ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the changes in the myocardial ultrastructure of diabetic rats and the effect of enalapril treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups, namely the control group, diabetic group and enalapril intervention group. Diabetes was induced with peritoneal injection of streptozotocin in the latter 2 groups, and in enalapril group, the rats were treated with enalapril at the daily oral dose of 2 mg/kg for 1, 3 and 5 months after streptozotocin injection. Histological analysis of the left ventricular tissue was performed with transmission electron microscope 1, 3, and 5 months after establishment of diabetes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Onset of myocardial damages was observed 1 month after the development of diabetes in the rats with gradual time-dependent exacerbation. Enalapril treatment could partially reverse the myocardial destruction in the diabetic rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Enalapril intervention may improve the ultrastructural pathology of the myocardium in diabetic rats, which is suggestive of the action mechanisms of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in myocardium preservation.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Male , Rats , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors , Pharmacology , Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental , Drug Therapy , Pathology , Enalapril , Pharmacology , Myocardium , Rats, Wistar , StreptozocinABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the the effect of microalbuminuria of combined treatment with fosinopril and losartan,or fosinopril,losartan monotherapy in patients with hypertension.Methods In this double-blind, intention to treat study,136 patients with hypertension were randomly assigned to receive fosinopril 10 mg/d(n= 50),losartan 50 mg/d(n=41),or a combination of fosinopril 5 mg and losartan 25 mg (n=45) qd for 4 weeks, followed by titrating to the maximum recommended doses for another 4 weeks.The primary endpoint was the difference of mean sitting blood pressure and microalbuminuria excretion at baseline and week 8.Results At week 8,the combination of fosinopril and losartan therapy lowered mean mieroalbuminuria from baseline by 26.1?10~(-8) mol/L,significantly more than either monotherapy approaches (fosinopril 20 mg,18.3?10~(-8)mol/L,P
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide (PAMP) on nitric oxide (NO) production in rat cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) induced by angiotensin II (AngII) stimulation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Neonatal SD rat CFs isolated by trypsin digestion were cultured and stimulated with PAMP, AngII or their combination, and NO production in the CFs in response to the treatments was measured by nitric acid reductase method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>NO levels in the cell culture treated with 1x10(-9), 1x10(-8), 1x10(-7), and 1x10(-6) micromol/L AngII were 73.88-/+2.23, 64.34-/+3.02, 54.12-/+2.82, and 40.21-/+1.45 micromol/L, respectively, showing significant differences between the groups (P<0.01), whereas treatment of the cells with 1x10(-9), 1x10(-8), 1x10(-7), and 1x10(-6) micromol/L PAMP did not result in significant variation in NO production (74.40-/+3.42, 74.91-/+2.66, 75.77-/+3.31, and 74.23-/+2.43 micromol/L, respectively) in comparison with that of the blank control group (74.57-/+2.49 micromol/L, P>0.05). Combined treatments with 1x10(-7) micromol/L AngII and PAMP at 1x10(-9), 1x10(-8), 1x10(-7), and 1x10(-6) micromol/L PAMP caused significant increment of NO production (66.15-/+2.95, 80.58-/+3.77, 88.67-/+1.46, and 96.22-/+2.96 micromol/L, respectively, P<0.01) in a PAMP dose-dependent manner, suggesting the abolishment of AngII-induced enhancement of NO production in the CFs by PAMP.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>PAMP increases NO production in the CFs in the presence of AngII but it does not induce significant changes in NO production when used alone.</p>