Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Article (14)
- Conference Proceeding (5)
Has Fulltext
- yes (19)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (19)
Keywords
- campesterol (2)
- cholestanol (2)
- cholesterol absorption (2)
- cholesterol synthesis (2)
- lathosterol (2)
- sitosterol (2)
- Alcohol consumption (1)
- Blood pressure (1)
- Cardiovascular biology (1)
- Cardiovascular mortality (1)
Institute
- Medizin (19) (remove)
There is limited knowledge on the prevalence and risk factors of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in dialysis patients. We have investigated the association between diabetes mellitus and lipid-related biomarkers and retinopathy in hemodialysis patients. We reviewed 1,255 hemodialysis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who participated in the German Diabetes and Dialysis Study (4D Study). Associations between categorical clinical, biochemical variables and diabetic retinopathy were examined by logistic regression. On average, patients were 66 ± 8 years of age, 54% were male and the HbA1c was 6.7% ± 1.3%. DR, found in 71% of the patients, was significantly and positively associated with fasting glucose, HbA1c, time on dialysis, age, systolic blood pressure, body mass index and the prevalence of other microvascular diseases (e.g. neuropathy). Unexpectedly, DR was associated with high HDL cholesterol and high apolipoproteins AI and AII. Patients with coronary artery disease were less likely to have DR. DR was not associated with gender, smoking, diastolic blood pressure, VLDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol. In summary, the prevalence of DR in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus requiring hemodialysis is higher than in patients suffering from T2DM, who do not receive hemodialysis. DR was positively related to systolic blood pressure (BP), glucometabolic control, and, paradoxically, HDL cholesterol. This data suggests that glucose and blood pressure control may delay the development of DR in patients with diabetes mellitus on dialysis.
[Abstract] Serumspiegel der Immunglobuline bei gesunden Rauchern und Nichtrauchern mittleren Alters
(1993)
Men and women differ substantially regarding height, weight, and body fat. Interestingly, previous work detecting genetic effects for waist-to-hip ratio, to assess body fat distribution, has found that many of these showed sex-differences. However, systematic searches for sex-differences in genetic effects have not yet been conducted. Therefore, we undertook a genome-wide search for sexually dimorphic genetic effects for anthropometric traits including 133,723 individuals in a large meta-analysis and followed promising variants in further 137,052 individuals, including a total of 94 studies. We identified seven loci with significant sex-difference including four previously established (near GRB14/COBLL1, LYPLAL1/SLC30A10, VEGFA, ADAMTS9) and three novel anthropometric trait loci (near MAP3K1, HSD17B4, PPARG), all of which were significant in women, but not in men. Of interest is that sex-difference was only observed for waist phenotypes, but not for height or body-mass-index. We found no evidence for sex-differences with opposite effect direction for men and women. The PPARG locus is of specific interest due to its link to diabetes genetics and therapy. Our findings demonstrate the importance of investigating sex differences, which may lead to a better understanding of disease mechanisms with a potential relevance to treatment options.
Low serum concentrations of the amino acid homoarginine (HA) are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality by incompletely understood mechanisms. This study sought to assess the influence of HA on cardiac remodeling in rats undergoing either transaortic banding or inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis by Nω-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME). Male Wistar rats (n = 136) underwent sham operation (SH) or aortic banding (AB). Both groups were equally divided into 14 subgroups, receiving different doses of HA alone or in combination with lisinopril, spironolactone, or L-NAME for 4 weeks. HA treatment in AB animals resulted in a dose-dependent improvement of cardiac function up to a concentration of 800 mg·kg−1·day−1. Combining 800 mg·kg−1·day−1 HA with spironolactone or lisinopril yielded additional effects, showing a positive correlation with LV ejection fraction (+33%, p = 0.0002) and fractional shortening (+41%, p = 0.0014). An inverse association was observed with collagen area fraction (−41%, p < 0.0001), myocyte cross-sectional area (−22%, p < 0.0001) and the molecular markers atrial natriuretic factor (−74%, p = 0.0091), brain natriuretic peptide (−42%, p = 0.0298), beta-myosin heavy chain (−46%, p = 0.0411), and collagen type V alpha 1 chain (−73%, p = 0.0257) compared to placebo-treated AB animals. Co-administration of HA and L-NAME was found to attenuate cardiac remodeling and prevent NO-deficient hypertension following AB. HA treatment has led to a dose-dependent improvement of myocardial function and marked histological and molecular changes in cardiac remodeling following AB. Combining HA with standard heart failure medication resulted in additional beneficial effects boosting its direct impact on heart failure pathophysiology.