In conclusion, high intake of Mg was more important in inducing s

In conclusion, high intake of Mg was more important in inducing struvite calculi compared with high intake of K and P in goats under these feeding conditions. Cottonseed meal and selleckchem rice straw with additional Mg is a good dietary model for inducing struvite calculi in castrated goats. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Purpose: The current study objective was to compare blood platelet indices in full-term small-for-gestational-age newborns (SGA) and full-term appropriate-for-gestational-age

newborns (AGA).

Materials/Methods: We introduced to our study 61 SGA newborns (31 females and 30 males) and 70 eutrophic infants (32 females and 38 males). The SGA newborns were divided into two groups: those weighing less than the 5th centile: 35 infants (16 females and 19 males) and those between the 5th and 10th centiles: 26 infants (15 females and 11 males). Platelet indices were estimated in blood samples collected from the umbilical artery.

Results: SGA demonstrated a decreased count of blood platelets (238×103/mu) as compared with AGA (286×103/mu L), p=0.0001. Platelet hematocrit (PTC)

also showed differences in both groups (SGA=0.19% vs. AGA=0.22%; p=0.0005). Mean platelet volume (MPV) was higher in SGA (8.25fl) as compared with AGA (7.84fl); p=0.008. Large platelet count (LPLT) was higher in AGA 6.26% vs. SGA=4.75%; p=0.01. Platelet distribution width (PDW) was found to be nearly the same (SGA=47%, AGA=46%). PDW was higher in SGA newborns < 5th centile (43%) as compared with SGA infants between the 5th and 10th centiles (52%); 5-Fluoracil p=0.008.

Conclusions: A decreased blood platelet count, platelet hematocrit and large metabolically active platelet count, which in addition to reduced synthesis and excessive consumption of coagulation factors in states of hiperclotting is characteristic of IUGR, enhances the possibility of bleeding complications and increases the risk of infections. From a clinical point of view, it is important to take into consideration the degree of intrauterine hypotrophy during the evaluation of hemostatic AR-13324 supplier disorders.”
“Background

and objectiveWe assessed whether co-deposition of a long-acting (2)-agonist and a corticosteroid affects their respective transport rates across epithelial cells.

MethodsDrug particles were deposited on the air-interface culture of Calu-3 cells using a twin-stage impinger. We compared the transport rate of salmeterol and fluticasone across the epithelial cells using commercially available formulations (Serevent, Flixotide and Seretide). The transepithelial resistance of Calu-3 cells was measured before and after each deposition to monitor epithelial resistance.

ResultsThe codeposition of salmeterol and fluticasone had no significant effect on transport of salmeterol through the cell layer. In contrast, the rate of fluticasone propionate transport in presence of salmeterol xinofoate was significantly lower (0.530.

Results Univariate comparisons for grafting material are as foll

Results. Univariate comparisons for grafting material are as follows: Average ODI-FD: 46.05 +/- 16.7, FZ: 39.24 +/- 23.65, P = 0.296. Average Physical Component Summary from SF36-FD: 33.47 +/- 10.12, FZ: 39.76 +/- 11.50, P = 0.074. Average 1 to 10 back pain with medication-FD: 3.47 +/- 2.59, FZ: 2.95 +/- 2.48, P = 0.527. ODI scores improved more than 10 points in 62.5% of patients. SF-36 Physical Component Summary scores improved more than 10 points in 27.5% of patients. Back pain with medication scores improved 2 or more points in 60.5% of patients. Seven patients required revision for psuedarthrosis (FD: 6, FZ: 1, P = 0.026). Fusion was achieved in 40 levels (71.4%).

The freeze- dried graft had a higher likelihood of pseudarthrosis (P = 0.026).

Conclusion. When the results are considered in terms of clinical outcomes, the 2 methods of graft preservation perform with few statistically click here selleck chemicals significant differences. Radiographic analysis showed that the freeze- dried graft had a higher likelihood of pseudarthrosis.”
“Background: CHRONOS was a large naturalistic study designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of

agomelatine in the management of patients with major depression in routine clinical practice.

