Current and emerging therapeutic options for the treatment of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy

Chagas’ disease is an endemic disease in Latin America caused by a unicellular parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi) that affects almost 18 million people. This condition involves the heart, causing heart failure, arrhythmias, heart block, thromboembolism, stroke, and sudden death. In this article, we review the current and emerging treatment of Chagas’ cardiomyopathy focusing mostly on management of heart failure and arrhythmias. Heart failure therapeutical options including drugs, stem cells and heart transplantation are revised. Antiarrhythmic drugs, catheter ablation, and intracardiac devices are discussed as well. Finally, the evidence for a potential role of specific antiparasitic treatment for the prevention of cardiovascular disease is reviewed

The central nervous system and sudden cardiac death: What should we know?

The role of the central nervous system in the modulation and precipitation of sudden cardiac death has been a matter of controversy for decades. Establishing a cause-effect relationship in the setting of a cerebro-vascular event has been complex, as patients with stroke usually have risk factors for coronary artery disease as well. This article will review both experimental and clinical evidence relating to the mechanisms that link the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system. Cardiovascular consequences of stroke and epilepsy will be also reviewed

Management of Dyslipidaemia in Real-world Clinical Practice: Rationale and Design of the VIPFARMA ISCP Project.

Dyslipidaemia plays a major role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Every year, scientific institutions publish cardiovascular prevention guidelines with updated goals and recommendations based on new evidence. However, medical barriers exist that make achieving these goals difficult and gaps between guidelines and best daily clinical practice still persist. The International Society of Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy designed the Surveillance of Prescription Drugs in the Real World Project (VIPFARMA ISCP), a survey for physicians who manage lipid disorders in high-risk patients. Seven clusters of questions will be analysed comprising demographics, institution profile, access to continuing medical education, clinical practice profile, attitude regarding use of statins, knowledge regarding proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors and attitudes regarding medical decisions about triglycerides. The present study will be the first part of a larger programme and aims to shed light on barriers between lipid-lowering drug therapy recommendations in the 2019 European Society of Cardiology guidelines and clinical practice in different countries

Сохраняя традиции — в глобальное информационное пространство: итоги заседания редакционного совета журнала «Библиотековедение»

The article discusses the Meeting of the Editorial Board and Editorial Council of “Bibliotekovedenie” (Library and Information Science) Journal, which was held on 30 April, 2017 at the Russian State Library. There are described the main scientometric indicators of the Journal, presented the statistics, collected over the last two years, structured by various directions of work of periodical, and the interim results of the activities. There is provided the detailed information on changing the journal format and its causes, proposed the data on adoption of the journal Ethics and outlined the prospects for further development of the periodical.В статье раскрываются основные наукометрические показатели журнала «Библиотековедение», представленные на заседании редакционного совета и редакционной коллегии журнала, которое состоялось 30 апреля 2017 г. в Российской государственной библиотеке. Освещена статистика, собранная за последние два года, структурированная по различным направлениям работы издания, подведены промежуточные итоги деятельности. Дается подробная информация об изменении формата издания и его причинах, предлагаются сведения о принятии Этики журнала, намечены перспективы дальнейшего развития

Epidemiological characteristics and diagnostic approach in patients admitted to the emergency room for transient loos of consciousness: Group for Syncope Study in the Emergency Room (GESINUR) study

Aims: To assess the clinical presentation and acute management of patients with transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC) in the emergency department (ED). Methods and results: A multi-centre prospective observational study was carried out in 19 Spanish hospitals over 1 month. The patients included were 14 years old and were admitted to the ED because of an episode of T-LOC. Questionnaires and corresponding electrocardiograms (ECGs) were reviewed by a Steering Committee (SC) to unify diagnostic criteria, evaluate adherence to guidelines, and diagnose correctly the ECGs. We included 1419 patients (prevalence, 1.14%).ECG was performed in 1335 patients (94%) in the ED: 498 (37.3%) ECGs were classified as abnormal. The positive diagnostic yield ranged from 0% for the chest X-ray to 12% for the orthostatic test. In the ED, 1217 (86%) patients received a final diagnosis of syncope, whereas the remaining 202 (14%) were diagnosed of non-syncopal transient lossof consciousness (NST-LOC). After final review by the SC, 1080 patients (76%) were diagnosed of syncope, whereas 339 (24%) were diagnosed of NST-LOC (P , 0.001). Syncope was diagnosed correctly in 84% of patients. Only 25% of patients with T-LOC were admitted to hospitals. Conclusion Adherence to clinical guidelines for syncope management was low; many diagnostic tests were performed with low diagnostic yield. Important differences were observed between syncope diagnoses at the ED and by SC decision