Search results for "Cardiovascular System"

Preparation Steps for Measurement of Reactivity in Mouse Retinal Arterioles <em>Ex Vivo</em>

2018

Vascular insufficiency and alterations in normal retinal perfusion are among the major factors for the pathogenesis of various sight-threatening ocular diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, and possibly glaucoma. Therefore, retinal microvascular preparations are pivotal tools for physiological and pharmacological studies to delineate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and to design therapies for the diseases. Despite the wide use of mouse models in ophthalmic research, studies on retinal vascular reactivity are scarce in this species. A major reason for this discrepancy is the challenging isolation procedures owing to the small size of these retinal blo…

Two-year-old girl with tuberous xanthomas.

2018

A 2-year-old girl was referred for evaluation because she had two nodular lesions located on both heels, and another elongated lesion in the intergluteal cleft. On physical examination, two yellow to orange well-defined nodules, suggestive of xanthomas, were bilaterally located on the Achilles tendon areas (figure 1A). Moreover, another yellowish, slightly raised lesion with band-like morphology was seen in the intergluteal cleft (figure 1B). There were no other anomalies on physical examination. Figure 1 (A) Tuberous xanthoma located on the left heel. (B) Planar xanthoma located in the intergluteal cleft. (C) Peripheral blood smear examination showing numerous red cells and two macrothromb…

Sca-1+cardiac fibroblasts promote development of heart failure

2018

The causative effect of GM-CSF produced by cardiac fibroblasts to development of heart failure has not been shown. We identified the pathological GM-CSF-producing cardiac fibroblast subset and the specific deletion of IL-17A signaling to these cells attenuated cardiac inflammation and heart failure. We describe here the CD45- CD31- CD29+ mEF-SK4+ PDGFRα+ Sca-1+ periostin+ (Sca-1+ ) cardiac fibroblast subset as the main GM-CSF producer in both experimental autoimmune myocarditis and myocardial infarction mouse models. Specific ablation of IL-17A signaling to Sca-1+ periostin+ cardiac fibroblasts (PostnCre Il17rafl/fl ) protected mice from post-infarct heart failure and death. Moreover, Postn…

The role of registries in rare genetic lipid disorders: Review and introduction of the first global registry in lipoprotein lipase deficiency

2017

International audience; A good understanding of the natural history of rare genetic lipid disorders is a pre-requisite for successful patient management. Disease registries have been helpful in this regard. Lipoprotein Lipase Deficiency (LPLD) is a rare, autosomal-recessive lipid disorder characterized by severe hypertriglyceridemia and a very high risk for recurrent acute pancreatitis, however, only limited data are available on its natural course. Alipogene tiparvovec (Glybera (R)) is the first gene therapy to receive Marketing Authorization in the European Union; GENIALL (GENetherapy In the MAnagement of Lipoprotein Lipase Deficiency), a 15-year registry focusing on LPLD was launched in …

Autoimmune polyglandular diseases.

2019

Autoimmune polyglandular diseases (APD) are defined as the presence of two autoimmune -induced endocrine failures. With respect to the significant morbidity and potential mortality of APD, the diagnostic objective is to detect APD at an early stage, with the advantage of less frequent complications, effective therapy and better prognosis. This requires that patients at risk be regularly screened for subclinical endocrinopathies prior to clinical manifestation. Regarding the time interval between manifestation of first and further endocrinopathies, regular and long-term follow-up is warranted. Quality of life and psychosocial status are poor in APD patients and involved relatives. Familial c…

P6234Lipid goals are poorly attained in majority of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia in Latvia at the time of inclusion in the national re…

2017

PPAR Agonists, Atherogenic Dyslipidemia and Cardiovascular Risk.

2016

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) are implicated in the pathology of several metabolic diseases including obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. PPAR agonists exert multiple lipid modifying actions which are beneficial to the prevention of atherosclerosis. Such benefits in lipid lowering actions include improvements in atherogenic dyslipidemia that seems to be particularly expressed in individuals at higher cardiovascular (CV) risk. In addition, the favorable effects of PPAR agonists on different cardio-metabolic parameters are established in several metabolic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, and heightened systemic inflammation. The goal of this …

Targeting vascular (endothelial) dysfunction

2016

Abstract Cardiovascular diseases are major contributors to global deaths and disability-adjusted life years, with hypertension a significant risk factor for all causes of death. The endothelium that lines the inner wall of the vasculature regulates essential haemostatic functions, such as vascular tone, circulation of blood cells, inflammation and platelet activity. Endothelial dysfunction is an early predictor of atherosclerosis and future cardiovascular events. We review the prognostic value of obtaining measurements of endothelial function, the clinical techniques for its determination, the mechanisms leading to endothelial dysfunction and the therapeutic treatment of endothelial dysfunc…

Polyphenol intake from a Mediterranean diet decreases inflammatory biomarkers related to atherosclerosis: a substudy of the PREDIMED trial

2016

High dietary polyphenol intake is associated with reduced all-cause mortality and a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. However, the mechanisms involved are not fully understood. The aim of the present substudy of the PREvencion con DIetaMEDiterranea (Prevention with Mediterranean diet; PREDIMED) trial was to analyse the relationship between polyphenol intake measured by total urinary polyphenol excretion (TPE), and circulating inflammatory biomarkers and cardiovascular risk factors in elderly individuals. A substudy of 1139 high-risk participants was carried out within the PREDIMED trial. The subjects were randomly assigned to a low-fat control diet or to two Mediterranean diets, sup…

The role of perivascular adipose tissue in obesity-induced vascular dysfunction

2016

Under physiological conditions, perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) attenuates agonist-induced vasoconstriction by releasing vasoactive molecules including hydrogen peroxide, angiotensin 1-7, adiponectin, methyl palmitate, hydrogen sulfide, NO and leptin. This anticontractile effect of PVAT is lost under conditions of obesity. The central mechanism underlying this PVAT dysfunction in obesity is likely to be an 'obesity triad' (consisting of PVAT hypoxia, inflammation and oxidative stress) that leads to the impairment of PVAT-derived vasoregulators. The production of hydrogen sulfide, NO and adiponectin by PVAT is reduced in obesity, whereas the vasodilator response to leptin is impaired (vas…