Effective arterial elastance (E(A)) was proposed as a lumped parameter that incorporates pulsatile and resistive afterload and is increasingly being used in clinical studies. Theoretical modeling studies suggest that E(A) is minimally affected by pulsatile load, but little human data are available. We assessed the relationship between E(A) and arterial load determined noninvasively from central...

BACKGROUND Several studies have indicated that one of the most potent mediators involved in pulmonary vascular remodeling is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This study was designed to determine whether airway VEGF level reflects pulmonary vascular remodeling in patients with bronchitis-type of COPD. METHODS VEGF levels in induced sputum were examined in 23 control subjects (12 non-...

The effects of autonomic disruption and inactivity were studied on the venous vascular system. Forty-eight subjects, 24 with spinal cord injury (SCI) and 12 sedentary and 12 active able-bodied controls, participated in this study. Peripheral autonomic data were obtained to estimate sympathetic vasomotor control [low-frequency component of systolic blood pressure (LF(SBP))]. Vascular parameters ...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic factor in solid tumors. However, its role in angiogenesis in pituitary adenoma is controversial. Angiogenesis in solid tumors including pituitary adenoma is commonly evaluated by microvascular density (MVD). Here, we evaluated MVD and the role of VEGF in vascular architecture in 51 pituitary adenomas (24 nonfunctioning, 13 prolact...

Objective(s): Vascular calcification is one the major characteristics in patients with various types of chronic inflammatory disorders. MiRNAs have been shown to be involved in many normal biological functions as well as diseases; however, their role in vascular calcification has not received much attention. Materials and Methods: In the current study, we built a vascular calcification rat mode...

Arterial stiffness has been known to be a surrogate marker of arteriosclerosis, and also of vascular function. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) had been the most popular index and was known to be a predictor of cardiovascular events. But, it depends on blood pressure at measuring time. To overcome this problem, cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is developed. CAVI is derived from stiffness parameter β...

OBJECTIVE An increased mean platelet volume (MPV), as an indicator of larger, more reactive platelets resulting from an increased platelet turnover, may represent a risk factor for overall vascular mortality, including myocardial infarction. We intended to identify patients at higher risk of dying from vascular disease in a large, hospital-based cohort. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 206 554 ...

toxoplasmosis is one of the most common parasitic diseases worldwide. although estimated that one third of the world's population are infected with toxoplasma gondii , but the most common form of the disease is latent (asymptomatic). on the other hand, recent findings indicated that la­tent toxoplasmosis is not only unsafe for human, but also may play various roles in the etiol­ogy of different...

the genetic parameters and (co) variance components of body weight at birth (bw), weaning (ww) and six months of age (bw6) and average daily gain (adg) pre and post-weaning of afshari sheep were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood (reml) methodology and animal model implemented in dfreml software. the likelihood ratio test (lrt) was used to compare the models. year of birth, age of mo...