Preconditioning refers to exposure to brief episodes of potentially adverse stimuli and protects against injury during subsequent exposures. This was first described in the heart, where episodes of ischemia/reperfusion render the myocardium resistant to subsequent ischemic injury, which is likely caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proinflammatory processes. Protection of the heart was ...

This study examined the effect of emotion on opiate withdrawal induced hyperalgesia to determine whether emotional states modulate the magnitude of hyperalgesia. One hundred Hispanic men were recruited into one of three groups: heroin withdrawal, long-term heroin abstinence, and control. Participants were presented with pictures to induce neutral, positive, and negative emotional states. Affect...

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a toxic, sulfur-containing intermediate of methionine metabolism. Hyperhomocysteinemia (hHcy), as a consequence of impaired Hcy metabolism or defects in crucial co-factors that participate in its recycling, is assumed as an independent human stroke risk factor. Neural cells are sensitive to prolonged hHcy treatment, because Hcy cannot be metabolized either by the transsulf...

Electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment is a recent observation which has been shown to induce ischemic tolerance mimicking the ischemic pretreatment, suggesting that EA pretreatment may be a promising preventive strategy for the patients with high risk of acute ischemia/reperfusion injury. It was first described in the brain, then in the heart where EA stimulation at acupoint prior to ischemia le...

In recent years, with continuous research efforts targeted at studying the effects of pre- and after-treatment of inhaled anesthetics, significant progress has been made regarding the common clinical use of low concentrations of inhaled sevoflurane and its effect on induced central ischemia tolerance by pre- and post-treatment. In this study, we collected, analyzed, classified, and summarized r...

OBJECTIVE Carbohydrate metabolism disorders (CMD) significantly impact the development and progression of all forms of ischemic heart disease, and inflammation is regarded as a general pathogenetic link between CMD and ischemic heart disease. METHODS A total of 601 patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI) (STEMI), admitted within 24 hours from the onset of symptoms during...

Quality of life in patients with cardiological syndrome X (XS) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) assessed with Nottingham Health Profile questionnaire was compared to that shown by exercise tests. Compared to IHD patients, those with XS have worse quality of life. This is explained by a lower pain threshold and, consequently, lower exercise tolerance.

BACKGROUND Recent studies suggest that the late phase of ischemic preconditioning (PC) can be mimicked by pretreatment with NO donors. The ability of clinically relevant NO donors to induce PC against infarction, however, has not been evaluated. Furthermore, it is unknown whether tolerance to the hemodynamic actions of nitrates also extends to their PC effects. METHODS AND RESULTS Conscious r...

The mechanisms underlying neuronal ischemic preconditioning, a phenomenon in which brief episodes of ischemia protect against the lethal effects of subsequent periods of prolonged ischemia, are poorly understood. Ischemia can be modeled in vitro by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). We report here that OGD preconditioning induces p21(ras) (Ras) activation in an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor- and...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE It remains uncertain if impaired glucose regulation (IGR) as a predictor for stroke outcomes. This study aimed at observing the effect of IGR on the 1-year outcomes in Chinese patients with ischemic stroke. METHODS Patients with acute ischemic stroke were recruited consecutively in multihospitals across China. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed to identify IGR. C...