Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We investigated whether the imposition of chronic alcohol in hypertension leads to greater biochemical and cellular abnormalities of the myocardium than those arising in normotension. Fifteen-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were fed ethanol-containing diets for six weeks. Particular attention was focused on the composition of contractile proteins identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), fractional rate of protein synthesis, and synthesis rates relative to RNA (RNA activity) or DNA (cellular efficiency). In addition, myocardial enzymes and adenine nucleotides were measured. In both SHR and WKY rats chronic ethanol caused a general decrease in the contents of all nine contractile proteins with myosin heavy chain predominantly affected. Fractional rates of mixed (i.e., total) and myofibrillary proteins remained unaltered in both WKY rats and SHR, as were cellular efficiencies. The RNA activity was significantly reduced in ethanol-treated SHR but not in WKY rats. In ethanol-treated SHR, cardiac creatine kinase (CK) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activities were increased, AMP levels were elevated, whilst ATP levels and the energy charge were reduced. In WKY rats, the only significant change related to increased aspartate aminotransferase activities in response to alcohol feeding. Although there were only subtle differences between the response of the normotensive and hypertensive rats due to ethanol dosage, the reduced ATP levels and increased CK and MDH activities in SHR may reflect a greater susceptibility to ischaemic damage. Reduced contractile protein content, particularly myosin heavy chain, may contribute to contractile defects, a common feature of subclinical and clinical alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
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PMID:A comparative investigation into the effect of chronic alcohol feeding on the myocardium of normotensive and hypertensive rats: an electrophoretic and biochemical study. 1093 59

This review addresses the general hypothesis that the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and eclampsia are related to an imbalance of increased oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation coupled with a deficiency of antioxidant protection. Accordingly, this study was initiated to assess total antioxidant status and free-radical activity in preeclampsia and eclampsia. The patients studied were 44 healthy pregnant women and 45 women with hypertension classified as having preeclampsia (n=27), and eclampsia (n=18). The serum levels of lipid peroxide were significantly increased (p<0.0001) and antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase and glutathione levels) in erythrocytes were significantly decreased (p<0.0001) in women with preeclampsia and eclampsia compared with the controls. The groups of preeclampsia and eclampsia had similar values of catalase activities as the controls (p>0.05). There were no correlations between serum levels of lipid peroxide and antioxidant enzyme activities or systolic-diastolic blood pressure of pregnant women with preeclampsia and eclampsia. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, the serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels of preeclamptic and eclamptic women were high, whereas haemoglobin (Hb), Hematocrit (Htc) and platelet levels were lower than those of the control subjects (p<0.0001). There were no differences in mean gestational week, whereas the mean age of eclamptic women was lower than that of the other two groups (p<0.001). The serum levels of Alanine-transaminase (ALT) and urea in eclamptic women were significantly higher compared with the other two groups (p<0.0001), whereas creatinine levels were lower than those of the other two groups (p<0.05). Our findings give support to those few studies considering lipid peroxidation as an important factor in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and eclampsia. Further studies are needed to clarify the relations between lipid peroxidation and antioxidative function and their pathophysiological significance in preeclampsia and eclampsia.
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PMID:Significance of changes in lipid peroxides and antioxidant enzyme activities in pregnant women with preeclampsia and eclampsia. 1096 57

HELLP syndrome is a serious, life-threatening form of pre-eclampsia with a typical laboratory triad. The incidence of the disease is reported as being 0.17-0.85% of all live births. There has been, to date, neither reliable early recognition nor effective prevention of HELLP syndrome. As a result of endothelial dysfunction, activation of intravascular coagulation occurs with fibrin deposition in the capillaries and consecutive microcirculation disorders. The disease manifests itself on average between 32-34 weeks' gestation. HELLP syndrome will occur postpartum in up to 30% of the cases. The clinical cardinal symptom of the disease is right upper quadrant pain or epigastric pain accompanied with nausea, vomiting and malaise. In 20% of the cases with HELLP syndrome there is no hypertension and 5-15% of the pregnant patients present a low level of proteinuria or none at all. The early recognition of hemolysis is most sensitively managed by the determination of the serum haptoglobin. The increase of the aspartate transaminase (AST) and the alanine transaminase (ALT) often precedes a decrease in platelets. The course of HELLP syndrome is incalculable. It is universally agreed that a pregnancy from 32-34 weeks should be immediately delivered. Before 32-34 weeks, expectant management is generally possible in a perinatal center. The frequency for a repeated hypertensive disease in pregnancy ranges from 27% to 48%.
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PMID:HELLP syndrome. 1103 96

