BackgroundThe prevalence of population-wide hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia has not been well studied in the pasture area of Xinjiang. The present epidemiological study was performed to determine the prevalence of hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia in minority populations from the pasture area of Xinjiang and to discuss the potential risk factors for hypertension.MethodsA population-based, cross-sectional study in the Xinjiang pasture area was performed which included 2251 participants aged over 30 years (90.33% participation rate) of whom 71.26% were Kazaks. Several risk factors were considered: hypertension (defined as systolic or diastolic blood pressure or both of at least 140/90 mmHg measured on one occasion or treatment for hypertension) overweight/obesity (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2) alcohol intake, smoking/tobacco use and dyslipidemia. Outcomes were prevalence of hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia and the associated risk factors of hypertension detected by multivariate logistic regression analysis taking into account various metabolic and lifestyle characteristics.ResultsThe prevalence of hypertension, overweight/obesity and dyslipidemia in all participants from the pasture area of Xinjiang was 51.9%, 47.9% and 49.2% respectively. Independently, the prevalence and awareness of hypertension was 52.6% and 15.3% among Kazaks (n = 1604), 54.6% and 14.1% among Uygurs (n = 418), 39.5% and 16.1% among Mongolians (n = 81) and 43.9% and 18.2% among non-Xinjiang-born Han immigrants (n = 148). The prevalence of overweight/obesity in Kazaks, Uygurs, Mongolians and Han immigrants was 46.7%, 48.9%, 62.5% and 50.3%, respectively. The prevalence of dyslipidemia in the four ethnic groups mentioned was 53.5%, 34.8%, 49.3% and 47.3%, respectively. The mean blood pressure in all participants was 136/86 mmHg (pre-hypertensive), the mean BMI was 24.7 kg/m2. Based on multiple logistic regression analysis, the significant risk factors for hypertension were age [1.07(1.06-1.09), P < 0.0001], overweight/obesity [overweight: 1.61(1.22-2.13), p = 0.0007; obesity: 1.95 (1.33-2.87), p = 0.0007], hypercholesterolemia [1.30(1.15-1.47), p < 0.0001] and an alcohol intake of over 30 g/day [2.22(1.43-3.45), p = 0.0004].ConclusionsThe considerably high prevalence of hypertension, overweight/obesity and dyslipidemia among the minority population aged over 30 from the pasture area of Xinjiang calls for effective preventive measures. Age, increased body mass index, hypercholesterolemia and ≥30 g/d alcohol intake can be counted as risk factors for hypertension, but further genetic or environmental clarification would be desirable to explain the unusually high prevalence of the conditions mentioned above.

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of primary aldosteronism (PA) in hypertensive patients with hyperglycemia. Two hundred and thirty-two hypertensive patients with hyperglycemia were screened for PA. Fifty-four subjects with an aldosterone/rennin activity ratio >20 ng/dL per ng/mL/hour underwent a saline loading test. Primary aldosteronism was present in 22.4% of patients with a plasma aldosterone concentration >5 ng/dL and 11.6% of those with plasma aldosterone concentrations >10 ng/dL. There were 14.0%-23.0% patients with PA in the diabetes mellitus group, 2.3%-23.3% in the impaired glucose tolerance group, and 9.1% in the impaired fasting glucose group. Primary aldosteronism is common in hypertensive individuals with hyperglycemia.

Resistant hypertension is always fount to be accompanied with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Previous studies assumed inflammation participated in OSAS and hypertension. The fact that tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-alpha) was related to OSAS, while neuropeptide Y (NPY) was related to hypertension, was widely reported separately. To investigate the involvement of TNF-alpha and NPY simultaneously in hypertension accompanied with OSAS, 417 subjects who underwent the polymonograph and blood pressure measurement were consecutively selected. Plasma TNF-alpha and NPY levels were determined in normotensive with OSAS (n = 113), hypertensive without OSAS (n = 73), hypertensive with OSAS (n = 134), and those of controls (n = 97), respectively. A significant increase of plasma TNF-alpha and NPY were both observed in hypertensive subjects with or without OSAS, the highest level of TNF-alpha and NPY were in hypertension with the OSAS group. TNK-alpha, NPY, and neck circumference contributed to OSAS and hypertension as risk factors in the logistic regression model. Neck circumference was impacted by apnea/hyponea index, mean diastolic blood pressure, and TNF-alpha level, which was indicated via the multiple linear model. The present study indicated a positive interplay between plasma TNF-alpha, NPY, hypertension, and OSAS in the Han population of Xinjiang. Although there is evidence that inflammation plays a role in the pathophysiology of hypertension and OSAS, clear evidence is still lacking, and raises the dilemma of the hen and the egg. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of hypertension with OSAS, in which neck size should be considered as a linked independent factor.

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vascular smooth muscle cells. GSPE significantly reduced the AGEs (p<0.05), and the expression of RAGE in aorta of diabetic rats. The expression of 23 proteins was found either up-regulated or downregulated in the aorta of untreated diabetic rats. Only the expression of 15 proteins was found either down-regulated or up-regulated in the aorta of GSPE treated diabetic rats. Among these proteins, in comparison with the aortic tissue of diabetic rats, the differential proteomic analysis of the aortic tissue of diabetic rats, treated by GSPE further revealed the variation of fifteen proteins, namely, lamin A, ATP synthase alpha chain, proline arginine-rich end leucine-rich repeat protein precursor, LOC500183 protein, heat Shock Protein 27, enoylCoA hydratase, glutamate dehydrogenase, protein-L-isoaspartate (Daspartate) O-methyltransferase 1, lactadherin, leucine aminopeptidase 3, adenylyl cyclase-associated protein 1, apolipoprotein A-I, catalase, Dermcidin, and fibrinogen b chain. In brief, the differentially expressed proteins were related to many important biological functions including metabolism, oxidative stress, signal transduction, cell proliferation, cell growth, apoptosis and heat shock. Conclusion GSPE plays an important role against diabetic macrovascular complications. Our findings might help to better understanding of the mechanism of diabetic macrovascular complications, and provide novel targets for estimating the effects of GSPE therapy. Objective The present study was undertaken to investigate the protective effects of losartan on cardiomyocyte apoptosis in chronic heart failure (CHF) rats induced by banding abdominal aorta. Methods SD rats underwent abdominal aorta coarctation to induce CHF, confirmed by ultrasound cardiograph and Catheterisation, or sham operation, followed by 8 weeks treatment with Losartan or vehicle. Plasma NE was measured by ELISA, and plasma and tissue Ang II levels were measured by RIA. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was examined by agarose gel electrophoresis and TUNEL's method. The mRNA levels of Bax and Bcl-2 were determined by RT-PCR and the protein expression of phosphorylated and total Akt were assessed by Western blot. Results Losartan-treated CHF rats had lower LVEDP (p<0.01), higher LVEF (p<0.05), lower plasma NE (p<0.05) and myocardium Ang II (p<0.05), but higher plasma Ang II (p<0.05) than vehicletreated CHF rats. Losartan-treated CHF rats had no obviously "DNA ladder " which was the character of apoptosis, and the apoptosis index was also reduced (p<0.05) with a lower expression of Bax/ Bcl-2 gene (p<0.05) and a higher protein expression of p-Akt (p<0.05). Conclusion Losartan might inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis and improve cardiac function in aortic banded rats by blocking Ang II to bind AT1-R and promoting the activation of Akt. Objective To investigate the relationship between the A1166C allele polymorphism of angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor (AT1R) gene and the essential hypertension in Kazakans of Xinjiang. Methods PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism me...