An association between alterations in LVED k and collagen solubility but not between changes in LVED k and total collagen or phenotype ratios after antihypertensive therapy in SHRs suggests that myocardial stiffness in hypertension is the consequence of an enhanced myocardial collagen cross-linking rather than of an increase in total collagen or type I phenotype concentrations.

We examined the influence of self-administered anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) on the lipogram of male body builders. Serum lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were measured in 10 experimental and 8 control male competitive body builders. The proportion of subjects with serum Lp(a) levels above 30 mg.dl-1 was significantly lower in the AAS group than the non-AAS group. HDL-C levels were significantly lower and LDL-C levels significantly higher in the AAS group than the non-AAS group. These data suggest that AAS in male body builders have a beneficial effect on serum Lp(a) levels but reduce the HDL-C:LDL-C ratio.

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