Licorice, the root of Glycyrrhiza spp. (Fabaceae), has been used since ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times in the West and since the Former Han era (the 2nd-3rd century B.C.) in ancient China in the East. In traditional Chinese medicine, licorice is one of the most frequently used drugs. In Japan, the oldest specimen of licorice introduced from China in the middle of the 8th century still exists in Shosoin, the Imperial Storehouse, in Nara. Extracts of licorice were recommended as a remedy for gastric ulcer by Revers of the Netherlands in 1946, which was soon withdrawn owing to its side effects. Carbenoxolon sodium, glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) hemisuccinate Na, was prepared from licorice to treat peptic ulcer in the UK. In Japan for the past 60 years, a glycyrrhizin (GL) preparation under the name of Stronger Neo-Minophagen C (SNMC) has been used clinically as an antiallergic and antihepatitis agent. GL and GA sometimes induce edema, hypertension, and hypokalemia in patients treated with higher doses and long-term administration. The mechanism of this side effect, pseudoaldosteronism, has been explained as due to the 11-hydroxy-steroid dehydrogenase inhibitory activity of GL and GA. The excess of endogenous cortisol produced combines with the renal mineral corticoid receptor, which promotes an aldosterone-like action. GL and GA reduce alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) values in the serum. This hepatoprotective effect has recently been explained as the inhibitory effects of GL and GA on immune-mediated cytotoxicity against hepatocytes and on nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B, which activates genes encoding inflammatory cytokines in the liver. To exclude the side effects and enhance the therapeutic activities, chemical modification of GL and GA has been performed. Deoxoglycyrrhetol (DG), homo- and heteroannular diene homologs of dihemiphthalates, showed a remarkable improvement in antiinflammatory, antiallergic, and antiulcer activities in animal experiments. Immunomodulating effects of GL, GA, and DG derivatives, which induce interferon-gamma and some other cytokines, have been demonstrated in relation with their antiviral activities. Antiinflammatory, antitumorigenic, and antimalarial effects of licorice flavonoids have also been investigated.
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PMID:A drug over the millennia: pharmacognosy, chemistry, and pharmacology of licorice. 1108 98

Chronic liver disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Although often used to detect liver disease, the prevalence and etiology of elevated aminotransferases are unknown. We analyzed data on adults ages 17 yr and older (N = 15,676) from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994). Participants were classified as having elevated aminotransferase levels if either aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase was elevated above normal. Aminotransferase elevation was classified as "explained" if there was laboratory evidence of hepatitis B or C infection, iron overload, or if there was a history of alcohol consumption. Analyses were weighted to provide national estimates. The prevalence of aminotransferase elevation in the United States was 7.9%. Aminotransferase elevation was more common in men compared to women (9.3% vs 6.6%, p = 0.002), in Mexican Americans (14.9%) and non-Hispanic blacks (8.1%) compared to non-Hispanic whites (7.1%, p < 0.001). High alcohol consumption, hepatitis B or C infection and high transferrin saturation were found in only 31.0% of cases. Aminotransferase elevation was unexplained in the majority (69.0%). In both men and women, unexplained aminotransferase elevation was significantly associated with higher body mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, fasting insulin, and lower HDL; and with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in women (all p < 0.05). Aminotransferase elevation was common in the United States, and the majority could not be unexplained by alcohol consumption, viral hepatitis or hemochromatosis. Unexplained aminotransferase elevation was strongly associated with adiposity and other features of the metabolic syndrome, and thus may represent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
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PMID:The prevalence and etiology of elevated aminotransferase levels in the United States. 1280 14

