The Effects of Verapamil, Hydralazine, and Doxazosin on Renin, Aldosterone, and the Ratio Thereof.

Purpose: Hydralazine, doxazosin, and verapamil are currently recommended by the Endocrine Society as acceptable bridging treatment in those in whom full cessation of antihypertensive medication is infeasible during screening for primary aldosteronism (PA). This is under the assumption that they cause minimal to no effect on the aldosterone-to-renin ratio, the most widely used screening test for PA. However, limited evidence is available regarding the effects of these particular drugs on said ratio.

Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis: Should we Intervene Earlier?

Purpose Of Review: Randomized trials have failed to show clinical benefit in patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis who were treated with angioplasty with or without stenting. However, these studies were done in patients with a high-grade stenosis. This paper examines whether there are arguments to consider patients with low-grade stenosis for angioplasty.

Menaquinone-7 Supplementation to Reduce Vascular Calcification in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: Rationale and Study Protocol (VitaK-CAC Trial).

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) develops early in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and is a strong and independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Arterial calcification is caused by an imbalance in calcification regulatory mechanisms. An important inhibitor of calcification is vitamin K-dependent matrix Gla protein (MGP).

Sodium Intake as a Modulator of Kidney Function.

Individual responses to alterations in salt intake vary widely. While salt has no effect on blood pressure in some people, it may substantially increase pressure in others. The reason why this difference exists is not very clear yet but many observations point towards the kidney as an important mediator.

Clinical end points in baroreflex activation therapy: what do we need to know?

Many studies have shown that the sympathetic nervous system plays an important part in blood pressure regulation. One of its components is the baroreceptor reflex, which buffers sudden and also potentially chronic changes in blood pressure. The carotid baroreceptors have become a new target in the treatment of hypertensive patients in whom optimal antihypertensive medication fails to normalize the pressure.

[Doctors in love].

Objective: To investigate how often doctors fall in love or are in a relationship with a colleague.

Design: Descriptive questionnaire.

Method: Doctors and medical students completed an online questionnaire during the summer of 2012.

[Death and the pop musician].

Many people are inclined to believe that popular music artists are prone to die prematurely. Scientific research into this matter is scarce. There is only one epidemiological study on this subject, showing that mortality among pop stars during the first 25 years after they became famous is increased.

Nycthemeral relationship between renal function and sodium homeostasis.

Nycthemeral changes in renal function have been known for a long time, but our knowledge about the underlying mechanisms is still far from complete. From a theoretical point of view, many physiological systems could be involved in turning the kidney from a sodium-excretory organ during daytime into a sodium-conserving organ during nighttime. Although blood pressure itself may regulate sodium output directly through pressure natriuresis, this mechanism can be unmasked only when other influences on the kidney can be eliminated.