Relationship between ambulatory arterial stiffness index and the severity of angiographic atherosclerosis in patients with H-type hypertension and coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate coronary artery disease (CAD) and its correlation with the ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) in patients with H-type hypertension (essential hypertension combined with hyper-homocysteinemia) and coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Patients with essential hypertension and CHD who were undergoing coronary angiography were enrolled. The general clinical data, biochemical indicators, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring results and coronary angiography results of the selected patients were collected, and the AASI and Gensini scores were calculated. According to homocysteine (Hcy) levels, the patients were divided into two groups: a study group and a control group. The differences in general clinical data, biochemical indexes, AASI scores and degree of coronary artery lesions between the two groups were compared. The correlation between the AASI and the Gensini score and the relationship between the AASI and the Gensini score of CAD and various factors were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the Hcy level in the study group was significantly increased (8.16 ± 2.33 vs 19.20 ± 2.36, P = .001). The 24-h diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group (76.38 ± 9.33 vs 79.91 ± 9.25, P = .002), and the AASI was significantly higher than in the control group (0.62 ± 0.81 vs 0.420 ± 0.70, P = .001). The number of patients having coronary stenoses with a Gensini score of ≤ 38 was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group (21.3% vs 49.4%, P < .001). The number of patients with a Gensini score of ≥ 51 in the study group was significantly higher than in the control group (22.0% vs 18.8%, P < .001). There was a significant positive correlation between the AASI and the Gensini score in the study group (R = 0.732, P < .001). Hypertension duration (ß = 0.168), diabetes history (ß = 0.236), 24-h SBP (ß = 0.122), 24-h DBP (ß = -0.131), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ß = 0.134) and Hcy (ß = 0.233) were the influencing factors for AASI (P < .05). Both Hcy * AASI (ß = 0.356) and Hcy × 24-h HR (ß = 0.331) had a synergistic effect on the Gensini score (P = .017), with Hcy * AASI having a more significant effect on the Gensini score (P < .001). CONCLUSION: The AASI was significantly increased in patients with H-type hypertension and CHD, which was associated with the severity of CAD. Therefore, Hcy levels and the AASI have a synergistic effect when evaluating the severity of CAD in patients with hypertensive CHD.

Assessment of the Relationship Between Red Cell Distribution Width and Multiple Sclerosis.

Accumulating data have shown that immune and inflammatory factors are involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), and loss of polyunsaturated fatty acids from plasma and blood cell membranes has also been reported in patients with MS, contributing to the variation of erythrocyte deformability. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to assess the association between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and MS. A total of 109 patients with MS and 130 healthy individuals were enrolled into the study, and MS patients receiving treatment of subcutaneous recombinant Rebif (IFN-ß1a) were followed retrospectively. Complete blood cell counts and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score were evaluated in patients with MS before and after treatment. RDW values were significantly higher in patients with MS compared with the controls (13.6 ± 0.89 vs 12.8 ± 0.38, P < 0.001); a positive correlation between RDW and EDSS score was observed in patients with MS (r = 0.789, P < 0.001). Significant differences in the value of RDW and EDSS score were observed between treatment-naive patients and treated patients (13.6 ± 0.95 vs 12.7 ± 0.44, P < 0.001; 3.6 ± 1.39 vs 1.5 ± 0.60, P < 0.001). RDW was associated independently with MS in logistic regression analysis (odds ratio = 7.007; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.461-14.187; P < 0.001), and receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) analysis showed that a RDW measurement >13.11% evaluated MS with a sensitivity of 70.0% and a specificity of 84.7%, and the area under the ROC curve for RDW was calculated as 0.80 (95% CI 0.739-0.859, P < 0.001). The level of RDW was decreased in treatment responders with the reduction of EDSS score; a strong relationship was also observed in treatment responders between RDW and EDSS score (r = 0.733, P < 0.001), and covariance analysis indicated RDW values decreased significantly in treatment responders (P = 0.025). Our results suggest that elevated RDW values are associated with EDSS score in patients with MS, and the relationship is remarkably influenced by Rebif treatment; RDW may be a useful marker to estimate disability status and treatment effectiveness in patients with MS.

Association between Serum Fructosamine and Kidney Function in Nondiabetic Individuals without Chronic Kidney Disease.

BACKGROUND: Serum fructosamine (SF) has been considered to be an indicator that estimates glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). There is increasing evidence that SF concentration and oxidative stress are significantly elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the data about SF and its association with kidney function are lacking in nondiabetic individuals without CKD. We included 1891 nondiabetic individuals who had not been diagnosed with CKD to determine the association between SF and kidney function. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis on the basis of the biochemistry database in nondiabetic individuals without CKD. RESULTS: When eligible participants were stratified in accordance with SF quartiles, from the bottom to the top quartile of SF, a significant decrease of estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was observed in baseline data. SF concentration was negatively associated with estimated GFR (r=-0.066, P=0.004) in the Pearson correlation analysis. Estimated GFR was associated with SF levels independently of glucose (GLU), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and total protein (TP) in multivariable logistic regression analysis (OR=0.984; CI 95% 0.977-0.991; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that mild elevation of SF concentration is associated with estimated GFR in nondiabetic individuals without CKD. These findings indicate that SF may underlie CKD in nondiabetic individuals.

[Human lamada-interferon expressed in BHK-21 cell line and its bioactivity].

AIM: To construct the eukaryotic expressing vector PCAGG -HuIFN-lambda1 and PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda2 and to study the biological activity of HuIFN-lambda1and HuIFN-lambda2. METHODS: The cDNA fragment encodding HuIFN-lambda1 and HuIFN-lambda2 was amplified from the total RNA extracted from virus-induced HeLa cells by RT-PCR. Then it was cloned into the eukaryotic expressing vector PCAGG-EGFP. The recombinant was transfected into BHK-21 cells. VSV*GFP-A549 system was used to measure the anti-virus activity.The constructed cell line MDBK-Mxp-Luc was used to study the characteristics of MxA protein induced by the products of PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda1 and PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda2. RESULTS: The recombinant vector HuIFN-lambda1-PMD18-T Vector was enzymed by Sac I and Xho I while HuIFN-lambda2-PMD18-T Vector was enzymed by Sac I and Sal I. The fragments were both 610 bp and they were consistent with nucleotide sequences reported in GenBank. The anti-virus activity of protein expressed by PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda1 and PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda2 was 10(4) IU/mL and 10(2) IU/mL, respectively. The protein expressed by PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda1 and PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda2 induced the expression of the anti-virus protein MxA. The expression of protein MxA induced by PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda1 increased with the passage of time, reaching the peak during 9 to 12 hours and disappearing in 24 hours. CONCLUSION: The eukaryotic expressing vector of PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda1 and PCAGG-HuIFN-lambda2 has been successfully constructed and transiently expressed in BHK-21 cells. The anti-virus activity of the products is closely correlated with inducing the expression of anti-virus protein MxA.