Search results for "Blood chemistry"
showing 10 items of 38 documents
Acute effects of coffee on endothelial function in healthy subjects
2010
Background/Objectives: Coffee is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, but its effect on the cardiovascular system has not been fully understood. Coffee contains caffeine and antioxidants, which may influence endothelial function, both of which have not yet been investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the acute effects of coffee on endothelial function measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Subjects/Methods: A total of 20 (10 males and 10 females) healthy non-obese subjects underwent a double-blind, crossover study. Subjects ingested one cup of caffeinated (CC) and one cup of decaffeinated (DC) Italian espresso coffee in random order at 5- t…
A single acute dose of pinitol from a naturally-occurring food ingredient decreases hyperglycaemia and circulating insulin levels in healthy subjects.
2013
A limited amount of research suggests that oral ingestion of pinitol (3-O-methyl-d-chiro-inositol) positively influences glucose tolerance in humans. This study assessed the effects of different doses of pinitol supplementation on glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and plasma pinitol concentrations. Thirty healthy subjects underwent two one-day trials in which they consumed a nutritive beverage (Fruit Up®) containing 2.5, 4.0 or 6.0g of pinitol and a corresponding placebo equivalent in both energy and carbohydrates. Blood samples were collected frequently over the 240-min test period. The pinitol-enriched beverage reduced serum glucose and insulin at 45 and 60min, but only at a dose of …
Diagnosing insulin resistance by simple quantitative methods in subjects with normal glucose metabolism.
2003
OBJECTIVE—To identify a reliable yet simple indirect method for detection of insulin resistance (IR). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A total of 65 subjects (44 men and 21 women aged 30–60 years) were selected by a simple random sampling method. Inclusion criteria were voluntary participation from staff and hospital personnel, absence of abnormal glucose tolerance, and normal results of lipid profile and basic blood chemistry. A blood sample was taken after a 12-h overnight fast to determine plasma lipid, glucose, and insulin levels. An intravenous glucose tolerance test with administration of insulin after 20 min and extraction of multiple blood samples for glucose and insulin measurements and…
Relationship of Metabolic Syndrome With Pulse Pressure in Patients With Essential Hypertension
2006
BACKGROUND: Pulse pressure is largely dependent on arterial stiffness. Recent studies have documented reduced large artery compliance in nondiabetic subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS). The aim of our study was to analyze, in a group of patients with essential hypertension and without diabetes mellitus, the influence of MS on clinic and 24-h pulse pressures. METHODS: A total of 528 hypertensive subjects, aged 18 to 72 years, who were free of cardiovascular and renal diseases were enrolled. Of the subjects, 41% had MS. In all subjects routine blood chemistry, echocardiographic examination, and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were performed. RESULTS: When compared with subjects wi…
Absence of an independent association between serum uric acid and left ventricular mass in Caucasian hypertensive women and men
2013
Background and aim: Experimentally uric acid may induce cardiomyocyte growth and interstitial fibrosis of the heart. However, clinical studies exploring the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and left ventricular (LV) mass yielded conflicting results. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationships between SUA and LV mass in a large group of Caucasian essential hypertensive subjects. Methods and results: We enrolled 534 hypertensive patients free of cardiovascular complications and without severe renal insufficiency. In all subjects routine blood chemistry, including SUA determination, echocardiographic examination and 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring were obtai…
Metabolic syndrome in subjects with white-coat hypertension: impact on left ventricular structure and function
2007
Some reports have suggested that white-coat hypertension (WCH) is associated with some features of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). These metabolic disturbances, instead of WCH per se, may potentially explain the greater extent of end-organ damage sometimes observed in WCH subjects (WCHs) when compared to normotensive individuals (NTs). The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to compare left ventricular (LV) structure and function in three groups of subjects: WCHs with MetS, WCHs without MetS and NTs. A total of 145 WCHs, 35% of whom had MetS, were enrolled. As controls, 35 NTs were also studied. In all subjects, routine blood chemistry, echocardiographic examination and 24-h ambulat…
Oxidative stress after moderate to extensive burning in humans.
2000
Lipid peroxidation products, lipid antioxidants, and hematologic and blood chemistry changes were evaluated in plasma of patients after acute burning injury involving 10% (n=8), 20% (n=8), and 40% (n=5) of total body surface area (TBSA), 24 h after burning (baseline) up to 30 days after. Markedly increased plasma levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were observed at baseline in all patients, according to the extent of the injury, then the values declined progressively. However, levels of MDA remained above normal up to 30 days even in less injured patients. On the other hand, the plasma level of conjugated diene lipid hydroperoxides was only slightly higher than control at the baseline, then dro…
One-Pot Analysis: a New Integrated Methodology for Determination of TAG and FA Determination through LC/MS and in-silico Saponification
2017
Vegetable oils differ significantly for their lipid profile and are mainly constituted by triacylglycerols (TAGs). These are esters formed bonding glycerol to three fatty acids (FAs). To the best of our knowledge, FA and TAG profiles in oils and fats are obtained using at least two different experimental techniques. In particular, FA determination requires elaborated procedures for sample preparation and analyte derivatization. In this work, we propose a one-pot analysis able to determine both TAG and FA contents of edible oils, using experimental data obtained from a simple liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry determination of TAGs. This experimental procedure is followed by an in silic…
Microsporidia and Its Relation to Crohn's Disease. A Retrospective Study
2013
Background: The cause of Crohn's Disease (CD) remains unknown. Recently a decrease in the global lymphocyte population in the peripheral blood of CD patients has been reported. This decrease was more evident in gamma delta T lymphocytes, especially gamma delta CD8+T subsets. Furthermore, a decrease of IL-7 was also observed in these patients. We propose the hypothesis that microsporidia, an obligate intracellular opportunistic parasite recently related to fungi, in CD patients can take advantage of the lymphocytes and IL-7 deficits to proliferate and to contribute to the pathophysiology of this disease. Methods and Findings: In this case-control study, serum samples were collected from 36 C…
Influence of the metabolic syndrome on aortic stiffness in never treated hypertensive patients
2004
Summary Background and aim Metabolic syndrome (MS) carries an increased risk for cardiovascular events and there is a growing awareness that large artery stiffening is a powerful predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Little is known about the relationship of MS with aortic stiffness. The aim of our study was to analyze, in patients with essential hypertension, the influence of MS, defined according to the criteria proposed by the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (NCEP-ATP III), on carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), a measure of aortic stiffness. Methods N…