C-reactive Protein is an Independent Predictor of Left Ventricular Mass in Offspring of Hypertensive Subjects in Nigeria

Offspring of hypertensive parents have been shown to be at increased risk of developing systemic hypertension and adverse cardiovascular events later in life. The pathological antecedents of this are thought to be alterations in the structure and function of left ventricle. However, it is currently unclear if these abnormalities are due to genetic factors or a result of higher biomarker levels such as highly sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP). An improved understanding of the associations of hsCRP with left ventricular structure may offer additional insight. Therefore, this study aims at determining the correlation of left ventricular mass with hsCRP among offspring of hypertensive parentscomparedwith controls Methodology:A cross sectional Hospital based study, with 100 subjects and 100 controls. A questionnaire was administered to obtain relevant history, physical examination, blood tests, ECG, Echocardiography were done for the two groups. The results were analysed using SPSS 20.Results:The left ventricular mass and mass index wassignificantly elevated in the subjects compared with the control group. The median hsCRP was significantly higher in the subjects [1.85 (0.28-10.20) vs. 1.34 (0.17-8.49) mg/L: P<0.010]. It progressively increases significantly as the number of parent with hypertension increases [1.34(0.17-8.49), 2.00(0.28-9.66) and 2.54(0.91-10.20) mg/L P<0.001] from zero, to single and both parent respectively. There was a significant correlation between hsCRP levels, blood pressure, left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index (R= 0.165, 0.316, 0.274: P= 0.021, 0.004, 0.014) respectively.Conclusion:The study shows that offspring of hypertensive parents had higher echocardiographic left ventricular mass, left ventricular mass index and hsCRP levels compared with controls and this hsCRP increases as the number of parents with hypertension increases. Blood pressure and left ventricular mass index increase with increasing Plasma hsCRP: This may suggest possible role of hsCRP in the development of hypertension and cardiac remodeling

Evaluation of prooxidant-antioxidant balance in in vitro fertilization-conceived mice / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: Concerns about the safety of assisted reproductive technology (ART) have been raised, as some studies have shown elevated incidence rates of childhood cancer, asthma, allergies, and other diseases in ART-conceived babies. Findings regarding the health of ART-conceived babies are controversial. The present study was conducted to evaluate the prooxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) in in vitro fertilization (IVF)-conceived mice in comparison to naturally conceived offspring. METHODS: Mice (6–8 weeks) were divided into two groups (IVF-conceived and naturally conceived) matched by sex, age, weight, and litter size. A 1-mL blood sample was taken and the sera were separated. The oxidant-antioxidant balance was evaluated using a fast and reliable PAB assay. The results were expressed as mean±standard deviation. RESULTS: The mean PAB values (HK units) in the IVF-conceived and naturally conceived groups were 59.70±22.30 and 54.70±18.22, respectively (p=0.82). CONCLUSION: Since free radicals contribute to several pathological conditions and antioxidants play an important protective role against oxidative stress, evaluating the oxidant-antioxidant balance is very important. Although the results of this study showed that the quality of the defense mechanism against free radicals was not significantly different between the IVF-conceived and naturally conceived mice, other parameters of metabolic dysfunction need to be measured.

Role of Gibberellic and Indole Acetic Acid in Altering Ocular Structure and Function of Mother Rats and their Offspring.

Recently, plant growth hormones have been widely used in green houses and the consumptions of agriculture food products have markedly increased; however their toxicological aspects are still unclear. The aim of the present study is to illustrate the toxicities of plant growth hormones; gibberellic (GA3) and indole acetic acid (IAA) on ocular tissues of pregnant Wistar albino rats and their offsprings. Intra-gastric administration of either GA3 or IAA (100 mg/kg body weight) to mother rats were carried out for one month prior to conception as well as throughout gestation period (n=20). The control received saline-free organochemical compounds (n=10). At parturition, mother rats and their offsprings were sacrificed by light anesthesia, and their ocular regions were separated and investigated for light and transmission electron microscopy, immunochemical staining of Caspase-3, Bcl-2 and p53 and assessments of antioxidant enzymes and DNA fragmentation. Maternal administration of either GA3 or IAA was found to develop cataractous lenses to about 6% (3/20) in GA3-treatment and 4% (2/20) in IAA-treatment. The applied organochemical compounds developed retinopathy in mother rats and their offsprings. These were characterized by apparent damage of ganglion and nuclear cells. In mothers, the photoreceptor’s outer segment showed spotty dissolution of their stacked membranes while in offsprings, there was still lack of differentiation. The retinal tissue showed discrete positive immunostaining foci with P53, Pcl2 and caspase-3, especially in ganglion and nuclear cells compared with control. The antioxidant enzymes' catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR) and peroxidase (GPx) showed apparent depletion and vice versa for malondialdhyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the markers of cell death. DNA fragmentation was markedly detected. Finally, it was concluded that maternal administration of GA3 and IAA led to the development of retinopathy and development of cataractous lenses parallel to the increase of immunostaining of caspase-3, Pcl2 and P53 and decrease of the endogenous antioxidant system and increase of DNA damage.

