Brachial artery stiffening in healthy primigravidas is associated with weight gain and increased cardiac output

Large artery stiffening with weight gain in humans: role of visceral fat accumulation.

We tested the hypothesis that weight gain would increase arterial stiffness in healthy nonobese adults. To address this, we overfed 14 nonobese men (age: 23+/-1 years) approximately 1000 kcal/d for 6 to 8 weeks until a 5-kg weight gain was achieved. Carotid diameters (high-resolution ultrasound) and pressures (applanation tonometry), body composition (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry), and abdo...

Stiffening our resolve against adult weight gain.

Increasing adiposity with a clinical endpoint of obesity is associated with a progressive increase in risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, we are only beginning to understand the physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms by which excessive body fat storage causes CVD. In this issue of Hypertension, the findings of Wildman et al1 extend and strengthen previous observations2–5 by...

Fatigue in primary sclerosing cholangitis is associated with sympathetic over-activity and increased cardiac output.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) frequently highlight the impact of fatigue on their life quality. The study aims were to evaluate fatigue and its associations in PSC and investigate whether overt autonomic dysfunction contributes to the expression of fatigue. METHODS All PSC patients under active follow-up at a regional liver centre were sent disease- and ...

Longitudinal, Diet-induced Weight Gain is Associated with Increased Blood Monocytes and Reduced TLR4 Expression

Excessive weight gain increases systemic inflammation resulting in increased disease risk. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) reportedly mediates increases in inflammation; however, its role in obesity-induced inflammation has not been fully evaluated. The purpose of this study was to determine the longitudinal effect of diet-induced weight gain on blood monocyte concentration and cell-surface TLR4 ex...

Serum Level of Soluble CD226 Receptor in Healthy Individuals is Highly Variable and Associated with Age