With the progress of industrialization, physical environmental factors, such as traffic and environmental noise, have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Although antioxidant vitamins and trigonelline-containing compounds are known to improve the arterial function, their relationship with noise has not yet been fully investigated. This study aimed to investigate the effects of oral antioxidant vitamins and trigonelline-containing supplements on the vascular endothelial function during transient noise exposure. A single-blind crossover comparative study evaluated the vascular endothelial function in response to noise exposure in ten healthy men. Subjects were assigned to either the P trial (taking only a placebo) or a T trial (taking only trigonelline-containing vitamin supplementation) group where they took the assigned substance for 3 consecutive days. On the final day, they received an average noise exposure of 85 dB for 15 min. The FMD of the brachial artery was measured before and after noise exposure. No significant differences SBP, DBP, or HR before and after noise exposure were observed between the two trials groups. At 0 min after noise exposure, the FMD was higher in the T trial group than in the P trial group, and a significant difference was observed between the two conditions. It has been suggested that taking a vitamin supplement containing trigonelline before transient noise exposure may suppress the decline in the vascular endothelial function.

Endurance exercises, such as cycling or running, are useful for reducing arterial stiffness. However, individuals with a low physical fitness level, or patients suffering from leg diseases with pain, are unable to perform such moderate-intensity lower-limb exercises for long periods of time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of acute cycling with Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) on the brachial to ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV). Ten healthy adult men performed 3 sessions, as follows of 20 min: cycling at 50% VO2max (C), cycling at an intensity of 50%VO2max subtracted from VO2 during EMS (LC), and cycling at the intensity of the LC trial while also being combined with EMS (LC+E). The ba-PWV was measured before and after each exercise. In addition, the femoral artery blood flow (BF) was measured in eight healthy adult men before and after exercise using an ultrasound imaging system. In the C and LC+E trials, the ba-PWV significantly decreased immediately after the exercise session, whereas the ba-PWV did not significantly change following the LC trial in any session. Compared with the baseline, the femoral artery BF values significantly increased after all trials. In the C and LC+E trials, the femoral artery BF was significantly greater than that in the LC trial. Acute endurance low-intensity cycling with EMS results in a reduction in the arterial stiffness which is similar to that with moderate-intensity exercise.

A 24-year-old man was admitted to another hospital due to fever and chest and back pain. Enhanced chest computed tomography showed an aneurysm between the distal aortic arch and left pulmonary artery. The patient was transferred to our hospital for surgery. Because of suspicion of an infectious ductus arteriosus aneurysm, antibiotic therapy was started. Urgent graft replacement of the descending aorta was performed on the third day due to the enlargement of the aneurysm. All blood cultures including the preoperative examination, and the aneurysmal culture were negative. The histopathological study showed non-specific inflammatory response with plasma cell, T lymphocyte, and B lymphocyte infiltrations. There was no evidence of infection. Eventually we diagnosed this patient as having a ductus arteriosus aneurysm with non-specific inflammation. The antibiotic therapy was terminated on postoperative day 10, and the postoperative course was uneventful.

Heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco smoking has spread throughout the market. While it is suggested that HNB tobacco smoking reduces the vascular endothelial function and is associated with a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The antioxidant of vitamin C may attenuate the unfavorable effects of HNB tobacco smoking. In the present study, we examined the effect of oral vitamin C ingestion on the flow-mediated dilation (FMD) at the brachial artery and oxidative stress markers in patients before and after transient HNB tobacco smoking. Twelve healthy adult males underwent high-resolution ultrasonography of the brachial artery and evaluations of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and the biological antioxidant potential (BAP) before and after a single session of HNB smoking. FMD was used to examine the endothelial function and the oxidative stress and antioxidant status were determined by using a FRES4 analyzer. In this randomized, crossover, controlled trial, measurements were performed on 2 different days 20 min after the oral administration of 1000 mg of ascorbic acid (VC trial) or a placebo (P trial). Although the FMD values decreased after a single HNB smoking session in both trials, the VC trial showed significantly higher values than the P trial at 60 and 120 min after smoking. Whereas the FMD values 120 min after smoking in the P trial were lower compared to the Pre values, there was no difference in the VC trial. These results suggested that the ingestion of vitamin C might suppress the decrease in the endothelial function caused by a single HNB smoking.

