Narrow Results

This study was designed to measure changes in blood pressure (BP), urinary catecholamines and ventilatory functions of patients with mild essential hypertension after 10 weeks of Qigong (Shuxinpingxuegong). Fifty-eight patients volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly divided into either a Qigong group (n = 29), or a control group (n = 29). Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the Qigong group such that both became significantly lower after 10 weeks in the Qigong than in the control group. Also, there was a significant reduction of norepinephrine, metanephrine and epinephrine compared to baseline values in the Qigong group. The ventilatory functions, forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume per sec, were increased in the Qigong group but not the control. These results suggest that Qigong may stabilize the sympathetic nervous system is effective in modulating levels of urinary catecholamines and BP positively, and in improving ventilatory functions in mildly hypertensive middle-aged patients.

To investigate the clinical effects of EH0202, a Japanese herbal supplement, on the menopausal symptoms and physical status of peri- and post-menopausal women. Thirty-two post-menopausal women (53.0±5.1 years) presented with menopausal complaints were enrolled in the clinical study. Patients were administered an herbal supplement, EH0202 (6 g/day for 6 months), and were assessed for improvement of their overall symptoms using the Greene Climacteric Scale and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Blood pressure, skin surface blood flow and plasma lipid profiles were measured before and 1, 3 and 6 months after EH0202 administration. There was a significant decrease in the climacteric scale score (P<0.001) and VAS (P<0.0001) after 6 months of EH0202 treatment. There was a significant decrease in systolic (P<0.001) and diastolic (P<0.05) blood pressure, and a significant decrease in facial skin surface blood flow (P<0.05) after 3 months of EH0202 administration. We observed a significant decrease in plasma TG and LDL-cholesterol concentrations after 3 months of EH0202 administration (P<0.05). EH0202 (MACH) reduced blood pressure, excess facial skin blood flow (flushing) and abnormal lipid levels, as well as clinically improved menopausal symptoms in post-menopausal women. In post-menopausal women, this product appears to help maintain normal biological function and improves quality of life.

This study is a double-blind randomized controlled trial on the effect of intradermal acupuncture on insomnia after stroke. Hospitalized stroke patients with insomnia were enrolled in the study and were randomly assigned to either a real intradermal acupuncture group (RA group) or a sham acupuncture group (SA group). The RA group received intradermal acupuncture on Shen-Men (He-7) and Nei-Kuan (EH-6) for three days, and the SA group received sham acupuncture on the same points. The effect of acupuncture on insomnia was measured using Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) at baseline and three days after treatment. To assess the effect of acupuncture on the autonomic nervous function, the subjects' blood pressure and heart rate variability were monitored. Fifty-two subjects (27 in the RA group and 25 in the SA group) were included in the final analysis. The insomnia-related scales ISI and AIS showed greater improvement of insomnia in the RA group than in the SA group. Moreover, there is a greater reduction of the number of non-dippers and a greater decrease of the LF/HF ratio (heart rate variability) in the RA group than in the SA group. These results indicate that sympathetic hyperactivities were stabilized in the RA group. It can thus be concluded that intradermal acupuncture on Shen-Men and Nei-Kuan is a useful therapeutic method for post stroke-onset insomnia as it reduces sympathetic hyperactivities.