Asociación de comorbilidades y funcionamiento global en hijos de padres con trastorno bipolar / Overall functioning in offsprings of parents with bipolar disorder and its association with clinical and sociodemographic variables

The presence of a psychiatric disorder in parents is associated with increased frequency of psychopathology in their offsprings. Children of parents diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) are at greater risk and lower function. However, it has not yet been determined precisely which clinical and sociodemographic factors are associated with the presentation of psychiatric disorders in this group of children and adolescents at risk. Under this framework, the aim of this study was to determine the clinical and sociodemographic variables associated with a lower function. We recruited 61 children and adolescents with ages ranging from six to 17. All of them were the children of parents with BD who were patients attended at the National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz. Clinical evaluation was developed by the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL), and Children's Global Assesment Scale (C-GAS) scale was used to established the overall functioning. Of the 61 evaluated 62.3% were women, the lowest function (defined by <81 points C-GAS) was found in 44.3% of women vs. 18% men (x²=3.29, p<0.043). Comorbidity with major depressive disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or op-positional defiant disorder conferred ten times greater risk of lower global function. Being a woman gives three times higher risk for a lower global function. Conclusion We found that the comorbid externalizing disorders and depression, as well as the female gender characteristics are linked to lower function in children and adolescents of parents with BD.

La presencia de un trastorno psiquiátrico en los padres se asocia con una mayor frecuencia de psicopatología en sus hijos. Así, los hijos de padres con diagnóstico de Trastorno Bipolar (TB) comparados con aquellos hijos de padres sin psicopatología tienen mayor riesgo de presentar distintos trastornos psiquiátricos, a edades más tempranas, así como disminución en su funcionamiento global, sin embargo aún no se han determinado con precisión cuáles son los factores clínicos y socio demográficos asociados a la presentación de trastornos psiquiátricos en este grupo de niños y adolescentes en riesgo. El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar y comparar las variables clínicas y socio demográficas asociadas a un menor funcionamiento global en una muestra de niños y adolescentes hijos de padres con TB. Previo asentimiento y consentimiento informado se reclutaron 61 menores de entre seis y 17 años de edad, hijos de padres con TB que fueran pacientes de la Clínica de Trastornos Afectivos del Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz. El diagnóstico de los menores se estableció mediante entrevista clínica utilizando el K-SADS-PL, y con la escala C-GAS se determinó el funcionamiento global. De los 61 evaluados, 62.3% fueron mujeres, el menor funcionamiento (definido por una puntuación <81) se encontró en el 44.3% de las mujeres vs. el 18% de los hombres (x²=3.29, p<0.043). Al evaluar la comorbilidad se encontró que los sujetos con trastorno depresivo mayor (TDM), trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad (TDAH) y trastorno negativista desafiante (TND) presentaron 10 veces mayor riesgo de cursar con menor funcionamiento global. Ser mujer confiere tres veces mayor riesgo para un menor funcionamiento. Conclusión Se encontró que la comorbilidad con trastornos externalizados y depresión, así como el género femenino, son las características vinculadas al menor funcionamiento global en hijos de padres con TB.

Early levothyroxine treatment during maternal subclinical hypothyroidism improves spatial learning of offspring in rats / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Objective To investigate the efficacy and optimal time of levothyroxine (L-T4) treatment in pregnant rats with subclinical hypothyroidism.Methods Female adult Wistar rats were divided into six groups (n =10 per group):control,hypothyroid (H),subclinical hypothyroid (SCH),and SCH treated with L-T4 starting from the tenth,thirteenth,and seventeenth gestational day (GD10,GD13 and GD17),to restore normal thyroid hormone levels.Spatial learning was assessed in progenies by a water maze test and fEPSPs recording.Results Progenies from the SCH and H groups demonstrated significantly longer mean latency in the water maze test and a lower amplification percentage of the fEPSPs' amplitude and slope compared with the offspring of the control group.L-T4 treatment in the GD10 and GD13 groups significantly shortened mean latency and increased the amplification percentage of the fEPSPs' amplitude and slope as compared with the progeny of rats with subclinical hypothyroidism.However,L-T4 treatment in the GD17 group showed only minimal effect on spatial learning of offspring.Conclusion Maternal subclinical hypothyroidism may impair spatial learning in the offspring; L-T4 treatment started early during pregnancy may alleviate this adverse effect.