139 research outputs found
The Role of Rosuvastatin in Primary and Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Events and Influence on Patient Compliance
Kardiovaskularne su bolesti vodeÄi uzrok smrtnosti u svijetu, a poviÅ”ene masnoÄe u krvi jedan su od najvažnijih Äimbenika rizika za njihov nastanak. U tome je smislu uÄinkovito smanjenje lipida bitan napredak u smanjenju pobola i smrtnosti od neželjenih kardiovaskularnih dogaÄaja, Å”to dokazuju i mnogobrojne studije. Za smanjenje masnoÄa vrlo su uÄinkoviti antilipemici, a meÄu njima statini zauzimaju srediÅ”nje mjesto. Kao statin ānove generacijeā istiÄe se rosuvastatin. To je sintetski statin koji inhibira enzim 3-hidroksi-3-metilglutaril koenzim A reduktazu te na taj naÄin smanjuje sintezu endogenog kolesterola. Dominantni uÄinak rosuvastatina jest snizivanje LDL kolesterola i ukupnog kolesterola u krvi te je on jedini statin koji je pokazao pozitivan uÄinak u poveÄanju koncentracije HDL kolesterola, i to do 15 %. U literaturi su opisani i protuupalni, antioksidativni i antitrombotski uÄinci ovoga lijeka, koji dodatno smanjuju rizik od kardiovaskularnog pobola i smrtnosti, a ne mogu se pripisati iskljuÄivo smanjivanju razine ukupnog kolesterola. NajÄeÅ”Äa nuspojava ovog lijeka jest mijalgija koja je jedan od najvažnijih razloga zaÅ”to bolesnici odustaju od statinske terapije i pribjegavaju āalternativnimā, Äesto neuÄinkovitim rjeÅ”enjima. Kako je lijeÄenje hiperlipidemije od kljuÄne važnosti za smanjenje kardiovaskularnog rizika, potrebno je naglasak staviti na redovito uzimanje lijeka i na nalaženje adekvatnog naÄina da bolesnik ostane na terapiji statinima. U tome smislu Å”irok raspon jaÄine rosuvastatina u 6 razliÄitih doza od 5 do 40 mg omoguÄuje da koliÄinu lijeka prilagodimo potrebama bolesnika kako bi lijeÄenje bilo uÄinkovito, a eventualne neželjene nuspojave lijeka svedene na minimum.Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world with hyperlipidemia being one of the most important risk factors in their development. Therefore, numerous randomized controlled trials conducted, showed decrease morbidity and mortality from adverse cardiovascular events by effective lipid reduction. Statins are the most effective medications used in treatment of hyperlipidemia. Rosuvastatin represents a ānew generationā statin. It is a synthetic statin that inhibits the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, and therefore reducing the synthesis of endogenous cholesterol. The major effect of rosuvastatin is the reduction of LDL-cholesterol, and total cholesterol in the blood. It is the only statin that has been shown to increase the levels of HDL-cholesterol up to 15%. The anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-thrombotic effects of the drug were demonstrated in various studies, causing further decrease in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, that effect is beyond the one described only by the reduction in total cholesterol levels. The most common side-effect of statin treatment is myalgia, causing the non-adherence and discontinuation of the medication, leading to āalternativeā drug treatment. However, the approach of alternative drug treatment often showed itself to be ineffective solution. Since treating hyperlipidemia is crucial in reducing cardiovascular risk, the importance of adherence to treatment, and achieving patient compliance to statin therapy must be emphasized. Rosuvastatin is available in 6 different doses from 5 to 40 mg, allowing the physician to adjust the dose of medication according to the patientās needs, to maintain highest treatment effect while reducing unwanted side-effects at the minimum
Resistant Hypertension
The most common causes of therapeutic failure in hypertensive control are undiscovered secondary causes of hypertension and lack of patient/doctor compliance. In about 10% of cases, it can be attributed to resistant hypertension caused by a hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, condition with a high cardiovascular risk to the patient. Resistant hypertension is failure to diminish blood pressure values to <140/90Ā mmHg (<140/85Ā mmHg for diabetic patients) with a lifestyle method and prescription of least three antihypertensive drugs in optimal doses, including a diuretic, or when patients use four or more antihypertensive drugs regardless of blood pressure control. Patients with resistant hypertension are typically presented with a long-standing history of poorly controlled hypertension. Early diagnosis and adequate treatment are needed to avoid end organ damage and to prevent cardiorenovascular remodeling. Cardiorenovascular morbidity and mortality are significantly higher in resistant hypertensive population. The need for the individualization of therapy and the use of the management strategies are also given weight in the treatment of resistant hypertension patients, including optional, innovative therapies, like a renal denervation or baroreflex activation. New innovative device therapies create an additional novel pathway of blood pressure-lowering procedures and should be prescribed by a specialist hypertension clinic
Inbreeding and osteoporosis in Croatian island isolates
The aim of this study was to investigate a recessive genetic component in susceptibility to osteoporosis (OP) by comparing its prevalence in isolated villages of three Croatian islands: BraÄ, Hvar and KorÄula with different levels of inbreeding. A random sample of 20-30% adults from 14 villages was obtained, including a total of 1, 389 examinees. The average inbreeding coefficient (F) of examinees from each village population was estimated using Wright's path method (based on genealogical information), isonymy data and average deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectations for classic set of serogenetic polymorphisms. The variation in environmental, cultural and socio-economic factors between villages was investigated and shown to be minimal. The morphometry of the metacarpal bones was performed on hand-wrist radiographs of both hands in all examinees. OP was defined as values of cortical index smaller than 2 standard deviations based on distribution of values in examinees of the same sex under 45 years of age. Mean values of cortical index (CI) and prevalence of OP (both standardized by age and weighted for the sample size) in each village were correlated to the mean inbreeding coefficient (F). The coefficient of correlation (r) between F values and CI was -0.28 in males (p=0.08) and -0.42 in females (p=0.005), and between F and OP prevalence 0.32 in males (p<0.001) and 0.43 in females (p<0.001). These results indicate a trend of increased susceptibility to osteoporosis with increasing level of inbreeding in isolated communities of Croatian islands
Holistic anthropological research of Hvar islanders, Croatia: from parish registries to DNA studies in 33 years
The complexity of interactions between hereditary, environmental and cultural factors in determining human phenotypes is often underestimated in biomedical research. It can be most clearly demonstrated when a well-defined human isolate population is considered and multiple measurements of phenotypes, genetic characteristics and studies of environmental and cultural determinants are performed and analysed. Even in such small communities, where decreased variability in all those factors is presumed, it is often apparent how difficult it is to disentangle the effects of separate interacting factors and explain most of the variance in phenotypes of interest. In this paper, we present 33 years of holistic anthropological research that was being conducted since 1971 in the island of Hvar, Croatia. During this period, detailed characterisation of migrations, demography, isonymy, linguistic differences, anthropometric traits (head and body dimensions), physiological (cardiorespiratory) properties, quantitative and qualitative dermatoglyphic traits, radiogrammetric metacarpal bone dimensions and genetic traits (erythrocyte antigens, HLA diversity, DNA short tandem repeat (STR), mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome polymorphysms) was performed. The analysis of this large collection of data using both model-bound and model-free approaches showed that the complexity underlying human biological traits may be considerably greater than generally assumed, which has important implications for design of future studies into genetic determinants of complex traits
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