Methods: Patients (n=6,276) with a moderate or severe major depressive episode without psychotic symptoms were treated initially as outpatients (80.2%) or in psychiatric facilities (19.8%) in 54 regions of the Russian Federation. Patients received a flexible-dosing regimen of agomelatine 25 mg or A-769662 mw 50 mg once daily for 8 weeks, with frequent study visits (weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8).

Results: Patients (mean age 44 years, 72.6% female) showed progressive improvement on the 17-item

Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) total score from 22 +/- 6.9 at baseline to 4.7 +/- 4.7 at week 8 (P < 0.0001). The proportion of responders (HAMD-17 decrease of >= 50%) was 90.1% and the proportion of remitters (HAMD-17 < 7) was 79.1% at week 8. All individual HAMD-17 item scores improved rapidly, and the change relative to baseline was significant (P < 0.0001) at week 1 and at each subsequent visit in all cases. There were corresponding rapid improvements in Clinical Global Impression Severity and Improvement scores. In the subgroup of patients with more severe illness (HAMD-17 >= 21 at baseline; n=3,478), the proportions of responders and remitters were 92.4% and 72.8%, respectively, at week 8.

Conclusion: Agomelatine was effective and well tolerated in a large sample of depressed patients in an observational treatment setting, and showed a rapid onset of benefit across all HAMD-17 items.”
“Purpose: Primary diagnostic tools for prostate cancer are prostate examination and detection of prostate specific antigen. It is important to know what factors affect individuals in their use of these tools.

Tumors were unilateral in 41 cases, and bilateral in 3 cases

Tumors were unilateral in 41 cases, and bilateral in 3 cases.

Five were tumor revision cases. Thirty patients underwent posterior approach, 7 had anterior approach, 1 had anterolateral approach, and 6 had combined approach. Gross total resection was achieved in all the patients. Tumors involved nerve roots were transected in 12 cases. Single vertebral artery was ligated in 3. The complications included cerebrospinal fluid leakage in 18 cases, esophagus injury in 1, Horner syndrome in 1, dysphagia in 2, dyspnea in 1 and deep infection in 1. Thirty-six cases (81.1%) had an average 61-month follow-up. Recurrence was found in only one case (2.8%).

Conclusion. PUTH classification covers all tumor types and is easier to remember. It is practical and useful for determining the surgical approach. The recurrence rate decreases significantly after radial www.selleckchem.com/products/17-DMAG,Hydrochloride-Salt.html tumor resection. Revision surgeries are associated with more complications.”
“The texture and microstructure of edible abalone meats were studied during heat treatments from 50 Temsirolimus ic50 to 100A degrees

C for 60 min. No increase in extractable soluble collagen content was observed below 80A degrees C, but a 9-fold increase was observed at 100A degrees C. SDS-PAGE showed that extractable myosin heavy chains and paramyosin contents reduced significantly at 80A degrees C, and disappeared completely at 100A degrees C. The shear force increased slowly from 50 to 70A degrees C, but relaxed back to the initial level at 100A degrees C.

Rapid reduction of hardness was observed at 50A degrees C, minimum hardness Ganetespib Cytoskeletal Signaling inhibitor was obtained at 100A degrees C. Springness, cohesiveness, chewiness, and resilience were enhanced to maximum levels at 70, 90, 70, and 90A degrees C, respectively. Optical micrographs and transmission electron microscope showed a significant increase of intermyofibrillar gaps at 90A degrees C and broken fibers at 100A degrees C. Results suggested that 80A degrees C might be a suitable temperature to produce ready-to-eat abalone products.”
“Polymeric Curing agent modified with hexamethyldisilazane (PCA-D), or with hexamethylcyclotrisilazane (PCA-T), was used to improve the mechanical properties of hydroxyl-teminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) rubber. The structure and the gel time of PCA were characterized by (29)Si NMR and shear viscosity measurement, respectively. The PCA modified with silazanes was more stable in storage than that without treatment (PCA-0). Chemical bonds were formed during the reaction of silazanes and PCA according to (29)Si NMR results. The crosslink density (gamma(e)) and the mechanical properties of PCA/PDMS rubber were determined by swelling equilibrium and stress-strain tests. It was found that PCA treated with both silazanes could better enhance the mechanical properties of PCA/PDMS rubber compared with PCA-0.

