Focus on Pitavastatin

Currently, different statins are available for the treatment of dyslipidemia: Atorvastatin, Simvastatin, Rosuvastatin, Lovastatin, Pravastatin, and Fluvastatin; the newest entry in this class of drugs is Pitavastatin.The purpose of the present study was to examine the latest evidences on Pitavastatin, more than 10 years after its first marketing and focuses on the most recent evidence regarding its differences with other available statins. A literature review of the last 3 years (January 2013 - January 2016) has been carried out via Pub Med. 193 obtained items were analysed.Pitavastatin has been studied against other drugs in its class and has demonstrated high potency in reducing LDL-Cholesterol levels and increasing HDL-Cholesterol. Pitavastatin has demonstrated a significant reduction in atherosclerotic plaque volumes and several pleiotropic effects, which suggest its potential benefits in reducing cardiovascular risk.At present, Pitavastatin don’t seem to have adverse effects on glucose metabolism; it has no adverse effects on renal function and currently there is no clinical evidence of Pitavastatin-induced hepatotoxicity. Pitavastatin has favorable pharmacokinetic and safety profiles and its characteristic structure provides significant efficacy at low doses

Hyperuricemia and global Cardiovascular Risk: State of the art and preventive prospects

Over the last years, scientific research has focused its interest on a potential role of hyperuricemia as cardiovascular risk factor; main interest has been directed to persistent raised plasma levels of uric acid. Although some studies have not shown a close correlation between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular risk, most scientific evidence agrees that hyperuricemia plays a key role in determining cardiovascular events and in development of other risk factors often associated with only moderately increased serum uric acid levels. Pathophysiological mechanism underlying this association mainly include a hyperuricemia induced endothelial dysfunction, inflammatory and oxidative stress induced by high serum uric acid levels. Early diagnosis, follow-up and prevention programs and effective treatment of hyperuricemia are recommended in particular in patients with other concomitant cardiovascular risk factors. Urate-lowering therapy should be aimed at reaching at least a serum uric acid level below 6 mg/dL (360 μmol/L) though in high risk patients the lowest possible value of uric acid is better.</p

Circulating MicroRNAs as Cancer Biomarkers: Can They Play a Role in Clinical Practice? Short Review

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a large family of short noncoding RNA sequences which modulate gene expression and regulate a wide range of biological processes. There is evidence that miRNAs may have a role in molecular mechanisms linked to tumorigenesis and a lot of studies have proven that some miRNAs are closely correlated with cancer. miRNAs are not only contained in tissue cells but they are also detectable in extracellular sites, as plasma, urine, cerebrospinal and other body fluids where they are remarkably stable, so that may be identified and measured. Since tumors alter the normal concentrations of circulating miRNAs, these oligo nucleotides can be used as cancer biomarkers. Circulating miRNAs detection may be used for early diagnosis, staging, follow up, assessment of therapeutic responses and therapy outcomes in several types of human cancer as colorectal cancer, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma, urinary and prostate cancer, breast cancer, hematologic malignancies, glioblastoma and others. Quantitative real-time Polimerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) is one of the most sensitive techniques for quantifying circulating miRNAs. Deep sequencing technology has recently emerged as an attractive approach for miRNA analysis; in some cases this technique showed&nbsp; more specificity and sensitivity compared to qRT-PCR and Microarray, also allowing identifi cation of novel MiRNA isoforms. Given that current serological cancer biomarkers, commonly employed in follow up, have low specificity and sensitivity, it is plausible that circulating miRNA detection can be included in futureroutine clinical examinations for management of cancer patients, although costs and wide availability of quantifying techniques could represent a critic limit. Further comparative studies will be required.</p