The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between phytosterols, oxyphytosterols, and other markers of cholesterol metabolism and concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with severe aortic stenosis who were scheduled for elective aortic valve replacement. Markers of cholesterol metabolism (plant sterols and cholestanol as markers of cholesterol absorption and lathosterol as an indicator of cholesterol synthesis) and oxyphytosterols were determined in plasma and aortic valve tissue from 104 consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis (n=68 statin treatment; n=36 no statin treatment) using gas chromatography-flame ionization and mass spectrometry. The extent of CAD was determined by coronary angiography prior to aortic valve replacement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The aim of our study was to investigate vascular effects of oxysterols and oxyphytosterols on reactive oxygen species (ROS), endothelial progenitor cells, endothelial function and atherogenesis.
Methods: Male apoE-/-mice were treated with cholesterol, sitosterol, 7-ß-OH-cholesterol, 7-ß-OH-sitosterol, or cyclodextrin by daily intraperitoneal application. The respective concentrations in the plasma and in the arterial wall were determined by gas chromatography-flame ionization or mass spectrometry.
The role of endocannabinoids such as anandamide during atherogenesis remains largely unknown. Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) represents the key enzyme in anandamide degradation, and its inhibition is associated with subsequent higher levels of anandamide. Here, we tested whether selective inhibition of FAAH influences the progression of atherosclerosis in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe following linear equation correlates the cloud point (CP) of water-soluble polyoxyethylated nonionic surfactants (NSs) with the average number p of oxyethylene units per molecule: (p - p0)/CP = a + b(p - p0). Here p0 is the smallest value of p that confers solubility in cold water: In a homologous series of NSs, it belongs to the surfactant with CP = 0 degrees C. Plots of CP versus p for five representative homologous series of NSs consist of three segments: A steeply ascending, nearly straight line, a transition region that ranges from p = 15-22 to p = 20-28, and a nearly horizontal plateau that approaches asymptotically the CPs of polyethylene glycols with molecular weights between 30,000 and 4400.
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