Prevalence of Cardio-Embolic Brain Complications in Permanent and Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Patients

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent of all cardiac arrhythmias, with an increasing prevalence in the last 20 years. Cardio-embolic brain complications (CEBC) related to AF often occur or recur, even following appropriate treatment. Method: We conducted a retrospective study and analyzed the presence of stroke, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease (PD) in both paroxysmal and permanent AF patients. The records of 1111 consecutive admitted patients with primary diagnosis of AF at the Municipal Emergency University Hospital, Timisoara, between 2015 and 2016 were examined. Statistical analysis was performed on the patients included in the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A significant statistical difference was noted among the permanent AF group for stroke (48.75% vs. 26.74%, p p < 0.001) compared to paroxysmal AF patients. Permanent AF patients presented a higher risk of developing stroke, dementia, and PD compared to patients with paroxysmal AF. Meanwhile, male gender and an increase in age showed an increase in the odds of having cardio-embolic brain complications in patients with paroxysmal AF. Conclusion: Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the risk of cardio-cerebral embolic complications is greater in permanent AF patients compared to paroxysmal AF cases. Ischemic stroke and dementia are more frequent in the permanent AF group, but analyzing the data regarding the age of onset paroxysmal AF is critical due to the fact that it involves a younger population. Prompt diagnosis and treatment can help significantly in saving stroke patients

Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Parameters for Better Management in Rheumatic Diseases

The early detection of cardiovascular disease (CVD) serves as a key element in preventive cardiology. The risk of developing CVD in patients with rheumatic disease is higher than that of the general population. Thus, the objective of this narrative review was to assess and describe updated risk-prediction parameters for CVD in patients suffering from rheumatic diseases, and, additionally, to evaluate therapeutic and risk management possibilities. The processes of recognizing CVD risk factors in rheumatic diseases, establishing diagnoses, and discovering CV risk assessments are currently displeasing in clinical practice; they have a limited clinical impact. A large number of references were found while screening PUBMED, Scopus, and Google scholar databases; the 47 most relevant references were utilized to build up this study. The selection was limited to English language full text articles, RCTs, and reviews published between 2011 and 2021. Multiple imaging techniques, such as ECG, ultrasound, and cIMT, as well as biomarkers like osteoprotegerin cytokine receptor and angiopoietin-2, can be beneficial in both CV risk prediction and in early subclinical diagnosis. Physical exercise is an essential non-pharmacological intervention that can maintain the health of the cardiovascular system and, additionally, influence the underlying disease. Lipid-lowering drugs (methotrexate from the non-biologic DMARDs family as well as biologic DMARDs such as anti-TNF) were all associated with a lower CV risk; however, anti-TNF medication can decrease cardiac compliance and promote heart failure in patients with previously diagnosed chronic HF. Although they achieved success rates in reducing inflammation, glucocorticoids, NSAIDs, and COX-2 inhibitors were correlated with an increased risk of CVD. When taking all of the aforementioned points into consideration, there appears to be a dire need to establish and implement CVD risk stratification models in rheumatic patients

Silver Nanoparticle Synthesis via Photochemical Reduction with Sodium Citrate

The aim of this paper is to provide a simple and efficient photoassisted approach to synthesize silver nanoparticles, and to elucidate the role of the key factors (synthesis parameters, such as the concentration of TSC, irradiation time, and UV intensity) that play a major role in the photochemical synthesis of silver nanoparticles using TSC, both as a reducing and stabilizing agent. Concomitantly, we aim to provide an easy way to evaluate the particle size based on Mie theory. One of the key advantages of this method is that the synthesis can be &ldquo;activated&rdquo; whenever or wherever silver nanoparticles are needed, by premixing the reactants and irradiating the final solution with UV radiation. UV irradiance was determined by using Keitz&rsquo;s theory. This argument has been verified by premixing the reagents and deposited them in an enclosed space (away from sunlight) at 25 &deg;C, then checking them for three days. Nothing happened, unless the sample was directly irradiated by UV light. Further, obtained materials were monitored for 390 days and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, UV-VIS, and transmission electron microscopy