J-shaped association between dietary zinc intake and new-onset hypertension: a nationwide cohort study in China / 医学前沿

We aimed to investigate the relationship of dietary zinc intake with new-onset hypertension among Chinese adults. A total of 12,177 participants who were free of hypertension at baseline from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were included. Dietary intake was assessed by three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls combined with a household food inventory. Participants with systolic blood pressure ≽ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≽ 90 mmHg or diagnosed by a physician or under antihypertensive treatment during the follow-up were defined as having new-onset hypertension. During a median follow-up duration of 6.1 years, 4269 participants developed new-onset hypertension. Overall, the association between dietary zinc intake and new-onset hypertension followed a J-shape (P for non-linearity < 0.001). The risk of new-onset hypertension significantly decreased with the increment of dietary zinc intake (per mg/day: hazard ratio (HR) 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88-0.98) in participants with zinc intake < 10.9 mg/day, and increased with the increment of zinc intake (per mg/day: HR 1.14; 95% CI 1.11-1.16) in participants with zinc intake ≽ 10.9 mg/day. In conclusion, there was a J-shaped association between dietary zinc intake and new-onset hypertension in general Chinese adults, with an inflection point at about 10.9 mg/day.

Effects of pretreatment with nicorandil on PDCD4/NF-κB/TNF-α pathway in coronary microembolization / 中华急诊医学杂志

Objective To investigate the role of nicorandil pretreatment on protecting myocardium after coronary microembolization (CME) and on the PDCD4/NF-κB/TNF-α signaling pathway in miniature pigs. Methods Fifteen Bama miniature pigs were randomly(random number) divided into the sham operation group (sham group), microembolization group (CME group) and CME plus nicorandil group, with 5 pigs in each group. The CME model was constructed by injecting polyethylene microspheres via microcatheter into the left anterior descending artery, and pigs in the sham group were injected with the same amount of saline. Pigs in the CME plus nicorandil group were injected intravenously with nicorandil (150 μg/kg) via ear vein 30 min before CME. Cardiac function indexes were measured using cardiac ultrasonography. The expression of PDCD4 and TNF-α mRNA in myocardium were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR, and the protein expression of PDCD4 and TNF-α in myocardium were detected by Western blotting. NF-κB activation was evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Results (1) Cardiac function was significantly lower and the level of serum cTnI was significantly higher in the CME group compared with the sham group. CME reduced myocardial systolic dysfunction and left ventricular dilatation. The CME plus nicorandil group showed improved CME-induced cardiac function and reduced serum cTnI level when compared with the CME Group (P < 0.05). (2) Compared with the CME group, the CME plus nicorandil group showed lower PDCD4 and TNF-α expression and NF-κB activity as well as improved cardiac function (P < 0.05). Conclusions The pretreatment of nicorandil effectively reduced the myocardial damage caused by CME, mainly through inhibiting the PDCD4/NF-κB/TNF-α pathway in cardiomyocytes.