Drug-induced QT prolongation is a serious clinical issue in developing novel drug candidates and marketing drugs. A major cause of QT prolongation is direct inhibition of human ether-à-go-go-related gene (hERG) channels. Reduction in repolarization-related channel expression levels on plasma membranes is another mechanism that induces QT prolongation. Recently, we established a system for asses...

Uric acid has ever been considered as one of contrast induced acute kidney injury's risk factors. Atorvastatin and probucol can both improve contrast induced acute kidney injury separately. This prospective study is to assess their effect on reducing serum uric acid level and contrast induced acute kidney injury during perioperative period of interventional procedure. On the basis of different ...

Probucol has been shown to be an effective and well-tolerated cholesterol-lowering drug. However, response in terms of cholesterol reduction has been shown to vary significantly among individuals. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of apolipoprotein E polymorphism in determining this variation. A retrospective study of 89 hypercholesterolemic type II patients who had been treated ...

Antioxidants that prevent LDL from oxidation may reduce atherosclerosis. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge is a Chinese herb widely used for the treatment of atherosclerosis-related disorders. Salvianolic acid B (Sal B), a water-soluble polyphenolic antioxidant isolated from the roots of this plant, was found to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals and inhibit LDL oxidation more effectively ...

D iabetic nephropathy is a major complication of diabetes. In the early stage, microalbuminuria is observed and followed by massive proteinuria. In the advanced stage, renal function decreases and uremia occurs. If nephropathy progresses, hemodialysis has to be initiated. Accordingly, suppressing the progression of diabetic nephropathy is important and urgent for the patient’s quality of life. ...

The discovery that the apolipoprotein E (apoE) ε4 allele is genetically linked to both sporadic and familial late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) raises the possibility that a dysfunction of the lipid transport system could seriously affect lipid homeostasis in the brain of AD subjects. The presence of the ε4 allele has been associated with lower levels of apoE in both serum and brain tissues of...