Mobile ECG Systems and Cardiovascular Risk: A Systematic Review

Problem: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the number one cause of death globally. According to WHO (World Health Organization), 80% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. CVDs are associated to risk factors such as obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and others. The scientific community keeps searching for new parameters, like ECG signal analysis, to improve cardiovascular risk evaluation. Objective: This article aims at providing a systematic review of developed mobile Electrocardiogram (ECG) systems and the relevance of ECG for the assessment of cardiovascular risk. Methods: A systematic review of two databases (PubMed and IEEEXplore) was carried out. Results: This article provides an analysis of 10 studies describing mobile ECG systems developed in the last 10 years, and 6 studies analyzing the effectiveness of ECG as a parameter to assess cardiovascular risk. Conclusions: The systematic review demonstrated that there are no mobile ECG systems used for cardiovascular risk assessment. Furthermore, the review indicates that there is scientific evidence about the effectiveness of ECG as a parameter for cardiovascular risk evaluation, but only in some specific cases

A Zinc Sulphate-Resistant Acrodermatitis Enteropathica Patient With A Novel Mutation In Slc39A4 Gene

Acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of zinc deficiency due to an abnormal intestinal zinc transporter. It is characterized by the triad of acral dermatitis, alopecia, and diarrhoea. Once AE is correctly diagnosed, patients are treated with orally administered zinc sulphate. En some patients, relapses occur during adolescence, despite the regular treatment. Here, we discuss the clinical and molecular features of a 13-year-old adolescent girl with acrodermatitis enteropathica who was resistant to high-dose zinc sulphate therapy. We successfully treated the patient with zinc gluconate and vitamin C, and we detected a novel homozygous c.541_551dup (p.Leu186fsX38) mutation in the exon 3 of her SLC39A4 gene.Wo