Serum levels of meloxicam were significantly higher,

Serum levels of meloxicam were significantly higher, Eltanexor clinical trial at 0.5 h and 1 h after administration of BCD-meloxicam orally than those of unmodified meloxicam (both dosed at 10 mg/kg). The present results suggest that association with beta-cyclodextrin increases the analgesic activity of meloxicam. This may be due to an increased systemic bioavailability of meloxicam after oral administration of its complex with beta-cyclodextrin.”
“Objective:

To determine whether amniotic fluid (AF) inflammation, in the absence of infection, is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in nonelective cervical cerclage patients. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was carried out. The patient population included 82 singleton pregnancies with negative AF cultures. The variables used to define AF inflammation were white blood cell count (WBC) >50 cell/mm(3), glucose <14 mg/dl or interleukin-6 (IL-6) >11.3 ng/ml. The study group consisted of cases with intra-amniotic inflammation. Sub-analysis was performed for the groups in which IL-6 concentrations were measured. Adverse outcomes were evaluated with variables such as gestational age at delivery, interval from cerclage to delivery, chorioamnionitis and cumulative neonatal morbidity. Results: Elevated AF WBC was correlated with severe and extreme preterm delivery (p < 0.05). Decreased AF glucose was associated with histological chorioamnionitis and a decreased cerclage see more to delivery

interval (p < 0.05). Elevated AF IL-6 correlated significantly with decreased gestational age at delivery (p < 0.012) and decreased cerclage to delivery interval (p < 0.001). Elevated IL-6 concentrations were associated with severe, extreme preterm delivery (p < 0.001) and neonatal death (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Elevated AF IL-6, elevated

WBC and low AF glucose, in the absence of a positive AF culture, are significantly associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients undergoing nonelective cerclage.”
“The therapeutic agent OM-89 (Uro-Vaxom (R)) contains lyophilized immuno-stimulating fractions from 18 Escherichia colt strains. It has been shown to provide protection click here against recurrent urinary tract infections in humans and against bacterial infections in mice. Here the immunostimulatory properties of OM-89 were investigated by in vitro and in vivo assays. In vitro the activation of murine spleen cells by the AlamarBlueTM assay was determined. OM-89 was effective in stimulating the metabolism of spleen cells within a concentration range of 0.625 – 2.5 mg/ml. The activation of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages by OM-89 was shown by the induction of NO production; OM-89 was a most effective stimulant at concentrations around 6 mg/ml. In the human system, the effect of OM-89 was tested in vitro: the metabolic activity of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) was stimulated starting at concentrations of approx.

Modification of the rigid channel theories with a deformability p

Modification of the rigid channel theories with a deformability parameter a provided better fits to the measured data. The elastic rectangular expression developed in this paper does not have a geometric restriction

and is better suited for microchannels with a wider range of aspect ratios. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org.elibrary.einstein.yu.edu/10.1063/1.4720394]“
“DNA and recombinant virus vaccines against swine influenza virus (SIV) have been pursued with promising results, but induce poor immunogenicity. This study evaluated the effects of a vaccine regimen in mice including priming with three DNA vaccines expressing soluble HA (sHA), complete HA (tmHA), or sHA fused with three copies murine C3d (5HA-mC3d3) and boosting with recombinant pseudorabies virus expressing HA (rPRV-HA). Immune responses were monitored by ELISA, this website HI assays, and virus neutralization. Protective efficacy was evaluated by virus isolation from lungs, distribution in tissues, and pathology following challenge with H3N2 Sly. Priming with sHA-mC3d3 and boosting with rPRV-HA induced higher levels of HA-specific antibodies and yielded the most effective protection. This finding implied that priming with a DNA vaccine expressing C3d fused with antigen and boosting with a recombinant vector vaccine

is an effective way to induce protective humoral immunity and prevent some infectious diseases. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Cluster-based studies in health research are increasing. An check details important characteristic of such studies is the presence of intracluster correlation, typically quantified by the intracluster correlation coefficient (ICC), that indicate the proportion of data variability that is explained by the Kinase inhibitor Library ϸ��ϵ way of clustering. The purpose of this manuscript was to evaluate ICC of variables studied in the Brazilian Multicenter Study on Preterm Birth.

