BACKGROUND: The relationship between dietary glycemic index, glycemic load and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and stroke-related mortality is inconsistent.

METHODS: We systematically searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Science Citation Index Expanded databases using glycemic index, glycemic load, and cardiovascular disease and reference lists of retrieved articles up to April 30, 2012. We included prospective studies with glycemic index and glycemic load as the exposure and ...

BACKGROUND: Recent studies on genome-wide association have identified common variants on chromosome 9p21 associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). Given that ischemic stroke and CAD share several aspects of etiology and pathogenesis, we investigated the association of variants on chromosome 9p21 with ischemic stroke and CAD in the Chinese Han population by capturing the majority of diversity in this locus using haplotype-tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

METHODS AND RESULTS: ...

BACKGROUND: The haplotypes in the gene vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1) have been found to affect warfarin dose response through effects on the formation of reduced-form vitamin K, a cofactor for gamma-carboxylation of vitamin K-dependent proteins, which is involved in the coagulation cascade and has a potential impact on atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that VKORC1-dependent effects on the coagulation cascade and atherosclerosis would contribute to susceptibility ...

Cytochrome P450 arachidonic acid (AA) epoxygenase metabolites, the epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), dilate arteries via hyperpolarization of smooth muscle cells and also have nonvasodilatory effects within the vasculature. The present study investigated the angiogenic effects of endogenous and exogenous EETs and the relevant signaling mechanisms involved. Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) were incubated with synthetic EETs or infected with recombinant adeno-associated viruses ...

In Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) fibroblasts, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase activity regulates the metabolism of endogenous linoleic acid to (13S)-hydroperoxyoctadecadienoic acid (13S)-HPODE). (13S)-HPODE stimulates EGF-dependent mitogenesis in a SHE cell phenotype, which expresses tumor suppressor genes (supB+), but was not effective in a variant that does not express these suppressor genes (supB-). In the present study, we have investigated the potential effects ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It is still controversial whether elevated plasma homocysteine and the C677T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene are risk factors for stroke. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the 2 factors and stroke in Chinese in a large case-control study.

METHODS: We recruited 1823 stroke patients (807 cerebral thrombosis, 513 lacunar infarction, 503 intracerebral hemorrhage) and 1832 controls. Total plasma ...

NEDD4L is involved in the regulation of plasma volume and blood pressure by controlling cell surface expression of the kidney epithelial Na(+) channel. Previously, the cryptic splice variant rs4149601(G/A) A allele of NEDD4L, generating isoform I, was estimated to decrease blood pressure by downregulating Na(+) reabsorption. However, a recent functional study showed that isoform I should lead to abnormal Na(+) reabsorption increases by antagonistically downregulating epithelial Na(+) ...

Our study aimed to explore whether left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), abnormal LV geometry and relative wall thickness (RWT) are associated with an increased risk of stroke in a hypertensive Chinese population. This study included 462 stroke patients and 3808 non-stroke hypertensive patients. LVH was diagnosed using the criteria of LV mass ⩾49.2 g m−2.7 for men and 46.7 g m−2.7 for women. A partition value of 0.43 was used for RWT. LV geometric patterns (normal, concentric remodeling, ...

PURPOSE: Protein kinase plays an essential role in controlling cardiac growth and hypertrophic remodeling. The cardiac troponin I-interacting kinase (TNNI3K), a novel cardiac specific kinase, is associated with cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. However, the precise function of TNNI3K in regulating cardiac remodeling has remained controversial.

METHODS AND RESULTS: In a rat model of cardiac hypertrophy generated by transverse aortic constriction, myocardial TNNI3K expression was significantly ...

BACKGROUND: At the APOE gene, encoding apolipoprotein E, genotypes of the ε2/ε3/ε4 alleles associated with higher LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels are also associated with higher coronary risk. However, the association of APOE genotype with other cardiovascular biomarkers and risk of ischaemic stroke is less clear. We evaluated the association of APOE genotype with risk of ischaemic stroke and assessed whether the observed effect was consistent with the effects of APOE genotype on LDL-C or ...

Ca2+ cycling plays a critical role in heart failure and lethal arrhythmias. As susceptibility to sudden cardiac death is considered to be a heritable trait in general population, we have therefore investigated whether potentially functional variants of genes encoding RyR2 (ryanodine receptor 2) and the L-type Ca2+ channel are related to the risk of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in CHF (chronic heart failure) in a case-control study. We found that the A allele of ...

BACKGROUND: The effect of isoflavone on endothelial function in postmenopausal women is controversial.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral isoflavone supplementation on endothelial function, as measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), in postmenopausal women.

DESIGN: A meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials was conducted to evaluate the effect of oral isoflavone supplementation on endothelial function in postmenopausal women. Trials ...

OBJECTIVES: Regulatory T (Treg) cells have been shown to play a protective role in experimental atherosclerosis. However, it is unclear whether Tregs can protect from rupture of vulnerable plaque in patients with atherosclerosis. Demethylation of the DNA encoding the transcription factor forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) was found to be essential for the stable maintenance of the suppressive properties of Tregs. We aimed to evaluate Treg levels in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) using ...