We investigated the effect of Panax ginseng extract, which is rich in the ginsenoside protopanaxatriol (Ginseol K-g1), on blood pressure (BP). Adults over 20 years old with a systolic BP (SBP) between 120 and 159 mm Hg or a diastolic BP (DBP) between 80 and 99 mm Hg were included. At the end of an initial 2-week washout period, the patients were divided into three groups: the control group (placebo), the low-dose Ginseol K-g1 group (100 mg), and the high-dose Ginseol K-g1 (300 mg) group. The primary end point was the difference in seated SBP (seSBP) and seated DBP (seDBP) changes between the placebo and Ginseol K-g1 groups after 8 weeks of treatment. A total of 90 subjects participated in the study (mean age; 55.2 ± 11.8 years, 43 males). At week 8, levels of seSBP and seDBP were significantly decreased from baseline in the high-dose Ginseol K-g1 group (-3.1 mm Hg and -2.3 mm Hg, respectively, p < 0.05). In contrast, there was no significant decrease in seSBP or seDBP in the control or low-dose Ginseol K-g1 groups. No significant difference of seSBP and seDBP was identified among the three treatment groups at week 8. In patients who had a seSBP ≥ 130 mm Hg or an seDBP ≥ 85 mm Hg, the high dose of Ginseol K-g1 decreased the BP compared with the control group at week 4; however, there was no significant difference at week 8. The proportions of patients who experienced adverse events were comparable among the treatment groups. In conclusion, Ginseol K-g1 has a favorable effect on BP after 4 weeks of treatment, especially at a high dose. However, the effect is not maintained over 8 weeks. (Clinical trial registration information is available at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT01483430.)

Cinnamon is one of the world’s oldest and most popular spices, and is derived from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum. During the last two decades, cinnamon has demonstrated beneficial metabolic effects not only in animal experiments but also in clinical trials. Even recent meta-analyses have shown the protective effects of cinnamon on different components of metabolic syndrome and their complications. In the last 5 years, several experimental studies have unraveled the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying the antihypertensive, antihyperglycemic, lipid-lowering, weight-lowering, and cardioprotective properties of cinnamon. This review paper will discuss how cinnamon and its active components, particularly cinnamaldehyde, suppress inflammation and oxidative stress, modulate mitochondrial dysfunction, and regulate glucose uptake, insulin resistance, lipogenesis, beta-oxidation, Ca2+ signaling, and other cellar events at the molecular level. Specifically, we will delve into the molecular mechanisms involved in the metabolic effects of cinnamon to provide a deeper insight into how cinnamon can bring such beneficial effects. This review hopes to encourage the use of cinnamon in clinical settings, guide the combination of cinnamon with other drugs used to treat different components of metabolic syndrome based on their mechanism of action, and support the concept of complementary medicine for metabolic diseases.

Australia Finds New Hope in Treating Cystic Fibrosis.

Chinese Man with Transplanted Hands Cuts His Birthday Cake.

China Reveals Rice Genome Sequence.

Shanghai Cancer Survey Seeks Effective Treatments.

Tokyo Scientists Find Cloned Mice Have Shorter Lives.

Gene Study Sheds Light on Alzheimer's Disease.

Korean Researchers to Use DNA Chips for Cancer Study.

Pig Cell Procedure Pioneered by NZ Firm Spurs Diabetes Study.

Singapore World First to Use Cord Blood for Cancer Treatment.

Thai and US Medical Researchers Join Hands on Drug Project.

US Scientists Develops Device for Checking Blood Pressure in Heart.

Men Carrying Pollutant PCBs Have More Boys.

Mental Health Survey of Junior Medical Officers.

Gene Silencing Tools Released by CSIRO.

China Participated in Global Sleeping Disorder Survey.

Beijing Opens Liver Cancer Prevention Center.

Hong Kong Bird Flu Virus Strikes Again.

Emergency BP Drug Could be Potentially Fatal.

Vitamin Prices Spirals in India Amidst Fears of Supply Cuts.

India's Healthcare Industry Likely to Get Tax Concessions.

Egg Bank Opens in Japan.

AstraZeneca Under Investigation for Research Suppression on Lung Cancer Drug Irresa.

Paper Review for Genetically Modified Crops.

Harmful Corticosteroid Dosage in Asthma Inhalers.

Herpes Virus Linked to Preterm Birth and High Blood Pressure during Pregnancy.

Trigger Gene for Muscle Development Discovered.

