Cardiovascular Protective Effects of Adjunctive Alternative Medicine (Salvia miltiorrhiza and Pueraria lobata) in High-Risk Hypertension.

Introduction. Hypertension in association with diabetes (DM), renal impairment (RI), and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) increases the risk of future cardiovascular events. We hypothesize, traditional herbal medicines Danshen and Gegen (D&G) have beneficial effects on atherogenesis in these high-risk hypertensive subjects. Subjects and Methods. 90 asymptomatic hypertensive subjects associated with LVH (63.3%), DM (62.2%), or RI (30%) were randomized to receive D&G herbal capsules 1 gm/day, 2 gm/day, or identical placebo capsules in double-blind and parallel fashion for 12 months. Brachial flow-mediated dilation (endothelium-dependent dilation, FMD) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were measured by ultrasound. All data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences in Windows 16.0. Results. Their mean age was 55 ± 8 years, and 74.4% were male. After 12 months of adjunctive therapies and compared with baseline, there were no significant changes in blood pressure, heart rate, hematological, glucose, and creatinine profiles in both placebo and D&G groups. FMD improved significantly during D&G (P = 0.0001) and less so after placebo treatment (P = 0.001). There was a mild but significant decrease in carotid IMT after D&G (P < 0.001) but no significant changes after placebo. A trend of better improvement in FMD after higher versus lower D&G dosages was seen. D&G were well tolerated, with no significant adverse events or blood biochemistry changes. Conclusion. D&G adjunctive treatment was well tolerated and significantly improved atherogenesis in high-risk hypertensive patients, with potential in primary atherosclerosis prevention.

Effect of dexamethasone on mRNA levels for 5-aminolevulinate synthase in different rat tissues.

5-Aminolevulinate synthase mRNA levels from different tissues were quantitated by Northern blot hybridization analysis utilizing the rat liver 5-aminolevulinate synthase cDNA clone as probe. A 5-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA species of size 2.3 kb was seen in all the tissues examined. Densitometric scanning of the autoradiographs demonstrated that the adrenal gland contained the largest amount of 5-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA. Levels corresponding to approximately 50% of this amount were found in the small intestine, lung, heart, muscle and testes. In the liver and kidney the level was approximately 25% of that found in the adrenal gland. These results demonstrate the housekeeping role of this gene. Dexamethasone treatment for 1 day or 5 days dramatically induced 5-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA levels in the liver and small intestine, and to a lesser extent in lung, heart, kidney and muscle. Nuclear run-off experiments suggest that a post-transcriptional mechanism predominantly contributes to the dexamethasone-induced increase in 5-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA levels observed in the liver. Interestingly, in the steroidogenic tissues of the adrenal gland and testes, there was a substantial decrease in 5-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA levels after dexamethasone administration but the mechanism of this control remains to be investigated.

Optical phase-conjugate correction for propagation distortion in nonreciprocal media.

We demonstrate experimentally that the effects of nonreciprocal elements or media that would otherwise spoil phase conjugation can be neutralized by using a tandem combination of a modal- and polarization-scrambling fiber and a phase-conjugate mirror. A theoretical model to explain the experimental results is presented.

Bistable oscillations with a self-pumped phase-conjugate mirror.

Optical bistable oscillation beams with a self-pumped phase-conjugate mirror are reported. The results of an experimental demonstration are given, and an explanation based on the threshold of oscillation is presented.

Nondegenerate optical oscillation in a resonator formed by two phase-conjugate mirrors.

We find experimentally and explain theoretically that in a resonator bounded by two phase-conjugate mirrors (PCM's), unlike in resonators with one PCM and one conventional mirror, the oscillation frequency differs from that of the pumping beams. Using BaTiO(3) for the PCM, we find extremely small deltaomega/omega approximately 10(-15).

Experimental studies of phase conjugation with depleted pumps in photorefractive media.

We describe the experimental measurement of phase-conjugate reflectivity versus various ratios of input-beam intensities in photorefractive barium titanate and strontium barium niobate crystals. The experimental results are compared with the theoretical prediction from the coupled-wave theory. Three different methods to measure the nonlinear coupling constant of the crystal are also presented and compared.

Theory of laser oscillation in resonators with photorefractive gain.

A theory for oscillation in an optical resonator with photorefractive gain was formulated. The threshold conditions for the oscillation were also obtained. The result, applicable to a whole class of new devices, is a prediction for an oscillation frequency different from that of the pump beam.