Laughter helps blood vessels function better
...ences in the baseline measurements of blood vessel dilation in either the mental stress or laughter phases. Bu...called nitric oxide is known to play a role in the dilation of the endothelium. "Perhaps mental stress leads to a breakdown in nitric oxide or inhibits a stimul...Study finds no reason for expectant mothers to shy away from early epidurals
...omen with their first pregnancy until the cervical dilation reaches at least 4 to 5 centimeters and other form... study randomized 750 women in labor with cervical dilation less than four centimeters into two groups: the early epidural group (women who received spinal-epid...No increase in C-sections when epidural analgesia given early in labor
... births) women in spontaneous labor, with cervical dilation less than 4 centimeters. Participants were rando...dian time from initiation of analgesia to complete dilation was 295 minutes in the epidural group versus 385 minutes in the systemic group; vaginal delivery was...Obesity appears to be modifiable risk factor for atrial fibrillation
...for AF may be mostly attributable to an associated dilation of the left atrial (upper chamber of the heart). " the implication of these results for the population burden of AF may be substantial, because obesity is highly prevalent and potentially modifiable. Thus, even a small decrease in the prevalence of o...Stanford study reveals that cells linked to asthma and eczema also help cure deadly illness in mice
...othelin-1 levels can go very high, causing extreme dilation of the veins and contributing to some of the severe symptoms of sepsis. At the start of the study, the scientists already knew that, in cell culture, mast cells are activated by endothelin-1. In turn, the mast cells also can produce endothelin-1 and ...News tips for Sunday, November 7, 2004
... week for six weeks. Endothelial-dependent artery dilation improved by 69 percent with yoga training in the cardiovascular disease group. There was no improvement in endothelial function in the non-cardiovascular disease group. Results in the cardiovascular disease group were independent of blood pressure,...Herbal, nutritional supplements linked to ocular side effects
... found several instances of mydriasis, a prolonged dilation of the pupil. Niacin can cause some of the most severe ocular reactions of all the products reviewed. Its cholesterol-lowering effects have proved successful in treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. It also is used for treatme...Flavonoid-rich dark chocolate boosts blood vessel function, study suggests
... brachial artery, to expand. The brachial artery's dilation measurements correlate well with those of the coro...ostanoids, which relax, the artery. Flow-mediated dilation is expressed as the percentage maximum change in vessel diameter from baseline. In the high-flavonoi...Exercise is key to reversing obesity-related heart risk in children
... By the end of the year, the endothelium-dependent dilation increased significantly in the initial exercise group (to 7.4 percent) and to 8.6 percent in those who kept exercising. "This highlights the importance of regular exercise in preventing obesity-related vascular dysfunction in children," Woo said. Ac...Off-label use of migraine drug gives children relief, study says
...sel diameter and biochemical release. Blood vessel dilation causes pain, which analgesics can help alleviate. But analgesics don't address the symptoms that often accompany migraines, such as nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound, which are usually caused by blood vessel constriction. Sumatripta...Risks of outpatient surgery vary with patient characteristics, surgical setting
... hernia repair, laparoscopic gall bladder removal, dilation and curettage, vaginal hysterectomy, simple and modified mastectomy, hemorrhoidectomy, arteriovenous graft placement, knee arthroscopy, rotator cuff surgery). The researchers studied 564,267 outpatient surgical procedures of which 360,780 were perfor...Pediatric food allergies: What every parent should know
... characterized by contraction of smooth muscle and dilation of capillaries due to release of pharmacologically active substances (histamine, bradykinin, serotonin, and slow-reacting substance)) can be indicated by rapid-onset, multi-organ system involvement, and is potentially fatal. The foods most responsib...Parents' smoke injures children's blood vessels
...ure to environmental tobacco smoke. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is an inexpensive and safe way to evaluate endothelial function. It measures changes in the amount of blood flow through a particular blood vessel. The endothelium is the inner lining of blood vessels. This thin layer of cells helps vessels e...New cold treatment developed at the University of Virginia
...ated with cold symptoms: Stuffy nose results from dilation of blood vessels in certain tissues in the nose called turbinates. When the blood vessels dilate, turbinates swell and block air passages, making breathing through the nose difficult. Certain natural inflammatory substances in the body, such as hista...Bleach-producing enzyme found to modulate blood vessel dilation during inflammation
...lso turns off a signal that regulates blood vessel dilation during inflammation, researchers at the UC Davis S...that modulates nitric oxide-dependent blood vessel dilation has important implications for the potential treatment of inflammatory vascular diseases," said Eise...Gout drug shows promise in treating chronic heart failure
...that treatment with allopurinol can improve vessel dilation in heart failure patients," says Allan D. Struther...cetylcholine that acts on the endothelium to cause dilation in healthy vessels. Next, they crossed-over the patients to either allopurinol or placebo and repea...Calcium-dependent potassium channels as target to increase drug delivery to brain tumors
...bral blood vessels regulate vessel tone, affecting dilation and constriction. Another important function perfo...dent potassium channels and others that affect the dilation of vessels. Bypassing the normal cellular signaling mechanisms, they were able to directly activate ...Stress leaves blood vessels tightly wound
...three-minute mental stress task. Six subjects had dilation measured before and after the task while being inf...chers found a significant decrease in blood-vessel dilation after mental stress. The mental stress test increased average arterial blood pressure from 83 to 96...Air pollution causes healthy blood vessels to constrict
...Before exposure to fine particles, brachial artery dilation was 3.92mm; after exposure to pollution it was 3.82mm. For the filtered air, dilation was virtually unchanged (3.89mm vs. 3.90mm). Although the degree of constriction in and of itself is...Five-week antibiotic treatment may improve cardiovascular function
...hromycin or placebo for five weeks. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery was measured at study entry and at the end of treatment. FMD measures the blood vessels ability to relax in response to blood flow increases, and also endothelial function. A healthy artery (with a healthy endothelium) ...