The arterial wall: A new pharmacological and therapeutic target

In recent years, two key concepts having numerous interrelationships were advanced for the understanding of various cardiovascular diseases: the 'endothelial dysfunction' and the 'arterial remodelling'. Both endothelial dysfunction and arterial remodelling occur in various pathologies including essential hypertension, heart failure, atherosclerosis, restenosis after angioplasty, and pulmonary hypertension, and have modified the therapeutic approach by offering new pharmacological targets: specific receptors not only at the site of the vascular smooth muscle cells but also on the endothelial cells, growth factors that stimulate proliferation of smooth muscle, and receptors and enzymes of the extra-cellular matrix. Among the various substances under research, the present review will discuss angiotensin II receptor antagonists, endothelin receptor antagonists, nitrates-NO donors, potassium channel activators, and substances interfering with proteoglycans and other components of the extra-cellular matrix.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Ocupação e hipertensão Work and high blood pressure

Com base em revisão bibliográfica discute-se a literatura produzida nas décadas de 70 e 80, no campo da epidemiologia da hipertensão arterial sistêmica entre trabalhadores. Analisa-se não apenas o ponto de vista do conhecimento gerado, mas também os aspectos relacionados ao instrumental teórico-metodológico empregado.<br>Scientific reports on Arterial Blood Hypertension for the period from 1970 to 1989 are reviewed, with special reference to its epidemiological focusing among workers. The knowledge gained and the theoretical and methodological advances associated with it are assessed