Semantic Search Engine as tool for clinical decision support in Register for Acute Coronary Syndrome

This paper presents the implementation and use of Semantic Search Engine (SSE) as part of knowledge management system functionalities in Register for Acute Coronary Syndrome (REACS). REACS SSE is part of a clinical decision support system and is used as an aid in decision making in clinical processes related to the care and treatment of patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS)

Effects of high dose olive leaf extract on the hemodynamic and oxidative stress parameters in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

The antihypertensive activity of olive leaf extract (OLE), a natural antioxidant is recognized, but its influence on the cardiovascular system when administered in a high dose has not yet been investigated. The aim of the present study was to determine the acute effects of excessive intake of standardized OLE on blood pressure, heart rate and oxidative status in both spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar rats. The systolic arterial pressure and heart rate were measured using a tail-cuff and pneumatic pulse detector before and 60 and 120 min after intragastric OLE administration. The activities of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase in erythrocytes, as well as lipid peroxidation in plasma (pTBARS) were measured spectrophotometrically at the same time points. A high-dose of OLE did not influence blood pressure, heart rate or pTBARS in normotensive rats, while the SOD, catalase and glutathione reductase activities were significantly increased. The same dose significantly decreased blood pressure in hypertensive rats, but increased the pTBARS and SOD activity. Excessive oral intake of OLE induced moderate hypotensive effects only in spontaneously hypertensive rats, suggesting the absence of harmful hemodynamic effects after an oral overdose in both rat strains. However, its pro-oxidative role when given in a high dose in hypertensive organisms should not be neglected

Resveratrol Protects Cardiac Tissue in Experimental Malignant Hypertension Due to Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anti-Apoptotic Properties

Hypertension is one of the most prevalent and powerful contributors of cardiovascular diseases. Malignant hypertension is a relatively rare but extremely severe form of hypertension accompanied with heart, brain, and renal impairment. Resveratrol, a recently described grape-derived, polyphenolic antioxidant molecule, has been proposed as an effective agent in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. This study was designed to examine chronic resveratrol administration on blood pressure, oxidative stress, and inflammation, with special emphasis on cardiac structure and function in two models of experimental hypertension. The experiments were performed in spontaneously (SHRs) and malignantly hypertensive rats (MHRs). The chronic administration of resveratrol significantly decreased blood pressure in both spontaneously and malignant hypertensive animals. The resveratrol treatment ameliorated morphological changes in the heart tissue. The immunohistochemistry of the heart tissue after resveratrol treatment showed that both TGF-β and Bax were not present in the myocytes of SHRs and were present mainly in the myocytes of MHRs. Resveratrol suppressed lipid peroxidation and significantly improved oxidative status and release of NO. These results suggest that resveratrol prevents hypertrophic and apoptotic consequences induced by high blood pressure with more pronounced effects in malignant hypertension

Uticaj hronične promene vrednosti hematokrita na krvni pritisak i glomerulsku filtraciju kod pacova sa urođenom hipertenzijom