Methods: This was a multicenter cross-sectional study on preterm births involving 20 referral hospitals in different regions of Brazil plus a nested case-control

study to assess associated factors with spontaneous preterm births. Estimated prevalence rates or means, ICC with 95% confidence intervals, design effects and mean cluster sizes were presented for more than 250 maternal and newborn variables.

Results: Overall, 5296 cases were included in the study (4,150 preterm births and 1,146 term births). ICC ranged from < 0.001 to 0.965, with a median of 0.028. For descriptive characteristics (socio-demographic, obstetric history and perinatal outcomes) the median ICC was 0.014, for newborn outcomes the median ICC was 0.041 and for process variables (clinical management and delivery), it was 0.102. ICC was < 0.1 in 78.4% of the variables and < 0.3 for approximately 95% of them. Most of ICC > 0.

RESULTS: In the co-culture Transwell system, the proliferation an

RESULTS: In the co-culture Transwell system, the proliferation and migration of Lewis cells were promoted by M2 macrophages. Moreover, the co-culture significantly increased the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C by Lewis cells and reduced the secretion of nitric oxide from M2 macrophages, which subsequently led to the capillary morphogenesis of lymphatic endothelial cells. Interestingly, following co-culture with Lewis cells, the function of RAW264.7 cells was polarized toward that of the M2 macrophage phenotype.

CONCLUSION: M2-polarized macrophages promoted the metastatic behavior

of Lewis cells by inducing vascular endothelial growth factor-C expression. Thus, the interruption of signaling between M2 macrophages and Lewis Z-VAD-FMK cells may be considered to be a new therapeutic strategy.”
“Congenital spinal lipomas of the conus (SLCs) are among the most common closed neural tube defects. The treatment

of SLC is an area of controversy because the true natural history of this condition is unknown. Here, the authors present two cases of SLC presenting in infancy with compromised lower urinary tract function, which was objectively confirmed by abnormal urodynamic studies. In both cases, there was spontaneous improvement in urodynamic parameters, with stable normal urinary function at the long-term follow-up. Although cases of spontaneous radiological regression of SLC have very infrequently been reported, AZD6738 research buy they have not ARRY-142886 been associated with the reversal of already present neurological deficits. This report reinforces the need for further delineation of the true natural history of SLC and highlights the dynamic

nature of associated neurological compromise over time.”
“Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect and mechanisms of remote postconditioning (RPC) upon ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in the ischaemic mouse hindlimb.

Design: RPC is the brief application of ischaemia to remote organs immediately before reperfusion of an ischaemic target organ, and it is a novel approach to IRI attenuation.

Materials and methods: Right hindlimb ischaemia was induced in mice using a rubber tourniquet, the release of which initiated reperfusion. We established RPC by 5 min of ischaemia followed by 5 min of reperfusion in the left hindlimb immediately before right hindlimb reperfusion. The wet/dry ratio of skeletal muscle (degree of tissue oedema), myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity (accumulation of neutrophils), and nitroblue tetrazolium reduction (tissue necrosis) were evaluated. We also intra-peritoneally injected 8-sulphophenyltheophylline (SPT), an adenosine receptor inhibitor, in RPC mice.

Indeed, dexamethasone (0 25, 0 5 and 1 mg/ kg, i v ) and diclofen

Indeed, dexamethasone (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/ kg, i.v.) and diclofenac (1, 2.5 and 5 mg/ kg, i.v.) showed dose-dependent protection against pyridine-induced pharyngitis. Further, the possible mechanism of pyridine-induced pharyngitis is thought to be primarily mediated through phospholipase A(2) and cyclooxygenase this website (COX) pathway. Conclusion: These findings suggest that pyridine-induced pharyngitis is a simple and versatile novel animal model for screening the drugs against non-infectious pharyngitis in rats.

(C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Background. Because of disparate taxonomic arrays for classification, the American Academy of Pain Medicine has proposed categorizing pain on a neurobiologic basis as eudynia (nociceptive pain), Greek for “”good pain,”" or maldynia (maladaptive pain), Greek for “”bad pain.”" The latter has been viewed as maladaptive because it may occur EPZ015666 in vivo in the absence of ongoing noxious stimuli and does not promote healing and repair.

