Getting too much or too little sleep? It can place pregnant women at an increased risk of pre-eclampsia, claims a new study

According to a study published in Sleep, expectant mothers who get less than five hours of sleep a night are nearly 10 times more prone to pre-eclampsia.  Pregnant women sleeping 10 hours or longer, similarly, were at a greater risk of the complication, although it did not reach statistical significance. 

"Our findings, however, are generally consistent with reports documenting associations between habitual sleep duration, blood pressure values, and hypertension in men, nonpregnant women, adolescents, and children," said lead researcher Michelle Williams. Insufficient sleep, particularly in the third trimester, alters blood pressure levels in pregnant women through affecting the metabolic and neuroendocrine system of the body. 

The condition can subsequently contribute to either pregnancy-induced hypertension without proteinuria or pre-eclampsia, the study found. Scientists believe their finding would motivate expectant mothers to improve their lifestyle, particularly the sleep habits, in order to lower their risk of developing any pregnancy-related complications. 

"Women generally already know that they're eating well and getting enough exercise for two during pregnancy. Our study suggests that women should also aspire to sleep well for two," Williams added. 

Pre-eclampsia is a medical condition in which the expectant mom experiences pregnancy-induced hypertension) in association with having significant amounts of protein in the urine.

Source: PressTV

Blood Pressure Unaffected By Pine-Bark Extract

Add pine-bark extract to the list of dietary supplements that don't live up to their promises of improved health. A new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine shows that pine-bark extract had no effect in lowering blood pressure or reducing other risk factors for heart disease. 

Senior author Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, said the findings are part of a growing body of evidence that antioxidant supplements don't improve heart function. 

"While there's a good biological basis to presume that antioxidant supplements might have a beneficial effect on heart health, this study is another example that they don't," said Stafford, associate professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. "There's also a broader message that many dietary supplements don't have the data to back up their claims of providing health benefits." 

The study, which will be published in the Sept. 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, is the largest randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to date examining the effects of pine-bark extract on blood pressure and other heart disease risks. 

Pine-bark extract has been reputed to have beneficial properties because it is an antioxidant, meaning that it counters the effects of free radicals - oxygen molecules that can damage cells in the body. While some previous studies linked pine-bark extract to reductions in blood pressure, Stafford said most of those studies were "open-label" (meaning that participants knew they were taking the extract) and didn't have control groups of patients who were given placebos. In some cases, participants took the extract in conjunction with other medication, so it wasn't possible to determine the effects of the pine-bark extract alone. 

For the Stanford study, the researchers recruited 130 overweight individuals who had blood pressure above an optimal level but were not taking medication for it. Stafford said the researchers felt these were the types of people who would be more likely to seek out dietary supplements as an alternative therapy. 

The participants were randomly assigned to take either a Japanese-produced pine-bark extract or a placebo. The extract dosage was 200 mg per day, which researchers said was in the middle range of dosages used in previous studies. 

Blood-pressure readings and blood samples of the participants were taken before the study began, at six weeks and then again at the end of the 12-week study period. Additionally, participants were monitored to ensure that their diets, medications and weight didn't change during the study. 

In analyzing the results, the researchers found that the participants' blood pressure levels - as well as other risk factors for heart disease, including cholesterol, blood glucose, body weight and C-reactive protein levels - remained virtually the same in both groups throughout the study. 

"We conducted additional analyses to see if there were subgroups of patients who might have received a benefit from the supplement, but none of them did," Stafford said. 

The study did confirm that the pine-bark extract was safe for consumption even though it didn't improve heart health, but Stafford said many other dietary supplements haven't undergone the same rigorous safety testing. He pointed to a U.S. Food & Drug Administration decision in 2004 to ban over-the-counter sales of ephedra, an herbal supplement that contained amphetamine-like drugs, because it caused heart problems. 

"Most consumers presume that the supplements on the market are safe, but there isn't rigorous information to back up those presumptions," said lead study author Rebecca Drieling, MPH, research director for the SPRC's Program on Prevention Outcomes and Practices. "That's because federal regulations treat dietary supplements more like food than like drugs. Also chemical composition varies among dietary supplements, making standardized testing difficult." 

Other co-authors include associate professor of medicine Christopher Gardner, PhD, and data analyst David Ahn, PhD. The study was funded by Toyo Shinyaku Co. of Japan, which provided the pine-bark extract along with the placebo tablets. None of the researchers has financial or consulting ties to the supplement company. 


Source: Medical News Today

Are some salts good for your blood pressure?

An increased intake of 'good' potassium salts could contribute significantly to improving blood pressure at the population level. The favourable effect brought about by potassium is even estimated to be comparable with the blood pressure reduction achievable by halving the intake of 'bad' sodium salts (mostly from table salt). Those are the conclusions drawn by Linda van Mierlo and her colleagues at Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, and Unilever in their investigation of the consumption of potassium in 21 countries. An article describing their findings appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine on 13 September.

