The tools for asthma control assessment recommended by the current guideline are cognitive function- and effort-dependent, which is substantially impaired in the elderly. The aim of this study is to investigate objective assessment tools of asthma control status and previous asthma exacerbation (AE) in elderly subjects. Asthmatics aged >60 years who were treated with step 2 or 3 by the Global I...

Cytokines and oxygen free radicals have been implicated in the potential pathogenic development of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). We aimed to analyze the relationship between clinical status, circulating levels of cytokines, and markers of oxidative damage during the treatment with anti-TNFα antibodies. The patient chosen for treatment had not had improvement through a number of convent...

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is produced in bovine endometrium throughout the estrous cycle. However, little is known about the expression of the EGF receptor (EGFR) and the roles of EGF in bovine endometrium. To clarify whether EGF is involved in local regulation of bovine endometrial function, first we determined the EGF protein and the expression of EGFR mRNA in endometrial tissues througho...

BACKGROUND A strong relationship between glycemic variability and oxidative stress in poorly regulated type 2 diabetes (T2DM) on oral medication has been reported. However, this relationship was not seen in type 1 diabetes. The purpose of this study is to reexamine the relation between glycemic variability and oxidative stress in a cohort of T2DM patients on oral medication. METHODS Twenty-fo...

The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of dietary n-3 PUFA supplementation on oestrus response in the goat following synchronization with prostaglandin analogue. Parous cycling goats (n=17/group) were fed a concentrate diet supplemented with either fi sh oil (FO) or palm oil (PO). The FO provided n-3 EPA and DHA @ 156 mg kg-1 body weight while PO was given @ 0.6 ml kg-1 bo...

Fifty repeat breeder (RB) Friesian cows were allocated to five groups of 10 cows each, to determine the effect of progesterone (P4) supplement on P4 concentrations and pregnancy rates during the periods of corpus luteum (CL) formation and development between days 2-7 and 7-12 following a spontaneous or PGF2α-induced estrus. Cows were artificially inseminated during PGF2α-induced (PGF-P4-d2 and ...

The efficiency of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) and fluorogestone acetate (FGA) sponges with or without PGF2α (cloprostenol) for synchronizing estrous in non-lactating does was investigated during the natural breeding season. Does were treated for 11 days with 60 mg MAP (n = 38) or 40 mg FGA (n = 32) sponges. All does also received intramuscular injections of 500 IU PMSG. In addition, 19 an...

The extracellular signal that triggers activation of rho-associated kinase (RhoA/ROCK), the major molecular determinant of basal internal anal sphincter (IAS) smooth muscle tone, is not known. Using human IAS tissues, we identified the presence of the biosynthetic machineries for angiotensin II (ANG II), thromboxane A2 (TXA2), and prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α). These end products of the renin-angio...

Autophagy is known to be regulated by the phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT) and/or mitogen-activated protein kinase 1/2 (MEK1/2)-extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) pathways, leading to activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a major negative regulator of autophagy. However, some reports have also suggested that autophagic regulation by the PI3K-...

BACKGROUND Low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels are major predictors of cardiovascular (CV) events, even in patients on statin treatment with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) at target. In animal models HDLs protect LDL from oxidation and blunt platelet activation. Our study aimed to examine whether HDL levels are related to in vivo oxidative stress and platelet activation, as determinants of...