The aim of the present study was to evaluate the haemodynamic changes during hyperinsulinaemia, hyperglycaemia or hypertriglyceridaemia in relation to those following a mixed meal. Ten subjects were subjected to hypertriglyceridaemia (3.9 mmol/l) for 2 h by an infusion of Intralipid and heparin. Nine subjects received a hyperglycaemic clamp (12.5 mmol/l) with octreotide and low-dose insulin infusion to maintain normoinsulinaemia (10 m-units/l). Ten subjects received saline for 2 h as a control and, thereafter, 2 h of normoglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp (80 m-units/l). Finally, ten subjects were evaluated for 2 h following an ordinary mixed meal. Calf blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography and cardiac index by thoracic bioimpedance. Both the mixed meal and normoglycaemic hyperinsulinaemia lowered total peripheral resistance, and increased calf blood flow and cardiac index, whereas blood pressure decreased (P <0.05-0.001). Both hyperglycaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia increased calf blood flow, but blood pressure was unchanged. Total peripheral resistance was unchanged in hypertriglyceridaemia, whereas hyperglycaemia induced a significant increase. Normoglycaemic hyperinsulinaemia induced a haemodynamic pattern similar, but to a lesser extent, to the pattern seen following a mixed meal. Hyperinsulinaemia seems to be a major mediator of the haemodynamic response, but other factors are obviously also of great importance. Hypertriglyceridaemia and hyperglycaemia induced haemodynamic responses that are not similar to those seen following a mixed meal.

Endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV), LDL particle size, and antibodies against oxidized LDL (oxLDLab) have been shown to be related to the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. In this study, we investigated whether LDL particle size, oxLDLab, apolipoproteins, and lipoproteins are related to endothelial vasodilatory function in a population sample of 58 apparently healthy subjects aged 20 to 69 yr. EDV and endothelium-independent vasodilation (EIDV) were studied in the forearm during local administration of methacholine chloride (2 and 4 μg/min) or sodium nitroprusside (5 and 10 μg/min). Forearm blood flow was determined with venous occlusion plethysmography. In multiple stepwise regression analyses, neither oxLDLab nor small LDL particles were significantly predictive of endothelial vasodilatory function. Instead, a high level of apolipoprotein B (apoB) was an independent predictor of both attenuated EDV and EIDV (r=−0.43, P<0.01, and r=−0.34, P<0.05, respectively). HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, was the only lipid variable that was significantly related to the EDV to EIDV ratio, an index of endothelial vasodilatory function (r=0.35, P<0.01). The inverse associations between apoB and both EDV and EIDV indicate that apoB might be an early marker of structural vascular changes in healthy subjects, whereas HDL seems to be more specifically related to endothelial vasodilatory function.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the composition of FA in serum lipids, a marker of dietary fat intake, and vascular reactivity using a combination of cross-sectional and intervention approaches. Fifty-six middle-aged subjects were evaluated in a cross-sectional protocol regarding the relationship between the proportion of FA in serum cholesterol esters and vascular reactivity using measurements of forearm blood flow (FBF) with venous occlusion plethysmography during hyperemia. Another 19 middle-aged subjects were given a rapeseed oil-based diet rich in mono- and polyunsaturated FA or a control diet rich in saturated FA during two consecutive 4-wk periods separated by a 4-wk washout period. In the cross-sectional protocol, the FA 18:0 and 20:3 were positively related to resting FBF, whereas an inverse relationship was seen for the FA 20:5 and 22:6 (P < 0.05-0.01). Opposite relationships were seen between these four FA and the relative increase in maximal FBF during hyperemia (P < 0.05-0.01). In the intervention protocol, the saturated diet increased resting FBF, as well as the relative increase in maximal FBF during reactive hyperemia, compared to the diet rich in unsaturated FA (P < 0.05). Both the cross-sectional and intervention data support the view that the composition of serum FA, which at least partly reflects the quality of dietary fat, plays a role in determinations of vascular reactivity.

The present study investigated possible relationships between left ventricular mass, intima-media thickness of the carotid artery (IMT), total arterial compliance, and lipid status in a population sample of 58 apparently healthy subjects aged 20 to 69. By stepwise multiple regression analysis, including age, blood pressure, and smoking, left ventricular mass index, measured by M-mode echocardiography, increased by 13.0 g/m2 for each 1 standard deviation (SD=0.11 μM, r=0.60, P<0.01) increase in plasma malondialdehyde and 9.50 g/m2 per SD increase in plasma 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α in women only (SD=8.88 ng/L, r=0.44, P=0.01). Each 1-SD (SD=0.27 g/L) increase in apolipoprotein B was associated with a 63 μm increase in IMT (r=0.47, P=0.01) and a 0.27 mL/min/m2/mm Hg (r=−0.60, P<0.01) decrease in stroke index/pulse pressure ratio, reflecting total arterial compliance in women. In men, each 1-SD increase in the proportion of stearic acid (18∶0) in serum cholesterol esters (SD=0.12 percent units) reduced the transmitral E/A ratio, measured by Doppler echocardiography, reflecting left ventricular diastolic function, by 0.10 units (r=−0.29, P<0.05). Thus, important cardiovascular characteristics, such as left ventricular mass, left ventricular diastolic function, carotid IMT, and total arterial compliance, were independently predicted by indices of lipid metabolism and peroxidation in apparently healthy subjects.

potassium channels 516 Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease 502 Balloon injury 272 Beta-2-receptor stimulation 245 Bone morphogenetic protein-2 120 Calcium 235, 404 cAMP 516 Candesartan 393 Capillary filtration coefficient 245 Carbon monoxide 114 Carotid artery 222 Cat skeletal muscle 245 Cell adhesion 47 -density 272 -migration 47, 120 -seeding 91 Cerebral blood flow 100 cGMP-dependent protein kinase 299 Cheek pouch 465 Chemiluminescence 456 Chemotaxis 120 Chloride 492 Cholesterol metabolism 261 Cobra venom 289 Collagen I 139 -III 139 Colloidal gold conjugate 59 Complement activation 289 Computer