Search results for "dysfunction"

Vascular aging in rodent models: contrasting mechanisms driving the female and male vascular senescence

2021

Increasing scientific interest has been directed to sex as a biological and decisive factor on several diseases. Several different mechanisms orchestrate vascular function, as well as vascular dysfunction in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in males and females. Certain vascular sex differences are present throughout life, while others are more evident before the menopause, suggesting two important and correlated drivers: genetic and hormonal factors. With the increasing life expectancy and aging population, studies on aging-related diseases and aging-related physiological changes have steeply grown and, with them, the use of aging animal models. Mouse and rat models of aging, the most…

Modulatory Role of Endothelial and Nonendothelial Nitric Oxide in 5-Hydroxytryptamine-induced Contraction in Cerebral Arteries after Subarachnoid Hem…

1996

OBJECTIVE : Endothelial dysfunction is claimed to play a role in the pathogenesis of delayed cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We have examined the effect of experimental SAH on the modulatory action of endothelial and nonendothelial nitric oxide (NO) in the contractile response of goat middle cerebral artery to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). METHODS : We compared the 5-HT-induced contractile responses of cerebral arteries from control goats and from goats with SAH that had been experimentally induced 3 days earlier by delivery of autologous arterial blood into the subarachnoid space. Contractile responses were examined by recording the isometric tension in isolated cereb…

Recent Patents on Oxidative Stress-Related Biomarkers in Chronic Heart Failure: The Central Role of Endothelium and Myeloperoxidase

2013

Endothelial cells are key modulators of multiple physiological processes, and their impairment may result in the generation of endothelial dysfunction and ultimately cardiovascular diseases. Under physiologic conditions, reactive oxygen and nitrogen mediators of endothelial cells act to propagate signals driven by different stimuli, by forming molecules with a longer half-life like hydrogen peroxide. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are constantly produced as a consequence of aerobic metabolism. Under physiologic conditions, their tendency to cause oxidative damage is counterbalanced by the action of antioxidants or oxidant-scavenging enzymes. An imbalance in favour of oxidants leads to oxidat…

Effects of oxidative stress on primary human endothelial cells. Potential active contribution of endothelium to inflammatory heart diseases

2007

Predicting depression from illness severity in cardiovascular disease patients: self-efficacy beliefs, illness perception, and perceived social suppo…

2014

Background: Many studies have investigated the relationships between cardiovascular diseases and patients' depression; nevertheless, few is still known as regard the impact of illness severity on depression and whether psychosocial variables mediate this association. Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the putative mediating role of illness representations, self-efficacy beliefs, and perceived social support on the relationship between illness severity and depression. Methods: A total of 75 consecutive patients with cardiovascular disease (80 % men; mean age=65.44, SD=10.20) were enrolled in an Italian hospital. Illness severity was measured in terms of left ventricular ejectio…

Cognitive vulnerability to depressive symptoms in children: the protective role of self-efficacy beliefs in a multi-wave longitudinal study.

2014

The current multi-wave longitudinal study on childhood examined the role that social and academic self-efficacy beliefs and cognitive vulnerabilities play in predicting depressive symptoms in response to elevations in idiographic stressors. Children (N = 554; males: 51.4 %) attending second and third grade completed measures of depressive symptoms, negative cognitive styles, negative life events, and academic and social self-efficacy beliefs at four time-points over 6 months. Results showed that high levels of academic and social self-efficacy beliefs predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms, whereas negative cognitive styles about consequences predicted higher depression. Furthermore,…

Childhood Maltreatment, Pathological Personality Dimensions, and Suicide Risk in Young Adults

2018

Several studies have demonstrated that child maltreatment (psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, and neglect) may be a significant factor in the development of pathological personality traits that increase the risk for suicidal ideation and behavior from adolescence to adulthood. Currently, the challenge is to understand how different forms of early negative experiences render an individual prone to develop specific personality traits and, in turn, be more vulnerable to suicide risk. To understand the relationship between childhood maltreatment and personality dimensions in suicide risk, our study aims to explore the role of self-criticism and dependency, two different pathological per…

Genetic risk factors and candidate biomarkers for Alzheimer s disease

2009

Alzheimer's disease is a multifactorial and progressive neurodegenerative disease, extremely diffused and with an increasing prevalence worldwide. There is an urgent need for biomarkers to diagnose AD early in its course. Furthermore, accurate biomarkers would be able to determine the clinical efficacy of novel neuroprotective strategies. Although the heritability of late-onset AD is high, our knowledge of the underlying putative susceptibility genes remains incomplete and the only unequivocally established late-onset AD gene is APOE. Nevertheless a number of susceptibility loci seems to influence the pathogenesis of AD, and variations in numerous genes have been considered to be important …

eNOS Activation by HDL Is Impaired in Genetic CETP Deficiency.

2014

Mutations in the CETP gene resulting in defective CETP activity have been shown to cause remarkable elevations of plasma HDL-C levels, with the accumulation in plasma of large, buoyant HDL particles enriched in apolipoprotein E. Genetic CETP deficiency thus represents a unique tool to evaluate how structural alterations of HDL impact on HDL atheroprotective functions. Aim of the present study was to assess the ability of HDL obtained from CETP-deficient subjects to protect endothelial cells from the development of endothelial dysfunction. HDL isolated from one homozygous and seven heterozygous carriers of CETP null mutations were evaluated for their ability to down-regulate cytokine-induced…

Nutritional prevention of cognitive decline and dementia.

2018

Cognitive impairment results from a complex interplay of many factors. The most important independent predictor of cognitive decline is age but other contributing factors include demographic, genetic, socio-economic, and environmental parameters, including nutrition. The number of persons with cognitive decline and dementia will increase in the next decades in parallel with aging of the world population. Effective pharmaceutical treatments for age-related cognitive decline are lacking, emphasizing the importance of prevention strategies. There is extensive evidence supporting a relationship between diet and cognitive functions. Thus, nutritional approaches to prevent or slow cognitive decli…