Comprehensive assessment of metabolic syndrome among rural Bangladeshi women.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MS), defined as a constellation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, is one of the fastest growing public health burdens in the Asia-Pacific region. This trend is despite the fact that people in this region are no more overweight than Europeans and Americans. Unfortunately, in South Asia, MS screening has only been performed in a few countries other than Bangladesh. Therefore the present study is designed to conduct a comprehensive screening of MS in Bangladeshi rural women, which includes estimation of prevalence and assessment of risk factor. METHODS: A total of 1535 rural Bangladesh women aged ≥ 15 years were studied using a population based cross-sectional survey. The prevalence of MS was estimated using NCEP ATP III, modified NCEP ATP III and IDF criteria. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of MS were 25.60% (NCEP ATP III), 36.68% (modified NCEP ATP III), and 19.80% (IDF), as revealed by the present study. Furthermore, based on the NCEP ATP III criteria, 11.60% of the subjects were found to have excess waist circumference; 29.12% had elevated blood pressure, 30.42% had elevated fasting plasma glucose level, 85.47% had low HDL values and 26.91% had increased triglyceride values. Low plasma HDL level was found to be the most common abnormality in the target population and elevated waist circumference was the least frequent component. CONCLUSIONS: The present study reveals a high prevalence of MS and its associated risk factors in rural Bangladeshi women. These findings are important in that they provide insights that will be helpful in formulating effective public health policy, notably the development of future health prevention strategies in Bangladesh.

Dynamic expression of tenascin-C after myocardial ischemia and reperfusion: assessment by 125I-anti-tenascin-C antibody imaging.

UNLABELLED: Tenascin-C, an extracellular matrix glycoprotein, appears only in the early stages of embryonic development. It is not normally expressed in the adult heart but does reappear transiently in distinct areas in association with active tissue remodeling. The aim of this study was to explore serial changes in the expression of tenascin-C after myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, using (125)I-labeled anti-tenascin-C antibody ((125)I-TNC-Ab) in a rat model of acute ischemia and reperfusion. METHODS: The left coronary artery was occluded for 20 or 30 min, followed by reperfusion for 1, 3, or 7 d in rats with 20 min of ischemia and for 1, 3, 7, 14, or 28 d in rats with 30 min of ischemia. At the time of the study, (125)I-TNC-Ab (1.0-2.5 MBq) was injected. Three to 5 h later, to verify the area at risk, (99m)Tc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (100-200 MBq) was injected intravenously just after the left coronary artery reocclusion and the rats were sacrificed 1 min later. Dual-tracer autoradiography was performed to assess (125)I-TNC-Ab uptake and the area at risk. RESULTS: In rats with 20 min of ischemia, (125)I-TNC-Ab uptake peaked at 3 d after reperfusion, followed by faint uptake after 7 d (uptake ratios at 1, 3, and 7 d after reperfusion were 1.81 +/- 0.53, 2.46 +/- 0.79, and 1.23 +/- 0.17, respectively [P < 0.05 vs. 3 d]). In rats with 30 min of ischemia, uptake was high at 1 and 3 d after reperfusion (2.99 +/- 0.90 and 2.71 +/- 0.80, respectively), decreased at 7 and 14 d (1.94 +/- 0.23 and 2.06 +/- 0.37, respectively), and was weak at 28 d (1.47 +/- 0.27, P < 0.005 vs. 1 d, P < 0.05 vs. 3 d). CONCLUSION: These data indicate that (125)I-TNC-Ab imaging may be a way to monitor myocardial injury and its repair process after ischemia and reperfusion by visualizing tenascin-C expression.

Early validation study of 64-slice multidetector computed tomography for the assessment of myocardial viability and the prediction of left ventricular remodelling after acute myocardial infarction.

AIMS: We aim to validate the ability of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for assessing myocardial viability and predicting left ventricular (LV) remodelling after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS AND RESULTS: In 52 consecutive patients with first AMI, 64-slice MDCT without iodine re-injection was performed immediately following coronary stenting. Electrocardiogram-gated thallium-201 single-photon emission tomography was performed using QGS programs within 5 days and 6 months after onset. Among the 52 patients, 18 patients (Group A) showed transmural contrast-delayed enhancement on MDCT images, 20 patients (Group B) showed subendocardial contrast-delayed enhancement, and 14 patients (Group C) had no contrast-delayed enhancement. In the acute phase, peak creatine kinase-MB [497 (189-744), 182 (90-358), 85 (40-204) IU/mL, respectively, P = 0.0004] was significantly higher in Group A, while the incidence of myocardial blush grade 3 (22, 67, 75%, respectively, P = 0.001) and LV ejection fraction (41 +/- 7, 53 +/- 12, 62 +/- 11%, respectively, P < 0.0001) were significantly lower in Group A. During the 6-month period, LV remodelling (P = 0.001) and the number of rehospitalization for heart failure (P = 0.0017) were more significantly observed in Group A. CONCLUSION: Myocardial contrast-delayed enhancement patterns provide promising information regarding myocardial viability, LV remodelling, and prognosis in AMI.