The risk of developing cardiovascular diseases rises as blood pressure increases. In Western countries only 20-30% of the population has 'optimal' blood pressure, with the systolic (maximum) pressure being lower than 120 mm Hg* and the diastolic (minimum) pressure lower than 80 mm Hg. Blood pressure increases with age in most people. Men more often have a higher blood pressure than women.

Diet and lifestyle plays an important role in managing blood pressure. High intakes of sodium and low intakes of potassium have unfavorable effects on blood pressure. Therefore, reducing the consumption of sodium and increasing the consumption of potassium are both good ways to improve blood pressure.

The study carried out by food researchers from the Human Nutrition department at Wageningen University and from the Nutrition & Health department at Unilever demonstrates that the average potassium intake in 21 countries including the US, China, New Zealand, Germany and the Netherlands varies between 1.7 and 3.7 g a day. This is considerably lower than the 4.7 g a day, which has been recommended based on the positive health effects observed at this level of intake.

A hypothetical increase in the potassium intake to the recommended level would reduce the systolic blood pressure in the populations of these countries by between 1.7 and 3.2 mm Hg. This corresponds with the reduction that would occur if Western consumers were to take in 4 g of salt less per day. The intakes of both potassium and sodium are therefore of importance in preventing high blood pressure.

Earlier studies have shown that salt reduction of 3 g per day in food could reduce blood pressure and prevent 2500 deaths per year due to cardiovascular diseases in the Netherlands. In Western countries, salt consumption can be as high as 9-12 g a day whereas 5 g is the recommended amount according to WHO standards. Most household salt is to be found in processed foods such as bread, ready-made meals, soups, sauces and savoury snacks and pizzas. An effective way of increasing potassium intake is to follow the guidelines for healthy nutrition more closely, including a higher consumption of vegetables and fruit. In addition, the use of mineral salts in processed foods - by which sodium is partly replaced by potassium - would contribute to an improved intake of both sodium and potassium.

Sources: Wageningen University and Research Centre, AlphaGalileo Foundation./ Medical News Today

Pine bark and kidney damage caused by hypertension

Pycnogenol, an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, can counteract kidney damage caused by hypertension, according to a new study.

"Kidney disease is a common problem for people with hypertension and is an equally 'silent' threat to the body. There are no warning signals and inefficient fluid removal may further increase the blood pressure, causing a vicious circle to set in," said Dr Gianni Belcaro, a lead researcher of the study.

The results of this study demonstrated Pycnogenol's ability not only to reduce blood pressure, but also to relieve the kidney damage caused by chronic hypertension," Belcaro added.

The randomized, controlled study conducted by the G D'Annunzio University in Italy investigated 55 hypertensive patients who showed early signs of impaired kidney function, as judged by elevated amounts of proteins found in their urine.

The patients were divided into two groups. Both groups were treated with anti-hypertensive medication Ramipril and one group of 29 patients took Pycnogenol in addition to the Ramipril. Urine was collected during a 24 hour period for quantification of protein (albumin) at baseline and again after six months of treatment.

All patients included in the study had an average urinary protein level of 89 mg per 24-hour period, significantly exceeding the 30 mg measure, up to which kidney function is considered sufficient.

After six months of treatment with Ramipril, average protein levels decreased to 64 mg per 24-hour period, remaining well above an acceptable level.

On the other hand, the group taking Pycnogenol as an adjunct to Ramipril had an average of only 39 mg per 24-hour period, a decrease of nearly double compared with anti-hypertensive medication taken alone.

The study also found a statistically significant decrease in patients' blood pressure when taking Pycnogenol in conjunction with Ramipril. When treated exclusively with Ramipril, systolic blood pressure values dropped by more than 30 per cent and diastolic blood pressure values dropped approximately eight per cent.

The addition of Pycnogenol decreased both systolic and diastolic pressures by an additional three to six percent. Pycnogenol was also found to lower the patients' elevated levels of inflammatory marker CRP, a blood protein associated with the risk for acute cardiovascular events such as heart attack, reducing values to a healthy level.

The study has been published in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Exposure to air pollution could increase blood pressure...

Long-term exposure to the air pollution particles caused by traffic has been linked to an increase in blood pressure, U.S. researchers say.

In the new report, researchers analyzed data from 939 participants in the Normative Aging Study, who were assessed every four years between 1995 and 2006. A computer model was used to estimate each participant's exposure to traffic air pollution particles during the entire study period and for the year preceding each four-year assessment.

Increased exposure to traffic pollution particles was associated with higher blood pressure, especially when the exposure occurred in the year preceding a four-year assessment (3.02 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure, 1.96 mm Hg increase in diastolic pressure, and 2.30 mm Hg increase in mean arterial pressure), the study authors reported in a news release from the American Heart Association.

This link between long-term exposure to traffic air pollution particles and higher blood pressure readings may help explain the association between traffic pollution and heart attacks and cardiovascular deaths reported in previous studies, study author Joel Schwartz, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues noted in the news release.

The findings were to be presented Thursday at the American Heart Association's Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention annual conference in San Francisco.

Report Brief - Institute of Medicine

Report Brief - Institute of Medicine

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