To clarify the dose-response and the time-response relationship between liquorice consumption and rise in blood pressure and explore the inter-individual variance this intervention study was designed and executed in research laboratories at University hospitals in Iceland and Sweden. Healthy, Caucasian volunteers who also served as a control for himself/herself consumed liquorice in various doses, 50-200 g/day, for 2-4 weeks, corresponding to a daily intake of 75-540 mg glycyrrhetinic acid, the active substance in liquorice. Blood pressure was measured before, during and after liquorice consumption. Systolic blood pressure increased by 3.1-14.4 mm Hg (P Ͻ 0.05 for all), demonstrating a dose-

Losartan reduced BP in OSA, but the reductions were less than in no-OSA. Add-on CPAP therapy resulted in no significant changes in 24-hour BP measures except in patients using CPAP efficiently. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00701428).​

Background/Aim. Relatively few studies have investigated the association of prestroke glycemic control and clinical outcome in acute ischemic stroke (IS) patients, regardless of presence of diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of prestroke glycemic control on survival, stroke severity, and functional outcome of patients with acute IS. Methods. We performed a retrospective survival analysis of 501 patients with IS admitted to Sahlgrenska University Hospital from February 15, 2005, through May 31, 2009. The outcomes of interest were acute and long-term survival; the stroke severity (NIHSS) and the functional outcome, mRS, at 12 months. Results. HbA1c was a good predictor of acute (HR 1.45; CI, 1.09 to 1.93, P = 0.011) and long-term mortality (HR 1.29; CI 1.03 to 1.62; P = 0.029). Furthermore, HbA1c >6% was significantly correlated with acute stroke severity (OR 1.29; CI 1.01 to 1.67; P = 0.042) and predicted worse functional outcome at 12 months (OR 2.68; CI 1.14 to 6.03; P = 0.024). Conclusions. Our study suggests that poor glycemic control (baseline HbA1c) prior to IS is an independent risk factor for poor survival and a marker for increased stroke severity and unfavorable long-term functional outcome.

SUMMARY The short term effects of epidural spinal electrical stimulation were studied in 10 patients with angina pectoris of New York Heart Association functional class III or IV. The antianginal pharmacological treatment given at entry to the study was regarded as optimal and was not changed during the study. The effects of epidural spinal electrical stimulation were measured by repeated bicycle ergometer tests. Treatment with epidural spinal electrical stimulation increased the patients' working capacity, decreased ST segment depression, increased time to angina, and reduced the recovery time. The observed effects did not seem to be correlated with any changes in myocardial oxygen demand during epidural spinal electrical stimulation and were additional to the benefits of the pharmacological treatment.Patients with severe angina pectoris treated with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation had a reduction of chest pain, an increase in working capacity, and a reduction in ST segment depression.' Some patients had skin irritation of different kinds and in some the stimulation equipment restricted physical activity. These patients were offered the opportunity to test epidural spinal electrical stimulation by a fully implanted system. Epidural spinal electrical stimulation has been used successfully to treat chronic intractable pain and peripheral vascular disease.2We have assessed the clinical usefulness of epidu-ral spinal electrical stimulation in the treatment of patients with severe angina pectoris. Patients and methods PATIENTSTen patients (two women and eight men, aged