Annals of medicine
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Review
Vascular endothelial responses to altered shear stress: pathologic implications for atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis preferentially develops at branches and curvatures of the arterial tree, where blood flow is disturbed from a laminar pattern, and wall shear stress is non-uniform and has an irregular distribution. Vascular endothelial cells (ECs), which form an interface between the flowing blood and the vessel wall, are exposed to blood flow-induced shear stress. ⋯ The aim of this review article is to summarize current findings on the effects of shear stress on ECs, in terms of their signal transduction, gene expression, structure, and function. These endothelial cellular responses have important relevance to understanding the pathophysiological effects of altered shear stress associated with atherosclerosis and thrombosis and their complications.
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Chromogranin A (CGA), a stress marker released with catecholamines by the adrenal medulla, has never been associated with acute inflammation in critically ill patients. ⋯ Patients with CGA concentration superior to 71 microg/L have a significantly shorter survival. A Cox model confirmed that CGA and SAPS were independent predictors of outcome.
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Comparative Study
Effects of weight loss on visceral and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue blood-flow and insulin-mediated glucose uptake in healthy obese subjects.
Rapid weight loss with very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) is known to improve insulin sensitivity and decrease adipose tissue masses. The aim was to investigate the effects of VLCD on adipose tissue regional glucose uptake (rGU) and perfusion and their association with adipokines. ⋯ Abdominal adipose tissue perfusion and rGU are not related in obesity. Rapid weight loss decreases perfusion through adipose tissue depots but has no influence on rGU demonstrating the 'sink' role of adipose tissue.
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Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is an inherited arrhythmia disorder with an estimated prevalence of 0.01%-0.05%. In Finland, four founder mutations constitute up to 70% of the known genetic spectrum of LQTS. In the present survey, we sought to estimate the actual prevalence of the founder mutations and to determine their effect sizes in the general Finnish population. ⋯ In Finland 1 individual out of 250 carries a LQTS founder mutation, which is the highest documented prevalence of LQTS mutations that lead to a marked QT prolongation.
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Preptin is a novel hormone that is co-secreted with insulin and amylin from the pancreatic beta-cells. Preptin increases glucose-mediated insulin secretion, while the binding of endogenous preptin by antipreptin antibodies decreases glucose-mediated insulin secretion. Thus, it appears to act as a physiological amplifier of glucose-mediated insulin secretion. Aim. In this study, we investigate whether plasma preptin levels are different in non-diabetic subjects and patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). ⋯ The present work suggests a potential role of preptin in the pathogenesis of T2DM.