Many studies in hypertensive humans and animals have shown that increased blood viscosity is in direct relation with essential hypertension. The aim of our studies was to investigate the effects of chronic hematocrit value changes on arterial blood pressure and kidney function in genetically induced hypertension. To this end, we studied the effects of several interventions, designed to increase/decrease hematocrit, on hemodynamic parameters, vascular reactivity, glomerular filtration and renal function curve in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Results of our study show that chronic hematocrit value elevation increases blood pressure and peripheral vascular resistance in SHR. On the other hand, chronic hematocrit lowering elucidates blood pressure and peripheral vascular resistance decrease followed by cardiac output rising. Both hematocrit value changes significantly reduce vasodilatory vascular response. Hematocrit lowering induces acute renal failure. Sodium excretion is shifted to higher blood pressure values in high hematocrit value animals and opposite - lower blood pressure values in low hematocrit value animals. Repeated transfusions develop salt sensitive malignant hypertension in SHR. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the degree of kidney damage after chronic hematocrit value changes in SHR.Brojna ispitivanja izvedena na životinjama i ljudima su ukazala da je povećanje viskoznosti krvi u direktnoj vezi sa hipertenzijom. Cilj naše studije je bio da se istraži uticaj promene vrednosti hematokrita (Hct) na krvni pritisak i funkciju bubrega u urođenoj hipertenziji. U tom cilju, istraživan je uticaj hroničnog povećanja ili smanjenja vrednosti Hct na hemodinamske parametre, vaskularnu reaktivnost, glomerulsku filtraciju i krivu bubrežne funkcije kod pacova sa urođenom hipertenzijom (SHR). Rezultati naše studije su ukazali da hronično povećanje vrednosti Hct dovodi do povećanja arterijskog krvnog pritiska (AKP) i perifernog vaskularnog otpora (PVO) kod SHR . Nasuprot tome, hronično smanjenje vrednosti Hct dovodi do smanjenja AKP i PVO, praćenih povećanjem minutnog volumena srca. Obe promene vrednosti Hct dovode do smanjenja vaskularne reaktivnosti. Hronično smanjenje vrednosti Hct izaziva nastanak akutne bubrežne insuficijencije. Ekskrecija natrijuma je pomerena ka većim vrednostima krvnog pritiska kod pacova sa povećanim vrednostima Hct, a ka nižim kod pacova sa sniženim vrednostima Hct. Hronično povećanje vrednosti Hct dovodi do razvoja maligne hipertenzije kod SHR. Potrebne su dalje studije da bi se utvrdio tačan stepen i priroda oštećenja bubrega nakon hronične promene vrednosti Hct

Natural Substances vs. Approved Drugs in the Treatment of Main Cardiovascular Disorders—Is There a Breakthrough?

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of diseases with a very high rate of morbidity and mortality. The clinical presentation of CVDs can vary from asymptomatic to classic symptoms such as chest pain in patients with myocardial infarction. Current therapeutics for CVDs mainly target disease symptoms. The most common CVDs are coronary artery disease, acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, chronic heart failure, arterial hypertension, and valvular heart disease. In their treatment, conventional therapies and pharmacological therapies are used. However, the use of herbal medicines in the therapy of these diseases has also been reported in the literature, resulting in a need for critical evaluation of advances related to their use. Therefore, we carried out a narrative review of pharmacological and herbal therapeutic effects reported for these diseases. Data for this comprehensive review were obtained from electronic databases such as MedLine, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Conventional therapy requires an individual approach to the patients, as when patients do not respond well, this often causes allergic effects or various other unwanted effects. Nowadays, medicinal plants as therapeutics are frequently used in different parts of the world. Preclinical/clinical pharmacology studies have confirmed that some bioactive compounds may have beneficial therapeutic effects in some common CVDs. The natural products analyzed in this review are promising phytochemicals for adjuvant and complementary drug candidates in CVDs pharmacotherapy, and some of them have already been approved by the FDA. There are insufficient clinical studies to compare the effectiveness of natural products compared to approved therapeutics for the treatment of CVDs. Further long-term studies are needed to accelerate the potential of using natural products for these diseases. Despite this undoubted beneficence on CVDs, there are no strong breakthroughs supporting the implementation of natural products in clinical practice. Nevertheless, they are promising agents in the supplementation and co-therapy of CVDs

Resveratrol improved kidney function and structure in malignantly hypertensive rats by restoration of antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide bioavailability

Objective Background: The main cause of death among patients with malignant hypertension is a kidney failure. The promising field in essential and malignant hypertension therapy could be centered on the amelioration of oxidative stress using antioxidant molecules like resveratrol. Resveratrol is a potent antioxidative agent naturally occurred in many plants that possess health-promoting properties. Methods: In the present study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of resveratrol, a polyphenol with anti-oxidative activity, in NG-L-Arginine Methyl Ester (L-NAME) treated spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) - malignantly hypertensive rats (MHR). Results: Resveratrol significantly improves oxidative damages by modulation of antioxidant enzymes and suppression of prooxidant factors in the kidney tissue of MHR. Enhanced antioxidant defense in the kidney improves renal function and ameliorates the morphological changes in this target organ. Besides, protective properties of resveratrol are followed by the restoration of the nitrogen oxide (NO) pathway. 4) Conclusion: Antioxidant therapy with resveratrol could represent promising therapeutical approach in hypertension, especially malignant, against kidney damage