AUSTRALIA — New Meningococcal Test to Identify Genetic Predisposition

AUSTRALIA — Scientists Discover the Double Life of Proteins

AUSTRALIA — Gene Discovery Offers Cancer Hope

CHINA — The American Psychiatric Association's Awards for Young Scientists Encourage Research Expertise in China

CHINA — DuPont Partners with China to Increase Farm Productivity

CHINA — Deadly Enterovirus Afflicts Chinese Children

CHINA — CAS Researchers Decode Genome of Mosquito-Killing Bacterium

CHINA — CAS, Local Governments to Jointly Set Up a Biomedical Institute in Suzhou

CHINA — Chinese and US Scientists Map Papaya Genes

CHINA — Genzyme to Build New R&D Center in Beijing

INDIA — Avesthagen Launches Bioactive Teestar

INDIA — Scientists Find Kala-azar Protein

INDIA — Bayer Launches Disease-Resistant Hybrid Rice Arize Dhani

INDIA — SCHOTT Forms Pharmaceutical Joint Venture in India

INDIA — IIT Mumbai Develops Chip to Detect Myocardial Infarction

INDIA — Tamil Nadu Plans Poison Treatment Center in Every District

INDIA — RFCL Opens Integrated Manufacturing Plant in India

JAPAN — Pfizer to Launch Champix^® – The First Prescription Oral Smoking Cessation Aid in the Country

NEW ZEALAND — Asthma Linked to High Fat Diet

PHILIPPINES — Surge in Dengue Cases in the Philippines

SOUTH KOREA — Bird Flu Outbreaks Spread in South Korea

SINGAPORE — Edwards Lifesciences Opens Its First Heart Valve Manufacturing Facility in Singapore

SINGAPORE — Bioimaging and Stem Cell Research in Singapore gets a Million Dollar Boost from Latest Grant Calls by A*STAR

SINGAPORE — Maccine Receives Bio-Industry Award for Best Preclinical or Clinical CRO in Asia

TAIWAN — New Group for Biomedical Electronics Established

TAIWAN — Stroke Evaluation Indicator Discovered

VIETNAM — Vietnam Bird Flu Vaccine Returns Positive Results

A Made-in-Singapore Invention Keeps our Hearts in Check.

AUSTRALIA – Minimizing Spread of Deadly Hendra Virus.

AUSTRALIA – Breakthrough High Blood Pressure Treatment Trial Down Under.

AUSTRALIA – Australia Sees Rise in Newborn Withdrawal Syndrome.

CHINA – CAS, Hong Kong University Set Up Joint Lab of Natural Medicine.

CHINA – Chinese Researchers Discover 20 Essential Genes in Polyoxin.

CHINA – China Aims to Lead Asia's Stem Cell R&D.

CHINA – China Rural Areas on High Alert for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.

CHINA – Hepatitis Infects 64 at China Hospital.

CHINA – China's Colorectal Cancer Drug Market will More Than Double by 2012.

CHINA – Critical Gene for Enhancing China's Super Rice Yield Identified.

CHINA – Chinese Scientists say New Discovery May Yield Clue to Cure Human Infertility.

HONG KONG – Compound to Fight Bird Flu Identified.

INDIA – Yashoda Cancer Institute Treats First Patient In India Using RapidArc Radiotherapy Technology.

INDIA – Indian Pharma Industry May Gain $18.4 bn from Global Market.

INDIA – Philips to Make India Hub for Medical Equipment Manufacturing.

JAPAN – Herbal Medicines to Treat Gastrointestinal Disease.

SINGAPORE – Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine Trial in Singapore.

SINGAPORE – Minimally Invasive Robot-Assisted Surgeries for Heart Patients.

SINGAPORE – US-Based Company Launches Singapore Doctor Search Site for Medical Travelers.

SINGAPORE – Genetic Research: Time for a rethink?

SINGAPORE – Test Kits to be Licensed.

SINGAPORE – Local Team Develops Method to Predict Heart Disease.

SINGAPORE – Consumer Genetic Tests – A Cause for Worry?

SINGAPORE – S'pore Firm's Test Kit Joins the Fight.

