Reduced Production of Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfane Sulfur Due to Low Cystathionine β-Synthase Levels in Brain Astrocytes of Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP/Izm; SHRSP) develop severe hypertension and die of cerebral stroke. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying their stroke susceptibility have not been clarified yet. In this study, we used astrocytes from the newborn brain cortex of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR/Izm; SHR) and SHRSP to find the difference of genetic characteristics.

An inverse association between magnesium in 24-h urine and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged subjects in 50 CARDIAC Study populations.

Serum, plasma and dietary magnesium (Mg) have been reported to be inversely associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors. We examined the associations between the 24-h urinary Mg/creatinine (Cre) ratio and cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), serum total cholesterol (TC) and prevalence of obesity, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 4211 participants (49.

New chromone derivative terminalianone from African plant Terminalia brownii Fresen (Combretaceae) in Tanzania.

A new chromone derivative named terminalianone (1) was isolated from the African plant, Terminalia brownii Fresen (Combretaceae) in Tanzania. Its structure was determined to be 7-hydroxy-3-[6'-hydroxyphenyl-2'-oxo-ethyl]chromone by FAB-MS and NMR spectral data.

Mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase partially contributes to antioxidant protection in the kidney of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Objective: Increased oxidative stress plays an important role in cardiovascular diseases including hypertension and stroke. Evidence has indicated that ketone bodies could exert antioxidative effects. We explored the role of renal mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase (HMGCS2) expression, a key control site of ketogenesis, in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSPs) and their ancestral hypertensive but stroke-resistant spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).

Resting heart rate in relation to blood pressure: results from the World Health Organization-Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison study.

Background: Epidemiological studies have reported that increased heart rate (HR) is associated with cardiovascular mortality. We aimed in assessing the hypothesis that HR may influence the outcomes of cardiovascular disease via a pathway related to increases in blood pressure (BP).

Methods: Data from the World Health Organization-Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison (CARDIAC) Study were analyzed to examine the association between resting HR and BP in a sample of 8541 adults aged 48-56 participating in the CARDIAC baseline surveys.

Taurine as the nutritional factor for the longevity of the Japanese revealed by a world-wide epidemiological survey.

The initial observation that taurine (T) prevented stroke in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) led us to study the effects of T on cardiovascular diseases (CVD), as well as the epidemiological association of T and mortality rates, by using the data from WHO-coordinated Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison Study, which covered 61 populations in 25 countries. In this study, 24 hour urine (24-U) samples were examined along with biomarkers of CVD risk. The mortality rate from ischemic heart disease (IHD), which was lowest among the Japanese compared to the populations of other developed countries, was positively related to total serum cholesterol (TC) and inversely related to 24-U taurine excretion (24-UT), as well as the n-3 fatty acid to total phospholipids ratio of the plasma membrane, both biomarkers of seafood intake.

The role of cytochrome p-450 in salt-sensitive stroke in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP/Izm) are salt sensitive: they develop severe hypertension and die of stroke within a short time after salt loading. We studied the role of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) isoforms in the brain and the effect of clofibrate to investigate the mechanism of salt sensitive stroke-proneness in SHRSP/Izm. Male SHRSP/Izm at 9 weeks of age were fed a regular diet with or without 0.

High-fat diet up-regulates caveolin-1 expression in aorta of diet-induced obese but not in diet-resistant rats.

Objective: Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is considered as a negative regulator of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and influences various cardiovascular functions. The objective of the study is to investigate the effects of high-fat diet on vascular Cav-1 expression and eNOS activities.

Methods: Male outbred Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with a high-fat diet for 15 weeks to induce obesity.

Male cardiovascular mortality and dietary markers in 25 population samples of 16 countries.

Objective: To examine associations between various dietary markers and mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke.

Design And Setting: A multi-center cross-sectional study, involved 25 co-operative study centers in 16 countries.

Method: In the report, data for males (n = 2462), aged 48-56 years, from 25 centers were included.

Obesity, emerging risk in China: trend of increasing prevalence of obesity and its association with hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia among the Chinese.

1. The aim of the present study was to investigate the trend of the prevalence of obesity in China and its association with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. 2.

