Cadmium Associated Preeclampsia: A Systematic Literature Review of Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes.

Preeclampsia (PE), caused by multiple factors, is one of the most serious complications of pregnancy. Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal environmental pollutant, reproductive toxicant, and endocrine disruptor, which can increase the risk of PE. Cd toxicity due to occupational, diet, and environmental factors has worsened the risk.

Iron-related Genes and Proteins Involved in Iron Homeostasis in Animal Models of Allergic Asthma: A Systematic Review.

The involvement of the immune oxidative stress response in the pathophysiology and pathogenesis of allergic asthma is well documented. However, reports on the role of iron homeostasis in allergic asthma is scarce. Therefore, this study aims to identify iron-related genes and proteins in mouse models of allergic asthma.

Inflammation and oxidative stress impair preimplantation embryonic morphogenesis in allergic asthma model.

The incidence of allergic asthma has been increasing worldwide in recent decades. Also, an increasing number of women are suffering from poor pregnancy outcome. However, the causal relationship between allergic asthma and embryonic growth in terms of cell morphogenesis has not been well elucidated.

Exogenous L-Glutathione Improves Vitrification Outcomes in Murine Preimplantation Embryos.

Vitrification is an important tool to store surplus embryos in assisted reproductive technology (ART). However, vitrification increases oxidative damage and results in decreased viability. Studies have reported that L-glutathione (GSH) supplementation improves the preimplantation development of murine embryos.

Prevalence and factors associated with lipid-lowering medications use for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases among Malaysians: the REDISCOVER study.

Background: Lipid-lowering medications (LLM) are commonly used for secondary prevention, as well as for primary prevention among patients with high global cardiovascular risk and with diabetes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of LLM use among high-risk individuals [participants with diabetes, high Framingham general cardiovascular (FRS-CVD) score, existing cardiovascular disease (CVD)] and the factors associated with it.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis from the baseline recruitment (years 2007 to 2011) of an ongoing prospective study involving 11,288 participants from 40 rural and urban communities in Malaysia.

Variations in the association of height with mortality, cardiovascular disease and cancer in low-, middle- and high-income countries.

Background: Final adult height is a useful proxy measure of childhood nutrition and disease burden. Tall stature has been previously associated with decreased risk of all-cause mortality, decreased risk of major cardiovascular events and an increased risk of cancer. However, these associations have primarily been derived from people of European and East Asian backgrounds, and there are sparse data from other regions of the world.

High prevalence of dyslipidaemia subtypes and their associated personal and clinical attributes in Malaysian adults: the REDISCOVER study.

Background: Dyslipidaemia refers to lipid abnormalities consisting of either one or any combination of the following: elevated total cholesterol (TC), elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), elevated triglycerides (TG), and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c). The prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia is steadily increasing in Malaysia. However, data on the prevalence of dyslipidaemia subtypes among Malaysians are lacking.

Ovalbumin causes impairment of preimplantation embryonic growth in asthma-induced mice.

Insufficient experimental studies have reported the effect of ovalbumin (OVA) as an allergen towards embryonic growth in asthma mouse model. The impact of 10 μg/200 μL OVA on maternal inflammatory and oxidative stress (OS) responses, and preimplantation embryonic development was investigated in this study. We first established OVA-induced asthma mouse model, and following superovulation, mated the females and challenged them with Methacholine (Mch) test.

Prevalence, awareness, treatment, control and socio demographic determinants of hypertension in Malaysian adults.

Background: Hypertension is the leading cardiovascular risk factor globally as well as in Malaysia. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence, awareness, treatment, control and the socio demographic determinants of hypertension among Malaysian adults.

Method: The analytic sample consisted of 11,288 adults aged ≥ 30 years recruited at baseline in 2007-2011 from the REDISCOVER Study which is an ongoing, prospective cohort study involving 18 urban and 22 rural communities in Malaysia.

Timing of The First Zygotic Cleavage Affects Post-Vitrification Viability of Murine Embryos Produced In Vivo.

Background: Timing of the first zygotic cleavage is an accurate predictor of embryo quality. Embryos that cleaved early (EC) have been shown to exhibit higher develop- mental viability compared to those that cleaved at a later period (LC). However, the vi- ability of EC embryos in comparison to LC embryos after vitrification is unknown.

JIS definition identified more Malaysian adults with metabolic syndrome compared to the NCEP-ATP III and IDF criteria.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a steering force for the cardiovascular diseases epidemic in Asia. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of MetS in Malaysian adults using NCEP-ATP III, IDF, and JIS definitions, identify the demographic factors associated with MetS, and determine the level of agreement between these definitions. The analytic sample consisted of 8,836 adults aged ≥30 years recruited at baseline in 2007-2011 from the Cardiovascular Risk Prevention Study (CRisPS), an ongoing, prospective cohort study involving 18 urban and 22 rural communities in Malaysia.

Cytoskeletal alterations in different developmental stages of in vivo cryopreserved preimplantation murine embryos.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effects of vitrification and slow freezing on actin, tubulin, and nuclei of in vivo preimplantation murine embryos at various developmental stages using a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM).

Material/methods: Fifty female mice, aged 4-6 weeks, were used in this study. Animals were superovulated, cohabitated overnight, and sacrificed.