SINGAPORE – Singapore Gives New Hope To The Blind.

SINGAPORE – Singapore and Korea Research Institutes Embark on Landmark Collaboration for Breakthroughs in Micro and Nanotechnology.

SOUTH KOREA – Institute Develops Cheap Cholera Vaccine.

TAIWAN – Herbal Substance Developed for Cardiovascular Disease.

TAIWAN – Prototype of Household Breast Cancer Detector Unveiled.

TAIWAN – Breakthrough in New Diabetes Drug.

AUSTRALIA – Degenerative Disease Breakthrough.

AUSTRALIA – New Genetic Cancer Risk Found.

AUSTRALIA – Experts Find Way to Make Mosquitoes Dengue-free.

CHINA – Virus May Cause High Blood Pressure.

CHINA – Eleven Die from Suspected Tainted Vinegar in China.

HONG KONG – HK Study Finds Molecule that Offers Fertility Hope.

INDIA – Hyderabad Hospital Performs Rare Kidney Transplant.

INDIA – 20-minute Treatment for Blood Pressure.

INDIA – New Experimental Vaccine against Chikungunya.

JAPAN – ES Cells Turn Into Sperm.

JAPAN – Leading Japanese Pharmaceutical Scientists Advance Drug Discovery & Development with Mass Spectrometry and Chip LC Technology from AB SCIEX.

SINGAPORE – One Hundred and Twenty Aspiring Scientists Awarded Scholarships.

SINGAPORE – Pacific Healthcare Launches Pacific Surgical and Colorectal Centre in Singapore.

SINGAPORE – NTU Achieves Bacterium Breakthrough.

OTHER REGIONS — Killer T-cells Wipe Out Leukemia.

SINGAPORE – Singapore Scientists Provide New Insights on How Cancers Evade the Immune System.

SINGAPORE – NUS Scientists Discover Novel Vulnerabilities in Dengue Virus.

UNITED STATES – New Study Suggests that Vitamin D Decreases Risk of Cancer.

UNITED STATES – Study Reverses Thinking on Genetic Links to Stress, Depression.

UNITED STATES – Antibody Helps Detect Protein Implicated in Alzheimer’s, Other Diseases.

UNITED STATES – Fruits and Vegetables’ Latest Superpower? Lowering Blood Pressure.

AUSTRALIA & KOREA – Novotech Signs MOU with South Korea’s Leading Medical Center, the Asan Medical Center.

The following topics are under this section:

• ASIA-PACIFIC — Shedding Light on COVID-19 Vaccine Development
• ASIA-PACIFIC — Community-led Interventions for Improving Blood Pressure Control
• ASIA-PACIFIC — Importance of Redox Homeostasis in Potential Treatment of Disease
• ASIA-PACIFIC — Novel Processor Architecture to Solve Complex Mathematical Problems
• ASIA-PACIFIC — Uncovering Mechanisms of the Human Biological Clock
• ASIA-PACIFIC — Discovery of Healthy Stomach Stem Cells Reveals Cancer Origins
• ASIA-PACIFIC — Cataloguing Cancer “fingerprints” to Map Cancer Genomes
• ASIA-PACIFIC — Creating a Circular Economy using Greenhouse Gases
• REST OF THE WORLD — Guide for Liquid Biopsy in Individual Glioblastoma Patients
• REST OF THE WORLD — Multi-purpose use of Breast and Kidney Cancer Drugs
• REST OF THE WORLD — The Two Faces of Immune Cells
• REST OF THE WORLD — Fine Particle Air Pollution Linked to Development of Kidney Disease

ECG signals from mice, and simultaneous ECG and blood pressure signals from rats are analyzed for a small number of cases. The data were obtained from four mice and two rats with one animal having health problems in each group, the rest being control cases. For the rats, the phase of the cross-spectra between the ECG and blood pressure, and for the mice the fractal properties of the interbeat series (RR-interval fluctuations) are found to be suitable as an indicator of health anomaly.

