Hypertension induces dysfunctional matrix remodeling that results in the development of myocardial fibrosis. Myocardial fibrosis adversely affects compliance, electrical activity and cardiac function in patients with hypertensive heart disease. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a class of enzymes that regulate the remodeling of the matrix in response to pressure overload...
This study was designed to determine whether Bach1 gene ablation leads to suppression of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E (Apo E)/Bach1 double knockout (DKO) mice. Apo E/Bach1 DKO mice were generated by intercrossing Apo E knockout (KO) and Bach1 KO mice. The animals were fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks, and the atherosclerotic plaques in the thoracic and abdominal aorta were...
The role of adiponectin, a marker of the metabolic syndrome, on the pathogenesis of hypertension in comparison with markers of adipose tissue mass (leptin) and inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP]) remains to be clarified. The eligible study population consisted of 2,045 residents aged≥40 years who had participated in a community-based survey and had...
Endothelium was initially considered an inert lining of the blood vessels. Recently, it was suggested that damaged cells are continuously replaced by novel cells, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are directly mobilized by the bone marrow and then transformed into endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Initial triggers of vessel remodeling are physical forces such as blood...
Commonly used daytime measurements in previous investigations on community noise and arterial hypertension (AH) may be a source of exposure bias, as urban residents spend most of their daytime hours out of the home on workdays. For this reason, we focused on the relation of nighttime noise and AH. A cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 2,503 (995 men and 1,508 women...
Abnormal fatty acid metabolism may play an important role in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension (EH). We compared fasting serum free fatty acid (FFA) composition between EH patients and nonhypertensive (NH) subjects, and examined the relationships between fasting serum FFA composition and waist/hip ratio, insulin activity, blood pressure, serum zinc, age, and sex in both...
Angiotensin II (Ang II) promotes sodium-retention, cell growth and fibrosis in addition to its classical effects on blood pressure and fluid homeostasis. In this study we examined whether low and non-hypertensive doses of exogenous Ang II could enhance the intrarenal expression of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) observed in rats submitted to sodium overload. Sprague-Dawley...
An increase in arterial stiffness with advancing age is associated with several pathological states, including hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Regular exercise improves the aging-induced increase in arterial stiffness and has a protective effect against these diseases. However, not all individuals respond to exercise to the same extent. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is...
Hypertension and insulin resistance are associated with reduced coronary vasodilatory capacity, possibly caused by structural changes in the coronary resistance vessels. The goal of this study was to compare the effect of an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) with that of a calcium channel blocker (CCB) on coronary flow reserve and insulin resistance among essential hypertensive...
The ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) is a recently proposed index derived from 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for the evaluation of arterial stiffness. In this cross-sectional study we investigated whether AASI reflects arterial stiffness in patients with resistant hypertension by comparing AASI and ambulatory pulse pressure (PP) with aortic pulse wave...
Each component of the metabolic syndrome is not necessarily clustered coincidentally. Thus, subjects who have obesity, dyslipidemia or impaired glucose tolerance may be at high risk for the development of hypertension. We studied the predictive value of the following for the development of hypertension: obesity (body mass index ≥25.0 kg/m2), dyslipidemia (high-density lipoprotein...
This study was designed to investigate the effects of a hydrochlorothiazide-nifedipine combination on blood pressure (BP), blood pressure variability (BPV), baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and organ protection in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The doses used were 10 mg/kg/d for both hydrochlorothiazide and nifedipine, and 10+10 mg/kg/d for the combination of these two drugs...
We investigated whether a peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor (PPAR) agonist would effect the angiotensin II (Ang II)–induced senescence of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). EPCs were isolated from peripheral blood and characterized. Both reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting were used to assess gp91phox expression and angiotensin...
Bedtime inhalation of a novel muscarinic M3 receptor antagonist markedly lowered ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), predominantly during sleep, in a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient with masked nocturnal hypertension. This is the first case demonstrating that a bronchodilator significantly lowered ABP in a COPD patient with hypertension. This case suggests that...
The Incipient to Overt: Angiotensin II Blocker, Telmisartan, Investigation on Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy (INNOVATION) study previously showed that treatment with telmisartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, effectively reduced the transition from incipient to overt nephropathy in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients. However, that large study included both normotensive and...
Betel nut chewing is associated with oral cancers and diabetes. This study investigated whether betel nut chewing could be associated with hypertension in Taiwanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The data of a total of 81,226 (37,226 men and 44,000 women) patients with T2DM obtained from a cross-sectional telephone survey in a national sample of diabetic patients...
Interleukin (IL)-13 is a cytokine produced by type 2 helper T cells that has pathophysiological roles in allergic inflammation and fibrosis formation. IL-13 shares many functional properties with IL-4, which promotes apoptosis of endothelial cells (ECs). We here investigated the effects of IL-13 on apoptosis using human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs). Assessment by...
Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a recognized risk factor for excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and hypertension, but evidence of this association in Asian women is limited. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 3,568 women aged 30–69 years living in three Japanese communities. The 3% oxygen desaturation index (ODI) was selected as the indicator of SDB, and blood oxygen...
Although several epidemiologic studies have assessed the relationship between low blood pressure and depressive symptoms in geriatric populations, the results have been inconsistent. Because the white-coat phenomenon is observed frequently in patients with depressive symptoms, we have considered that blood pressure measured in nonmedical settings is important in assessing the...
Augmentation index (AI), the ratio of augmented pressure by the reflection pressure wave to the pulse pressure (PP), is an index of arterial stiffness and central blood pressure (BP). Although type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis, there is controversy with respect to how DM affects AI. In the present study, we investigated possible determinants...
The effect of polymorphisms of the RAS genes on the incidence of hypertension seems to be population-dependent. We studied the effects of the angiotensinogen T174M and M235T, angiotensin converting enzyme insertion/deletion (ACE I/D), and angiotensin II receptor 1 (AT1R) A1166C gene polymorphisms on the risk of hypertension among Hispanics. We selected all cases (n=256) and 257...
We investigated the effects of co-administration of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and angiotensin type 1 receptor blocker (ARB) on nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability in genetically hyperlipidemic rabbits with our newly developed NO sensor. Plasma NO was measured using the new NO sensor in the abdominal aorta of anesthetized Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic...