scholarly journals Impaired Endothelium-Dependent Vasodilatation in Subclinical Hypothyroidism: Beneficial Effect of Levothyroxine Therapy

2003 ◽  
Vol 88 (8) ◽  
pp. 3731-3737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Taddei ◽  
Nadia Caraccio ◽  
Agostino Virdis ◽  
Angela Dardano ◽  
Daniele Versari ◽  
...  

Subclinical hypothyroidism (sHT) is associated with enhanced cardiovascular risk. To test the hypothesis that patients with sHT are characterized by endothelial dysfunction and impaired nitric oxide (NO) availability, in 14 patients [serum cholesterol, 218 ± 41 mg/dl (5.6 ± 0.9 mm)] and 28 euthyroid subjects, subdivided into groups A and B [serum cholesterol, 170 ± 19 mg/dl (4.4 ± 0.5 mm) and 217 ± 21 mg/dl (5.6 ± 0.5 mm), respectively], we studied the forearm blood flow (strain-gauge plethysmography) response to intrabrachial acetylcholine, an endothelium-dependent vasodilator, at baseline and during infusion of NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (L-NMMA), a NO synthase inhibitor. Response to sodium nitroprusside and minimal forearm vascular resistances were also evaluated. In sHT patients, vasodilation to acetylcholine was reduced, compared with group B (+358 ± 29% vs. +503 ± 19%, P = 0.0003) and group A (663 ± 65%, P = 0.02 vs. group B and P = 0.0002 vs. sHT). L-NMMA blunted the vasodilation to acetylcholine in groups A and B (49.1 ± 6.3% and 42.7 ± 5.5% maximal forearm blood flow reduction, respectively, P < 0.0001 vs. acetylcholine), whereas it was ineffective in sHT patients (12.8 ± 2.5%). Response to sodium nitroprusside and minimal vascular resistances were similar. In sHT (n = 9) patients, 6 months of euthyroidism by levothyroxine replacement increased acetylcholine-vasodilation and restored L-NMMA inhibition. Patients with sHT are characterized by endothelial dysfunction resulting from a reduction in NO availability, an alteration partially independent of dyslipidemia and reversed by levothyroxine supplementation.

2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (4) ◽  
pp. H1856-H1861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahar Lavi ◽  
Diana Gaitini ◽  
Victor Milloul ◽  
Giris Jacob

Conflicting data exist on the role of nitric oxide (NO) in cerebral blood flow (CBF) autoregulation. Previous studies involving human and animal subjects seem to indicate that NO involvement is limited to the CO2-dependent mechanism (chemoregulation) and not to the pressure-dependent autoregulation (mechanoregulation). We tested this hypothesis in patients with impaired endothelial function compared with healthy controls. Blood pressure, heart rate, end-tidal Pco2, CBF velocities (CBFV), forearm blood flow, and reactive hyperemia were assessed in 16 patients with diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension and compared with 12 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Pressure-dependent autoregulation was determined by escalating doses of phenylephrine. CO2 vasoreactivity index was extrapolated from individual slopes of mean CBFV during normocapnia, hyperventilation, and CO2 inhalation. Measurements were repeated after sodium nitroprusside infusion. Indexes of endothelial function, maximal and area under the curve (AUC) of forearm blood flow (FBF) changes, were significantly impaired in patients (maximal flow: 488 ± 75 vs. 297 ± 31%; P = 0.01, AUC ΔFBF: 173 ± 17 vs. 127 ± 11; P = 0.03). Patients and controls showed similar changes in cerebrovascular resistance during blood pressure challenges (identical slopes). CO2 vasoreactivity was impaired in patients compared with controls: 1.19 ± 0.1 vs. 1.54 ± 0.1 cm·s−1·mmHg−1; P = 0.04. NO donor (sodium nitroprusside) offsets this disparity. These results suggest that patients with endothelial dysfunction have impaired CO2 vasoreactivity and preserved pressure-dependent autoregulation. This supports our hypothesis that NO is involved in CO2-dependent CBF regulation alone. CBFV chemoregulation could therefore be a surrogate of local cerebral endothelial function.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 557-561
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Stockelman ◽  
Jamie G. Hijmans ◽  
Tyler D. Bammert ◽  
Jared J. Greiner ◽  
Brian L. Stauffer ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to determine (1) if circulating endothelial microvesicles (EMVs) are elevated in hypertensive adults and (2) whether circulating EMVs are associated with hypertension-related endothelial vasodilator dysfunction. Circulating EMVs (CD31+/42b–) were determined in 30 middle-aged adults (55 ± 1 years): 15 normotensive (10 males, 5 females; blood pressure 114/71 ± 2/1 mm Hg) and 15 hypertensive (10 males, 5 females; blood pressure 142/87 ± 2/2 mm Hg). Forearm blood flow (FBF) (via plethysmography) was assessed by intra-arterial infusion of acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. Circulating EMVs were ∼65% higher (P < 0.05) in hypertensive (157 ± 10 EMVs/μL) than in normotensive (96 ± 10 EMVs/μL) adults. FBF to acetylcholine was significantly lower (∼30%) in the hypertensive group (from 5.0 ± 0.4 to 11.8 ± 0.8 mL·100 mL tissue–1·min–1 versus from 4.4 ± 0.2 to 15.6 ± 0.8 mL·100 mL tissue–1·min–1). Circulating EMVs were inversely associated with vasodilation (r = –0.65; P < 0.05). Hypertension is associated with elevated circulating levels of EMVs. EMVs may serve as a biomarker of, and contribute to, blood pressure related endothelial dysfunction.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 721
Author(s):  
Raffaele Maio ◽  
Edoardo Suraci ◽  
Benedetto Caroleo ◽  
Cristina Politi ◽  
Simona Gigliotti ◽  
...  

Background. Insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction are common findings in hypertensives, both predisposing to a higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular events. We designed this study to evaluate the role of endothelial dysfunction in three pathogenetic pathways: (1) from baseline to cardiovascular events, (2) from baseline to diabetes, and (3) from new-onset diabetes to cardiovascular events. Methods. We enrolled 653 Caucasian never-treated hypertensives. Endothelial dysfunction was investigated by strain-gauge plethysmography; incident diabetes and cardiovascular events were evaluated by an illness-event model analysis. Results. During the follow-up (median 113 months), we documented 191 new cardiovascular events and 92 new cases of diabetes. In a multiple Cox regression analysis, acetylcholine-stimulated forearm blood flow [100% decrease, hazard ratio: 2.42 (95% confidence interval = 1.72–3.40)] and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hazard ratio: 1.30 (95% confidence interval = 1.21–1.40)] had an independent association with cardiovascular outcomes. The incidence rate of cardiovascular outcomes in diabetes-developer patients was higher than in the diabetes-free ones (34.9 vs. 2.5 events per 100 persons-year). In an illness-event model, a 100% decrease in forearm blood flow was associated with a 55.5% hazard ratio increase (hazard ratio: 1.56, 95% confidence interval: 1.33–1.82) of transition 1 (from baseline status to cardiovascular events) and to an almost doubled increase (hazard ratio: 2.54, 95% CI: 2.00–3.25) of the risk of transition 2 (from baseline status to diabetes). No such effects were found in transition 3 (from diabetes to cardiovascular events). Conclusions. Endothelial dysfunction plays a primary role in the pathways leading to diabetes and cardiovascular events in hypertensives. When diabetes is overt, endothelial dysfunction has no predictive value for subsequent cardiovascular events.


2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (6) ◽  
pp. H2470-H2477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian P. J. Halcox ◽  
Suresh Narayanan ◽  
Laura Cramer-Joyce ◽  
Rita Mincemoyer ◽  
Arshed A. Quyyumi

The identity of endothelium-dependent hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) in the human circulation remains controversial. We investigated whether EDHF contributes to endothelium-dependent vasomotion in the forearm microvasculature by studying the effect of K+ and miconazole, an inhibitor of cytochrome P-450, on the response to bradykinin in healthy human subjects. Study drugs were infused intra-arterially, and forearm blood flow was measured using strain-gauge plethysmography. Infusion of KCl (0.33 mmol/min) into the brachial artery caused baseline vasodilation and inhibited the vasodilator response to bradykinin, but not to sodium nitroprusside. Thus the incremental vasodilation induced by bradykinin was reduced from 14.3 ± 2 to 7.1 ± 2 ml · min−1 · 100 g−1( P < 0.001) after KCl infusion. A similar inhibition of the bradykinin ( P = 0.014), but not the sodium nitroprusside (not significant), response was observed with KCl after the study was repeated during preconstriction with phenylephrine to restore resting blood flow to basal values after KCl. Miconazole (0.125 mg/min) did not inhibit endothelium-dependent or -independent responses to ACh and sodium nitroprusside, respectively. However, after inhibition of cyclooxygenase and nitric oxide synthase with aspirin and N G-monomethyl-l-arginine, the forearm blood flow response to bradykinin ( P = 0.003), but not to sodium nitroprusside (not significant), was significantly suppressed by miconazole. Thus nitric oxide- and prostaglandin-independent, bradykinin-mediated forearm vasodilation is suppressed by high intravascular K+ concentrations, indicating a contribution of EDHF. In the human forearm microvasculature, EDHF appears to be a cytochrome P-450 derivative, possibly an epoxyeicosatrienoic acid.


1997 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanari Shiramoto ◽  
Tsutomu Imaizumi ◽  
Yoshitaka Hirooka ◽  
Toyonari Endo ◽  
Takashi Namba ◽  
...  

1. It has been shown in animals that substance P as well as acetylcholine releases endothelium-derived nitric oxide and evokes vasodilatation and that ATP-induced vasodilatation is partially mediated by nitric oxide. The aim of this study was to examine whether vasodilator effects of substance P and ATP are mediated by nitric oxide in humans. 2. In healthy volunteers (n = 35), we measured forearm blood flow by a strain-gauge plethysmograph while infusing graded doses of acetylcholine, substance P, ATP or sodium nitroprusside into the brachial artery before and after infusion of NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (4 or 8 μmol/min for 5 min). In addition, we measured forearm blood flow while infusing substance P before and during infusion of l-arginine (10 mg/min, simultaneously), or before and 1 h after oral administration of indomethacin (75 mg). 3. Acetylcholine, substance P, ATP or sodium nitroprusside increased forearm blood flow in a dose-dependent manner. NG-Monomethyl-l-arginine decreased basal forearm blood flow and inhibited acetylcholine-induced vasodilatation but did not affect substance P-, ATP-, or sodium nitroprusside-induced vasodilatation. Neither supplementation of l-arginine nor pretreatment with indomethacin affected substance P-induced vasodilatation. 4. Our results suggest that, in the human forearm vessels, substance P-induced vasodilatation may not be mediated by either nitric oxide or prostaglandins and that ATP-induced vasodilatation may also not be mediated by nitric oxide.


2000 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 363-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard A. RONGEN ◽  
Jacques W. M. LENDERS ◽  
Paul SMITS ◽  
John S. FLORAS

Although there is as yet no method which measures directly the neuronal release of noradrenaline in humans in vivo, the isotope dilution technique with [3H]noradrenaline has been applied to estimate forearm neuronal noradrenaline release into plasma. Two different equations have been developed for this purpose: one to estimate the spillover of noradrenaline into the venous effluent, and a modified formula (often referred to as the appearance rate) which may reflect more closely changes in the neuronal release of noradrenaline into the synaptic cleft, particularly during interventions that alter forearm blood flow. The present study was performed to compare the effects of two interventions known to exert contrasting actions on neuronal forearm noradrenaline release and forearm blood flow. Intra-arterial infusion of sodium nitroprusside at doses without systemic effect increases forearm blood flow, but not neuronal noradrenaline release. In contrast, lower-body negative pressure at -25 mmHg causes forearm vasoconstriction by stimulating neuronal noradrenaline release. During sodium nitroprusside infusion, forearm noradrenaline spillover increased from 1.1±0.3 to 2.2±1.0 pmol·min-1·100 ml-1 (P < 0.05), whereas the forearm noradrenaline appearance rate was unchanged. Lower-body negative pressure did not affect the forearm noradrenaline spillover rate, but increased the forearm noradrenaline appearance rate from 3.4±0.4 pmol·min-1·100 ml-1 at baseline to 5.0±0.9 pmol·min-1·100 ml-1 (P < 0.05). These results indicate that the noradrenaline appearance rate provides the better approximation of changes in forearm neuronal noradrenaline release in response to stimuli which alter local blood flow.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (3) ◽  
pp. H1070-H1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Kingwell ◽  
B. Sherrard ◽  
G. L. Jennings ◽  
A. M. Dart

The purpose of this study was to determine whether nontrained vascular beds might contribute to the beneficial effects of exercise, including reduced blood pressure by enhanced nitric oxide production. Thirteen healthy, sedentary male volunteers performed 4 wk of normal sedentary activity and 4 wk of cycle training in a randomized order. At the end of each intervention, venous occlusion plethysmography was used to study the forearm blood flow responses to intra-arterial infusions of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), acetylcholine, and sodium nitroprusside. Training increased the maximal work-load and maximal oxygen consumption, whereas intrabrachial blood pressure was reduced. L-NMMA caused a greater vasoconstriction after training (P = 0.004). Net nitrate and nitrite consumption by the forearm was less after training both before and after administration of L-NMMA (P = 0.04), consistent with increased nitrate and nitrite production from nitric oxide metabolism. There was no difference in the response to acetylcholine or sodium nitroprusside between the two states. Preliminary studies showed an increase in forearm blood flow and blood viscosity after cycling, suggesting that elevated shear stress in this vascular bed may contribute to endothelial adaptation and the cardiovascular protective effects of exercise training.


2003 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 2218-2222 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Pernow ◽  
Felix Böhm ◽  
Emma Beltran ◽  
Adrian Gonon

It has been shown that nitric oxide (NO) protects from myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in animal models. The present study investigated whether administration of the NO substrate l-arginine protects against ischemia-reperfusion-induced endothelial dysfunction in humans. Forearm blood flow was measured with venous occlusion plethysmography in 16 healthy male subjects who were investigated on two occasions. Forearm ischemia was induced for 20 min followed by 60-min reperfusion. With the use of a crossover protocol, the subject received a 15-min intrabrachial artery infusion of l-arginine (20 mg/min) and vehicle (saline, n = 12 or d-arginine, n = 4) starting at 15 min of ischemia on two separate occasions. Compared with preischemia, endothelium-dependent increase in forearm blood flow induced by intra-arterial acetylcholine (3–30 μg/min) was significantly impaired at 15 and 30 min of reperfusion when the subjects received saline ( P < 0.001). When the subjects received l-arginine, the acetylcholine-induced increase in forearm blood flow was not significantly affected by ischemia-reperfusion. The recovery of endothelium-dependent vasodilatation at 15- and 30-min reperfusion was significantly greater after administration of l-arginine than after saline ( P < 0.05). d-Arginine did not affect the response to acetylcholine. Endothelium-independent vasodilatation to nitroprusside was not affected during reperfusion. These results demonstrate that the NO substrate l-arginine significantly attenuates ischemia-reperfusion-induced endothelial dysfunction in humans in vivo. This suggests that l-arginine may be useful as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of ischemia-reperfusion injury in humans.


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