MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Wistar rats were used for the experiments. Blood glucose (BG), urea, blood pressure (BP), and heart rate (HR) were analyzed before and 48 h after STZ injection. Further, these parameters were monitored up to 3 months of diabetes induction. Subsequently, the inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and nitrate) and oxidative stress markers were estimated after 3 months of diabetes induction in the kidney homogenate. Histological analysis of renal tissue was also carried out.
RESULTS: Linear elevation of BG, urea, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and HR was observed up to 3 months of diabetes induction. In the same manner, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were also found to be significantly increased. Notably, the histological analysis revealed the signs of nephropathy such as increased mesangial cell number, thickness of basement membrane, and renal artery. Inflammatory and oxidative stress markers positively correlated with elevated BP and BG, but the correlation was better with BP rather than BG.
CONCLUSION: Hypertension has a strong implication in the increased oxidative stress and inflammation of diabetic kidney at the very early stage of diabetes mellitus.
Materials and Methods: This randomized experimental study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, Chittagong Medical College, Chattogram, from July 2017 to June 2018. A total of 100 1st-year students, aged between 18 and 20 years, were included by a random sampling method. Fifty participants (25 males and 25 females) were enrolled in the experimental group, while age- and body mass index-matched another 50 participants (25 males and 25 females) served as the control group. Experimental group participants performed ANB exercise for 4 weeks. Cardiorespiratory parameters (pulse rate, blood pressure, forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1st s [FEV1], and peak expiratory flow rate [PEFR] were measured. Data were taken at the start and after 4 weeks in both groups.
Results: Independent t-test showed no significant differences in the cardiorespiratory functions between the experimental and control groups among the male and female participants, except for the females' PEFR which showed small differences. On the other hand, repeated measure ANOVA shows significant improvement in the experimental groups among males (P < 0.001-0.028) and females (P < 0.001-0.001) in all the cardiorespiratory functions measured, except for the FEV1 and PEFR among males.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that cardiorespiratory functions were improved after breathing exercise, and therefore, ANB can be recommended for increasing cardiorespiratory efficiency.
Methods: Secondary data that included patients' demographics, BP, and data on medicines availability of the intervention group from a 3 months' operational study conducted in rural PHC facilities in South Africa were analyzed. The association between medicines availability, the number of antihypertensive medicines, and BP control was explored.
Findings: Fifty-five African patients (89.1% females) with a mean age of 61.3 years were included. Two-thirds (67.2%) received all their medicines during their monthly visits, 25.5% received some, and for 7.3%, there was no record of whether medicines were dispensed or not. Patients with controlled BP (60.0%) were more likely to have been prescribed only one antihypertensive medicine compared to patients with uncontrolled BP (20.7%) (P = 0.017; odds ratio: 5.75; 95% confidence interval: 1.46, 22.61).
Conclusion: It is concerning that one-third of patients went home without all of their antihypertensive medicines from PHC facilities in this Province of South Africa where there is evidence of use of herbal medicines and uncontrolled BP contributing to high morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Additional studies are needed to fully explore the association between medicines availability, their use, and BP control among patients.