Journal of internal medicine
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Review
Therapeutic effects of inorganic nitrate and nitrite in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Nitric oxide (NO) is generated endogenously by NO synthases to regulate a number of physiological processes including cardiovascular and metabolic functions. A decrease in the production and bioavailability of NO is a hallmark of many major chronic diseases including hypertension, ischaemia-reperfusion injury, atherosclerosis and diabetes. This NO deficiency is mainly caused by dysfunctional NO synthases and increased scavenging of NO by the formation of reactive oxygen species. ⋯ Administration of nitrate or nitrite in animal models of cardiovascular disease shows promising results, and clinical trials are currently ongoing to investigate the therapeutic potential of nitrate and nitrite in hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, peripheral artery disease and myocardial infarction. In addition, the nutritional aspects of the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway are interesting as diets suggested to protect against cardiovascular disease, such as the Mediterranean diet, are especially high in nitrate. Here, we discuss the potential therapeutic opportunities for nitrate and nitrite in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
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Evidence from cross-sectional studies has suggested a positive association between moderate alcohol consumption and health-related quality of life but prospective data remain scarce. ⋯ Amongst young and middle-aged women, moderate alcohol intake was associated with a small improvement in physical health-related quality of life 2 years later and vice versa. Moderate alcohol consumption was not associated with mental health-related quality of life in either direction.
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Genetic variation in the cluster on chromosome 15, encoding the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits (CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4), has shown strong associations with tobacco consumption and an additional risk increase in smoking-related diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), peripheral artery disease and lung cancer. ⋯ Our data suggest that gene variance in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 cluster is associated with an increased risk of death, incidence of COPD and tobacco-related cancer in smokers. These findings indicate an individual susceptibility to tobacco use and its complications; this may be important when targeting and designing smoking cessation therapies.