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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Impact Assessment of Repeated Exposure of Organotypic 3D Bronchial and Nasal Tissue Culture Models to Whole Cigarette Smoke
Published on: February 12, 2015
Blood pressure circadian rhythm and endothelial function in heavy smokers: acute effects of transdermal nicotine
Juan Carlos Yugar-Toledo1, Silvia Elaine Ferreira-Melo, Maricene Sabha
1Department of Pharmacology, University Hospital and Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Abstract:
Nicotine replacement therapy appears to be safe when used by healthy patients to aid in smoking cessation; however, the immediate acute effects of nicotine replacement therapy on the circadian rhythm of blood pressure (BP) and endothelial function in heavy smokers are not well understood. Twenty-six heavy smokers were requested to stop smoking for 48 hours. BP and heart rate were recorded over 48 hours by ambulatory BP monitoring, with beat-to-beat changes being monitored for the first 10 hours by a noninvasive finger device. The reactivity of the brachial artery was evaluated using flow-mediated dilation immediately after smoking cessation, before the application of a 21-mg nicotine patch or placebo patch, and 24 hours after patch placement. Transdermal nicotine caused a mild but significant elevation in BP in the early morning in 21 of 26 volunteers. The decrease in nocturnal BP was attenuated in patients with the nicotine patch compared with the placebo patch; this was associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation.
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