Device-based approaches for renal nerve ablation for hypertension and beyond.

Animal and human studies have demonstrated that chronic activation of renal sympathetic nerves is critical in the pathogenesis and perpetuation of treatment-resistant hypertension. Bilateral renal denervation has emerged as a safe and effective, non-pharmacological treatment for resistant hypertension that involves the selective ablation of efferent and afferent renal nerves to lower blood pressure. However, the most recent and largest randomized controlled trial failed to confirm the primacy of renal denervation over a sham procedure, prompting widespread re-evaluation of the therapy's efficacy.

Relevance of Sympathetic Nervous System Activation in Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome.

Sympathetic tone is well recognised as being implicit in cardiovascular control. It is less readily acknowledged that activation of the sympathetic nervous system is integral in energy homeostasis and can exert profound metabolic effects. Accumulating data from animal and human studies suggest that central sympathetic overactivity plays a pivotal role in the aetiology and complications of several metabolic conditions that can cluster to form the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS).

Alternating Sitting and Standing Increases the Workplace Energy Expenditure of Overweight Adults.

Background: To determine whether alternating bouts of sitting and standing at work influences daily workplace energy expenditure (EE).

Methods: Twenty-three overweight/obese office workers (mean ± SD; age: 48.2 ± 7.

Breaking up workplace sitting time with intermittent standing bouts improves fatigue and musculoskeletal discomfort in overweight/obese office workers.

Objectives: To examine whether the introduction of intermittent standing bouts during the workday using a height-adjustable workstation can improve subjective levels of fatigue, musculoskeletal discomfort and work productivity relative to seated work.

Methods: Overweight/obese office workers (n=23; age 48.2±7.

Alternating bouts of sitting and standing attenuate postprandial glucose responses.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine whether reductions in sitting time through alternating 30-min bouts of sitting and standing can reduce postprandial glucose, insulin, and triglyceride responses.

Methods: Twenty-three overweight/obese sedentary office workers (17 males and six females; mean ± SD: age, 48.2 ± 7.

Associations of overall sitting time and TV viewing time with fibrinogen and C reactive protein: the AusDiab study.

Background/aim: Sedentary behaviour is associated with increased risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Plasma fibrinogen and C reactive protein (CRP)-key inflammatory and/or haemostatic markers-may contribute to this association; however, few studies have examined their relationships with sedentary behaviours. We examined associations of overall sitting and TV viewing time with fibrinogen and high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP).

Dairy foods and dairy protein consumption is inversely related to markers of adiposity in obese men and women.

A number of intervention studies have reported that the prevalence of obesity may be in part inversely related to dairy food consumption while others report no association. We sought to examine relationships between energy, protein and calcium consumption from dairy foods (milk, yoghurt, cheese, dairy spreads, ice-cream) and adiposity including body mass index (BMI), waist (WC) and hip circumference (HC), and direct measures of body composition using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (% body fat and abdominal fat) in an opportunistic sample of 720 overweight/obese Australian men and women. Mean (SD) age, weight and BMI of the population were 51 ± 10 year, 94 ± 18 kg and 32.

Renal sympathetic nerve ablation for the management of resistant hypertension: an update.

Purpose Of Review: The aim is to provide clinicians with a concise update on renal sympathetic nerve ablation in the management of resistant hypertension. The review will specifically discuss the latest clinical trial findings, technological advancements in ablation modalities and expert guidelines for patient eligibility. Novel therapeutic applications beyond blood pressure (BP) control will also be discussed.

Independent and joint associations of TV viewing time and snack food consumption with the metabolic syndrome and its components; a cross-sectional study in Australian adults.

Background: Television (TV) viewing time is positively associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adults. However, the mechanisms through which TV viewing time is associated with MetS risk remain unclear. There is evidence that the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient poor snack foods increases during TV viewing time among adults, suggesting that these behaviors may jointly contribute towards MetS risk.

Prolonged sedentary time and physical activity in workplace and non-work contexts: a cross-sectional study of office, customer service and call centre employees.

Background: To examine sedentary time, prolonged sedentary bouts and physical activity in Australian employees from different workplace settings, within work and non-work contexts.

