1. Primary afferent neurones releasing the vasodilator, calcitonin gene-related peptide, mediate the gastric hyperaemic response to acid back-diffusion. The tachykinins neurokinin A (NKA) and substance P (SP) are located in the same neurones and are co-released with calcitonin gene-related peptide. In this study we investigated the effect and possible role of tachykinins in the acid-evoked gast...

Physicists, engineers and mathematicians are accustomed to the combination of elegance, rigour and utility that characterise mathematical models. They are familiar with the need to dip into their mathematical toolbox to select the technique of choice. However, medicine and biology have not been characterised, in general, by a mathematical formalism. The relative paucity of mathematical models i...

The hyperaemic response of the forearm is a widely used technique to assess the vascular reactivity. Little is known about the short-term reproducibility and the possible exhaustion of this response in normal or diseased states. As such, the current study was conducted to assess this phenomenon using a unique nuclear medicine- (NM-) based technique. 19 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD...

BACKGROUND Endothelial dysfunction precedes coronary artery disease (CAD) and can be measured by peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT). We examined the applicability of PAT to detect a low risk of CAD in a chest pain clinic. METHODS In 93 patients, PAT was performed resulting in reactive hyperaemia (RHI) and augmentation (AIx) indices. Patients were risk classified according to HeartScore, Diam...

INTRODUCTION Vitamin D was shown to be related to endothelial function and blood pressure. Reactive hyperaemia index (RHI) measurement by pulse arterial tonometry is a new method to evaluate vasodilator function of endothelium. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D levels and RHI in women. MATERIAL AND METHODS We enrolled 56 normotensive, nonsmoker, normolipidemic and normog...

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are often under-recognised as a group with elevated risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease and increased morbidity from CV events. Standard clinical risk assessment tools, which take into account traditional CV risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and family history do not accurately predict CV risk in patients with autoimmune...

AIMS We have previously reported that lower doses of hormone therapy (L-HT) and tibolone have different effects on markers of cardiovascular disease when compared with conventional doses of HT. The objective was to compare the effects of L-HT and tibolone on lipid profile, vasodilation, and factors associated with inflammation and haemostasis. METHODS AND RESULTS Forty-one women received a co...

Oral mucositis refers to secondary mucosal damage, which usually occurs during cancer treatment. Generally, patients with head and neck cancers receiving radiotherapy will develop mucositis. begins inflammation is characterized by erythema confluent ulcers. The purpose of the study explore therapeutic effects Yunnan Baiyao combined Kangfuxin solution on radiation-induced oral influence producti...

AngII (angiotensin II) may contribute to cardiovascular risk in obesity via adverse effects on insulin sensitivity and endothelial function. In the present study, we examined the effects of ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) therapy (losartan, 100 mg/day) on insulin sensitivity and endothelial function in 53 subjects with stage I hypertension, abdominal obesity and impaired fasting glucose. The...

It is now over 125 years since Maurice Raynaud first described his clinical syndrome. ' By definition, it is episodic digital ischaemia provoked by cold and emotion. It is classically manifest by pallor of the affected part followed by cyanosis and rubor. The pallor reflects vasospasm, the cyanosis results from removal of oxygen from the static venous blood, and rubor is caused by reactive hype...