Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We examined the long-term effect of pravastatin, a new potent inhibitor of endogenous cholesterol biosynthesis, on glucose and lipid metabolism in hyperlipidemic NIDDM. Ten patients (5 on sulfonylurea, 5 on diet) were studied over 12 months. Five were WHO type IIa and 5 were type IIb. Blood was taken before and then 1, 6 and 12 months after initiating 10 or 20 mg daily of pravastatin. The cholesterol concentration in whole plasma and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), plasma triglyceride and apolipoprotein (apo) B were all significantly decreased within the first month. These changes lasted for 1 year. High density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol increased in the first month but returned to base line thereafter. Low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol tended to decrease in the first month, and was suppressed significantly from the 6th month (11%) to the 12th month (16%). The effect of pravastatin on LDL-cholesterol in NIDDM was slower and weaker than that published for non-diabetic hypercholesterolemia. Therefore, the mechanism by which pravastatin suppresses plasma cholesterol levels in these two conditions may differ. After 1 year, no adverse effects were noted on hematopoietic, hepatic or renal function. Blood glucose level, hemoglobin A1c and the insulin response to oral glucose were unchanged. In addition, serum creatine phosphokinase showed no abnormal increase. Careful ophthalmological examinations before and after pravastatin treatment revealed no development of new lenticular opacities. Thus, pravastatin appears to be a safe and effective drug for the long-term treatment of NIDDM with hypercholesterolemia.
Atherosclerosis 1989 Jan
PMID:Long-term treatment of hypercholesterolemic non-insulin dependent diabetics (NIDDM) with pravastatin (CS-514). 249 12

We examined 447 hypercholesterolemic and 108 normocholesterolemic Eastern Finnish men, aged 42, 48, 54, or 60 years, who were participating in the Kuopio Atherosclerosis Prevention Study. Two newly developed lenticular opacity grading methods, the Lens Opacities Classification System II and Lensmeter 701, were compared. There was fair agreement between the two grading methods for nuclear color and opalescence, but the agreement was weaker for cortical and posterior subcapsular opacities. The Lens Opacities Classification System II grading of nuclear opacities explained 48% (for the right eye) and 32% (for the left eye) of the variation of Lensmeter readings. Attributable fractions were lower for the other types of lens opacities.
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PMID:Comparison of the lens opacities classification system II and Lensmeter 701. 823 23

We evaluated the ability of Lensmeter 701 (LOM) to detect changes in the transparency of the lens graded with the Lens Opacities Classification System II (LOCS II). In this prospective study 410 middle-aged Eastern Finnish men participating in the Kuopio Atherosclerosis Prevention Study were examined three times at eighteen month intervals, and lens opacities were graded with both LOM and LOCS II, the latter serving as the standard. Majority of the change in the LOM reading during the follow-up fell within the 95% tolerance interval of the apparatus (3.08 units). Only four eyes showing progression by LOCS II were detected by LOM. The association between LOM change and the change observed by LOCS II was not statistically significant, and the correspondence of the two methods was weak. It seems that the sensitivity of the LOM is not sufficient to detect small changes in the transparency of the lens over time.
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PMID:Lens opacity increase in a longitudinal study: comparison of the lens opacities classification system II and lensmeter 701. 865 9

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the change in visual acuity and refraction taking place in eyes with progressing early lens opacities. Four hundred and ten hypercholesterolemic men in Eastern Finland who participated in the Kuopio Atherosclerosis Prevention Study were followed up for 3 years. Lens opacities were graded using the lens opacity classification system II (LOCS II). The change of visual acuity and refractive error from baseline to a 36-month examination was compared for different types of lens opacities. During the 3-year period, progression in the LOCS II was observed in 9.2% of the eyes for nuclear, in 4.8% for cortical and in 0.5% of the eyes for posterior subcapsular opacities. Increasing nuclear sclerosis reduced visual acuity statistically significantly both with and without correction. Hypermetropization was seen to continue in eyes with no lens opacity progression. Myopization was more common in eyes with lens opacity progression, although this was not statistically significant.
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PMID:The impact of early lens opacity progression on visual acuity and refraction. 921 16

There are two endemic areas of long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking water in Taiwan. Residents in the southwestern and northeastern endemic areas started using high-arsenic artesian well water in the early 1910s and late 1940s, respectively. Public water supply system using surface water was implemented in southwestern and northeastern endemic areas in the 1970s and 1990s, respectively. Systemic health hazards of long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water have been intensively investigated since the 1960s, especially after 1985 in Taiwan. Several diseases have been well documented to be associated with chronic arsenic poisoning from drinking water showing a dose-response relation. They include characteristic skin lesions like hyperpigmentation or depigmentation, hyperkeratosis in palms and soles, and Bowen disease, peripheral vascular disease (specifically blackfoot disease), ischemic heart disease, cerebral infarction, microvascular diseases, abnormal peripheral microcirculation, carotid atherosclerosis, QT prolongation and increased dispersion in electrocardiography, hypertension, goiter, diabetes mellitus, cataract (specifically posterior subcapsular lens opacity), pterygium, slow neural conduction, retarded neurobehavioral development, erectile dysfunction, and cancers of the skin, lung, urinary bladder, kidney, and liver. The method of choice to mitigate arsenic poisoning through drinking water is to use safe drinking water from uncontaminated sources.
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PMID:Health hazards and mitigation of chronic poisoning from arsenic in drinking water: Taiwan experiences. 2455 58