Subclinical target organ damage in subjects with different components of metabolic syndrome.

Background: To assess the association of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components with target organ damage in a follow-up study of relatively healthy bank employers.

Methods: Out of 1600 random samples of office workers in Saint Petersburg (Russia), a group of 383 participants with at least one component of MS and without cardiovascular complications was selected (mean age 46.6 ± 9.

Remote vs. local ischaemic preconditioning in the rat heart: infarct limitation, suppression of ischaemic arrhythmia and the role of reactive oxygen species.

The unmet clinical need for myocardial salvage during ischaemia-reperfusion injury requires the development of new techniques for myocardial protection. In this study the protective effect of different local ischaemic preconditioning (LIPC) and remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) protocols was compared in the rat model of myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion, using infarct size and ischaemic tachyarrhythmias as end-points. In addition, the hypothesis that there is involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the protective signalling by RIPC was tested, again in comparison with LIPC.

New technique of local ischemic preconditioning induction without repetitive aortic cross-clamping in cardiac surgery.

Background: Several studies have demonstrated that local ischemic preconditioning can reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in cardiac surgery patients; however, preconditioning has not become a standard cardioprotective intervention, primarily because of the increased risk of atheroembolism during repetitive aortic cross-clamping. In the present study, we aimed to describe and validate a novel technique of preconditioning induction.

Methods: Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (12 women and 78 men; mean age, 56 ± 11 years) were randomized into 3 groups: (1) Controls (n = 30), (2) Perfusion (n = 30), and (3) Preconditioning (n = 30).

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome components in a population of bank employees from St. Petersburg, Russia.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components according to different criteria in the population of bank employees in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Methods: A total of 1,600 office workers were screened at their working places from the Sberbank state bank in St.

Targeted drug delivery into reversibly injured myocardium with silica nanoparticles: surface functionalization, natural biodistribution, and acute toxicity.

The clinical outcome of patients with ischemic heart disease can be significantly improved with the implementation of targeted drug delivery into the ischemic myocardium. In this paper, we present our original findings relevant to the problem of therapeutic heart targeting with use of nanoparticles. Experimental approaches included fabrication of carbon and silica nanoparticles, their characterization and surface modification.

Prospective study of the changes in left ventricular mass and geometry patterns in hypertensive patients During 5 years of follow-up.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), as well as the geometry pattern of the left ventricle, is believed to be an independent risk factor for hypertension. The present study investigated the changes in left ventricular mass, diastolic function and geometry in hypertensive patients in a prospective 5-year follow-up in conjunction with an evaluation of the regularity and effectiveness of treatment.

Methods And Results: One hundred hypertensive patients older than 18 years were examined according to the study protocol, which included registration of weight, height, vital signs, and echocardiography.

Lack of association of G-protein subunit gene C825T polymorphism with left ventricular hypertrophy in essential hypertension.

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine if there is an association of G-protein b3 subunit (GNB3) gene polymorphisms and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with essential hypertension (EH) in a St. Petersburg population.

Material/methods: We examined 135 patients (mean age 48 +/- 7 yrs) with mild to moderate EH recruited from the general population of an outpatient hypertension clinic.