Fibulin-1 is associated with cardiovascular risk in non-obese, non-diabetic individuals

Background. Fibulin-1 (FBLN1) is an extracellular matrix protein that appears in blood vessels. Recentstudies have confirmed its role in atherogenesis, vascular complications and cardiovascular disease inchronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association betweenserum fibulin-1 and biochemical indicators of cardiovascular risk: lipid profile, apolipoproteins B, AI, vitamin25(OH)D and high sensitivity troponin T (hs-cTnT) in non-diabetic subjects.Materials and methods. The study consisted of 120 normoglycaemic, non-smoking, non-obese Caucasiansubjects aged 25–40 (66 women and 54 men). Serum FBLN1 and plasma fasting glucose, lipid profile, C-reactive protein, insulin, glycated haemoglobin, apolipoproteins B100 and AI, total 25(OH)D, and hs-cTnT measurements were performed. Anthropometric parameters, HOMA-IR and atherogenic index (apoB:apoAI) were calculated. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured using an ultrasoundmethod. Subjects were divided by FBLN1 tertiles.Results. FBLN1 was significantly higher in women than in men (1.06 vs. 0.96; p < 0.05). FBLN1 positively correlated,when adjusted for age, BMI and blood pressure, with lipid profile, atherogenic index, apolipoprotein B (R = 0.28;p < 0.016), and hs-cTnT (R=0.39; p < 0.003) and negatively with 25(OH)D. ApoB and hscTnT were significantly associatedwith fibulin-1 concentration and, together with 25(OH)D, explained 19% of its variation. FBLN1 ≥1.0 ng/mLpredicted atherogenic risk with OR = 3.11 and 4.26 for having elevated apolipoprotein B and hs-TnT.Conclusions. Fibulin-1 might be a promissing risk factor for cardiovascular risk in young, non-obese,non-diabetic individuals, but this requires further investigation.Background. Fibulin-1 (FBLN1) is an extracellular matrix protein that appears in blood vessels. Recentstudies have confirmed its role in atherogenesis, vascular complications and cardiovascular disease inchronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association betweenserum fibulin-1 and biochemical indicators of cardiovascular risk: lipid profile, apolipoproteins B, AI, vitamin25(OH)D and high sensitivity troponin T (hs-cTnT) in non-diabetic subjects.Materials and methods. The study consisted of 120 normoglycaemic, non-smoking, non-obese Caucasiansubjects aged 25–40 (66 women and 54 men). Serum FBLN1 and plasma fasting glucose, lipid profile, C-reactive protein, insulin, glycated haemoglobin, apolipoproteins B100 and AI, total 25(OH)D, andhs-cTnT measurements were performed. Anthropometric parameters, HOMA-IR and atherogenic index (apoB:apoAI) were calculated. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured using an ultrasoundmethod. Subjects were divided by FBLN1 tertiles.Results. FBLN1 was significantly higher in women than in men (1.06 vs. 0.96; p < 0.05). FBLN1 positively correlated,when adjusted for age, BMI and blood pressure, with lipid profile, atherogenic index, apolipoprotein B (R = 0.28;p < 0.016), and hs-cTnT (R=0.39; p < 0.003) and negatively with 25(OH)D. ApoB and hscTnT were significantly associatedwith fibulin-1 concentration and, together with 25(OH)D, explained 19% of its variation. FBLN1 ≥1.0 ng/mLpredicted atherogenic risk with OR = 3.11 and 4.26 for having elevated apolipoprotein B and hs-TnT.Conclusions. Fibulin-1 might be a promissing risk factor for cardiovascular risk in young, non-obese,non-diabetic individuals, but this requires further investigation

Kropsmodernismen genbesøgt: En nymaterialistisk revurdering af firserpoesien hos Henrik S. Holck og Pia Tafdrup

Danish literary histories often depict the 80ies as a period in which questions of corporeality moved to the foreground of the poetics of its poets. Dubbing this move »corporeal modernism« (»kropsmodernisme«), scholars have explained this new agenda as an attempt to reclaim stability in late modernity, an era in which all grand narratives have allegedly collapsed, and the world of new media increasingly fragments perceptions of reality. This article argues that such explanations fail to recognize that a significant amount of poetry from the 80ies does not view the body as the subject’s existential and ontological foundation, but perceives it, rather, as a fluctuating materiality that merges the human with a more-than-human world. The article takes Pia Tafdrup’s Intetfang (1982) and Henrik S. Holck’s Vi må være som alt (1978) as symptomatic examples of this trend and characterizes their more-than-human bodies as watery flesh and cosmological skin respectively. Ultimately, the aim of the article is to problematize established constructions of »corporeal modernism« and stake out some of the ways in which the literary history of Danish poetry in the 80ies could be re-written

C-reactive protein concentration and risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and mortality: an individual participant meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Associations of C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration with risk of major diseases can best be assessed by long-term prospective follow-up of large numbers of people. We assessed the associations of CRP concentration with risk of vascular and non-vascular outcomes under different circumstances. METHODS: We meta-analysed individual records of 160 309 people without a history of vascular disease (ie, 1.31 million person-years at risk, 27 769 fatal or non-fatal disease outcomes) from 54 long-term prospective studies. Within-study regression analyses were adjusted for within-person variation in risk factor levels. RESULTS: Log(e) CRP concentration was linearly associated with several conventional risk factors and inflammatory markers, and nearly log-linearly with the risk of ischaemic vascular disease and non-vascular mortality. Risk ratios (RRs) for coronary heart disease per 1-SD higher log(e) CRP concentration (three-fold higher) were 1.63 (95% CI 1.51-1.76) when initially adjusted for age and sex only, and 1.37 (1.27-1.48) when adjusted further for conventional risk factors; 1.44 (1.32-1.57) and 1.27 (1.15-1.40) for ischaemic stroke; 1.71 (1.53-1.91) and 1.55 (1.37-1.76) for vascular mortality; and 1.55 (1.41-1.69) and 1.54 (1.40-1.68) for non-vascular mortality. RRs were largely unchanged after exclusion of smokers or initial follow-up. After further adjustment for fibrinogen, the corresponding RRs were 1.23 (1.07-1.42) for coronary heart disease; 1.32 (1.18-1.49) for ischaemic stroke; 1.34 (1.18-1.52) for vascular mortality; and 1.34 (1.20-1.50) for non-vascular mortality. INTERPRETATION: CRP concentration has continuous associations with the risk of coronary heart disease, ischaemic stroke, vascular mortality, and death from several cancers and lung disease that are each of broadly similar size. The relevance of CRP to such a range of disorders is unclear. Associations with ischaemic vascular disease depend considerably on conventional risk factors and other markers of inflammation. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, UK Medical Research Council, BUPA Foundation, and GlaxoSmithKline

Risk of venous thromboembolic disease in postmenopausal women taking oral or transdermal hormone replacement therapy*

Objective: The influence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on hemostasis processes depends on the type of hormone, the combination of doses, the time of taking HRT, and the route of administration (oral, transdermal, implanted). The aim of the current study was to assess some parameters of coagulation, especially tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and tissue factor (TF) in postmenopausal women using oral or transdermal HRT. Methods: The study was conducted on 76 healthy women, including 46 women aged 44–58 years who were taking oral (26) or transdermal (20) HRT, and 30 women aged 44–54 years who did not take HRT as the control group. Plasma concentrations of TF, TFPI, thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), and D-dimer were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Moreover, the concentration of fibrinogen and activity of protein C were measured by chromogenic and chronometric methods. Results: We observed a significantly higher concentration of TF and a significantly lower concentration of TFPI in women taking oral and transdermal HRT in comparison with the control group. We also found a significantly lower concentration of fibrinogen in women taking oral HRT vs. the control group. Moreover, no statistically significant changes in concentrations of TAT and D-dimer, or activity of protein C were noted. Conclusions: In this study, the occurrence of an increased TF concentration simultaneously with a decreased concentration of TFPI in women taking HRT indicates hypercoagulability. No significant modification of TAT or D-dimer occurred, and thus there may not be increased risk of thrombosis