PURPOSE Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a protein belonging to the lipocalin superfamily and plays a role in atherosclerosis, renal injury and inflammation. The present study aimed to investigate serum NGAL concentrations in groups of patients with dipper and non-dipper hypertension (HT) and to characterize the relationship between NGAL concentration and circadian blood pre...

To activate selectively cortical ON and OFF pathways, I measured pattern contrast discrimination functions and manipulated contrast polarity (positive and negative) of base contrast (C) and added contrast (delta C). C was a large, long-duration cosine mask and delta C was a brief, localized, spatially narrow-band "D6" pattern. For same polarity C and delta C, contrast discrimination followed a ...

BACKGROUND Endoglin is involved in the regulation of endothelial function, but there are no studies concerning its relation with hypertension- and diabetes-associated pathologies. Thus, we studied the relationship between plasma levels of soluble endoglin and cardiovascular alterations associated with hypertension and diabetes. METHODS We analyzed 288 patients: 64 with type 2 diabetes, 159 wi...

BACKGROUND The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate cardiac autonomic function by heart rate turbulence (HRT) indices in normotensive and hypertensive individuals with either non-dipper or dipper type circadian rhythm of blood pressure (BP). METHODS A total of 122 patients were allocated into four groups: normotensive/dipper, n = 33; normotensive/non-dipper, n = 31; hypertensive/...

The "reverse dipping" blood pressure (BP) pattern has been studied among the general population and in individuals suffering from hypertension. However, the prognosis of this pattern in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is not known. We monitored BP throughout the day and followed health outcomes in 588 CKD patients admitted to our hospital. Time to all-cause mortality, cardiovascular morta...

Fukuda M, Wakamatsu-Yamanaka T, Mizuno M, Miura T, Tomonari T, Kato Y, Ichikawa T, Miyagi S, Shirasawa Y, Ito A, Yoshida A, Kimura G. Angiotensin receptor blockers shift the circadian rhythm of blood pressure by suppressing tubular sodium reabsorption. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 301: F953–F957, 2011. First published August 24, 2011; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00167.2011.— Recently, we found that an a...

OBJECTIVE The lack of nocturnal decline in blood pressure (BP) is associated with an increase in cardiovascular events. Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is an uncomfortable feeling in which the patient wants to budge the legs with ache in the legs. RLS also increases the hypertension and cardiovascular risk. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between dipping and non-dipping blood p...