Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction: Searching the Strongest Imaging Modality in Different Scenarios.

Coronary microvascular dysfunction is a clinical condition very diffuse in many different settings. Often the diagnosis can be very tricky, and choosing the proper diagnostic strategy can be fundamental for reaching the goal. The aim of this review is to evaluate the properties and the feasibility of our tests in specific scenarios by looking at the performances of each methodology reported in the literature.

infection in dogs affected by primary chronic enteropathy.

Background: Canine primary chronic enteropathy (CE) includes a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by chronic gastrointestinal signs.

Aim: This study evaluated the occurrence of infection in primary CE-affected dogs.

Methods: Forty-seven CE-affected dogs of different age and sex were enrolled in the study.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with low circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-I.

Context: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease and is associated with insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. Among the potential factors that may account for the increased cardiometabolic risk, IGF-I is a plausible candidate because the liver is the main site of its production.

Objective: Our objective was to examine the relationship between NAFLD and IGF-I levels and to test the hypothesis that free fatty acids-induced insulin resistance might impair insulin-induced increase of GH receptor (GHR) expression in human hepatoma cells.

Leptin-stimulated endothelial nitric-oxide synthase via an adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase/Akt signaling pathway is attenuated by interaction with C-reactive protein.

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) lies upstream of Akt in the pathway leading to endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) activation. Whether leptin promotes eNOS activation via AMPK-dependent activation of Akt, and which of the two AMPKalpha catalytic subunits is involved, remains unknown. Leptin resistance may be partly attributed to interaction between leptin and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Interleukin-6 impairs the insulin signaling pathway, promoting production of nitric oxide in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is an independent predictor of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and is correlated with insulin resistance. Insulin stimulates nitric oxide (NO) production through the IRS-1/PI3-kinase/Akt/eNOS pathway (where IRS-1 is insulin receptor substrate 1, PI3-kinase is phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and eNOS is endothelial NO synthase). We asked if IL-6 affects insulin vasodilator action both in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and in the aortas of C57BL/6J mice and whether this inhibitory effect was caused by increased Ser phosphorylation of IRS-1.

C-174G polymorphism in the promoter of the interleukin-6 gene is associated with insulin resistance.

Objective: The C-174G promoter polymorphism of the interleukin (IL)-6 gene was found to influence transcriptional activity and plasma IL-6 levels in humans. We addressed the question of whether the C-174G IL-6 polymorphism contributes to variation of insulin sensitivity.

Research Design And Methods: Two cohorts of subjects were genotyped.