Assessment of DNA damage in blood, liver and kidney cells in a hypertensive rat model using comet assay

Hypertension is one of the primary risk factors for heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death worldwide. Numerous factors have been implicated in the pathophysiology of hypertension: endothelial dysfunction, arterial remodeling and vascular inflammation. Common to all these processes is increased bioavailability of reactive oxygen species in the vessels, heart, brain and kidneys. Oxidative stress and increased reactive oxygen species levels damage all macromolecules, with DNA being particularly susceptible to oxidative damage. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the level of DNA damage between normotensive and hypertensive rats using the alkaline comet assay. Blood samples and cells suspension from liver and kidney from three male spontaneously hypertensive rats were obtained. Three normotensive male Wistar rats were used as a control. Increased level of DNA damage was detected in blood and both of the studied tissues of hypertensive rats compared to the control, where significant difference was present in the liver and kidney cell suspensions. These results indicate that untreated hypertension in rats leads to an increased DNA damage in all of the studied samples, detected by comet assay.1st Congress of Geneticists in Bosnia and Herzegovina with International Participation Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 02nd-04th October, 2019, Book of abstract

Serum proteins and lipids in mild form of calf bronchopneumonia: candidates for reliable biomarkers

Calf bronchopneumonia is complex multifactorial disease and for its accurate diagnosis and therapy, besides clinical examination, microbiologic, hematologic and biochemical analyses could be necessary. In general, additional analyses are not implemented, mainly because the disease biomarkers are not defined. To establish which analysis might be useful for determining the severity of the disease, we analyzed 23 three-month old calves with mild clinical signs of bronchopneumonia and 15 age-matched healthy calves. Pasteurella multocida was isolated from deep nasal swabs of diseased calves. Peripheral blood erythrocyte and leukocyte count of bronchopneumonic and healthy calves showed no difference. Serum proteins, lipoproteins and lipids were analyzed with spectrophotometry, agarose gel electrophoresis, non-reducing SDSPAGE, gel zymography, and thin-layer chromatography. The bronchopneumonic calves had an increased level of circulating immune complexes and a globulins, which contain some of the positive acute phase proteins. In diseased calves the increased concentration of total. globulins (IgG), due to an increased concentration of anionic. globulins (predominately IgG1), was detected. The increased concentration of anionic. globulins followed by increased concentration of transferrin (negative acute phase protein) and HDL cholesterol, decreased concentration of LDL-cholesterol, unchanged activity of matrix metalloproteases and leukocyte counts might reflect the obvious absence of generalized inflammation. A positive correlation was found between the acquired results and the appearance of mild clinical signs. Therefore, we believe that the parameters analyzed in the peripheral blood could be applied as reliable disease markers to distinguish between severe (inflammatory) and mild forms of calf bronchopneumonia and to predict a better outcome for these calves

Uticaj blokade receptora tip 1 za angotenzin II udružene sa uklanjanjem superoksidnog anjona na postishemični bubreg kod pacova sa urođenom hipertenzijom

