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Hypoxia and Treatment of Varicose Veins

Few studies have investigated potential pharmacologic
agents that may protect the vein wall from hypoxia. The
most commonly studied group of pharmacological agents
in this context has been the venoactive drugs such as flavonoids
[19, 41, 55, 57, 62] . Venoactive drugs are often
derived from plant extracts, and their therapeutic actions
include increased venous tone, reduced vein wall inflammation
and decreased capillary permeability [6, 63] .

In vitro models have been used to investigate the effects
of venoactive drugs on hypoxia-induced endothelial
and PMN activation [41, 57] . In a HUVEC model, aescine
was shown to inhibit hypoxia-induced activation of endothelial
cells, leucocytes, and the interactions of these
cells in a dose-dependent manner [41, 57] . Venoactive
drugs were also shown to target complexes I and III of the
mitochondrial respiratory chain or adenine nucleotide
translocase, reduce oxidative stress, and increase ATP
synthesis during hypoxia [8, 41, 64] . A further study used
an ex vivo vein explant model and found that flavonoids
significantly reduced the oxygen consumption of varicose
veins [55] .

What foods provide flavonoids?

Virtually all fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices contain flavonoids. They are also found in other types of food, including dry beans (where they give red beans,black beans, and speckled beans their color) and grains (where the color provided by flavonoids is usually in the yellow family). Products made from the foods above (for example, wines made from grapes) also typically contain a wide variety of flavonoids.

While the flavonoid family is too complex to report all of its food connections, some highlights are especially important. In the fruit family, it is berries that come out highest in the chemical category of flavonoids called anthocyanins. Black raspberries, for example, may contain up to 100 milligrams of anthocyanins per ounce.

Green tea has flavonoid components called catechins that may reach 1,000 milligrams (or 1 gram) per cup. In general the more colorful components of the food - like the skins of fruits - contain the highest concentration of flavonoids. An exception to this rule, however, is the white pulpy inside of oranges. Unlike the watery orange-colored sections of this fruit, which contain virtually all of its vitamin C, the orange's flavonoids are found in the white pulpy portion inside the skin and surrounding the sections.

Blood Brain Barrier Compromise with Endothelial Inflammation may Lead to Autoimmune Loss of Myelin during Multiple Sclerosis
Author: Simka, Marian

Source: Current Neurovascular Research, Volume 6, Number 2, May 2009 , pp. 132-139(8)

Abstract:

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease characterized by multifocal areas of inflammation and demyelination within the central nervous system. The mechanism that triggers the disease remains elusive. However, recent findings may indicate that multiple sclerosis, at its source, could be a hemodynamic disorder. It has been found that multiple sclerosis patients exhibit significant stenoses in extracranial veins draining the central nervous system (in azygous and internal jugular veins), which are associated with significant pressure gradients measured across strictures. Such anatomic venous abnormalities were not found in the control group of healthy subjects. In this review, it is hypothesized that pathological refluxing venous flow in the cerebral and spinal veins increases the expression of adhesion molecules, particularly intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), by the cerebrovascular endothelium. This, in turn, could lead to the increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier. Inflamed and activated endothelium could secrete proinflammatory cytokines, including GM-CSF and TGF-beta. In these settings, monocytes could transform into antigenpresenting cells and initiate an autoimmune attack against myelin-containing cells. Consequently, a potential therapeutic option for multiple sclerosis could be pharmacotherapy with either substances that strengthen the tight-junctions barrier, or with agents that reduce the expression of adhesion molecules. In addition, surgical correction could be an option in some anatomical variants of pathologic venous outflow. We are optimistic that a hemodynamic approach to the multiple sclerosis pathogenesis can open a new chapter of investigations and treatment of this debilitating neurologic disease.

Alas, I am drinking Diet Coke. In the morning too.

Your choice is far better.

What to reach for instead? Cold and sweet preferably and I can't be drinking red wine all day.