Association Between Sleep Microstructure and Incident Hypertension in a Population-Based Sample: The HypnoLaus Study.

Background Poor sleep quality is associated with increased incident hypertension. However, few studies have investigated the impact of objective sleep structure parameters on hypertension. This study investigated the association between sleep macrostructural and microstructural parameters and incident hypertension in a middle- to older-aged sample.

Renal handling of zinc in chronic kidney disease patients and the role of circulating zinc levels in renal function decline.

Background: Zinc deficiency is commonly encountered in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aims of this study were to assess whether zinc deficiency was related to increased renal excretion of zinc and to the progression of CKD.

Methods: Plasma and 24-h urinary zinc levels, urinary electrolytes and uromodulin were measured in 108 CKD patients and 81 individuals without CKD.

Post-translational modifications of voltage-gated sodium channels in chronic pain syndromes.

In the peripheral sensory nervous system the neuronal expression of voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) is very important for the transmission of nociceptive information since they give rise to the upstroke of the action potential (AP). Navs are composed of nine different isoforms with distinct biophysical properties. Studying the mutations associated with the increase or absence of pain sensitivity in humans, as well as other expression studies, have highlighted Nav1.