Black Chokeberry () Juice Supplementation Affects Age-Related Myocardial Remodeling in Rats.

Background: Cardiac aging is associated with myocardial remodeling and reduced angiogenesis. Counteracting these changes with natural products is a preventive strategy with great potential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of fruit juice (AMJ) supplementation on age-related myocardial remodeling in aged rat hearts.

The six-minute walk test - a reliable test for detection of exercise-related desaturation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Exercise-induced desaturation is common in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It provides additional information about physical capacity and disease evolution, and it is an important predictor of mortality.

Analysis and evaluation of correlation between DNA polymorphism in the genes MTHFR, PAI-1 and serum creatinine, creatinine clearance and albumin/creatinine ratio in morning urine of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic nephropathy.

Diabetic nephropathy is a major microangiopathic complication of type 2 diabetes and a leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Serum NT-ProBNP potential marker of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy.

Based on many previous studies, liver cirrhosis is traditionally associated with cardiac dysfunction. The main clinical features of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy include attenuated systolic contractility in response to physiologic or pharmacologic strain, diastolic dysfunction, electrical conductance abnormalities, and chronotropic incompetence. Previous studies have found that the levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its precursor the N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are elevated in cirrhosis with systolic as well as diastolic dysfunction.

Rhythm and conduction complications after COVID-19 infection in physiological hypertrophy of myocardium (athlete's heart).

The term 'athletic heart syndrome' (AHS) is used to describe specific circulatory and morphological changes in individuals who participate in sports competitions. The syndrome is characterized by normal cardiac function and reversible myocardial remodelling.The incidence and severity of the post-COVID-19 cardiac pathology in active athletes are so far unclear.

Catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy - a clinical case.

A 27-year-old patient presented with a 3-month history of episodic headaches and persistently rising blood pressure (up to 240/120). The clinical, laboratory, and instrumental findings (episodes of severe hypertension, increased levels of metanephrine in urine, and MRI showing a mass of 5.1×5.

Fruit Juice Modulates ACE2 Immunoexpression and Diminishes Age-Related Remodeling of Coronary Arteries in Rats.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of fruit juice (AMJ) supplementation on age-related coronary arteries remodeled in aged rat hearts. Male Wistar rats (n = 24) were divided into three groups: (1) young controls (CY), aged 2 months, without AMJ supplementation; (2) old controls (CO), aged 27 months, without AMJ supplementation; and (3) the AMJ group (A), which used 27-month old animals, supplemented orally with AMJ for 105 days. AMJ supplementation did not influence the wall-to-diameter parameter (Kernohan index) of the coronary arteries of test animals.

Case Report: Difficulties in the Treatment of a 12-Year-Old Patient With Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia, Compound Heterozygous Form - 5 Years Follow-Up.

The literature review we conducted reveals the limited use of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9-inhibitors (PCSK9i) in children with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). In 2015, a 10-year-old boy presented with round, xanthochromic lesions on his right knee and elbow. The values of total and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C)-18 and 15 mmol/l, respectively-along with normal triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) confirmed the lesions were xanthomas.

Black Chokeberry () Functional Beverages Increase HDL-Cholesterol Levels in Aging Rats.

Plant-based foods rich in phenolic phytochemicals are among the promising strategies to counteract age-related changes in lipid profile. (AM) fruits are a rich source of phenolic compounds possessing lipid-modulating effects. The present study investigated the effect of 3-month supplementation of AM-based functional beverages on the lipid profile of healthy aging rats.

Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot fruit juice reveals neuroprotective effect and improves cognitive and locomotor functions of aged rats.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of polyphenol-rich Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot juice (AMJ) on learning ability and memory, and brain morphology of aged rats. A model of healthy male Wistar rats (24 months of age) divided in 2 groups was used: AMJ group supplemented orally with AMJ (10 mL/kg for 105 days) and old control (CO) group without supplementation.

Desaturation during Physical Exercise in COPD Patients - a Stable-over-time Phenomenon.

Introduction: Exercise-induced desaturation is a common finding in patients with moderate and severe COPD. It is an important marker in the course of disease that has a prognostic value for mortality risk.

Aim: To monitor over time COPD patients with and without desaturation during 6-minute walking test (6MWT) and to assess the stability of that phenomenon.

Discontinuation of Oral Antiplatelet Agents before Dental Extraction - Necessity or Myth?

Background: The risk of excessive bleeding often prompts physicians to interrupt the antiplatelet agents as acetylsalicilyc acid and clopidogrel before dental extractions which puts patients at risk of adverse thrombotic events.

Aim: To assess the bleeding risk during dental extractions in patients with continued antiplatelet therapy.

Materials And Methods: The study included 130 patients (64 men and 66 women) aged between 18 and 99 years old.

Antiatherogenic and Cardioprotective Effects of Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) Juice in Aging Rats.

Age-related diseases are a social problem of global significance and their prevention by natural products is a research area of particular interest. The present study is an approach to counteract the risk factors for atherosclerosis arising in the aging process by supplementation of chokeberry juice. It employed a model of healthy adult rats monitored for a number of somatometric, serum lipidogram, and histopathological parameters, related to risk factors and their response to supplementation with antioxidant-rich chokeberry juice.

