Background--Contrast medium-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) is a leading cause of acquired renal impairment. The effects of antioxidants have been conflicting regarding the prevention of CIAKI. We performed a study of vitamin E use to decrease CIAKI in patients undergoing elective coronary angiography.

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Background:Cardiac syndrome X (CSX) is a condition in which patients have the pain of angina despite normal coronary angiogram. Recently, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria has been associated with CSX. However, there is no obvious data about the frequency of its virulent strain (cytotoxine associated gene A: CagA) in patients with CSX. We surveyed the frequency of H. pylori and CagA antibodies in patients with cardiac syndrome X and healthy controls.Materials and Methods:Plasma samples from 100 CSX patients (61 females and 39 males; mean age: 51.8 ± 12.3 years) and 100 healthy controls (61 females and 39 males; mean age: 48.9 ± 6.3 years) were tested for the presence of IgG antibody to H. pylori using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Also, infected patients were determined by the presence of IgG antibody to CagA by ELISA method. Statistical analysis was carried out using chi-square test and independent samples T-test.Results:Ninety two percent (92/100) of patients were anti-H. pylori positive (anti-H. pylori+), while only 56.0% (56/100) of control group were anti-H. pylori+ (P<0.01). However, prevalence of anti-CagA positive (anti- CagA+) in H. pylori infected- CSX patients and control groups were 59.8% (55/92) and 60.7% (34/56), respectively (P>0.05).Conclusion:Thus, due to the high frequency of anti-H. pylori in CSX patients, and the probable causative effect of chronic infection in vascular diseases, it is suggested that H. pylori has a probable role in the pathogenesis of CSX.

Cardiac syndrome X (CSX) is characterized by chest pain, typical angina pectoris, abnormal exercise test result and normal coronary arteries. Microvascular dysfunction and enhanced oxidative stress are the mechanisms suspected to play an important role in the pathogenesis of CSX. Thus we aimed to evaluate the oxidative stress status of 28 patients with CSX (14 male/14 female, mean age 49.5 ± 9.3 years) and 24 age-and gender-matched healthy controls (10 male/14 female, mean age 45.6 ± 5.7 years). Blood samples were drawn for measurement of malodialdehyde (MDA), as a marker of lipid peroxidation, glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, as antioxidant markers and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), as a marker of total antioxidant capacity. There was significant increase in the levels of MDA in CSX patients comparing to controls (3.8 ± 0.12 vs 3.3 ± 0.14 mM, respectively; p = 0.006). But the levels of FRAP in CSX patients were significantly lower than those controls (504 ± 19 vs 568 ± 26 µM, respectively; p = 0.046). Also, GSH levels and SOD activity in patients were significantly lower than those of the controls (GSH: 133.6 ± 5.4 vs 152.5 ± 7.8 mmol/g Hb, p = 0.048; SOD: 386 ± 34 vs 578 ± 38 U/g Hb, p = 0.0001). It may be concluded that there is systemic oxidative stress in CSX patients. Considerable changes of antioxidant concentrations, indicating a compensatory mechanism to cope with increased oxidative stress in CSX patients and the body's antioxidant defence mechanisms try to minimize oxidative stress damage.

In the past, the relationship between coronary artery disease (CAD) and been studied extensively. The ABO blood group has a significant effect on homeostasis and is therefore associated with adverse cardiovascular events. This study aimed to determine the distribution of ABO blood group and rhesus (Rh) status (ABO/Rh) in patients with different severity of CAD in Iranian community. A total of 1,236 CAD patients undergoing angiography were evaluated and their ABO/Rh blood type was determined in a study center between February 2005 and December 2010. Of the 1,236 records, only 1,046 medical documents recorded the number of involved vessels. The patients were classified according to the number of significantly affected stenotic vessels into single vessel (1VD), two vessels (2VD), and three vessels (3VD) disease subgroups. A substantially different ABO/Rh blood groups distribution was seen in the examined samples (O: 29.7%, A: 39.7%, B: 22.2%, AB: 8.3%, Rh positivity: 89.2%). The ABO/Rh blood group phenotype distribution in CAD patients with 1VD, 2VD, and 3VD was as follows: 37.5%, 41.3%, and 41.5%, respectively, for group A; 24.1%, 20.5%, and 20.6%, respectively, for group B; 31.2%, 26.8%, and 30.2%, respectively, for group O; 7.1%, 11.4% and 7.7%, respectively, for group AB (p = 0.26), and 88.7%, 90.5%, and 87.6%, respectively, for Rh positivity, (p = 0.47).  In addition, no significant correlation was not found among the ABO/Rh blood group distribution and the number of vessels involved, however, according to the different distribution of ABO/Rh blood group in CAD patients and healthy population, ABO/Rh might have an unknown role in CAD patients. Keywords: Coronary artery disease, Blood group, Stenosis, Vessel, Rhesus.