The survival advantage of milk and dairy consumption: An overview of evidence from cohort studies of vascular diseases, diabetes and cancer

Objectives: To conduct it detailed evaluation, with meta-analyses, of the published evidence on milk and dairy consumption and the incidence of vascular diseases and diabetes. Also to summarise the evidence on milk and dairy consumption and cancer reported by the World Cancer Research Fund and then to consider the relevance of milk and dairy consumption to survival in the UK, a typical Western community. Finally, published evidence on relationships with whole milk and fat-reduced milks was examined. Methods: Prospective cohort studies of vascular disease and diabetes with baseline data on milk or dairy consumption and a relevant disease outcome were identified by searching MEDLINE, and reference lists in the relevant published reports. Meta-analyses of relationships in these reports were conducted. The likely effect of milk and dairy consumption on survival was then considered, taking into account the results of published overviews of relationships of these foods with cancer. Results: From meta-analysis of 15 studies the relative risk of stroke and/or heart disease in subjects with high milk or dairy consumption was 0.84 (95% CI 0.76, 0,93) and 0.79 (0.75, 0.82) respectively, relative to the risk in those with low consumption. Four studies reported incident diabetes as an outcome, and the relative risk in the Subjects with the highest intake of milk or diary foods was 0.92 (0.86, 0.97). Conclusions: Set against the proportion of total deaths attributable to the life-threatening diseases in the UK, vascular disease, diabetes and cancer, the results of meta-analyses provide evidence of an overall survival advantage from the consumption of milk and dairy foods.

Chronic Diseases: Chronic Diseases and Development 2 Health, agricultural, and economic effects of adoption of healthy diet recommendations

Transition to diets that are high in saturated fat and sugar has caused a global public health concern as the pattern of food consumption is a mayor modifiable risk factor for chronic non-communicable diseases Although agri food systems are intimately associated with this transition, agriculture and health sectors are largely disconnected in their priorities policy, and analysis with neither side considering the complex inter relation between agri trade patterns of food consumption health, and development We show the importance of connection of these perspectives through estimation of the effect of adopting a healthy diet on population health, agricultural production trade the economy and livelihoods, with a computable general equilibrium approach On the basis of case studies from the UK and Brazil we suggest that benefits of a healthy diet policy will vary substantially between different populations, not only because of population dietary intake but also because of agricultural production trade and other economic factors

Mitochondrial ion transport pathways: Role in metabolic diseases

Mitochondria are the central coordinators of energy metabolism and alterations in their function and number have long been associated with metabolic disorders such as obesity, diabetes and hyperlipidemias. Since oxidative phosphorylation requires an electrochemical gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane, ion channels in this membrane certainly must play an important role in the regulation of energy metabolism. However, in many experimental settings, the relationship between the activity of mitochondrial ion transport and metabolic disorders is still poorly understood. This review briefly summarizes some aspects of mitochondrial H(+) transport (promoted by uncoupling proteins, UCPs). Ca(2+) and K(+) uniporters which may be determinant in metabolic disorders. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clinical evaluation of enalapril maleate and furosemide usage in dogs with degenerative myxomatous mitral valve, CHF functional class Ib

A doença degenerativa mixomatosa da válvula mitral (DDMVM) é uma cardiopatia de alta incidência na clínica médica de pequenos animais, acometendo mormente cães idosos e raças de pequeno porte. Desta forma, foi realizada uma investigação científica objetivando avaliar clinicamente a utilização dos fármacos maleato de enalapril e furosemida em cães com a referida enfermidade na classe funcional Ib da ICC, antes e após a terapêutica implantada. Para isso, utilizaram-se 16 cães portadores da valvulopatia supracitada, distribuídos em dois grupos; com o primeiro recebendo furosemida (n=8) e o segundo maleato de enalapril (n=8), durante 56 dias. Os cães foram avaliados em quatro momentos (T0, T14, T28 e T56 dias) quanto aos sinais clínicos e parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímico-séricos, que incluíram concentrações séricas da enzima conversora da angiotensina (ECA) e aldosterona, como também avaliações radiográficas, eletrocardiográficas, ecodopplercardiográficas e da pressão arterial. Os resultados quanto aos parâmetros clínicos, avaliações hematológicas e bioquímicas séricas não revelaram alterações significativas em ambos os grupos, mas reduções significativas nos valores de ECA e aldosterona no grupo que recebeu o maleato de enalapril foram identificadas. Ao exame radiográfico observou-se reduções nos valores de VHS e na variável onda Pms do eletrocardiograma em ambos os grupos, mas sem alterações nos valores da pressão arterial. Por sua vez, o ecodopplercardiograma evidenciou diminuição significativa das variáveis DIVEd/s nos grupos estudados e na FEC% nos cães que receberam somente enalapril. Portanto, a análise dos resultados encontrados indicou que a monoterapia fundamentada no maleato de enalapril apresentou melhor eficiência no controle do quadro clínico em pacientes da classe funcional Ib da ICC.

