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Influence of exercise training and eating behavior on arterial stiffness in young healthy students.
Sîrbu, E, Buzaș, R, Mihăescu, R, Suceava, I, Lighezan, D
Wiener klinische Wochenschrift. 2015;(13-14):555-60
Abstract
AIM: Increased arterial stiffness is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to compare arterial function and other anthropometric parameters in trained vs sedentary, healthy young students. Furthermore, the study explores the relationship between arterial stiffness and eating behavior in these students. METHODS Two groups of healthy university students were recruited for this study. The first group consisted of 10 men and 8 women (mean age: 23.27 ± 3.2 years) with an athletic predisposition. Furthermore, over the course of 6 months this group participated in 60-min training sessions designed as interval training circuits with a frequency of three to five times a week. For comparison, a group of age-matched sedentary students (5 men and 13 women; 24.27 ± 2.6 years) were recruited from the same institution. Weight, height, body mass index (BMI), as well as neck and abdominal circumferences (ABs) were recorded. Arterial tension, heart rate, arterial stiffness measurements were simultaneously determined. Lastly, all students completed a 51-item "Eating Behavior Patterns Questionnaire". RESULTS Age, weight, BMI, AB, and blood pressure were not significantly different between the two groups (p > 0.05). The moderately aerobic trained students showed a significantly lower heart rate, neck circumference, and arterial stiffness as compared with their untrained, sedentary counterparts. Additionally, pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements were correlated to a lower weight, heart rate, blood pressure, AB, and neck circumference (p < 0.05) found in trained subjects at the end of the 6-month training period. Furthermore, the nutritional habit analysis showed that in the sedentary group, snacking, emotional eating, and cultural/lifestyle behaviors are positively correlated with PWV (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Healthy subjects with higher PWV may benefit from consistent aerobic exercise training to improve arterial stiffness. Our eating behavior study shows that healthy eating may improve vascular function and therefore can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
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Correlation between first-trimester uterine artery Doppler indices and maternal serum free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A.
Prefumo, F, Canini, S, Casagrande, V, Pastorino, D, Venturini, PL, De Biasio, P
Fertility and sterility. 2006;(4):977-80
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the correlation between first-trimester uterine artery Doppler measurements and maternal serum levels of free beta-hCG and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A). DESIGN Observational study. SETTING Teaching hospital. PATIENT(S): Four hundred thirty-three women at 10-14 weeks of gestation. INTERVENTION(S): Doppler ultrasound of the uterine arteries. Fluorimetric immunoassays for free beta-hCG and PAPP-A. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Uterine artery mean resistance index (RI), pulsatility index (PI), and number of early diastolic notches. Maternal serum levels of free beta-hCG and PAPP-A. RESULT(S): There were 401 uncomplicated pregnancies. In this group, free beta-hCG and PAPP-A did not significantly correlate with uterine artery RI or PI (r values between -0.089 and 0.029, all nonsignificant). Free beta-hCG and PAPP-A levels did not significantly change with the number of notches. Uterine artery resistance and PAPP-A levels were independently correlated with birth weight. CONCLUSION(S): Preliminary evidence suggests that first-trimester uterine artery Doppler measurements do not correlate with maternal serum levels of free beta-hCG and PAPP-A. This may allow their combined use in multivariate screening for pregnancy complications.
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Vascular adrenergic responsiveness is inversely related to tonic activity of sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerves in humans.
Charkoudian, N, Joyner, MJ, Sokolnicki, LA, Johnson, CP, Eisenach, JH, Dietz, NM, Curry, TB, Wallin, BG
The Journal of physiology. 2006;(Pt 3):821-7
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Abstract
In humans, sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) at rest can vary several-fold among normotensive individuals with similar blood pressures. We recently showed that a balance exists between SNA and cardiac output, which may contribute to the maintenance of normal blood pressures over the range of resting SNA levels. In the present studies, we assessed whether variability in vascular adrenergic responsiveness has a role in this balance. We tested the hypothesis that forearm vascular responses to noradrenaline (NA) and tyramine (TYR) are related to SNA such that individuals with lower resting SNA have greater adrenergic responsiveness, and vice-versa. We measured multifibre muscle SNA (MSNA; microneurography), arterial pressure (brachial catheter) and forearm blood flow (plethysmography) in 19 healthy subjects at baseline and during intrabrachial infusions of NA and TYR. Resting MSNA ranged from 6 to 34 bursts min(-1), and was inversely related to vasoconstrictor responsiveness to both NA (r = 0.61, P = 0.01) and TYR (r = 0.52, P = 0.02), such that subjects with lower resting MSNA were more responsive to NA and TYR. We conclude that interindividual variability in vascular adrenergic responsiveness contributes to the balance of factors that maintain normal blood pressure in individuals with differing levels of sympathetic neural activity. Further understanding of this balance may have important implications for our understanding of the pathophysiology of hypertension.
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Attenuation of inflammation with short-term dietary intervention is associated with a reduction of arterial stiffness in subjects with hypercholesterolaemia.
Pirro, M, Schillaci, G, Savarese, G, Gemelli, F, Mannarino, MR, Siepi, D, Bagaglia, F, Mannarino, E
European journal of cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation : official journal of the European Society of Cardiology, Working Groups on Epidemiology & Prevention and Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Physiology. 2004;(6):497-502
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increased arterial stiffness has been found in patients with chronic high-grade inflammatory diseases. Whether mitigation of low-grade systemic inflammation, through a low-cholesterol/low-saturated fat diet, may have a role in improving arterial stiffness is still untested. DESIGN We investigated whether variations in blood lipids and plasma C-reactive protein induced by low-cholesterol/low-saturated fat diet are associated with variations in large-artery stiffness in hypercholesterolaemia. METHODS Thirty-five patients with primary hypercholesterolaemia and 15 normal control subjects were recruited for the study. Hypercholesterolaemic patients followed an 8-week low-cholesterol/low-saturated fat diet (30% total fat, 5% saturated fat, cholesterol <200 mg/daily). Anthropometric characteristics, blood lipids, plasma C-reactive protein and arterial stiffness were measured at baseline and after the diet. RESULTS Arterial stiffness and C-reactive protein levels were higher in hypercholesterolaemic patients than in controls. Significant reductions in body weight (2 kg, 3%), plasma total cholesterol (13.4 mg/dl, 5.3%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (11.2 mg/dl, 6.4%), C-reactive protein (0.7 mg/l, 39%) and arterial stiffness (from 8.9+/-2.0 to 8.1+/-1.9 m/s, 11%) were achieved among hypercholesterolaemic patients after the 8-week diet (P<0.05 for all). Bivariate correlations and multivariate analysis showed reduction in arterial stiffness after short-term diet to be associated with reduction of plasma C-reactive protein levels (r=0.59, beta=0.38, P<0.05 for both). CONCLUSIONS Short-term low-cholesterol/low-saturated fat diet in hypercholesterolaemia may be effective in improving large artery stiffness, likely through the mitigation of low-grade systemic inflammation.