Objective. To address recent findings on the pathogenesis of pain following neural injury and consider whether the development of maladaptive pain justifies

its classification as a disease and to briefly discuss the scope of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches employed in patients with such pain.

Methods. English language reports on studies using human subjects were selected from a PubMed search of the literature from 1995 to August 2010 and from the Cochrane Library. Further information was obtained from Internet sites of medical specialty

and other societies devoted NVP-AUY922 datasheet to pain management.

Results. Neural damage to either the peripheral or central nervous system provokes multiple processes including peripheral and central sensitization, ectopic activity, neuronal cell death, disinhibition, altered gene expression, and abnormal sprouting and cellular connectivity. A series of neuro-immune interactions underlie many of these mechanisms. Imaging studies have shown that such damage is characterized by functional, structural, and chemical changes in the brain. Such pain is maladaptive in the sense that it occurs in the absence of ongoing noxious stimuli and does not promote healing and repair.

Conclusion. As defined, maldynia is a multidimensional process that may warrant consideration as a chronic disease not only affecting sensory and emotional processing but also producing an altered brain state based on both functional imaging and macroscopic measurements. However, the absolute clinical value of this definition is not established.”
“Introduction: In the past years several new urinary nephrotoxicity biomarkers have been qualified for use in preclinical studies by the FDA and EMA.

Study design A total of 100 patients of oral submucous fibrosis

Study design. A total of 100 patients of oral submucous fibrosis were included in this study and randomly allocated

to different surgical groups, 25 patients per group. After excision selleck chemicals of fibrous bands, group I had buccal fat pad graft, group II had tongue flap, group III had nasolabial fold flap, and group IV had split skin graft for correction of mucosal defect created after incising the fibrous bands.

Results. Mean preoperative mouth opening was 14.82 (SD 4.38) mm and ranged between 4.00 and 25.00 mm. Statistically there was no significant difference among the 4 groups (P = .996). Mean postoperative mouth opening at 1 week was 35.79 (3.53) mm, ranging between 24.00 and 42.00 mm. Mean postoperative mouth opening at 1 month in group I was 36.36 (2.64) mm, in group II 35.36

(29) mm, in group III 35.64 (2.94) mm, and in group IV 35.80 (3.24) mm. Total score for pain, esthetics, and function at 1 month after surgery was highest (11.29) in group I, indicating better results.

Conclusion. The results were very encouraging, and we were able to lay down specific indications for each procedure. However, we believe buccal fat pad rotation is superior to other procedures, because it offers ease of surgery, Epigenetic inhibitor price can be performed under local anesthesia as a day care procedure, shows little postoperative morbidity, and has good patient acceptance, and there appear to be no contraindications to its use. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2009;107:e1-e10)”
“Transparency is a key material property of polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). To study the

optical properties of particle-filled PC, PS, and PMMA, composites containing inorganic particles in different sizes and concentrations were produced by direct melt mixing in this work. AL3818 clinical trial The optical properties characterized by total light transmittance, haze, and clarity were studied. The results show that the optical properties of polymer composites are strongly affected by particle content, particle size, and especially by difference in refractive indices between polymer matrix and particles. It is also revealed that the light transmittance and haze of composites are mainly affected by difference in refractive indices, whereas the clarity is more affected by particle size. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 115: 1866-1872, 2010″
“Objective-To evaluate factors associated with lameness severity and hip joint range of motion in dogs with hip dysplasia and to assess the association between hip joint range of motion and degree of lameness.

Design-Prospective case series.

Animals-60 client-owned Labrador Retrievers with hip dysplasia.

Procedures Owners completed a questionnaire regarding their dogs daily exercise duration and type (ie, low impact vs high impact) and lifestyle. Range of motion of affected hip joints was measured with a transparent plastic goniometer.

Methods: Thirty prelingually deaf children with a unilateral coch

Methods: Thirty prelingually deaf children with a unilateral cochlear implant (mean age at first implant 1.8 years) received a second implant at a mean age of 5.3 years. To measure parental expectations and observations, parents completed the Parents’ Perspective before surgery of the second implant and after 12 and 24 months. The questionnaire included 1 additional question on sound localization. Device use of both the first and second implants was assessed retrospectively after 6, 12 and 24 months of implant use. Device

use of the study group was also compared to a reference group of 30 unilateral implant users matched for age at second implantation.

