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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Background: Many studies have shown that autonomic activation is one of the major factors in the etiology of hypertension. Furthermore, sympathovagal imbalance may be responsible for arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The aim of the present study was to compare and to evaluate the effects of short-term therapy with amlodipine and verapamil on heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with essential hypertension. Methods: Forty patients with essential hypertension (11 men and 29 women, mean age 50.5+/-10.4 years) were included in the study. Patients with cardiac, metabolic, or any other systemic disease were excluded. Patients were randomized to receive either amlodipine (10 mg; n=20) or verapamil (240 mg; n=20). Patients underwent 24-h Holter monitoring assessment before treatment and after the 4-week treatment period. Standard deviation of normal RR intervals (SDNN), standard deviation of all 5-min mean normal RR intervals (SDANN), square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent RR intervals (r-MSSD), and pNN50 (time domain variables) and TF, high-frequency power (HF), low-frequency power (LF), and sympathovagal balance (LF/HF; frequency domain variables) were analyzed before and after treatment. Results: Blood pressure (BP) was reduced to a similar degree, from 182/104 to 128/85 mmHg with verapamil and from 174/100 to 124/86 mmHg with amlodipine (verapamil p<0.001; amlodipine p<0.001). This study revealed that amlodipine had no significant effect on any of the time or frequency domain parameters. In contrast, in patients on verapamil, there were significant increases in all time domain parameters, and the LF/HF ratio was significantly decreased (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that verapamil may have additional positive effects on sympathico-parasympathetic control beyond lowering blood pressure compared with amlodipine, even after short-term treatment in hypertensive patients.
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PMID:Comparison of the effects of amlodipine and verapamil on autonomic activity in hypertensive patients. 1528 76

Atherosclerosis is a chronic systemic disease of the vasculature with an inflammatory component. It accounts for the majority of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries and its incidence is increasing in developing countries. The impairment of vascular endothelial cell function in atherosclerosis and in conditions associated with increased cardiovascular risk is an important determinant of disease progression. The reduction of endothelium-dependent relaxation in the coronary and systemic circulation in atherosclerosis is in part due to decreased bioavailability of nitric oxide and increased release of oxygen-derived free radicals. Atherosclerosis also increases the formation of vasoconstrictors and growth factors, adhesion of leukocytes, thrombosis, inflammation, cell proliferation, as well as increases in vascular tone. Here we review mechanisms and therapeutic approaches to improve endothelial pathways in atherosclerosis. Restoration of NO bioactivity through pharmacological inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system, statin therapy, or endothelin receptor blockade, ameliorates vascular function in experimental hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and heart failure. These treatments also have therapeutic benefit for patients at risk or with overt atherosclerosis, to reduce vascular and myocardial complications of this disease.
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PMID:Endothelial therapy of atherosclerosis and its risk factors. 1532 Aug 38

The metabolic syndrome is a highly complex breakdown of normal physiology characterized by obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Type 2 diabetes is a major manifestation of this syndrome, although increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) often precedes the onset of frank clinical diabetes. Prevention and cure for this disease constellation is of major importance to world health. Because the metabolic syndrome affects multiple interacting organ systems (i.e., it is a systemic disease), a systems-level analysis of disease evolution is essential for both complete elucidation of its pathophysiology and improved approaches to therapy. The goal of this review is to provide a perspective on systems-level approaches to metabolic syndrome, with particular emphasis on type 2 diabetes. We consider that metabolic syndromes take over inherent dynamics of our body that ensure robustness against unstable food supply and pathogenic infections, and lead to chronic inflammation that ultimately results in CVD. This exemplifies how trade-offs between robustness against common perturbations (unstable food and infections) and fragility against unusual perturbations (high-energy content foods and low-energy utilization lifestyle) is exploited to form chronic diseases. Possible therapeutic approaches that target fragility of emergent robustness of the disease state have been discussed. A detailed molecular interaction map for adipocyte, hepatocyte, skeletal muscle cell, and pancreatic beta-cell cross-talk in the metabolic syndrome can be viewed at http://www.systems-biology.org/001/003.html.
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PMID:Metabolic syndrome and robustness tradeoffs. 1556 23

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease with multiorgan involvement. In children, renal impairment of sarcoidosis usually is caused by either hypercalcemia leading to nephrocalcinosis or interstitial nephritis with or without granulomata. We report the case of a 13-year-old boy presenting with severe arterial hypertension and acute renal failure caused by an isolated sarcoid granulomatous interstitial nephritis (GIN). Other known causes of GIN, eg, drug intake or fungal or mycobacterial infection, were excluded, and there was no evidence of extrarenal sarcoid involvement. Renal function improved initially with prednisone treatment. Blood pressure was controlled using ramipril, nifedipine, furosemide, dihydralazine, and metoprolol. Later, the patient showed signs of severe steroid toxicity and progressive renal failure. Monthly treatment with infliximab, a tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibody, was started, resulting in steady improvement in renal function and resolution of renal granulomata. In addition, antihypertensive medication could be reduced, and low-dose prednisone therapy was maintained. To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful treatment with infliximab of a patient with sarcoid GIN.
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PMID:Isolated sarcoid granulomatous interstitial nephritis responding to infliximab therapy. 1568 21

For categorizing the presenting neurological symptoms in Takayasu's arteritis (TA) and correlating to the imaging findings of cerebral angiography, we retrospectively reviewed the angiographies of 27 patients presented with stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), visual disturbance, and/or dizziness. Neurological manifestations of TA resulted from decreased blood flow due to a steno-occlusive lesion and/or shifting of blood flow, thromboembolism, or hypertension. The pattern analysis of neurological manifestations related to specific arterial involvement is mandatory in understanding neurological manifestations of this systemic disease.
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PMID:Correlation of neurological manifestations of Takayasu's arteritis with cerebral angiographic findings. 1575 61

Since isolated C3 mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis in the absence of systemic disease (i-C3-GN) is an uncommon chronic glomerular disease, long-term prognosis and optimal therapeutic intervention for it are not yet fully defined, especially in children. We report clinical features, outcome, and interventions in 4 patients, ranging from 6 to 18 years old, with i-C3-GN. Microscopic or macroscopic hematuria with or without proteinuria was first noted between 3 and 8 years. When present, proteinuria ranged from 0.2 to 1.0 g/24 h. Persistent hypocomplementemia and circulating immune complexes were found in 1 patient. None of the patients had nephrotic syndrome or hypertension. Percutaneous renal biopsy specimens showed varying degrees of mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis; 2 patients showed mild mesangial proliferation, while others exhibited moderate histologic severity. In 1 patient with a mild mesangial increase, tubulointerstitial changes were associated. Both patients exhibiting mild mesangial changes followed a benign clinical course with normal renal function over 10 years of follow-up. Patients with moderately severe mesangial alteration manifested slight renal function loss and moderate proteinuria at the time of biopsy, but these largely resolved after a six-month course of prednisolone combined with cyclophosphamide, warfarin, and an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. Thus, clinical manifestations and the need for aggressive treatment appear to vary among pediatric patients with i-C3-GN. Therapy combining prednisolone with immunosuppression seemed to reduce proteinuria and improve glomerular function in patients with moderately severe mesangial proliferation.
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PMID:Clinicopathologic features, outcome, and therapeutic interventions in four children with isolated C3 mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis. 1594 89

