Background: Observational clinical studies have demonstrated that there is a U-shaped relationship between ethanol consumption and all-cause mortality or risk of ischemic stroke. Although the exact cause of the U-shaped relationship is unclear, the pharmacokinetics of ethanol during the time course of chronic intake of ethanol may be involved, in relation to its cardiotoxic effects. The present study has assessed the cause of the U-shaped relationship between the ethanol consumption and left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in a pharmacokinetic way.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Ca(2+) regulatory proteins in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) play a key role in the pathogenesis of heart failure. In the present study the effect of chronic beta-receptor-stimulation on cardiac and SR functions was assessed, with or without angiotensin-II receptor antagonist treatment recently reported to have anti-beta-adrenergic activity.
Methods And Results: Rats were treated with isoproterenol with (+) or without (-) candesartan (CAN) and then SR vesicles were isolated from the left ventricular muscle.
Background: Defective interdomain interaction within the ryanodine receptor (RyR2) seems to play a key role in the pathogenesis of heart failure, as shown in recent studies. In the present study we investigated the effect of oxidative stress on the interdomain interaction, its outcome in the cardiac function in heart failure, and the possibility of preventing the problem with antioxidants.
Methods And Results: Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) vesicles were isolated from dog left ventricular (LV) muscle (normal or rapid ventricular pacing for 4 weeks with or without the antioxidant edaravone).