Endurance exercises such as cycling and running are useful for improving the arterial function and preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, subjects suffering from spinal cord injury (SCI) or lower limb osteoarthritis (OA) cannot perform these kinds of lower limb exercises. Recently, electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) has been shown to be able to increase the muscle strength and blood flow and improve the peripheral circulation. Arm-cranking exercises with EMS may therefore be able to reduce the risk of CVD for patients with SCI and lower OA. However, this point has not been fully clarified. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of submaximal arm-cranking exercise with EMS on arterial stiffness. Ten healthy young subjects performed submaximal arm-cranking exercise alone (A) and submaximal arm-cranking exercise with EMS (A+E). In the A+E trial, the submaximal arm-cranking exercise was performed at 30%VO2 max for 20 min while EMS was applied to their thigh and calf muscles during the exercise. The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) and heart rate (HR) were measured before and after each exercise. Immediately after the exercise session, the HR of the subjects in the A+E trial was significantly elevated in comparison to those in the A trial. The SBP and DBP did not differ between the two trials to a statistically significant extent. In the A+E trial, the ba-PWV was significantly reduced immediately after exercise in comparison to the A trial (1082.6 ± 105.9 cm·sec-1 vs. 1191.7 ± 86.7 cm·sec-1, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that arm-cranking exercise with EMS reduces arterial stiffness and might be useful for reducing the risk of CVD.

High-intensity interval exercise leads to greater improvements in the vascular endothelial function than continuous exercise at moderate intensity. However, few studies have been performed on the effects of repetition exercise consisting of high-intensity exercise followed by complete rest on the arterial function. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of repetition exercise on the vascular endothelial function determined by flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). Eleven healthy male subjects completed two exercise sessions on a cycle ergometer in a counterbalanced order. The exercise sessions were 20 min cycling at 50% maximal work rate (Wmax) (continuous exercise, CE) and 20 × 20-sec intervals at 100%Wmax interspersed with 40-sec intervals at complete rest (repetition exercise, RE). Before and after each protocol, the brachial systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured in the supine position. Relative FMD was assessed at rest and 30 and 60 min after each exercise regimen, and then the normalized FMD (nFMD) was calculated from the peak shear rate. The FMD significantly increased 30 min after RE (8.2 ± 1.5% to 11.5 ± 3.1%, p<0.01) and non-significantly increased 30 min after CE (7.5 ± 1.6% to 8.1 ± 2.1%, n.s.) before returning to baseline at 60 min after both exercise regimens. The FMD value at 30 min after RE was significantly greater than that at 30 min after CE (p<0.01). The nFMD (a.u.) significantly increased 30 min after RE (1.38 ± 0.64 to 2.00 ± 0.94, p<0.05) and non-significantly increased 30 min after CE (1.20 ± 0.54 to 1.49 ± 0.57, n.s.) before returning to baseline at 60 min after both exercise regimens. These results suggest that repetition exercise may lead to an acute improvement in the vascular endothelial function.

As well as active smoking, passive smoking is associated with a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The antioxidant vitamin C may inhibit the unfavorable effects of passive smoking. In this study, we investigated the effects of vitamin C ingestion on changes in the flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) at the brachial artery in patients exposed to transient passive smoking. The study participants included seven healthy adult males who were examined by high-resolution ultrasonography of the brachial artery before and after 15-minute of passive smoking. FMD was used to examine the endothelial function. Randomized crossover controlled trial, measurements were performed on two different days 120-minute after the oral administration of 1000mg of ascorbic acid (VC trial) or a placebo (P trial). Although the FMD values decreased after passive smoking in both trials, the FMD values of the VC trial were higher than those of the P trial, with significant differences between the trials observed immediately and 30-minute after passive smoking. The results of this study suggested that the ingestion of vitamin C may suppress the decrease in the vascular endothelial function caused by transient passive smoking.

No abstract available.
Rupture ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

No abstract available.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement