148 research outputs found
Arterial Stiffness in Chronic Kidney Disease: The Usefulness of a Marker of Vascular Damage
Increased arterial stiffness is a marker of vasculopathy in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, suggesting a significant cardiovascular damage. Detection of arterial stiffness provides physicians with useful prognostic information independent of traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. In addition, this knowledge may help guide appropriate therapeutic choices and monitor the effectiveness of antihypertensive therapies. We review the relationship between arterial stiffness and CKD, as well as the prognostic implications of increased arterial stiffness and the potential therapeutic strategies to ameliorate arterial compliance and outcome in CKD
Ischemia Imaging and Plaque Imaging in Diabetes
Cardiovascular disease is the most frequent cause of death and disability in diabetes, and the morbidity and mortality for coronary artery disease (CAD) in this population is two to four times higher than in nondiabetic subjects. Traditional risk factors do not fully explain the level of cardiovascular risk, and coronary disease events are often silent in diabetic patients. Thus, research has recently focused on improving the risk assessment of an individual patient with new tools in an effort to better identify subjects at highest risk and in need of aggressive management. Cardiovascular imaging has proven very helpful in this regard. Traditional methods to assess CAD are based on detection of obstructive luminal disease responsible for myocardial ischemia. However, acute coronary syndromes often occur in the absence of luminal stenoses. Hence, the utilization of imaging methodologies to visualize atherosclerosis in its presymptomatic stages has received mounting attention in recent years. In this article, we review the current literature on the utility of traditional imaging modalities for obstructive CAD (nuclear and echocardiographic stress testing) as well as atherosclerosis plaque imaging with carotid intima-media thickness and coronary artery calcium for risk stratification of diabetic patients
Ultrafiltrazione peritoneale e sindrome cardiorenale: gestione del sovraccarico di fluidi e ruolo del sodio
Congestion represents a crucial clinical component of both heart failure and cardiorenal syndrome and it has been postulated to modulate heart and kidney cross-link. Diuretic therapy is a corner stone in the treatment patients with heart failure, and renal replacement therapies are mainly used for patients with refractory heart failure who have not reached the worst stages of renal disfunction. Peritoneal dialysis is a home-based therapeutic modality providing both solute clearance and ultrafiltration, together with relief from congestion in decompensated heart failure patients. The following review will focus on sodium removal in refractory decompensated heart failure patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. (Cardionephrology
Early Neurological ASsessment with pupillometrY during Cardiac Arrest REsuscitation (EASY-CARE): protocol for an observational multicentre prospective study
IntroductionOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest is burdened with a high rate of ineffective resuscitation and poor neurological outcome among survivors. To date, there are few perfusion assessment tools during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and none of them provide reliable data. Despite the lack of information, physicians must decide whether to extend or terminate resuscitation efforts.Method and analysisThis is a multicentre prospective, observational cohort study, involving adult patients, victims of unexpected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Early Neurological ASsessment with pupillometrY during Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation aims to primarily describe the reliability of quantitative pupillometry through use of the Neurological Pupillary Index (NPi) during the manoeuvre of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as a predictor of the return of spontaneous circulation. The second objective is to seek and describe the association between the NPi and neurological outcome in the surviving cohort. Patients will be excluded if they are less than 18 years of age, have sustained traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular emergencies, direct injury to the eyes or have pupil anomalies. Neurological outcome will be collected at intensive care unit discharge, at 30 days, 6 months and at 1 year. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) will be used in the emergency department; modified Rankin Score will be adopted for neurological assessment; biomarkers and neurophysiology exams will be collected as well.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by Ethics Committee of Milano. Local committee acceptance is required for each of the centres involved in the clinical and follow-up data collection. Data will be disseminated to the scientific community through original articles submitted to peer-reviewed journals and abstracts to conferences.Trial registration numberNCT05192772
Kidney Disease in HIV Infection
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly improved life expectancy of infected subjects, generating a new epidemiological setting of people aging withHuman Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). People living with HIV (PLWH), having longer life expectancy, now face several age-related conditions as well as side effects of long-term exposure of ART. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common comorbidity in this population. CKD is a relentlessly progressive disease that may evolve toward end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and significantly affect quality of life and risk of death. Herein, we review current understanding of renal involvement in PLWH, mechanisms and risk factors for CKD as well as strategies for early recognition of renal dysfunction and best care of CKD
Uji Efek Analgesik Ekstrak Kulit Manggis (Garcinia Mangostana L.) Pada Mencit Swiss (Muss Musculus)
Background:Indonesia is the country with the second largest plants after Brazil. One of the plants that grow in Indonesia is the mangosteen plant is utilized as a medicine by the people of Indonesia but also by people in some other countries. Mangosteen skin is most often used to treat diseases such as fever, diarrhea, hypertension, antioksidant, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, and many other diseases. This study aims to prove the presence or absence laboratorik analgesic effects of mangosteen peel extract in mice.Methods:This study uses a sample of nine experimental Swiss mice. The sample was divided into 3 groups, namely the positive control group given the drug tramadol, negative control group given distilled water control and experimental groups were given mangosteen peel extract, each group consisted of three mice. Testing is done by providing analgesic effects of pain stimuli using thermal stimuli (hot plate method) with a temperature of 550C. Given pain stimuli will cause the mice were protecting themselves by jumping response or lick the feet and tail. Testing efekan algesik done before giving the test substance and the reference solution, then at minute 30,60,90 and 120 minutes after administration of the test substance and the reference solution. Tests carried out for 1 minute.Results:mangosteen peel extract has analgesic effects are starting to look at minute 30 to minute 120 with the maximum effect seen at minute 90.Conclusion:mangosteen peel extract (Garcinia mangostana, L) has analgesic effect in Swiss mice (Mus musculus
Predictive Value ofMeasures of Vascular Calcification Burden and Progression for Risk of Death in Incident to Dialysis Patients
Abstract: Background: Vascular calcification (VC) is a marker of cardiovascular (CV) disease
and various methods allow for presence and extension assessment in different arterial districts.
Nevertheless, it is currently unclear which one of these methods for VC evaluation best predict
outcome and if this piece of information adds to the predictive value of traditional CV risk factors
in patients receiving hemodialysis (HD). Methods: data of 184 of the 466 patients followed in the
Independent study (NCT00710788) were post hoc examined to assess the association three concurrent
measures of vascular calcification and all-cause survival. Specifically, coronary artery calcification
(CAC) was determined by the Agatston and the volume score while abdominal aorta calcification was
determined by plain X-ray of the lumbar spine (Kauppila score (KS)). Survival and regression models
as well as metrics of risk recalculation were used to test the association of VC and outcome beyond the
Framingham risk score. Results: Middle-age (62.6(15.8) years) men (51%) and women (49%) starting
HD were analyzed. Over 36 (median 36; interquartile range: 8–36) months of follow-up 69 patients
expired. Each measure of VC (CAC or KS) predicted all-cause mortality independently factors
commonly associated with all-cause survival (p < 0.001). Far more importantly, each measurement of
VC significantly improved risk prediction and patient reclassification (p < 0.001) beyond traditional
cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusions: Overall, presence and extension of VC, irrespective of the
arterial site, predict risk of all-cause of death in patients starting hemodialysis. Of note, both CAC
and KS increase risk stratification beyond traditional CV risk factors. However, future efforts are
needed to assess whether a risk-based approach encompassing VC screening to guide HD patient
management improves survival
i2b2 to Optimize Patients Enrollment.
i2b2 data-warehouse could be a useful tool to support the enrollment phase of clinical studies. The aim of this work is to evaluate its performance on two clinical trials. We developed also an i2b2 extension to help in suggesting eligible patients for a study. The work showed good results in terms of ability to implement inclusion/exclusion criteria, but also in terms of identified patients actually enrolled and high number of patients suggested as potentially enrollable
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