Azilsartan, an angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker, restores endothelial function by reducing vascular inflammation and by increasing the phosphorylation ratio Ser(1177)/Thr(497) of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in diabetic mice.

Background: Azilsartan, an angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor blocker (ARB), has a higher affinity for and slower dissociation from AT1 receptors and shows stronger inverse agonism compared to other ARBs. Possible benefits of azilsartan in diabetic vascular dysfunction have not been established.

Methods: We measured vascular reactivity of aortic rings in male KKAy diabetic mice treated with vehicle, 0.

Effects of the brown rice diet on visceral obesity and endothelial function: the BRAVO study.

Brown rice (BR) and white rice (WR) produce different glycaemic responses and their consumption may affect the dietary management of obesity. In the present study, the effects of BR and WR on abdominal fat distribution, metabolic parameters and endothelial function were evaluated in subjects with the metabolic syndrome in a randomised cross-over fashion. In study 1, acute postprandial metabolic parameters and flow- and nitroglycerine-mediated dilation (FMD and NMD) of the brachial artery were determined in male volunteers with or without the metabolic syndrome after ingestion of either BR or WR.

Lipid deposition in various sites of the skeletal muscles and liver exhibits a positive correlation with visceral fat accumulation in middle-aged Japanese men with metabolic syndrome.

Objective In addition to excess visceral fat, lipid deposition in the liver and skeletal muscle has been implicated in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. This study was designed to explore the relationship between hepatic and muscular lipid deposition and visceral fat accumulation in 105 middle-aged men with metabolic syndrome. Methods Abdominal computed tomography (CT) was used to simultaneously evaluate the visceral fat area (VFA) and CT Hounsfield unit (HU) values of three different portions of skeletal muscle and the liver.

Ectopic fat deposition and global cardiometabolic risk: new paradigm in cardiovascular medicine.

The obesity epidemic is a global public health concern that increases the likelihood of morbidity and mortality of metabolic and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and threatens to reduce life expectancy around the world. The concept of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) takes into account that visceral fat plays an essential role in the development of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. However, MetS cannot be used to assess global CVD risk but is at best one more modifiable CVD risk factor.

Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers inhibit non-esterified-fatty-acid-induced endothelial and rheological dysfunction.

Circulating NEFAs (non-esterified fatty acids) from adipose tissue lipolysis lead to endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance in patients with the metabolic syndrome or Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that DHP (dihydropyridine) CCBs (calcium channel blockers) prevent NEFA-induced endothelial and haemorheological dysfunction independently of their antihypertensive properties. Using a double-blind cross-over study design, nifedipine, amlodipine, diltiazem or placebo were administered to eight healthy subjects for 2 days before each study day.

Eicosapentaenoic Acid supplementation changes Fatty Acid composition and corrects endothelial dysfunction in hyperlipidemic patients.

We investigated the effects of purified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on vascular endothelial function and free fatty acid composition in Japanese hyperlipidemic subjects. In subjects with hyperlipidemia (total cholesterol ≥220 mg/dL and/or triglycerides ≥150 mg/dL), lipid profile and forearm blood flow (FBF) during reactive hyperemia were determined before and 3 months after supplementation with 1800 mg/day EPA. Peak FBF during reactive hyperemia was lower in the hyperlipidemic group than the normolipidemic group.

Brown rice and its component, γ-oryzanol, attenuate the preference for high-fat diet by decreasing hypothalamic endoplasmic reticulum stress in mice.

Brown rice is known to improve glucose intolerance and prevent the onset of diabetes. However, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. In the current study, we investigated the effect of brown rice and its major component, γ-oryzanol (Orz), on feeding behavior and fuel homeostasis in mice.

Miglitol, α-glycosidase inhibitor, reduces visceral fat accumulation and cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with the metabolic syndrome: a randomized comparable study.

Background/objectives: Visceral fat obesity plays an essential role in the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors. This study aimed to clarify the effects of miglitol, α-glycosidase inhibitor, on body weight, fat distribution and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with the metabolic syndrome.

Methods And Results: One hundred and eleven drug naive patients with the metabolic syndrome were continuously recruited and randomly allocated to a group of life style modification (LSM) alone or a group of LSM with miglitol per os 50 mg × 3 (LSM+miglitol).

Impaired glucose tolerance, but not impaired fasting glucose, underlies left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

Objective: Glucose intolerance is recognized as a predictor of congestive heart failure (CHF). However, the association of postprandial hyperglycemia or fasting hyperglycemia with CHF has not been clarified. We determined the impact of the total spectrum of glucose abnormalities on left ventricular (LV) geometry and diastolic function.

Nickel-catalyzed reductive cleavage of aryl-oxygen bonds in alkoxy- and pivaloxyarenes using hydrosilanes as a mild reducing agent.

A nickel-catalyzed reductive deoxygenation of aryl alkyl ethers and aryl pivalates has been developed. Hydrosilanes serve as a mild reducing agent. The present protocol allows the use of a pivalate group as a robust and traceless steering group in arene functionalization reactions.

Slower onset of vasodilating action of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) compared to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in human forearm resistant vessels.

Purpose: To investigate possible differences in the time course of vasodilating effects of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in humans.

Methods: We measured forearm blood flow (FBF) by strain gauge plethymography and cyclic GMP spillover during and after intra-arterial infusions of BNP and ANP at 16.2 pmol/min for 30 min in healthy subjects.

Effects of dietary composition on postprandial endothelial function and adiponectin concentrations in healthy humans: a crossover controlled study.

Background: Abnormalities during the postprandial state contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. Reportedly, postprandial hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperlipacidemia independently cause postprandial cytokine activation. However, it is not clear which dietary composition preferentially affects postprandial endothelial function in healthy subjects.

Vascular lipotoxicity: endothelial dysfunction via fatty-acid-induced reactive oxygen species overproduction in obese Zucker diabetic fatty rats.

Vascular endothelial dysfunction has been demonstrated in obesity, but the molecular basis for this link has not been clarified. We examined the role of free fatty acids (FFA) on vascular reactivity in the obese fa/fa Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rat. Addition of acetylcholine produced a dose-dependent relaxation in aortic rings of ZDF and lean +/+ rats, but the ED(50) value was higher in ZDF (-6.

Effects of a single administration of acarbose on postprandial glucose excursion and endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients: a randomized crossover study.

Context: Postprandial hyperglycemia has been reported to elicit endothelial dysfunction and provoke future cardiovascular complications. A reduction of postprandial blood glucose levels by the alpha-glucosidase inhibitor acarbose was associated with a risk reduction of cardiovascular complications, but effects of acarbose on endothelial function have never been elucidated.

Design: This study was aimed to assess the efficacy of acarbose on postprandial metabolic parameters and endothelial function in type 2 diabetic patients.

Inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system prevents free fatty acid-induced acute endothelial dysfunction in humans.

Objective: An elevated free fatty acid (FFA) level impairs endothelium-dependent vasodilation in humans, which may be pathophysiologically relevant to the development of endothelial dysfunction in patients with insulin resistance. We investigated the effect of inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) on FFA-induced endothelial dysfunction.

Methods And Results: Changes in forearm blood flow during intra-arterial infusion of acetylcholine were measured by plethysmography before and after systemic infusion of lipid/heparin in 10 healthy subjects given a single dose of placebo, losartan (50 mg), or perindopril (8 mg).