The effect of simvastatin on asymmetric dimethylarginine and flow-mediated vasodilation after optimizing the LDL level: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Research of statin influence on asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) reveals controversial results. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of moderate (40mg) and high (80mg) simvastatin doses on the levels of ADMA, total homocysteine (tHcy) and %FMD in patients with newly diagnosed severe hypercholesterolemia, after optimizing the LDL level. The study included 650 patients with severe hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol≥7.

Serum levels of siCAM-1, sVCAM-1, sE-selectin, sP-selectin in healthy Bulgarian people.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction is increasingly recognized as an important early feature of vascular disease. As the damage to endothelium is a key underlying factor in the development and progression of atherosclerotic processes, markers of endothelial abnormalities have been sought. Increased expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) on the vascular endothelium has been postulated to play a significant role in atherogenesis.

Effect of moderate and high dose simvastatin on adhesion molecules in severe hypercholesterolemia after targeting the LDL-cholesterol--a randomised, placebo-controlled study.

Introduction: The effect of statins on the levels of cell adhesion molecules (CAM) is discussed in the literature as one of the pleiotropic effects of the drugs. This effect is one of the ways that could be used to control the initial stage of atherogenesis. The research in this field is inadequate and controversial.

Plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine levels in healthy people.

Unlabelled: Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous competitive inhibitor of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOs). ADMA is believed to be implicated in angiogenesis because it regulates the nitric oxide biosynthesis; any pathological abnormalities in ADMA play a crucial role in the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerosis. The AIM of the present study was to determine the reference range for plasma concentration of ADMA in a sample of Bulgarian population.

Non-invasive vessel examinations in carriers of LDL-receptor defective gene versus non-carriers with newly detected asymptomatic severe hypercholesterolemia.

Unlabelled: The results of the research of early vascular alterations in LDL-R carriers in comparison with those in non-carriers with severe hypercholesterolemia are controversial.

Aim: To investigate the difference between severe hypercholesterolemia patients that carry LDL-R defective gene and those that do not have it, in their functional (flow-mediated vasodilation) and structural (intima-media thickness of carotid artery and ankle-brachial index) characteristics of arterial wall.

Patients And Methods: The study included 120 hypercholesterolemic patients.

Increased intima-media thickness in carriers of the ldl-receptor defective gene versus noncarriers with newly detected asymptomatic severe hypercholesterolemia.

Background: The data on the examination of early vascular alterations in carriers of molecular defects of the low-density lipoprotein-receptor (LDL-R) in comparison to noncarriers with severe hypercholesterolemia are controversial.

Aims: To examine the difference between patients with severe hypercholesterolemia, who are carriers and noncarriers of LDL-R defective gene, with respect to their functional (flow-mediated vasodilation) and structural (intima-media thickness of carotid artery) characteristics of arterial wall. A total of 250 hypercholesterolemic patients were enrolled.

Simvastatin and asymmetric dimethylarginine-homocysteine metabolic pathways in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia.

Background: The idea that statin therapy decreases asymmetric dimethylarginine through lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels seems logic. However, controversy exists in the literature concerning this issue. This study compares the effect of moderate (40 mg) to high (80 mg) simvastatin doses on asymmetric dimethylarginine levels in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia (after targeted LDL levels of < or = 2.

Predictors of the intima-media thickness of carotid artery in asymptomatic newly detected severe hypercholesterolemic patients.

Background: Data about predictors of intima-media thickness (IMT) of common carotid artery (CCA) in asymptomatic subjects with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia is scarce.

Aim: This research is aimed at studying the predictors of the IMT of CCA among basic atherogenic risk biomarkers - lipid [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, Apolipoprotein-B, Apolipoprotein-Ai, Apolipoprotein-B/A(1) index] and non-lipid, [asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), total homocysteine, cell adhesion molecules] in asymptomatic subjects with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty asymptomatic patients with severe, newly hypercholesterolemia and 200 controls were evaluated.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine--a determinant of the effect of the high dose Simvastatin.

Objective: Research of statins influence on flow induced vasodilatation reveals controversial results.

Design And Methods: We analyze whether asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels influence the effect of 80mg/day simvastatin on flow-mediated vasodilation (%FMD). A total of 200 hypercholesterolemic patients were enrolled.

Effect of moderate and high-dose simvastatin on asymmetric dimethylarginine-homocysteine metabolic pathways in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia.

The assumption that statin therapy can decrease asymmetric dimethylarginine through lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels seems logical and yet arises some controversy. The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of moderate (40 mg) to high (80 mg) simvastatin doses on asymmetric dimethylarginine and total homocysteine levels in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia (after target LDL-C levels, ≤2.6 mmol/L, are reached).

Melatonin reference limits at 3:00 AM and 8:00 AM in healthy adults.

We determined melatonin reference limits in blood serum of 129 healthy volunteers, aged 21 to 70 years, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IBL ELISA kit, Hamburg, Germany). At 3:00 AM, in almost full dark, the reference limits were found to be 18.3-134 pg/ml in males, 19.