No impact of DvSnf7 RNA on honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) adults and larvae in dietary feeding tests.

The honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is the most important managed pollinator species worldwide and plays a critical role in the pollination of a diverse range of economically important crops. This species is important to agriculture and historically has been used as a surrogate species for pollinators to evaluate the potential adverse effects for conventional, biological, and microbial pesticides, as well as for genetically engineered plants that produce pesticidal products.

Hormone replacement therapy and arterial blood pressure in postmenopausal women with hypertension.

Background: Data on the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive menopausal women are limited.

Objective: To investigate the association between HRT and longitudinal change in BP in hypertensive menopausal women.

Patients And Methods: We recruited a total of 161 hypertensive menopausal women (mean age = 52.

Anti-hypertensive drugs in pregnancy and fetal growth: evidence for "pharmacological programming" in the first trimester?

Objectives: To determine the timing and exact nature of the effect of the drug atenolol upon fetal growth. Also to discover if the reduction in fetal growth is due to superimposed pre-eclampsia or any other confounding variable.

Design: A retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data in a hypertensive pregnancy database.

Inter-arm differences in blood pressure: when are they clinically significant?

Objective: To determine whether there is significant disparity in blood pressure between the two arms.

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Setting: One general hospital in Birmingham, England.

The prevalence of pre-eclampsia and obstetric outcome in pregnancies of normotensive and hypertensive women attending a hospital specialist clinic.

To study the prevalence of pre-eclampsia (PE) and other obstetric outcomes (growth restriction and fetal mortality) in pregnancies of normotensive and hypertensive women attending an antenatal hypertension clinic, we studied a cohort of 372 pregnancies from 267 women. The prevalence of PE in the groups of pregnancies of normotensive and chronic hypertensive women was 11.9% (19/159 cases) and 16.

The measurement of blood pressure and the detection of hypertension in children and adolescents.

Despite the publication of several expert committee guidelines for the measurement of blood pressure (BP) and the diagnosis of hypertension in children and adolescents, it was our perception and clinical experience that there still appeared to be a general lack of standardisation of BP measurement techniques and little consensus on the criteria for diagnosing hypertension. To investigate this further, we have conducted a postal survey of consultant-grade paediatricians who were members of the British Paediatric Association (BPA). A total of 1500 questionnaires were sent out and 708 analysable replies were received (47.

The placebo effect and white coat effect in isolated systolic hypertension and systo-diastolic hypertension.

It is well recognised from many clinical trials that there is a blood pressure lowering effect when placebo is administered to patients with essential hypertension ("placebo effect"). The reduction in blood pressure, however, may also be partly due to loss of the alerting response ("white coat effect") as a result of familiarisation with the clinical environment. To investigate the hypothesis that there may be a more marked placebo effect and white coat effect in isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) compared with systo-diastolic hypertension (SDH), we studied 78 patients with hypertension: 34 had ISH and 44 patients had SDH.

Do patients with de novo hypertension differ from patients with previously known hypertension when malignant phase hypertension occurs?

Malignant phase hypertension (MHT) represents the most severe form of hypertension, and many consider that this condition only occurs in poorly managed patients with previously known hypertension. To investigate this further, we studied 350 patients with MHT on the West Birmingham MHT database: 195 (55.7%) of these presented de novo, without any known past history of hypertension (Group 1), and 146 (41.

Serum urate is associated with baseline renal dysfunction but not survival or deterioration in renal function in malignant phase hypertension.

Background: There has been speculation whether serum uric acid levels are an independent prognostic factor in patients with hypertension.

Objective: To investigate the clinical associations and prognostic value of serum urate in patients with malignant phase hypertension (MHT), by comparing clinical features in patients with serum urate levels above and below the median levels for this population, and secondly, by performing a survival analysis in these patients.

Patients And Methods: Review of the data on 153 patients (98 males; mean age 50.

White coat hypertension and carotid atherosclerosis.

To investigate further the relationship between atherosclerotic vascular disease and blood pressure, and the phenomenon of white coat hypertension, we performed a cross-sectional study of patients referred for carotid Doppler scanning, to determine the relationship between ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and carotid atherosclerosis. We studied 79 patients (51 men, 28 women) undergoing Doppler ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries: 44 (56%) had evidence of carotid atherosclerosis on Doppler ultrasound examination ("disease group"), whilst 35 (44%) had normal carotid arteries ("controls"). "Adequate" ABPM recordings, defined by > 90% of recordings over the 24 h, were available in 51 patients (30 positive, 21 negative).

