The American journal of the medical sciences
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Posterior circulation ischaemic stroke (PCIS) is a disease of high mortality and morbidity. They account for 20-25% of all ischaemic strokes. However, it is relatively under-researched and requires more clinical attention, since it carries worse functional outcomes. ⋯ Aspirin use also significantly improves survival outcomes. While intravascular and intra-arterial thrombolysis improve clinical outcomes, this is not proven conclusively for stenting and angioplasty. Future research on PCIS can focus on multi-centre epidemiological studies, clinically significant anatomical variants, and collateralisation.
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Obesity is a major contributor to inflammation and oxidative stress that are key underlying causes for insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes. Accumulated evidence suggest that RAS may serve as a strong link between IR and obesity. We investigated RAS activity in circulating T cells by obese subjects with and without angiotensin (Ang) II stimulation in presence or not of IR and of low-grade inflammation. ⋯ Low grade inflammation amplifies the T cell RAS response to Ang II stimulation. T cell RAS gene expressions and serum levels of inflammatory cytokines were inversely related with insulin serum concentration. A protective role of insulin towards the development of inflammatory events can be hypothesized.