The North Carolina Black Churches United for Better Health Project: intervention and process evaluation.

The North Carolina Black Churches United for Better Health project was a 4-year intervention trial that successfully increased fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption among rural African American adults, for cancer and chronic disease prevention. The multicomponent intervention was based on an ecological model of change. A process evaluation that included participant surveys, church reports, and qualitative interviews was conducted to assess exposure to, and relative impact of, interventions. Participants were 1,198 members of 24 intervention churches who responded to the 2-year follow-up survey. In addition, reports and interviews were obtained from 23 and 22 churches, respectively. Serving more F&V at church functions was the most frequently reported activity and had the highest perceived impact, followed by the personalized tailored bulletins, pastor sermons, and printed materials. Women, older individuals, and members of smaller churches reported higher impact of certain activities. Exposure to interventions was associated with greater F&V intake. A major limitation was reliance on church volunteers to collect process data.     

Evaluation of in vivo antihypertensive and in vitro vasodepressor activities of the leaf extract of Syzygium guineense (Willd) D.C

The aim of this work was to evaluate the antihypertensive activity of the hydroalcohol extract of the leaves of Syzygium guineense (Willd) D.C. (Myrtaceae) in a 1-kidney-1-clip rat model and its vasorelaxant effect on isolated aorta. The extract reduced blood pressure in a dose and time dependent fashion. Following 3 days of treatment, single oral daily doses of 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg caused an overall reduction (p < 0.05) of systolic blood pressure by 6.9, 34.0 and 40.8 mmHg, respectively. The diastolic blood pressure was, however, significantly reduced (p < 0.05) by 100 mg/kg (10.3 mmHg) and 150 mg/kg (18.4 mmHg) doses only. The mean blood pressure was reduced by 5.0, 18.3 and 25.9 mmHg by the respective doses. The extract also caused a dose-dependent relaxation of aorta precontracted with KCl at a concentration of 5-70 mg/mL, with a maximum relaxation of 56.22% achieved at 70 mg/mL concentration. The relaxation mechanism was found to be independent of the endothelium system, muscarinic receptors, histamine receptors, ATP dependent K(+) channels, cyclooxygenase enzymes and cGMP/NO pathway. The findings suggest that the extract had an antihypertensive effect most likely caused by dilation of the blood vessels, a confirmation for the folkloric use of the plant.     

The discovery and optimization of a novel class of potent, selective, and orally bioavailable anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors with potential utility for the treatment of cancer

A class of 2-acyliminobenzimidazoles has been developed as potent and selective inhibitors of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). Structure based design facilitated the rapid development of structure-activity relationships (SAR) and the optimization of kinase selectivity. Introduction of an optimally placed polar substituent was key to solving issues of metabolic stability and led to the development of potent, selective, orally bioavailable ALK inhibitors. Compound 49 achieved substantial tumor regression in an NPM-ALK driven murine tumor xenograft model when dosed qd. Compounds 36 and 49 show favorable potency and PK characteristics in preclinical species indicative of suitability for further development.     

Physical activity and depressive symptoms among pregnant women: the PIN3 study

Prenatal depression confers health risks for both mother and family. Physical activity may promote better mental health; however, few studies have examined the influence of physical activity on prenatal depression. Data from 1,220 women enrolled in the third Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study (2001–2005) were used to examine the associations between overall and domain-specific moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and depressive symptoms during pregnancy. Self-reported, past week physical activity assessed at 17−22 weeks’ gestation was modeled in logistic regression with self-reported depressive symptoms assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression Scale at 24–29 weeks’ gestation. Active women with ≤2.67 h/week of total MVPA had almost half the odds of having high depressive symptoms as compared to women with no MVPA (odds ratio [OR] = 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.38, 0.83). Increased odds of elevated depressive symptoms were found for women participating in some but ≤2.25 h/week of adult and child care MVPA (OR = 1.84; 95% CI = 1.08, 3.11) and >1 h of indoor household MVPA (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 0.99, 2.70) when compared to women with no MVPA. While overall MVPA may play a role in reducing the odds of developing elevated depressive symptoms, adult and child care and indoor household activities may increase it.     

The prognostic value of transient ischemic dilatation with otherwise normal SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging: A cautionary note in patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease

Background

The prognostic implications of transient ischemic dilatation (TID) of the left ventricle with otherwise normal single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) remain controversial. Whether this finding may have prognostic implications only in high-risk populations, such as patients with diabetes or manifest coronary artery disease (CAD), is uncertain.

Methods

We conducted a prospective cohort study of 1,236 consecutive patients with normal ^99mTc-sestamibi MPI, defined as normal perfusion (summed stress score = 0) and normal left ventricle volume and function. TID was defined as >2 standard deviations above the mean of patients with low likelihood of CAD.

Results

The study subjects were followed for 27 ± 9 months. The 76 (6%) patients with TID had a greater rate of cardiac death or myocardial infarction (MI) [4 (5.3%) vs 11 (0.6%), P = .003] independent of covariates [hazard ratio = 6.4, P = .004]. This finding was entirely derived from the subgroup of 294 patients with diabetes or CAD [4 (13.3%) with TID vs 1 (0.4%) without TID, P = .001] independent of covariates. However, TID was not predictive of cardiac death or MI among the 941 patients without diabetes or CAD. Furthermore, TID was not predictive of coronary revascularization.

Conclusions

This study confirms a benign prognosis of TID with otherwise normal MPI in patients without diabetes or CAD, but cautions against extending this conclusion to high-risk individuals, particularly those with diabetes or CAD.