Current Vascular Pharmacology - Volume 12, Issue 6, 2014

The mechanisms underlying initiation and progression of diabetic nephropathy are not well understood, despite the fact that diabetes represents the chief underlying cause of end-stage renal disease. The onset of diabetic hyperglycemia is now known to evoke functional alterations in the renal microvasculature, glomeruli and tubular epithelium. Although the scope of these effects is not yet fully recognized, the renal vascular dy Read More

Ischemic stroke causes vascular paralysis and impaired autoregulation in the brain, the degree of which is dependent on the depth and duration of ischemia and reperfusion (I/R). Ischemic stroke also impairs the myogenic response of middle cerebral arteries (MCA) that may be an underlying mechanism by which autoregulation is impaired. Myogenic responses are affected by I/R through several mechanisms, including product Read More

Renal autoregulation maintains stable renal blood flow in the face of constantly fluctuating blood pressure. Autoregulation is also the only mechanism that protects the delicate glomerular capillaries when blood pressure increases. In order to understand autoregulation, the renal blood flow response to changing blood pressure is studied. The steadystate response of blood flow is informative, but limits investigation of the Read More

The existence of arterial myogenic tone was first described by Bayliss in 1902, however, its association with pressure-dependent membrane depolarization was not observed until 1984. The factors that mediate myogenic arterial constriction remain unknown. One possible clue was a finding by our laboratory that cerebral arterial muscle cells express CYP 4A ω-hydroxylase enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the p Read More

Autoregulation of renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate is an essential function of the renal microcirculation. While the existence of this phenomenon has been known for many years, the exact mechanisms that underlie this regulatory system remain poorly understood. The work of many investigators has provided insights into many aspects of the autoregulatory mechanism, but many critical components remain elu Read More

Intrinsic arterial myogenic function comprises the degree of constriction (myogenic tone), the arterial constriction to an increase in intraluminal pressure and vice versa (myogenic response), and forced dilation at high intraluminal pressure. Although the development of myogenic tone at 40-60 mmHg involves the influx of calcium (Ca2+) through voltage- dependent Ca2+ channels and an elevation in arterial intracellular Ca2 Read More

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is associated with a decrease in renal myogenic tone - part of renal autoregulatory mechanisms. Novel class of drugs used for the treatment of T2DM, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, have protective effects on the cardiovascular system. A Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rat is an animal model of T2DM that displays progressive Read More

Diabetes and hypertension are the leading causes of chronic kidney disease and their incidence is increasing at an alarming rate. Both are associated with impairments in the autoregulation of renal blood flow (RBF) and greater transmission of fluctuations in arterial pressure to the glomerular capillaries. The ability of the kidney to maintain relatively constant blood flow, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and glomerula Read More

One of the major functions of the kidney is to maintain constant renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate in response to increases in renal perfusion pressure. This phenomenon is referred to autoregulation and involves two independent mechanisms: tubular glomerular feedback and myogenic response. The latter, the renal myogenic response, involves constriction of the preglomerular vasculature to increases in tran Read More

Clinical trials demonstrated that statin therapy is associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality when used for either primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Several studies have shown that statins, having an important effect in the prevention of acute coronary syndromes, are also able to prevent heart failure (HF) in patients with coronary artery disease. This review Read More

Background/Objective: Statins have well-established cardiovascular benefits, and recent evidence suggests that discontinuing statin therapy after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is harmful. Our objective was to assess the association between statin discontinuation post-AMI and 1-year all-cause mortality in a real world setting. Methods: Data on survivors of AMI between 2000 and 2007 were extracted from the hospital disc Read More

Low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) and fondaparinux are widely used for prophylaxis and treatment of venous thromboembolic disease in cancer patients. However, the optimization of the antithrombotic treatment especially in patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is a challenging issue. The understanding of the mechanism of action of the LMWHs and fondaparinux in cancer-induced hypercoagulability Read More

Introduction: The aim of the current study was to investigate the outcomes of coronary reperfusion therapies and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients of Eastern countries with economies in transition. Federation, and Serbia. The overall population consisted of 23,486 consecutive patients admitted to hospitals from January 1st to December 31st 2009. Registry data and statistics from the Organization f Read More