Ischemic acute kidney injury is characterized by renal vasoconstriction, filtration failure, tubular obstruction, tubular backleak and overproduction of angiotensin II and reactive oxygen species. Considering this complexity, the aim of our study was to investigate the effects of angiotensin II type-1 receptor blocker - Losartan and superoxide anion scavenger - Tempol, in a combined treatment on acute kidney injury in postischemic hypertensive rats. The experiment was performed in anesthetized, adult male spontaneously hypertensive rats. The right kidney was removed and the left renal artery was occluded for 40 minutes. Experimental groups received combined treatment (Losartan + Tempol) or saline in the femoral vein 5 minutes before, during and 175 minutes after clamp removal. Hemodynamics and biochemical parameters were measured and kidney specimens were collected 24h after reperfusion. Histological examination was performed by optical microscopy. Combined treatment improves renal haemodynamics parameters which were exacerbated due to acute kidney injury. Acute kidney injury significantly decreased creatinine and urea clearance and increased lipid peroxidation in the plasma. Treatment with Losartan and Tempol induced a significant increase of creatinine and urea clearance. Lipid peroxidation in the plasma decreased and glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity in the erythrocytes increased after Losartan + Tempol treatment. This combined treatment reduced cortico-medullary necrosis and tubular dilatation in the kidney. Our results indicate that synergism of Losartan and Tempol treatment could have beneficial effects on blood pressure and kidney function, during postischemic acute kidney injury development in experimental hypertension.Glavne karakteristike ishemične akutne bubrežne slabosti su: renalna vazokonstrikcija, pad glomerulske filtracije, tubularna opstrukcija, vraćanje glomerulskog filtrata u intersticijum tubula i prekomerna produkcija angiotenzina II i reaktivnih vrsta kiseonika. Uzimajući u obzir kompleksnost ovog poremećaja, cilj ove studije je bio da istraži efekte kombinovanog tretmana blokatora angiotenzin II receptora tip 1 - Losartana i sakupljača superoksidnog anjona - Tempola u modelu ishemične bubrežne slabosti kod hipertenzivnih pacova. Eksperiment je urađen na odraslim anesteziranim mužjacima hipertenzivnih pacova. Desni bubreg je uklonjen, dok je na levoj renalnoj arteriji urađena okluzija u trajanju od 40 minuta. Eksperimentalne grupe su primile kombinovani tretman (Losartan+Tempol) ili fiziološki rastvor u femoralnu venu, 5 minuta pre i 175 minuta nakon uklanjanja kleme sa renalne arterije. Hemodinamski i biohemijski parametri su izmereni, a uzorci bubrega uzimani su 24 časa nakon reperfuzije. Histološka ispitivanja su rađena pomoću svetlosnog mikroskopa. Kombinovani tretman poboljšava renalnu hemodinamiku, poremećenu usled ishemične akutne bubrežne slabosti. U ovom modelu bubrežne slabosti dolazi do pada klirensa kreatinina i uree, i povećanja lipidne peroksidacije u plazmi.Tretman Losartanom i Tempolom dovodi do značajnog povećanja klirensa kreatinina i uree. Lipidna peroksidacija je smanjena, a aktivnost glutation peroksidaze u eritrocitima je povećana nakon kombinovanog tretmana sa Losartanom i Tempolom. Takođe, ovakav kombinovan tretman smanjuje kortiko-medularnu nekrozu i tubularnu dilataciju u bubregu. Naši rezultati ukazuju na to da sinergizam Losartana i Tempola može imati povoljan efekat na krvni pritisak i bubrežnu funkciju tokom razvoja postishemične akutne bubrežne slabosti u eksperimentalnoj hipertenziji

Vibroacustic microvibrations enhance kidney blood supply, glomerular filtration and glutathione peroxidase activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Limited numbers of studies include research of microvibration therapy in experimental models. We examined effects of chronic vibroacustic-microvibration treatment on haemodynamics and anti-oxidative defense in experimental hypertension. Study was performed on chronically treated hypertensive and normotensive Wistar rats. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO), renal blood flow (RBF), glomerular filtration and activity of anti-oxidative enzymes were determined after three weeks treatment. Vibroacustic treatment had no influence on MAP and CO, but RBF was increased in both groups of treated rats. Additionally, vibroacustic treatment enhanced diuresis and increased glomerular filtration in hypertensive rats. Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity was elevated in both treated rat strains, but activity of superoxide dismutase was unchanged. We conclude that microvibration treatment doesn't ameliorate hypertension but improves renal blood supply (trough diminished renal vascular resistance), glomerular filtration, diuresis, and enhances glutathione dependent anti-oxidant defense with more important beneficials in hypertensive animals