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Six months of DAPT was not inferior to 18 months of DAPT following implantation of a DES with a biodegradable abluminal coating. However, this result needs to be interpreted with caution given the open-label design and wide noninferiority margin of the present study. (Nobori Dual Antiplatelet Therapy as Appropriate Duration [NIPPON]; NCT01514227).

To investigate vascular mechanisms in hypertension, we isolated renal arterial rings from rats with ouabain-dependent hypertension and studied their function. In rats infused with ouabain for 5 weeks, systolic and mean blood pressures (BP) were increased relative to controls. Contractions evoked by high KCI solutions were greater in rings from ouabain-infused rats whereas the threshold concentrations and EC50sfor KCI and the peak caffeine contractures were not different. KCI contractures were not affected by 5 ,aM prazosin. Phenylephrine contractures were increased marginally in ouabain-infused rats, while acetylcholine-induced relaxation was normal. /n vitro superfusion of rings with 10 nM ouabain or digoxin did not affect the measured parameters. Plasma ouabain, BP, and all evoked responses were normal one week following interruption of the ouabain infusion. In a second study, BP increased in ouabain (15 ,ug/kg/day, n= 23), but not digoxin (30 ,ug/kg/day, n=12), or vehicle-infused (n=16) rats. KCI contractures were greater in rings from ouabain-but decreased in rings from digoxin-infused rats, respectively and correlated with sys-

Abstract-Many studies have shown that estrogen may exert cardioprotective effects and reduce the risk of hypertension and coronary events. On the other hand, it has been proposed that cell membrane abnormalities play a role in the pathophysiology of hypertension, although it is not clear whether estrogen would influence membrane function in essential hypertension. The present study was performed to investigate the effects of 17␤-estradiol (E 2 ) on membrane fluidity of erythrocytes in normotensive and hypertensive postmenopausal women. We determined the membrane fluidity of erythrocytes by means of an electron paramagnetic resonance and spin-labeling method. In an in vitro study, E 2 significantly decreased the order parameter for 5-nitroxide stearate and the peak height ratio for 16-nitroxide stearate obtained from electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of erythrocyte membranes in normotensive postmenopausal women. The finding indicates that E 2 might increase the membrane fluidity of erythrocytes. The effect of E 2 was significantly potentiated by the NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, and a cGMP analogue, 8-bromo-cGMP. In contrast, the change in the membrane fluidity evoked by E 2 was attenuated in the presence of the NO synthase inhibitor, N G -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, and asymmetric dimethyl-L-arginine. In hypertensive postmenopausal women, the membrane fluidity of erythrocytes was significantly lower than that in normotensive postmenopausal women. The effect of E 2 on membrane fluidity was significantly more pronounced in the erythrocytes of hypertensive postmenopausal women than in the erythrocytes of normotensive postmenopausal women. The results of the present study showed that E 2 significantly increased the membrane fluidity and improved the microviscosity of erythrocyte membranes, partially mediated by an NO-and cGMP-dependent pathway. Furthermore, the greater action of E 2 in hypertension might be consistent with the hypothesis that E 2 could have a beneficial effect in regulating rheological behavior of erythrocytes and could have a crucial role in the improvement of the microcirculation in hypertension. here is a strong link between menopause and an increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases, and recent studies have demonstrated that estrogen replacement therapy reduced morbidity or mortality due to coronary heart diseases in postmenopausal women. [1][2][3][4] It has also been shown that estrogen supplementation induced a significant fall in blood pressure in postmenopausal women. 5 These findings propose the idea that estrogen may exert protective effects against arteriosclerosis and hypertension. However, fundamental mechanisms of cellular and molecular events by estrogen are still unclear.It has been proposed that cell membrane abnormalities are an etiological factor in hypertension, including functional abnormalities, such as transmembrane cation fluxes. 6 -8 An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and spin-labeling method have been developed to elucidate the membrane fluid...

The present OCT study demonstrated the differences of the culprit lesion morphologies between STEMI and NSTEACS. The morphological feature of plaque rupture and the intracoronary thrombus could relate to the clinical presentation in patients with acute coronary disease.

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