Tricuspid valve dysplasia and Ebstein's anomaly in dogs: case report

Dois casos de displasia da valva tricúspide são relatados neste trabalho. Os cães foram avaliados devido à fraqueza e presença de ascite. em ambos os casos, o exame ecocardiográfico mostrou insuficiência tricúspide e, em um deles, a inserção dos folhetos da valva tricúspide encontrava-se deslocada para baixo do ventrículo direito, caracterizando a anomalia de Ebstein. A terapia medicamentosa para insuficiência cardíaca congestiva foi iniciada, mas um dos animais veio a óbito subitamente alguns dias após o diagnóstico. O outro cão, apesar de inicialmente ter apresentado melhora significativa do quadro clínico, apresentou morte súbita. A necropsia dos animais revelou dilatação atrioventricular direita e folhetos tricúspides espessados. As características clínicas, métodos de diagnóstico e terapia medicamentosa são discutidas neste artigo.

Clinical and pathological assessment of 82 patients with cardiovascular diseases undergoing autopsy at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu from 1988 to 1993

OBJECTIVE: To evaluated the clinical diagnostic, efficiency for basic death causes in patients dying of circulatory disease and de relative frequency of those diseases. METHODS: Analysis of medical record data of 82 patients, ages from 16 to 84 years old (68 over 40 years old), whose died of circulatory disease and had undergone necropsy in the period from 1988 to 1993 years in the University Hospital of Medicine Faculty of Botucatu-UNESP, Br. RESULTS: The functional class of patients were III or IV, in 78%, and 81.7% needed urgent hospitalization. By the clinical judgment the death were by ischemic heart disease in 32 (21 acute myocardial infarction), Chagas'disease in 12, valvopathy in 11, cardiomyopathy in 7, heart failure with no specification of cardiopathy in 11 and other causes in 9. At the necropsy the death cause was ischemic heart disease in 34 patients, valvopathy in 10, Chagas'disease in 10, cardiomyopathy in 5, and heart failure with no specification of cardiopathy in 2.The concordance taxes were in thhe same order: 94,6%, 90,0%, 83.3%, 71.4% and 28.5%. CONCLUSION: There was a great efficiency of clinical diagnosis for death cause in a general university hospital. The ischemic heart disease were the main causes of death.

Chest associated to motor physiotherapy acutely improves oxygen saturation, heart rate and respiratory rate in premature newborns with periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Observations anatomiques concernant la valve atrioventricuiaire gauche humaine

30 hearts of male and female, white and non-white Brazilians of different ages were studied. The leaflets of the left atrioventricular valves were removed near the fibrous ring and anatomically studied under chirurgical microscope. The authors observed: the leaflet's shape, the presence of commissures, the implantation manner of the chordae tendineae and the distribution on the leaflets. Special attention was concentrated on the terminology used by different authors for the structures of the 'mitral complex'.

Relações pressão-diâmetro e esforço-diâmetro do ventrículo esquerdo em seres humanos. Padronização e análise crítica do método.

PURPOSE--To provide a critical analysis of the fluid filled manometric system and M-mode echocardiography and, by their association, to standardize the determination of left ventricular (LV) pressure-diameter and stress-diameter relationships in humans. MATERIAL AND METHODS--The pressure curve and the LV M-mode image was obtained in 24 patients with cardiopathy. The dynamic characteristics of the fluid-filled system have been studied to define the amplitude, the resonance and the time gap of the pressure curve register. The delay of the pressure curve recording was determined in all cases by comparing pressure curve and echocardiographic aortic valve registers. The values of pressure, diameter, posterior wall thickness and LV meridional stress was calculated at every 0.02s. RESULTS--Preliminary analyses of the fluid-filled manometric system indicated that this system has variable dynamic characteristics. The pressure-diameter and stress-diameter loops obtained were similar to those of the literature. The values of end-systolic stress, percentage of fractional shortening, ejection fraction and circumferential fiber shortening rate of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 5) were significantly reduced when compared to the values of patients without left ventricular overload (n = 8) and patients with ventricular volume overload. It has been verified, also, that the retard of the pressure curve record introduced by the fluid-filled manometric system does not modify the values of these variables. CONCLUSION--The LV pressure-diameter and stress-diameter relationships obtained by the association of echocardiography and LV manometry showed functional characteristics of the ventricle that could not appear by the use of the echocardiography or by the LV manometry themselves.

