Blood pressure circadian rhythms and adverse outcomes in type 2 diabetes patients diagnosed with orthostatic hypotension.

Aims/introduction: Patients with diabetes frequently develop orthostatic hypotension (OH). The present study was designed to examine the relationship of blood pressure (BP) circadian rhythms and outcomes in diabetes with OH.

Materials And Methods: In the present study, 173 inpatients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled.

Relationship between the autoantibody and expression of β3-adrenoceptor in lung and heart.

Background: Evidences suggest that β3 -adrenoceptor (β3-AR) plays an important role in heart failure (HF), although no data is reported indicating how these effects may change with the increasing age. Pulmonary congestion and edema are the major life-threatening complications associated with HF. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the anti-β3-AR autoantibody and the expression of β3-AR in the lungs and heart for both aged patients and rats with HF.

Aging might augment reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and affect reactive nitrogen species (RNS) level after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion in both humans and rats.

Previous studies indicate aging results in significantly decreased cardiac function and increased myocardial apoptosis after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) in humans or rats. The underlying mechanisms of aging-exacerbated effects remain unknown. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are known to play vital roles in aging-related MI/R injury.

Aging might increase myocardial ischemia / reperfusion-induced apoptosis in humans and rats.

Previous studies indicated aging results in the significant cardiac function decreasing and myocardial apoptosis increasing in normal humans or rats. Additionally, animal experiments demonstrated aging increased myocardial ischemia / reperfusion (MI/R)-induced apoptosis. However, whether more myocardial apoptosis happen in the old acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients is unclear.

Age-related up-regulation of beta3-adrenergic receptor in heart-failure rats.

Stimulation of beta1- and beta2-adrenergic receptors (ARs) in the heart results in positive inotropy. In contrast, it has been reported that the beta3-AR is also expressed in the heart and that its stimulation leads to negative inotropic effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of beta3-AR in age-related heart-failure rats and its relevance to left ventricular dysfunction.

Plasma concentration of Fas/Fas ligand and left ventricular function in response to metoprolol in conjunction with standard treatment.

Recent studies suggest that cardiac myocyte apoptosis contributes to the progress of CHF (congestive heart failure). In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that metoprolol in conjunction with the standard treatment regime for CHF [an ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor, diuretics and digoxin] may significantly reduce the plasma concentrations of the apoptotic mediators sFas (soluble Fas) and sFasL (soluble Fas ligand) in patients with CHF. An ELISA was used to determine the plasma concentrations of sFas and sFasL in 106 patients with stable CHF at recruitment.