PubMed · 9934144
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R Coombes. Violent times.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9934144/
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Ultrasound-detected carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) is regarded as a valid index of atherosclerosis. Cross-sectional studies have been helpful in establishing determinants of IMT, but the long-term relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and subclinical atherosclerosis in a low-risk population has not been thoroughly evaluated. METHODS: A cohort of 483 military aviators, officially considered as fit for flying and therefore normotensive, was included in the study. All subjects underwent baseline examination with measurement of cardiovascular risk factors (body mass index, blood pressure, physical working capacity, cigarette smoking, and levels of cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and gamma-glutamyltransferase) and carotid ultrasonography at the end point after 10 years of follow-up. RESULTS: Age, cigarette smoking, and blood pressure were independent long-term predictors of IMT. After adjustment for age, cigarettes smoked daily at baseline, categorized in units of five cigarettes each (regression coefficient in mm, 0.057 [95% CI: 0.029 to 0.085]; p < 0.0001), and systolic blood pressure (regression coefficient in mm, 0.007 [95% CI: 0.003 to 0.010], p < 0.0001) were the only predictors of IMT. Physical working capacity was not associated with IMT. CONCLUSION: Even in normotensive individuals, systolic blood pressure is a strong predictor of early carotid atherosclerosis.
Hematopoietic stem cell grafts from unrelated donors are commonly transported by aircraft. They must not be subjected to x-rays during security checks, which may cause inconvenient discussions between the courier and the airport security staff. We exposed hematopoietic stem cells from mobilized peripheral blood to a widely used x-ray hand-luggage control system. Cell viability as well as growth in vitro of mature progenitor cells (colony-forming cells), primitive progenitor cells (long-term culture-initiating cells), and lymphocytes were not altered even after 10 passages through the hand-luggage control system. Thus, repeated exposure to the low radiation dose of hand-luggage control systems (1.5 +/- 0.6 microSv per exposure) seems to be harmless for hematopoietic stem cells, which should simplify the international transport of stem cell grafts.