Gastrointestinal changes associated to heart failure

Over the last decade, several studies were conducted on the gastrointestinal changes associated to chronic heart failure. This article presents a literature review on the physiopathology and clinical consequences of pathological digestive changes of heart failure patients. Structural and functional abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract, such as edema of absorptive mucosa and intestinal bacterial overgrowth, have been leading to serious clinical consequences. Some of these consequences are cardiac cachexia, systemic inflammatory activation and anemia. These conditions, alone or in combination, may lead to worsening of the pre-existing ventricular dysfunction. Although currently there is no therapy specifically earmarked for gastrointestinal changes associated to heart failure, the understanding of digestive abnormalities is germane for the prevention and management of systemic consequences.

Estudo da variabilidade da frequência cardíaca em cães

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Integrative aspects of the relationship between stress and heart rate variability

The literature indicates stress as a response of the organism to a stimulation that requires enormous efforts to adapt to the changes in the environment and the body. When an individual is subjected to stress, the autonomic nervous system is triggered, the sympathetic pathway is activated, and the parasympathetic system is suppressed, which exerts several effects on the cardiovascular system and affects heart rate variability. This research aimed to conduct a literature review to find and analyze the studies that address clearly the implications of stress on heart rate variability. The methodology employed was an active search in the databases SciELO, PubMed and Lilacs. The results were five articles, most of which suggest a relationship between stress and heart rate variability. We observed that the majority of the studies indicated a strong association between stress and cardiac autonomic activity. The stress is present in the daily activities of the population, especially in labor. The subject is vast, however, were observed in the references the effects of stress on the body making it vulnerable to diseases. Thus, this information may contribute to the aid of preventive strategies against stress and diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart rate variability: a literature update

Background: The literature indicates that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects cardiac autonomic control. In this study, we conducted a literature review in order to investigate the heart rate variability (HRV) in COPD subjects. Methods: A search was performed in Medline database, using the link between the keywords: “autonomic nervous system”, “cardiovascular system”, “COPD” and “heart rate variability”. Results: The search resulted in a total of 40 references. Amongst these references, the first exclusion resulted in the barring of 29 titles and abstracts, which were not clearly related to the purpose of review. This resulted in a total of 11 articles that were then read and utilized in the review. The selected studies indicated that there is significant reduction of HRV in patients with COPD, characterized by reduction of indices that assess parasympathetic activity in addition to dealing with the global autonomic modulation. We also established that supervised exercise can reduce these harmful effects in COPD patients. Also, it was reported that the use of non-invasive ventilation in these patients may contribute to the improvement of respiratory symptoms, with no impairing, and may even induce positive responses in cardiac autonomic regulation. Conclusion: The studies indicate a need for further investigations to guide future therapies to improve the treatment of cardiovascular system in the respiratory diseases.

Rutin ameliorates glycemic index, lipid profile and enzymatic activities in serum, heart and liver tissues of rats fed with a combination of hypercaloric diet and chronic ethanol consumption

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Antidepressivo modula o comportamento e a expressão gênica das cadeias de miosina, serca2 e fosfolambam em ratos com insuficiência aórtica?

Introduction: Aortic insufficiency (AoI), a volume overload, is characterized by the diastolic reflux of blood from the regurgitating aorta to the left ventricle. This effect results from malfunctioning aortic cusps. The main cause of AoI in developing countries is rheumatic fever, including Brazil, and valvar degeneration in developed countries. There is a strong association between cardiovascular diseases and depression. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are one of the most prescribed antidepressants in the world. Previous studies of our laboratory showed that the utilization of a SSRI, paroxetine, improved cardiac function in rats with sub-chronic AoI and reduced the daily ingestion of hypertonic sodium (NaCl 0,3M). Cardiovascular diseases can determine behavior changes like increase of anxiety, and it is yet unknown if AoI would determine anxiety or anhedonia, incapacity of obtaining pleasure through physical or sensorial experiences. A possible target for SSRI action could be a change in the expression of enzyme isoforms that collaborate in the contractile function of the heart muscle, like the heavy chains of myosine, the sarcoplasmatic reticulum Ca2+/ATPase (SERCA) and its regulator protein, phospholamban (PLB). Objectives: Evaluation of behavior parameters for anxiety and anhedonia state and genic expression of a-myosine, b-myosine, SERCA2a and PLB in the heart tissue of rats with subchronic AoI that received treatment with an SSRI (paroxetine) for 4 weeks. Methods: Surgery to induce AoI was performed on male Wistar rats, anxiety was evaluated by the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and state of anhedonia was tested by ingestion of 2% sucrose solution. After euthanasia the heart tissue was collected and total RNA was extracted to be analyzed by the RT-qPCR method. Results: Heart fractional shortening was preserved in rats with AoI that were treated compared to rats with AoI that were not treated. There was no statistically ...