidney

Overexpression of a MYB Family Gene, OsMYB6, Increases Drought and Salinity Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Rice

MYB transcription factors have been demonstrated to play key regulatory roles in plant growth, development and abiotic stress response. However, knowledge concerning the involvement of rice MYB genes in salinity and drought stress resistance are largely unknown. In the present study, we cloned and characterized the OsMYB6 gene, which was induced by drought and salinity stress. Subcellular localization of OsMYB6-YFP fusion protein in protoplast cells indicated that OsMYB6 was localized in the nucleus. Overexpression of OsMYB6 in rice did not suggest a negative effect on the growth and development of transgenic plants, but OsMYB6-overexpressing plants showed increased tolerance to drought and salt stress compared with wild-type plants, as are evaluated by higher proline content, higher CAT and SOD activities, lower REL and MDA content in transgenic plants under drought and salt stress conditions. In addition, the expression of abiotic stress-responsive genes were significantly higher in OsMYB6 transgenic plants than that in wild-type plants under drought and salt stress conditions. These results indicate that OsMYB6 gene functions as a stress-responsive transcription factor which plays a positive regulatory role in response to drought and salt stress resistance, and may be used as a candidate gene for molecular breeding of salt-tolerant and drought-tolerant crop varieties

Intravenous immunoglobulin plus corticosteroid to prevent coronary artery abnormalities in Kawasaki disease: a meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Objective To summarise clinical trials that compared the incidence of coronary abnormality between intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) plus corticosteroid therapy and IVIG therapy alone, and to determine the overall efficacy and safety of IVIG plus corticosteroid therapy for the initial treatment of Kawasaki disease. Background Although use of IVIG as initial therapy has been established in Kawasaki disease, the role of corticosteroids therapy is controversial. Methods Medline, The Cochrane Library, The Clinical Trials, and Embase Database were searched for published clinical studies up to 31 March 2012. Studies that compare the efficacy of IVIG plus corticosteroid with that of IVIG in treating Kawasaki disease were included. The coronary outcome and adverse events were analysed by meta-analysis. Results 9 clinical studies with a total of 1011 patients were identified. Meta-analysis of the 9 studies showed that IVIG plus corticosteroid therapy significantly reduced the risk of coronary abnormality (OR: 0.3; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.46). Similar results were observed in subgroup analyses of randomised controlled studies (OR: 0.3; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.5), studies focused on patients with a high risk of IVIG resistance (OR: 0.2; 95% CI 0.1 to 0.36) and studies with blinded-endpoint manner (OR: 0.32; 95% CI 0.19 to 0.55). There was no significant difference in the incidence of severe adverse events between the IVIG plus corticosteroid group, and the IVIG group (OR: 1.24; 95% CI 0.33 to 4.67). Conclusions Combination of corticosteroid with the conventional regimen of IVIG as an initial treatment strategy could reduce the risk of coronary abnormality

Molecular Genetic Understanding of Photoperiodic Regulation of Flowering Time in Arabidopsis and Soybean

The developmental switch from a vegetative phase to reproduction (flowering) is essential for reproduction success in flowering plants, and the timing of the floral transition is regulated by various environmental factors, among which seasonal day-length changes play a critical role to induce flowering at a season favorable for seed production. The photoperiod pathways are well known to regulate flowering time in diverse plants. Here, we summarize recent progresses on molecular mechanisms underlying the photoperiod control of flowering in the long-day plant Arabidopsis as well as the short-day plant soybean; furthermore, the conservation and diversification of photoperiodic regulation of flowering in these two species are discussed

Altered Promoter and G-Box Binding Factor for <i>1-Deoxy-<span style="font-variant: small-caps">d</span>-Xylulose-5-Phosphate Synthase</i> Gene Grown from <i>Poa pratensis</i> Seeds after Spaceflight

In plant cells, the nucleus DNA is considered the primary site of injury by the space environment, which could generate genetic alteration. As the part of genomic mutation, genetic variation in the promoter region could regulate gene expression. In the study, it is observed that there is a deletion in the upstream regulatory region of the 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase 1 gene (PpDXS1) of Poa pratensis dwarf mutant and the PpDXS1 transcript abundance is lower in the dwarf mutant. It is indicated that the deletion in the promoter region between wild type and dwarf mutant could be responsible for the regulation of PpDXS1 gene expression. The PpDXS1 promoter of dwarf mutant shows a lower activity as determined by dual luciferase assay in Poa pratensis protoplast, as well as the GUS activity is lower in transgenic Poa pratensis plant. To further investigate the effect of the deletion in the promoter region on PpDXS1 transcript accumulation, the transient assay and yeast one-hybrid experiment demonstrate that the deletion comprises a motif which is a target of G-box binding factor (GBF1), and the motif correlates with an increase in transactivation by GBF1 protein. Taken together, these results indicate that the deletion in the promoter of PpDXS1 isolated from dwarf mutant is sufficient to account for the decrease in PpDXS1 transcript level and GBF1 can regulate the PpDXS1 gene expression, and subsequently affect accumulation of various isoprenoids throughout the plant

Soil development in sand pits

It has not been paid enough attention to research of soil evolution in sand pit yet, so this study is focused on soil development in sand pit within primary succession. The study makes literary recherche of the most important factors which affect soil development. The study further detects volume of humus and soil pH in model area and how these attributes are changing in dependence on succession age. Differences of researches of pedogenesis in primary succession are discussed. Keywords: primary succession, sand pit, soi