Objective To investigate the effects of physical exercises on cardiac function and plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in hypertensive patients combined with diastolic cardiac dysfunction.MethodsA total of 66 essential hypertension patients who had abnormal left ventricular relaxation and normal systolic function were assigned to the intervention group ( n =33 ; doing physical exercises once a day,5 days a week) or control group (n =33 ).All the patients received standard treatment.At 6 months,body weight,blood pressure,heart rate,NT-proBNP,and echocardiography were measured.ResultsAt 6 months,body weight [ (68 ± 7 ) kg vs (72 ± 8 ) kg ],systolic blood pressure [ (135.4 ±5.1) mm Hg (1 mm Hg =0.133 kPa) vs (141.9 ±5.2) mm Hg ],diastolic blood pressure [ (81.1 ±4.0) mm Hg vs (84.7 ±4.6) mm Hg],New York Heart Association class (1.4 ±0.3 vs 1.8 ±0.4),NT-proBNP level [ (526 ± 126 ) ng/L vs (741 ± 189 ) ng/L] were significantly decreased in the intervention group when compared with the control group ( all P ＜ 0.05 ) although left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (62.9 ±6.7 vs 59.0 ±5.6) and E/A ratio ( 1.1 ±0.3 vs 0.9 ±0.3) were significantly increased ( both P ＜ 0.05).ConclusionPhysical exercises could play a role in reduced blood pressure and body weight and improved cardiac function in hypertensive patients with diastolic cardiac dysfunction.

OBJECTIVETo improve the oral bioavailability of patchoulic alcohol in rats by using self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems (SMEDDS).

METHODPatchoulic alcohol was separated and purified from patchoulic oil, and the SMEDDSs including patchoulic alcohol or patchoulic oil were optimized by pseudo-ternary phase diagrams via central composite design-response surface methodology. Pharmacokinetics of both SMEDDSs and patchoulic alcohol itself in rats were investigated.

RESULTThe patchoulic alcohol SMEDDS (Cremophor EL-Tween 80-PEG 400-isopropyl myristate-patchoulic alcohol, 2:2:0.8:1.95:0.65) was considered as the optimized formulation. The mean drop size of the system was 30. 1 nm after diluted 100 folds in water. The average self-microemulsifying time was 142 s. Patchoulic alcohol SMEDDS and patchoulic oil SMEDDS showed no signficant difference in Tmax compared with patchoulic alcohol with around 60 minutes, while the AUCs of both SMEDDSs (2001 745.6 +/- 329 663.6) and (1594 005.6 +/- 280 150.3) microg x min x L(-1) were significantly higher than that of patchoulic alcohol (1 163 153.3 +/- 232 324.3) microg x min x L(-1).

CONCLUSIONSMEDDS can effectively improve the oral bioavailability of patchoulic alcohol in rats.

Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Biological Availability ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; Drug Delivery Systems ; methods ; Drug Stability ; Emulsifying Agents ; chemistry ; Ethanol ; chemistry ; Female ; Particle Size ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Self Administration ; Sesquiterpenes ; chemistry ; Solubility