abstract        background and objective: the association of triglyceride/high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (tg/hdl-c) ratio with fasting serum insulin, which is an alternative method of insulin resistance (ir) measurement, is well-recognized. thus, the measurement of tg/hdl-c ratio is useful to determine both ir and dyslipidemia, which itself is a characteristic of individuals with ir. ther...

BACKGROUND Diagnosis of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction by blood testing is expedient in the clinical setting. METHODS AND RESULTS In 98 patients with LV ejection fraction ≥50% who underwent cardiac catheterization for evaluation of coronary artery disease, LV pressure (LVP) was measured using a catheter-tipped micromanometer. A time constant, τ, of LV relaxation was computed from...

OBJECTIVE We tested the hypothesis that deficiency of cellular glutathione peroxidase (GPx-1) enhances susceptibility to endothelial dysfunction in mice with moderate hyperhomocysteinemia. METHODS AND RESULTS Mice that were wild type (Gpx1+/+), heterozygous (Gpx1+/-), or homozygous (Gpx1-/-) for the mutated Gpx1 allele were fed a control diet or a high-methionine diet for 17 weeks. Plasma tot...

Objective: Junctin is a major transmembrane protein in cardiac junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum, which forms a quaternary complex 21 with the ryanodine receptor (Ca release channel), triadin, and calsequestrin. Methods: To better understand the role of junctin in excitation–contraction coupling in the heart, we generated transgenic mice with targeted overexpression of junctin to mouse heart, u...

Long-term follow-up of left ventricular (LV) function using echocardiography has not been reported and, in this study, was carried out in normotensive (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In 10 WKY rats and SHR, LV diastolic and systolic diameter (LVEDD and LVSD), shortening fraction (SF), and weight (LVW) were determined at 8, 15, 20, 35, and 80 wk of age. The ratio of early t...

The insulin-resistant (IR) syndrome may be an impetus for the development of hypertension (HTN). Unfortunately, the mechanism by which this could occur is unclear. Our laboratory and others have described impaired endothelium-mediated relaxation in IR, mildly hypertensive rats. The purpose of the current study is to determine if HTN is most likely a cause or result of impaired endothelial funct...

Endothelial function is impaired by oxidative stress in chronic heart failure (HF). Mechanisms that protect against increases in oxidative stress in HF are not clear. The goal of this study was to determine whether manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) plays a key role in protecting against endothelial dysfunction in HF. Endothelial function and gene expression were examined in aorta from wild...

The present study was designed to analyze the effect of long-term incubation with interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) on endothelium-dependent relaxation in rat mesenteric resistance arteries. Vessels were incubated in culture medium with or without IL-1beta (10 ng/ml, 14 h). Changes in lumen diameter were recorded in a pressure myograph. Protein expression, nitrite, and superoxide anion (O(2)(.)) pro...

MnSOD is the only mammalian isoform of SOD that is necessary for life. MnSOD(-/-) mice die soon after birth, and MnSOD(+/-) mice are more susceptible to oxidative stress than wild-type (WT) mice. In this study, we examined vasomotor function responses in aortas of MnSOD(+/-) mice under normal conditions and during oxidative stress. Under normal conditions, contractions to serotonin (5-HT) and p...

hearing loss can affect physical, mental and social health of deaf adults and lead cause depression, anxiety, isolation, suspicion and stress. this study was aimed to compare mental health in the hearing-impaired elderly with hearing aid and hearing-impaired elderly without hearing aids referring to ahvaz imam khomeini hospital. in this cross- sectional study, the participants included 72 heari...