Association of Serum Glucocorticoids with Various Blood Pressure Indices in Patients with Dysglycemia and Hypertension: the Henan Rural Cohort Study / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Objective@#To our knowledge, no definitive conclusion has been reached regarding the relationship between glucocorticoids and hypertension. Here, we aimed to explore the characteristics of glucocorticoids in participants with dysglycemia and hypertension, and to analyze their association with blood pressure indicators.@*Methods@#The participants of this study were from the Henan Rural Cohort study. A total of 1,688 patients 18-79 years of age were included in the matched case control study after application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Statistical methods were used to analyze the association between glucocorticoids and various indices of blood pressure, through approaches such as logistic regression analysis, trend tests, linear regression, and restricted cubic regression.@*Results@#The study population consisted of 552 patients with dysglycemia and hypertension (32.7%). The patients with co-morbidities had higher levels of serum cortisol ( @*Conclusions@#Serum deoxycortisol was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, mean arterial pressure, mean blood pressure, and mean proportional arterial pressure. Glucocorticoids (deoxycortisol and cortisol) increase the risk of hypertension in people with dysglycemia, particularly in those with T2DM.

Maternal Lead Exposure Induces Down-regulation of Hippocampal Insulin-degrading Enzyme and Nerve Growth Factor Expression in Mouse Pups / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Lead exposure is a known potential risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Exposure to lead during the critical phase of brain development has been linked with mental retardation and hypophrenia in later life. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of lead exposure of pregnant mice on the expressions of insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the hippocampus of their offspring. Blood samples were collected from the tail vein, and after anesthetizing the pups, the brain was excised on postnatal day 21. Lead concentrations were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and the expressions of IDE and NGF were determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Results showed that the reduction in IDE and NGF expression in the hippocampus of pups might be associated with impairment of learning and memory and dementia induced by maternal lead exposure during pregnancy and lactation.

Relationship between microalbuminuria and cognition in primary hypertension patients / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship between microalbuminuria and cognitive impairment in primary hypertensive patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 200 hypertensive patients were included in this study. Blood pressure, body height and weight, total cholesterol, triglyceride, fasting plasma glucose, 2 hour-postprandial blood sugar, insulin level and urine protein were measured. Microalbuminuria and urine creatinine were determined in patients without proteinuria. The risk stratification of hypertension was evaluated. The cognitive function and calculate scores were tested by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and patients were divided into two groups: > 24-scores were classified as normal cognition group, < or = 24-scores as impaired cognition group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the 200 hypertensive patients, proteinuria was detected in 25 patients. There was no significant difference in the cognitive function between patients with and without proteinuria (P > 0.05). There were significant differences on age, educational level, occupation, smoking, history of coronary heart disease, history of cerebrovascular disease, the risk stratification of hypertension, microalbuminuria/creatinine ratio, postprandial insulin level, cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure between normal cognition function group and impaired cognition function group (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that microalbuminuria, educational level and the risk stratification of hypertension were significantly correlated to cognition impairment (all P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Educational level, the risk stratification of hypertension and microalbuminuria are associated with cognitive impairment in this patient cohort.</p>