Methods: A convenience sample of 193 employees working in offices (131), call centres (36) and customer service (26) was recruited. Actigraph GT1M accelerometers were used to derive percentages of time spent sedentary (<100 counts per minute; cpm), in prolonged sedentary bouts (≥20 minutes or ≥30 minutes), light-intensity activity (100-1951 cpm) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA; ≥1952 cpm).

Validity of self-reported measures of workplace sitting time and breaks in sitting time.

Purpose: To understand the prevalence and potential health effect of prolonged workplace sedentary (sitting) time, valid measures are required. Here, we examined the criterion validity of a brief self-reported measure of workplace sitting time and breaks in sitting time.

Methods: An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to assess workplace sitting time (h·d(-1)) and breaks from sitting per hour at work in a convenience sample of 121 full-time workers (36% men, mean age = 37 yr, 53% office based).

Prolonged sitting: is it a distinct coronary heart disease risk factor?

Purpose Of Review: Prolonged sitting (sedentary behavior) has deleterious cardiovascular and metabolic correlates; however, little is known about the associations of too much sitting with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk. In addition to the adverse effects of total sitting time, the manner in which it is accumulated has also been postulated to be important for cardiovascular health.

Recent Findings: We describe recent evidence from several research papers published in the last 12-18 months, showing deleterious relationships of sedentary behavior with mortality outcomes.

Sedentary behaviors and subsequent health outcomes in adults a systematic review of longitudinal studies, 1996-2011.

Context: To systematically review and provide an informative synthesis of findings from longitudinal studies published since 1996 reporting on relationships between self-reported sedentary behavior and device-based measures of sedentary time with health-related outcomes in adults.

Evidence Acquisition: Studies published between 1996 and January 2011 were identified by examining existing literature reviews and by systematic searches in Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, and PsycINFO. English-written articles were selected according to study design, targeted behavior, and health outcome.

Occupational sitting and health risks: a systematic review.

Context: Emerging evidence suggests that sedentary behavior (i.e., time spent sitting) may be negatively associated with health.

Deleterious associations of sitting time and television viewing time with cardiometabolic risk biomarkers: Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study 2004-2005.

Objective: We examined the associations of sitting time and television (TV) viewing time with continuously measured biomarkers of cardio-metabolic risk in Australian adults.

Research Design And Methods: Waist circumference, BMI, resting blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, fasting and 2-h postload plasma glucose, and fasting insulin were measured in 2,761 women and 2,103 men aged > or =30 years (mean age 54 years) without clinically diagnosed diabetes from the 2004-2005 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study. Multivariate linear regression analyses examined associations of self-reported sitting time and TV viewing time (hours per day) with these biomarkers, adjusting for potential confounding variables.

Soya isoflavone supplementation enhances spatial working memory in men.

Females perform better in certain memory-related tasks than males. Sex differences in cognitive performance may be attributable to differences in circulating oestrogen acting on oestrogen beta receptors (ERbeta) which are prevalent in brain regions such as the hippocampus, frontal lobe and cortex that mediate cognitive functions. Since soya isoflavones are known to activate ERbeta, chronic isoflavone supplementation in males may improve cognitive performance in memory-related tasks.

Soy food consumption does not lower LDL cholesterol in either equol or nonequol producers.

Background: Health claims link soy protein (SP) consumption, through plasma cholesterol reduction, to a decreased risk of heart disease. Soy isoflavones (ISOs), particularly in individuals who produce equol, might also contribute to lipid lowering and thus reduce SP requirements.

Objective: The objective was to examine the contributions of SP, ISOs, and equol to the hypocholesterolemic effects of soy foods.

Dose-dependent inhibition of the post-prandial glycaemic response to a standard carbohydrate meal following incorporation of alpha-cyclodextrin.

Background: This study evaluated the dose-response effects of alpha-cyclodextrin, a cyclic oligosaccharide, on the glycaemic and insulinaemic responses to the consumption of a standard carbohydrate meal.

Methods: In a double-blind, randomised, cross-over design, 10 healthy subjects consumed boiled white rice containing 50 g of digestible carbohydrate to which 0 (control), 2, 5 or 10 g of alpha-cyclodextrin was added. Plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were determined prior to and for 2 h after consumption of each meal.