It is a well-established fact that atherosclerosis in carotid bifurcation depends on flow parameters such as wall shear stress, flow pulsatility, and blood pressure. However, it is still not clearly verified how atherosclerosis can become aggravated when plaque experiences a high level of shear stress during advance stages of this disease. In this paper, fluid and structural properties in idealistic geometries are analyzed by using fluid-structure interaction (FSI). From our results, the relationship among blood pressure, stenotic compression, and deformation was established. We show that a high level of compression occurs at the stenotic apex, and can potentially be responsible for plaque progression. Moreover, wall shear stress and deformation are significantly affected by the degree of stenosis. Finally, through analysis of the FSI-based simulation results, we can better understand the parameters that influence flow through a stenotic artery and plaque aggravation, and apply the knowledge for the enhancement of clinical research and prediction of treatment outcomes.

This work considers a theoretical study for the conversion of the pulsating arterial pressure into electrical energy using piezoelectric layer on a micro-plate with axial load. The mathematical modeling of the device is carried out. Analytical and numerical methods are used to analyze the dynamical behavior of the plate and the variation of the electric power output. Pulsatile voltage is obtained with electric power of the order of 3.07nW for a plate of $84\cdot 10^{-6}$cm³. The power increases with the pressure frequency and attains its maximal value for a load resistance of about 5k$\mathrm{\Omega }$.

The objective of this study was to compare heart rate, blood pressure, and lactic acid level with different recovery methods after having maximal exercise to provide reliable data regarding efficient recovery methods. Heart rate, blood pressure, and lactic acid level were continuously recorded for 30min at 5-min intervals during a recovery period after performing a maximal exercise test based on the Bruce-protocol. Study subjects were 36 healthy men in the 20s. They were randomly assigned to a passive recovery group ($\mathrm{\text{PRG}}=12$ people), a sling exercise group ($\mathrm{\text{SRG}}=12$ people), and a sling exercise with whole-body vibration group ($\mathrm{\text{SWRG}}=12$ people). One-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the recovery effects by using SPSS 18.0 Korea. The statistical significance was accepted at $p<0.05$. Our results revealed that SWRG showed significantly faster heart rate recovery than SRG. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure tended to decrease more in the combined group than the PRG. Thirdly, the lactic acid level decreased to a lower level in the combined group than the PRG.

The main objective of this work is to study the effect of blood pressure and viscosity on flow in a pathological and healthy anatomy. The method chosen for this project is the numerical simulation of fluid dynamics. First, a radiological database from Tlemcen hospital was studied in order to select a patient whose aortic anatomy is representative of the pathology studied in this research project. The left ventricle was segmented using SolidWork software. The exported data made it possible to model this geometry on Comsol software. The geometry has been idealized to make it comparable to a given healthy left ventricle geometry and present the main parameters which influence the ventricular hemodynamics. A first series of numerical simulations made it possible to highlight the hemodynamic disturbances associated with the pathology of interest and described extensively in the literature. A second series of numerical simulations made it possible to model the effect of blood viscosity on flow. All the results obtained, the modeling of the left ventricle, must be valid experimentally. This study therefore does not completely justify the treatment of ventricular dilation with a flow modulator but constitutes an important first step towards a proof of concept.

The relationship between simultaneous limbs blood pressure differences and Ankle–Brachial Index (ABI) is controversial. This paper aims to investigate the association of limbs blood pressures differences with ABI as the current non-invasive diagnosis method in clinical primary care. A cross-sectional study was performed to analysis the relationship between them. The results showed that $\mathrm{\text{ABI}}<0.9$ was independently associated with inter-arm (OR, 15.469; CI, (1.776–134.773); $P=0.013$) and inter-ankle (OR, 7.189; CI, (1.010–51.179); $P=0.049$) when the systolic blood pressure difference $\ge 15$mmHg. Therefore, the simultaneous measurement of four limbs blood pressure differences can provide an aid for the non-invasive detection method of PAD in clinical primary care.