We examined the association of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) with features of the metabolic syndrome and whether it predicted incident diabetes independently of routinely measured factors in 5,974 men in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study. A total of 139 men developed new diabetes over 4.9 years of follow-up. ALT, but not aspartate aminotransferase, levels increased progressively with the increasing number of metabolic syndrome abnormalities from (means +/- SD) 20.9 +/- 7.6 units/l in those with none to 28.1 +/- 10.1 units/l in those with four or more (P < 0.001). In a univariate analysis, men with ALT in the top quartile (ALT >/=29 units/l) had an elevated risk for diabetes (hazard ratio 3.38 [95% CI 1.99-5.73]) versus those in the bottom quartile (<17 units/l). ALT remained a predictor with adjustment for age, BMI, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, glucose, and alcohol intake (2.04 [1.16-3.58] for the fourth versus first quartile). In stepwise regression, incorporating ALT and C-reactive protein (CRP) together with metabolic syndrome criteria, elevated ALT (>/=29 units/l), and CRP (>/=3 mg/l) predicted incident diabetes, but low HDL cholesterol and hypertension did not. Thus, elevated ALT levels within the "normal" range predict incident diabetes. The simplicity of ALT measurement and its availability in routine clinical practice suggest that this enzyme activity could be included in future diabetes prediction algorithms.
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PMID:Elevated alanine aminotransferase predicts new-onset type 2 diabetes independently of classical risk factors, metabolic syndrome, and C-reactive protein in the west of Scotland coronary prevention study. 1550 65

The type, incidence, and severity of complications of balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO) for gastric varices should be precisely estimated. Complications were evaluated in 38 patients who had fundic gastric varices and 43 B-RTO procedures during injection of ethanolamine oleate (phase 1), within 4 h after injection (phase 2), 24 h after injection (phase 3), and from 24 h to 10 days after injection (phase 4). Endoscopic evaluation at 8 weeks showed resolution of gastric varices in 35 of 38 patients (92%) and smaller varices in the remaining three (8%). B-RTO caused transient hypertension in 35% of patients, hemoglobinuria in 49%, and fever in 33% during phases 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Pleural effusion, pulmonary infarction, ascites, gastric ulcers with unique appearance, localized mosaic-like change of gastric mucosa, and hemorrhagic portal hypertensive gastropathy were noted in phase 4. There were no fatalities. Lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and bilirubin increased on day 1. Each datum was retrieved within 7 days. The severity of lactate dehydrogenase elevation correlated significantly with the volume of infused ethanolamine oleate. Thus, B-RTO is a safe and effective management of fundic varices. However, short-term hemodynamic change after B-RTO may cause gastric mucosal damage. Pulmonary infarction and pleural effusion are potential complications.
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PMID:Short-term complications of retrograde transvenous obliteration of gastric varices in patients with portal hypertension: effects of obliteration of major portosystemic shunts. 1568 11

Many Koreans, in addition to Japanese, were killed or injured by the atomic bombs detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. Our study examined noncancer diseases of Korean A-bomb survivors in residence at Hapcheon, Republic of Korea and evaluated whether they had significantly higher prevalence of noncancer diseases than non-exposed people. We evaluated a number of tests, including anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, blood chemistry, hepatitis B surface antigen, and urinalysis, of survivors (n=223) and controls (n=372). Univariate analysis revealed significantly lower fasting glucose and creatinine, and higher diastolic blood pressure, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and blood urea nitrogen levels in the survivors than in the controls. The calculation of crude prevalence ratios (PRs) revealed that A-bomb survivors had a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension (PR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.00-1.35) and chronic liver disease (2.20; 1.59-3.06) than controls. After adjusting for covariates (age, sex, body mass index, marital status, education, alcohol consumption, and smoking), A-bomb survivors had a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension (1.24; 1.06-1.44), chronic liver disease (2.07; 1.51-2.84), and hypercholesterolemia (1.79; 1.11-2.90) than controls. This study suggests that A-bomb exposure is associated with a higher prevalence of non-cancer diseases in Korean survivors.
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PMID:Non-cancer diseases of Korean atomic bomb survivors in residence at Hapcheon, Republic of Korea. 1677 77

The annual incidence rate of primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in Izumo City, Japan, appears to be the highest rate among those reported. Despite improvement of management and surgical therapy, the overall morbidity and mortality after ICH are still high. The author investigated the risk factors for ICH in patients in Izumo. A case-control study of 242 patients (137 men and 105 women with ages ranging from 34 to 97 years) with primary ICH was conducted in Izumo between 1991 and 1998. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, liver disease, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and serum levels of total cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase were assessed as possible risk factors for ICH by using conditional logistic regression. The prevalence of hypertension among ICH patients was 77% and the odds ratio (OR) for hypertension was 17.07 (95% CI: 8.30-35.09), which are much higher than figures reported from Western countries. The OR for hypertension was higher in individuals < or = 69 years of age than in those > or = 70 years of age and lower for lobar hemorrhage than for hemorrhages at other sites. High serum total cholesterol (> or = 220 mg/dl) was the second most important risk factor for ICH (OR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.23-5.14), and low total cholesterol (< 160 mg/dl) decreased the risk of ICH (OR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.27-0.82). In contrast, heart disease decreased the risk of ICH, and there was no observed association between alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, or diabetes mellitus and ICH. This study conducted in Izumo suggests that hypertension is the most important risk factor for ICH and contrary to most previous studies indicates that serum total cholesterol concentration is also positively associated with the risk of ICH. In contrast, heart disease may decrease the risk of ICH.
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PMID:Risk factors for primary intracerebral hemorrhage in patients in Izumo City, Japan. 1750 99

Multiorgan dysfunction ensuing from severe heatstroke includes hypotension, hepatic and renal failure, hypercoagulable state, activated inflammation, and cerebral ischemia and injury. We attempted to assess whether human umbilical cord blood-derived CD34+ cell therapy improves survival during experimental heatstroke by attenuating multiorgan dysfunction. Anesthetized rats, immediately after the onset of heatstroke, were divided into 2 major groups and given CD34- or CD34+ cells (1 x 10(5)-5 x 10(5)/mL/kg body weight) i.v. They were exposed to ambient temperature of 43 degrees C to induce heatstroke. Another group of rats were exposed to room temperature (26 degrees C) and used as normothermic controls. Hypotension, hepatic and renal failure (evidenced by increased serum urea nitrogen, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase levels in plasma), hypercoagulable state (evidenced by increased prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and D-dimer, and decreased platelet count and protein C in plasma), activated inflammation (evidence by increased TNF-alpha levels in serum), and cerebral dysfunction (evidenced by intracranial hypertension, cerebral hypoperfusion and hypoxia, and cerebral ischemia and injury) were monitored. When the CD34- cell-treated or untreated rats underwent heat stress, their survival time values were found to be 19 to 23 min. Resuscitation with CD34+ cells significantly improved survival time (duration, 63-291 min). As compared with normothermic controls, all CD34- cell-treated heatstroke animals displayed hypotension, hepatic and renal failure, hypercoagulable state, activated inflammation, and cerebral ischemia and injury. However, CD34+ cell therapy significantly caused attenuation of all the above-mentioned heatstroke reactions. In addition, the levels of IL-10 in plasma and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factors in brain were all significantly increased after CD34+ cell therapy during heatstroke. Our data indicate that CD34+ cell therapy may resuscitate persons who had a heatstroke by reducing multiorgan dysfunction or failure.
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PMID:Human umbilical cord blood-derived CD34+ cells cause attenuation of multiorgan dysfunction during experimental heatstroke. 1750 7


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