Atenolol and fetal growth in pregnancies complicated by hypertension.

Atenolol use may be associated with growth retardation when given in pregnancy, although the relationship to trimester of initiation, duration of treatment, and its use as monotherapy is still uncertain. To compare the obstetric and fetal outcome between women receiving atenolol (as monotherapy) and other antihypertensive drug monotherapies, and also to investigate the effect of duration of treatment on fetal growth, we performed a retrospective cohort study of 312 pregnancies in 223 women attending an Antenatal Hypertension Clinic. Atenolol (as monotherapy) was given in 78 pregnancies (25.

Obstetric and neonatal outcome following chronic hypertension in pregnancy among different ethnic groups.

We retrospectively studied pre-eclampsia rate and obstetric outcome in a cohort of 436 pregnancies amongst 318 women of different ethnic backgrounds attending an antenatal hypertension clinic from 1980-1997, identifying 152 women (213 pregnancies) with chronic essential hypertension. The ethnic breakdown was: White, 64 (30.0%) pregnancies in 48 (31.

Malignant hypertension in young women is related to previous hypertension in pregnancy, not oral contraception.

Previous studies have suggested that one-third of women of childbearing age who develop malignant phase hypertension (MHT) are likely to be taking oral contraceptives (OC). We surveyed 104 women with a history of MHT. None of the 65 aged > 45 years were taking OC or other sex hormones.

Does renal function improve after diagnosis of malignant phase hypertension?

Background: The nature of the relationship between high blood pressure and kidney damage is controversial. There is a view that essential non-malignant hypertension does not cause renal damage in patients with normal renal function and no proteinuria at first presentation. In contrast, patients with malignant hypertension (MHT) not due to underlying renal disease often exhibit progressive renal impairment, although there can be a dissociation between short-term changes in renal function and the long-term renal outcome.

Effect of atenolol on birth weight.

To investigate the possible harmful effects of early antihypertensive drug therapy with atenolol versus other therapies on pregnancy outcome, we reviewed the records of 398 women referred to our antenatal hypertension clinic between 1980 and 1995. Babies born to women taking atenolol were significantly lighter than babies born to women taking other beta blockers, other antihypertensive drugs, or no therapy, suggesting that atenolol might be detrimental in early pregnancy.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in atrial fibrillation.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) devices are increasingly used in the assessment of hypertension, but patients with atrial fibrillation are usually excluded because device accuracy in this patient group is unproved. The present study investigates the clinical use of the Spacelabs 90207 oscillometric ABPM device in outpatients with chronic atrial fibrillation and suggests that such devices can be used in clinical practice to assess blood pressure in stable outpatients with chronic atrial fibrillation.

Soluble adhesion molecule P-selectin and endothelial dysfunction in essential hypertension: implications for atherogenesis? A preliminary report.

Objective: Patients with essential hypertension are at high risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease. To investigate this further, we measured levels of the soluble adhesion molecule P-selectin, which is associated with platelet activity/function and atherosclerosis, von Willebrand factor, which is a marker of endothelial dysfunction, and plasma fibrinogen.

Patients And Methods: We studied 104 consecutive patients (47 males, 57 females; mean +/- SD age 54.

Severe hypertension with lone bilateral papilloedema: a variant of malignant hypertension.

Patients with severe hypertension with retinoscopic bilateral papilloedema only are not classically regarded as having malignant hypertension (MHT). We have encountered 23 such patients between 1965-1993, whilst over a similar period we have seen 315 patients who fulfilled the conventional criteria for MHT with bilateral retinal haemorrhages, exudates with or without papilloedema. We hypothesised that patients with "lone" papilloedema and severe hypertension were suffering from a disease which was identical in aetiology and outcome to conventional MHT.

Malignant hypertension in the elderly.

To investigate age-related differences in malignant hypertension (MHT), we studied 38 elderly patients (18 males, 20 females; mean age 70.6 years, SD 4.6 years, range 65 to 84) and 277 younger patients (193 males, 84 females; mean age 46.