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multi-system disease characterized by skin fibrosis and visceral disease. Therapy is organ and pathogenesis targeted. In this review, we describe novel strategies in the treatment of SSc. Utilizing the MEDLINE and the COCHRANE REGISTRY, we identified open trials, controlled trials, for treatment of SSc from 1999 to April 2005. We used the terms scleroderma, systemic sclerosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, pulmonary hypertension, methotrexate, cyclosporin, tacrolimus, relaxin, low-dose penicillamine, IVIg, calcium channel blockers, losartan, prazocin, iloprost, N-acetylcysteine, bosentan, cyclophosphamide, lung transplantation, ACE inhibitors, anti-thymocyte globulin, and stem cell transplantation. Anecdotal reports were omitted. Methotrexate, cyclosporin, tacrolimus, relaxin, low-dose penicillamine, and IVIg may be beneficial in improving the skin tightness in SSc. Calcium channel blockers, the angiotensin II receptor type 1 antagonist losartan, prazocin, the prostacyclin analogue iloprost, N-acetylcysteine and the dual endothelin-receptor antagonist bosentan may be beneficial for Raynaud's phenomenon. Epoprostenol and bosentan are approved for therapy of pulmonary hypertension (PAH). Other options under investigation include intravenous or aerolized iloprost. Cyclophosphamide (CYC) pulse therapy is effective in suppressing active alveolitis. Stem cell and lung transplantation is a viable option for carefully selected patients. Renal crisis can be effectively managed when hypertension is aggressively controlled with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Patients should continue taking ACE inhibitors even after beginning dialysis in hope of discontinuing dialysis. Antithymocyte globulin and mycophenolate mofetil appear safe in SSc. The improvement in skin score and the apparent stability of systemic disease during the treatment period suggest that controlled studies of these agents are justified. Stem cell transplantation is under investigation for severe disease. Novel therapies are currently being tested in the treatment of SSc and have the potential of modifying the disease process and overall clinical outcome. The evaluation of these studies is still a difficult process.
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PMID:New therapeutic strategies for systemic sclerosis--a critical analysis of the literature. 1629 21

To investigate the possible relationship between hyperhomocysteinaemia and retinal vascular occlusion, we measured plasma homocysteine levels in 25 patients with a history of retinal vascular occlusion in the previous 2 years and in a control group of 24. The difference in mean plasma homocysteine levels was not statistically significant. All except 5 of the cases had hypertension, diabetes mellitus or hyperlipidaemia. Most of the patients had branch retinal vein occlusion associated with recent onset of occlusion. Factors such as emotional status and associated systemic disease may play a role in predisposition of retinal vascular occlusion, so more-precise studies are needed to determine the possible risk factors of hyperhomocysteinaemia in retinal vascular occlusion.
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PMID:Hyperhomocysteinaemia: risk of retinal vascular occlusion. 1633 56

The erythema nodosum is a septal panniculitis of several etiologies: infectious, medicamentous, secondary to systemic disease or idiopathic cause. The patient is a 47 year-female with a hypertension history of several years of evolution, who shows the following set of symptoms: successive rashes of erythematous and pruriginous cutaneous lesions in inferior members, which are diagnosed by a cutaneous biopsy of erythema nodosum. In the etiology study, an abdominal echographia is made, finding a hypodense 7 x 5 cm solid mass placed in the left adrenal gland. Determinations of catecholamines and their metabolites are found to be increased in plasma and urine, with a final diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. The pheochromocytoma is an adrenal marrow tumour of chromaffin cells derived of the neural crest, which secrete catecholamines. It is an unusual tumour, with no gender differences and with a higher incidence between the third and fourth decade of life. Ninety per cent of the cases are rather sporadic. It causes arterial hypertension just in the 0.1 and 0.2% of total cases. The appearance of erythema nodosum as one more symptom in the evolutionary context of a pheochromocytoma is a relation poorly documented in the examined literature. We could think it is just a possible coincidence, as searching with Medline we just find out one international bibliographic reference.
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PMID:[Erythema nodosum becoming a pheochromocytoma]. 1635 92

Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) is a chronic, progressive connective tissue disease characterized by typical skin changes and internal organ involvement. Arterial pulmonary hypertension is found in approximately 10-15% of patients with systemic sclerosis, and is considered as one of the most fatal complications of the disease. When pulmonary hypertension secondary to scleroderma related interstitial lung disease, left-sided cardiac insufficiency and thrombo-embolic disease is also taken into account, the frequency of pulmonary hypertension in systemic sclerosis may be as high as.50%. Recent investigations brought new information considering the pathogenesis of pulmoanry hypertension and allowed new therapeutic approches to be introduced. Early diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension is a key issue in clinical practice, but it is a challange in patients with systemic disease such as systemic sclerosis. Current review presents up to date information on the pathogenesis, early diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension related to systemic sclerosis.
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PMID:[An up date on pulmonary hypertension related to systemic sclerosis]. 1652 4


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