BACKGROUND Chronic stress is associated with cardiac remodeling; however the mechanisms have yet to be clarified. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was test the hypothesis that chronic stress promotes cardiac dysfunction associated to L-type calcium Ca2+ channel activity depression. METHODS Thirty-day-old male Wistar rats (70 - 100 g) were distributed into two groups: control (C) and chro...

Effects of oral administration of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist (selective AT(1)-subtype) irbesartan on glucose tolerance and insulin action on skeletal-muscle glucose transport were assessed in the insulin-resistant obese Zucker rat. In the acute study, obese rats received either vehicle (water) or irbesartan 1 hour before the experiment. Although irbesartan had no effect on glucose t...

Although it is well established that chronic hypoxia leads to an inexorable loss of skeletal muscle mass in healthy subjects, the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in this process are currently unknown. Skeletal muscle atrophy is also an important systemic consequence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the role of hypoxemia in this regulation is still debated. Our gener...

OBJECTIVE To correlate disease course and complications in children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and polymyositis (JPM) with specific features of muscle pathology on biopsy. METHODS This is a retrospective cohort analysis of 59 children diagnosed with JDM or JPM between 1965 and 1998 and followed at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) for a mean duration of 7.3 ye...

Cigarette smoke (CS) is a well-established risk factor in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In contrast, the extent to which CS exposure contributes to the development of the systemic manifestations of COPD, such as skeletal muscle dysfunction and wasting, remains largely unknown. Decreased skeletal muscle capillarization has been previously reported in early stag...

BACKGROUND Atrophy and fatty-infiltration of lower-extremity muscle after spinal cord injury (SCI) predisposes individuals to metabolic disease and related mortality. OBJECTIVES To determine the magnitude of atrophy and fatty-infiltration of lower-extremity muscles and related factors in a group of individuals with chronic SCI and diverse impairment. METHODS Muscle cross-sectional area and ...

intramuscular cavernous hemangiomas represent less than 1% of all hemangiomas. typical presentation is a soft-tissue mass and/or pain without cutaneous changes. whereas calcification of hemangiomas is common; ossification of these lesions is very rare. we describe a case of ossified intramuscular hemangioma of quadriceps presented with painless knee extension contracture and thigh mass.

BACKGROUND N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) are endogenous compounds that regulate inflammation and pain. These include the cannabinoid ligand anandamide (AEA) and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α ligand palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). Little is known as to the levels of NAEs in pain states in human, particularly in the skeletal muscle. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels...

1. Water andelectrolyte status in chronic renal failure has been measured by skeletal muscle biopsy. These results have been compared with a series of muscle biopsy specimens taken from the same muscle (vastus lateralis) of normal subjects. 2. The water content, especially of the extracellular phase, is increased in chronic renal failure : the extracellular sodium and chloride contents are also...

The underlying mechanism by which skeletal muscle adapts to exercise training or chronic energy deprivation is largely unknown. To examine this question, rats were fed for 9 wk either with or without beta-guanadinopropionic acid (beta-GPA; 1% enriched diet), a creatine analog that is known to induce muscle adaptations similar to those induced by exercise training. Muscle phosphocreatine, ATP, a...