Improvement of serum oxidation by pravastatin might be one of the mechanisms by which endothelial function in dilated coronary artery segments is ameliorated.

Background: Oxidation susceptibility of lipids in vitro is considered to reflect the exposure of lipids to oxidation stress in vivo which is related to cardiovascular morbidity. This study examined the effect of pravastatin therapy on serum oxidation susceptibility, particularly in relation to endothelial function of coronary arteries.

Methods: The participants were recruited from the Pravastatin-Related Effects Following Angioplasty on Coronary Endothelium trial, a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized, multi-center study designed to analyze the effect of pravastatin treatment on endothelial function in previously dilated and normal coronary arteries.

Myocardial enzyme activities in plasma after whole-heart irradiation in rats.

Plasma levels of myocardial enzymes present after local heart irradiation were studied in a rat model. The purpose was to investigate whether, within days after irradiation, these enzyme levels change to such an extent that they may be helpful in assessing the severity of cardiac damage after radiotherapy. Therefore, activities of creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (alpha-HBDH) were determined in the plasma and left ventricular myocardium of rats following local heart irradiation with a single dose of 20 Gy.

Cholesterol or triglyceride loading of human monocyte-derived macrophages by incubation with modified lipoproteins does not induce tissue factor expression.

Macrophages/foam cells localized in cholesterol- and triglyceride-rich regions of atherosclerotic plaques express high levels of tissue factor (TF), the essential cofactor and receptor of factor VIIa. It is not clear whether modified lipoproteins, for which several agonistic effects on macrophages have been described, are independent stimuli of TF expression in these cells. Therefore, we studied the effect of short-term (1 day) and long-term (4 to 7 days) incubation of human monocyte-derived macrophages cultured in suspension with modified and native LDLs or VLDLs on the expression of TF mRNA, antigen, and activity.

A placebo-controlled parallel study of the effect of two types of coffee oil on serum lipids and transaminases: identification of chemical substances involved in the cholesterol-raising effect of coffee.

In a randomized double-blind parallel study in 36 subjects the effect on serum cholesterol of a daily dose of 2 g lipid extracted from green Arabica and Robusta coffee beans was studied. Arabica oil elevated serum total cholesterol by 1.1 mmol/L (95% CI for the difference from placebo: 0.

Protection of myocytes against free radical-induced damage by accelerated turnover of the glutathione redox cycle.

The primary defence mechanism of myocytes against peroxides and peroxide-derived peroxyl and alkoxyl radicals is the glutathione redox cycle. The purpose of the present study was to increase the turnover rate of this cycle by stimulating the glutathione peroxidase catalysed reaction (2GSH-->GSSG), the glutathione reductase catalysed reaction (GSSG-->2GSH), or both. Neonatal rat heart cell cultures were subjected to a standardized protocol of oxidative stress using 80 mumol.