Results: Parental expectations with regard to sound localization were significantly higher than the

observed changes within the first year of bilateral implant use. The observed changes in communication, listening Tariquidar Transmembrane Transporters inhibitor to speech without this website lipreading, and speech and language skills met or surpassed parental expectations. Irrespective of age at second implantation, the second implant was significantly less worn than the first implant. No significant difference was observed between the use of the second implant of the study group and device use of the reference group. Second implant use was significantly correlated with the difference in speech recognition between the 2 implants alone.

Conclusions: Preoperative parental expectations were too high with regard to the observed localization skills within the first LY3039478 molecular weight year of bilateral implant use. The study showed that several of these sequentially implanted

children had more difficulties in wearing the second implant than in wearing the first implant during the rehabilitation period. The present results suggest that this is caused by the dominant first implant performance. Such data are of high importance in order to provide parents with realistic counseling on what they can expect from sequential bilateral cochlear implantation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Our work has been carried out in the context of the therapeutic failure in ovarian carcinoma, which remains the leading cause of death by gynecologic malignancy. In these tumours, recurrence and subsequent acquired chemoresistance constitute major hurdles to successful therapy. Here we studied the interest of a member of the tripentone chemical family, MR22388, for the treatment of chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells.

Findings: MR22388 activity has been assessed in vitro on cisplatin-resistant (SKOV3 and IGROV1-R10) ovarian cancer cell lines by conventional analysis, alone or combined to a BH3-mimetic molecule, ABT-737. MR22388 exerts its activity on cisplatin resistant cells, and we showed that it induces a decrease of the Mcl-1 anti-apoptotic protein expression.

05) All the results from the subgroup analyses for these genetic

05). All the results from the subgroup analyses for these genetic models comparisons

were not significant (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: Our meta-analysis does not PD98059 price support the association between the FABP2 Ala54Thr polymorphism and BMI. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“In this paper, we present a model for temperature dependent hysteretic nonlinearities with nonlocal memories. This model can be applied to describe hysteretic material behavior. Common applications are ferromagnetic or magnetostrictive materials. Our model consists mainly of a Preisach operator with a continuous Preisach weight function. We choose a weight function which shows a strong correlation between the function’s parameters and certain properties of the hysteresis curve. As a new approach, the weight function is written as a function of temperature. The model parameters are customized to a set of symmetric hysteresis curves. We verify our model for magnetic materials with differently shaped hysteresis curves, different temperatures selleck screening library and magnetic field amplitudes. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3562520]“
“Obstructive

sleep apnoea (OSA) and hyperaldosteronism are very common in subjects with resistant hypertension. We hypothesized that aldosterone-mediated chronic fluid retention may influence OSA severity in patients with resistant hypertension. We tested this in an open-label evaluation by assessing the changes in the severity of OSA in patients with resistant hypertension

after treatment with spironolactone. Subjects with resistant hypertension (clinical blood pressure (BP) >= 140/90 mm Hg on >= 3 antihypertensive medications, including a thiazide diuretic and OSA (defined as an apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) >= 15) had full diagnostic, polysomnography before and 8 weeks after spironolactone (25-50mg a day) was added to their ongoing antihypertensive therapy. In all, 12 selleck compound patients (mean age 56 years and body mass index 36.8 kg m(-2)) were evaluated. After treatment with spironolactone, the AHI (39.8 +/- 19.5 vs 22.0 +/- 6.8 events/h; P < 0.05) and hypoxic index (13.6 +/- 10.8 vs 6.7 +/- 6.6 events/h; P < 0.05), weight and clinic and ambulatory BP were significantly reduced. Plasma renin activity (PRA) and serum creatinine were significantly higher. This study provides preliminary evidence that treatment with a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist substantially reduces the severity of OSA. If confirmed in a randomized assessment, it will support aldosterone-mediated chronic fluid retention as an important mediator of OSA severity in patients with resistant hypertension.”
“Endothelin-1 (ET-1) and oxidative stress are involved in the development of hypertension-induced cardiovascular complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between plasma ET-1 level and plasma antioxidant capacity and carotid atherosclerosis. In 61 treated patients with hypertension (44 women, 35 diabetics, mean age 72.