Fish and lifestyle-related disease prevention: experimental and epidemiological evidence for anti-atherogenic potential of taurine.

1. Taurine supplementation attenuated the development of hypertension and stroke in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). 2.

Establishment of a new animal model of metabolic syndrome: SHRSP fatty (fa/fa) rats.

1. We established a new animal model of metabolic syndrome, SHRSP fatty (fa/fa) rats, by crossing stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats of the Izumo strain (SHRSP/Izm) to Zucker fatty (ZF) (fa/fa) rats. 2.

Black and green tea polyphenols attenuate blood pressure increases in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Oxidative stress was reported to be involved not only in cardiovascular diseases, but also in hypertension. Epidemiologic studies indicated that tea consumption slightly reduces blood pressure. We conducted two studies to determine whether black and green tea can lower blood pressure (BP) in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP).

Tea polyphenols regulate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase subunit expression and ameliorate angiotensin II-induced hyperpermeability in endothelial cells.

Out-of-control reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling is one of the key events in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction and essential hypertension. We observed that tea polyphenols decreased the production of ROS via regulation of the protein expression of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase in bovine carotid artery endothelial cells (BCAECs). Both green tea polyphenols (GTP) and black tea polyphenols (BTP) down-regulated the expression of NADPH oxidase subunits p22phox and p67phox while up-regulating catalase expression (p < 0.

Nutritional variation and cardiovascular risk factors in Tanzania--rural-urban difference.

Objective: To assess the relationship between dietary factors and cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors in middle-aged men and women, in urban, rural and pastoral settings in Tanzania.

Design: Cross-sectional epidemiological study designed according to the protocol of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Cardiovascular Diseases and Alimentary Comparison (CARDIAC) study.

Setting: Three centres in Tanzania, namely Dar es Salaam (urban), Handeni (rural) and Monduli (pastoral population).

Prevalence of obesity and dyslipidemia in middle-aged men and women in Tanzania, Africa: relationship with resting energy expenditure and dietary factors.

The prevalence of obesity and dyslipidemia and the mean frequency of intake of selected dietary factors were studied in 545 participants aged 46-58 y and living in three areas in Tanzania. The prevalence of obesity (body mass index of > or = 30 kg/m2) was 22.5% among women and 5.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate induces the production of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and cellular proliferation in astrocytes.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a platelet-derived bioactive sphingolipid that evokes a variety of biological responses. To understand the role of S1P in the central nervous system, we have examined the effect of S1P on the production of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and growth regulation of cortical astrocytes from rat embryo. Moreover, we examined the possibility that the expression of GDNF is regulated differently in cultured astrocytes from the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP) than in those from Wistar kyoto rats (WKY).

Soybean isoflavones reduce postmenopausal bone resorption in female Japanese immigrants in Brazil: a ten-week study.

Objective: Some human studies and animal models of experimental osteoporosis have shown that soy isoflavones may be effective on bone health. In this study, we carried out an intervention study to explore the effects of dietary isoflavone on bone metabolism.

Methods: Forty healthy female postmenopausal Japanese immigrants living in Brazil were divided into two groups: isoflavone-administered (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20).

Prevalence of overweight and hypertension in Tanzania: special emphasis on resting energy expenditure and leptin.

1. In the present study we investigated the difference in the distribution of selected cardiovascular disease risk factors among three middle-aged Tanzanian populations with different lifestyles. 2.

Prevalence of overweight and hypertension in Tanzania: Special emphasis on resting energy expenditure and leptin.

1. In the present study we investigated the difference in the distribution of selected cardiovascular disease risk factors among three middle-aged Tanzanian populations with different lifestyles. 2.

Differential regulation of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) mRNA expression during hypoxia and reoxygenation in astrocytes isolated from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) plays several important roles in the survival and recovery of mature neurons during ischemia. We examined the possibility that the expression of GDNF mRNA and the release of GDNF protein are regulated differentially in cultured astrocytes from the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP) compared with those from Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) during hypoxia and reoxygenation (H/R) and after exposure to glutamate and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). The mRNA expression was quantitated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based on the fluorescent TaqMan methodology.