5 research outputs found
Renin-Angiotensin System Blockade Associated with Statin Improves Endothelial Function in Diabetics
No full textAbstractBackground:Studies suggest that statins have pleiotropic effects, such as reduction in blood pressure, and improvement in endothelial function and vascular stiffness.Objective:To analyze if prior statin use influences the effect of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors on blood pressure, endothelial function, and vascular stiffness.Methods:Patients with diabetes and hypertension with office systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mmHg had their antihypertensive medications replaced by amlodipine during 6 weeks. They were then randomized to either benazepril or losartan for 12 additional weeks while continuing on amlodipine. Blood pressure (assessed with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring), endothelial function (brachial artery flow-mediated dilation), and vascular stiffness (pulse wave velocity) were evaluated before and after the combined treatment. In this study, a post hoc analysis was performed to compare patients who were or were not on statins (SU and NSU groups, respectively).Results:The SU group presented a greater reduction in the 24-hour systolic blood pressure (from 134 to 122 mmHg, p = 0.007), and in the brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (from 6.5 to 10.9%, p = 0.003) when compared with the NSU group (from 137 to 128 mmHg, p = 0.362, and from 7.5 to 8.3%, p = 0.820). There was no statistically significant difference in pulse wave velocity (SU group: from 9.95 to 9.90 m/s, p = 0.650; NSU group: from 10.65 to 11.05 m/s, p = 0.586).Conclusion:Combined use of statins, amlodipine, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors improves the antihypertensive response and endothelial function in patients with hypertension and diabetes
Functional Vascular Study in Hypertensive Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes Using Losartan or Amlodipine
No full textBackground: Antihypertensive drugs are used to control blood pressure (BP) and reduce macro- and microvascular complications in hypertensive patients with diabetes. Objectives: The present study aimed to compare the functional vascular changes in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after 6 weeks of treatment with amlodipine or losartan. Methods: Patients with a previous diagnosis of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly divided into 2 groups and evaluated after 6 weeks of treatment with amlodipine (5 mg/day) or losartan (100 mg/day). Patient evaluation included BP measurement, ambulatory BP monitoring, and assessment of vascular parameters using applanation tonometry, pulse wave velocity (PWV), and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery. Results: A total of 42 patients were evaluated (21 in each group), with a predominance of women (71%) in both groups. The mean age of the patients in both groups was similar (amlodipine group: 54.9 ± 4.5 years; losartan group: 54.0 ± 6.9 years), with no significant difference in the mean BP [amlodipine group: 145 ± 14 mmHg (systolic) and 84 ± 8 mmHg (diastolic); losartan group: 153 ± 19 mmHg (systolic) and 90 ± 9 mmHg (diastolic)]. The augmentation index (30% ± 9% and 36% ± 8%, p = 0.025) and augmentation pressure (16 ± 6 mmHg and 20 ± 8 mmHg, p = 0.045) were lower in the amlodipine group when compared with the losartan group. PWV and FMD were similar in both groups. Conclusions: Hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with amlodipine exhibited an improved pattern of pulse wave reflection in comparison with those treated with losartan. However, the use of losartan may be associated with independent vascular reactivity to the pressor effect
Sunshine and Blue Skies
No full textThe novel follows Maxwell Romaro and his husband Dylan, two world renowned assassins. After faking their deaths seven years ago, Maxwell and Dylan have been living a cozy life in Cleveland with their daughter, Sunshine. But when an old friend, DeLeon, calls in a favor to Maxwell, both men are dragged across the world and back into their old lives. Between betrayal and bloodshed, Maxwell and Dylan need to find out who put a bounty on them and their daughter or one of them may end up dead. Told through several character's perspectives, the book holds an action packed plot with twists and turns as the villain is revealed and his plan is set in motion.
The first chapter follows Maxwell's perspective while he's in Moscow fulfilling the task DeLeon asked him to do and is betrayed by the end of the chapter. The second chapter follows Dylan at their home in Cleveland learning about what happened in Moscow and must go to Russia to save Maxwell and stop the bounty on his daughter and husband at the source. Chapter three follows Maxwell again as Dylan gets to his side and they regroup. Chapter four changes perspective to DeLeon who is with the villain, Peter. From there, every chapter after follows Maxwell and Dylan trying to find out where DeLeon is and what he knows about the person trying to kill them. As the story progresses, Peter tries to make them feel the same pain he felt eight years ago during a bombing in Barcelona that left him with nothing. Moving forward, the author can't wait to show Peter's background and write several more battle scenes with cinematic action and suspense to leave the reader guessing who will come out of this alive.Purchase College SUNYCreative WritingBachelor of ArtsFerrell, Monic
Reimplementation of the Potjans-Diesmann cortical microcircuit model: from NEST to Brian
No full text1AbstractThis work targets the replicability of computational models to provide the community with tested and proven open-source models to be used in new studies and implementations. The Potjans-Diesmann model describes a cortical microcircuit containing two cell types (excitatory and inhibitory) distributed in four layers, and represents the cortical network below a surface of 1 mm2. The original implementation of the Potjans-Diesmann model was based on the NEST simulator and our goal here was to re-implement the model in the Brian 2 simulator and obtain the same results presented in the reference article. We did not replicate analyses that involve changes in the network structure. Our replicated network model presents activity dynamic patterns very similar to the ones observed in the original model, with comparisons made in terms of firing rates and synchrony and irregularity measures. In conclusion, the Potjans-Diesmann model was successfully replicated in a different platform than the one in which it was originally implemented.</jats:p
[Re] The cell-type specific cortical microcircuit: relating structure and activity in a full-scale spiking network model
No full text<p>A reference implementation of "The cell-type specific cortical microcircuit: relating structure and activity in a full-scale spiking network model, T.C. Potjans, M. Diesmann, Cerebral Cortex, 24 (3): 785-806, 2014. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhs358"</p>
