UNLABELLED This study examined the hypothesis that acute hyperglycemia (HG) blocks ischemic preconditioning (IPC) by inhibiting Akt phosphorylation. Brief HG of approximately 400 mg/dL was induced in C57BL/6 mice via intraperitoneal injection of 20% dextrose (2 g/kg). All mice underwent 40 min LAD occlusion and 60 min reperfusion. The IPC protocol was 2 cycles of 5 min ischemia and 5 min reperf...

BACKGROUND Urocortin is a novel cardioprotective agent that can protect cardiac myocytes from the damaging effects of ischemia/reperfusion both in culture and in the intact heart and is effective when given at reperfusion. METHODS AND RESULTS We have analyzed global changes in gene expression in cardiac myocytes after urocortin treatment using gene chip technology. We report that urocortin sp...

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of rapamycin on the cardioprotective effect of hypoxic preconditioning (HPC) and on the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-mediated hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway. MATERIAL AND METHODS Primary cardiomyocytes were isolated from rat pups and underwent rapamycin and/or HPC, followed by hypoxia/re-oxygenatio...

The 4-ACGC isolated from BP was prepared to investigate the cardioprotective effects on attenuating chronic heart failure in vivo and in vitro. A chronic heart failure (CHF) rat model was established to investigate the cardioprotective effects of 4-ACGC. From this, several cardiac function indexes were recorded. The inflammatory markers including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Interleukin-6 (...

Cardioprotective effect of saffron total glycoside tablets in patients with breast cancer receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy: study protocol for a multicentre, randomised, parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Bromocriptine Treatment To the Editor: I read with interest the paper “Centrally Mediated Effects of Bromocriptine on Cardiac Sympathovagal Balance” by Drs Franchi, Lazzeri, Barletta, Ianni, and Mannelli, which was published in July 2001.1 The authors cite a report by Przuntek et al2 published in 1992 that suggested that bromocriptine treatment lessened mortality in patients with Parkinson dise...

Bromocriptine Treatment To the Editor: I read with interest the paper “Centrally Mediated Effects of Bromocriptine on Cardiac Sympathovagal Balance” by Drs Franchi, Lazzeri, Barletta, Ianni, and Mannelli, which was published in July 2001.1 The authors cite a report by Przuntek et al2 published in 1992 that suggested that bromocriptine treatment lessened mortality in patients with Parkinson dise...