Biological Activity of a Coumarin Derivative on Heart Failure Using an Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Model.

Heart failure is a health problem worldwide. There are some drugs for it, including digoxin, spironolactone, captopril, and valsartan, but some of these drugs can produce secondary effects, such as arrhythmia, cough, hyperkalemia, hyponatremia and hypotension. The aim of this research was to evaluate the biological activity of coumarin (2H-chromen-2-one) and its derivatives (3BrAcet-C, 3-4Br-Ph-C, 4-CN-7D-C, 4-Me-7-Ph-C and 6Br-3-D-C) against ischemia/reperfusion injury as a therapeutic alternative for heart failure. In addition, the biological activity of the coumarin derivative 4-Me-7-Ph-C on left ventricular pressure (LVP) was determined in the absence or presence of ouabain and nifedipine at a dose of 1 nM using an isolated rat heart model. The results showed that i) the coumarin derivative 4-Me-7-Ph-C significantly decreased the infarct area (p+=+0.05) compared with 3BrAcet-C, 3-4Br-Ph-C, 4-CN-7D-C, and 6Br-3-D-C; and ii) 4-Me-7-Ph-C increased LVP in a dose-dependent manner, which effect was inhibited by nifedipine. These data suggest that coumarin 4-Me-7-Ph-C may act as a type-L calcium channel activator, so it could be a good agent to treat heart failure.

Poor quality of sleep in Mexican patients with type 2 diabetes and its association with lack of glycemic control.

AIMS: To determine the association between sleep quality and lack of glycemic control in a Mexican population of type 2 diabetes patients. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. Two hundred two patients between 20 and 60 years old with a previous diagnosis of diabetes were included. Sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and lack of glycemic control as a glycated hemoglobin A1c level ≥ 7 %. Univariate and multivariate analyses using logistic regression were performed. RESULTS: The study population showed poor sleep quality and a lack of glycemic control of 70.3 % and 69.8 %, respectively. The prevalence of patients with both conditions was 52.5 %. In multivariate analysis, poor sleep quality was significantly associated with a lack of glycemic control (OR = 2.3, p = 0.030). Other associated variables were napping (p = 0.015), diabetes duration (p = 0.011), insulin use (p = 0.024), and diastolic blood pressure ≥ 85 mmHg (p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of lack of glycemic control in the study population is high. Poor sleep quality significantly doubles the risk of lack of glycemic control, even in the presence of other risk factors.

Sleep Recovery Restored Neuroglobin Immunoreactivity in Rat LDTg-PPTg Nuclei.

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a protein member of the globin family, expressed mainly in the central and peripheral nervous system. It is involved in the transport of oxygen in response to hypoxic/ischemic and oxidative stress-related insults. We recently showed that sleep deprivation reduces the number of Ngb-positive cells in brain areas related to sleep. However, it is poorly understood whether Ngb expression correlates with sleep occurrence. Here, we aimed to study if sleep recovery produced by 24 h of sleep deprivation restores the number of Ngb-positive cells in the pedunculopontine tegmentum (PPTg) and laterodorsal tegmentum (LDTg), brain areas related to sleep-wake regulation. Male Wistar rats were sleep-deprived for 24 h using the gentle handling method. After sleep deprivation, rats were allowed a sleep recovery for three or six hours. After sleep recovery, rats were euthanized, and their brains processed for Ngb immunohistochemistry. We found that a 3 h sleep recovery is enough to restore the number of Ngb-positive cells in all the analyzed areas. A similar result was observed after a 6 h sleep recovery. These results suggest that Ngb expression is sleep dependent. We suggest that Ngb expression is involved in preventing cell damage due to prolonged wakefulness.

Papel de las alteraciones del sueño durante la gestación en la programación del feto para el desarrollo de obesidad y enfermedades crónicas degenerativas.

Sleep disturbances are common in the third trimester of pregnancy and generate changes in the secretion of melatonin in pregnant women who sleep less than eight hours or have sleep disturbances, which promote various physiological changes in the mother that in turn result in low birth weight (LBW) in the fetus. LBW is associated with a phenomenon known as "metabolic programming," in which the fetus is subjected to a stressful situation that results in irreversible metabolic alterations that predispose it to the development of obesity in adulthood.

En el tercer trimestre del embarazo son frecuentes las alteraciones del sueño, las cuales generan cambios en la secreción de melatonina en mujeres gestantes que duermen menos de ocho horas o presentan alteraciones de sueño, promoviendo diversos cambios fisiológicos en la madre, que a su vez derivan en bajo peso al nacimiento (BPN) en el producto. El bajo peso al nacimiento está asociado con un fenómeno conocido como "programación metabólica", en la que el feto es sometido a estrés que tiene como resultado alteraciones metabólicas irreversibles que lo predisponen al desarrollo de obesidad en la edad adulta.

Papel de las alteraciones del sueño durante la gestación en la programación del feto para el desarrollo de obesidad y enfermedades crónicas degenerativas / Role of sleep disturbances during pregnancy in the programming of the fetus for development

Resumen En el tercer trimestre del embarazo son frecuentes las alteraciones del sueño, las cuales generan cambios en la secreción de melatonina en mujeres gestantes que duermen menos de ocho horas o presentan alteraciones de sueño, promoviendo diversos cambios fisiológicos en la madre, que a su vez derivan en bajo peso al nacimiento (BPN) en el producto. El bajo peso al nacimiento está asociado con un fenómeno conocido como "programación metabólica", en la que el feto es sometido a estrés que tiene como resultado alteraciones metabólicas irreversibles que lo predisponen al desarrollo de obesidad en la edad adulta.

Abstract Sleep disturbances are common in the third trimester of pregnancy and generate changes in the secretion of melatonin in pregnant women who sleep less than eight hours or have sleep disturbances, which promote various physiological changes in the mother that in turn result in low birth weight (LBW) in the fetus. LBW is associated with a phenomenon known as "metabolic programming," in which the fetus is subjected to a stressful situation that results in irreversible metabolic alterations that predispose it to the development of obesity in adulthood.