COVID-19 and thromboinflammation : is there a role for statins?

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) showed increased morbidity and mortality rates and worse prognosis in individuals with underlying chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. There is also evidence of possible links among COVID-19, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Emerging evidence suggests a pro-inflammatory milieu and hypercoagulable state in patients with this infection. Despite anticoagulation, a large proportion of patients requiring intensive care may develop life-threatening thrombotic complications. Indeed, the levels of some markers of hemostatic activation, such as D-dimer, are commonly elevated in COVID-19, indicating potential risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism. In this review, we critically examine and discuss aspects of hypercoagulability and inflammation in COVID-19 and the possible benefits of statins in this scenario, with emphasis on their underlying molecular mechanisms. Moreover, we present recommendations on the use of antiviral drugs in combination with statins

SLP Seed Grants 1

Seed Grants are funded with programme-attributed funds. Their purpose is to support researchers and their partners during the crucial initial planning and consultation phases needed to develop larger project proposals. Allocated on a competitive basis, once the proposals are finalized, the consortia are supported to obtain project restricted funding

Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in Brazil : baseline of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dyslipidemia is a pivotal risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). The purpose of this study was to identify the profile of dyslipidemia in a Brazilian population, according to high low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) levels. We used the classification of the 2004 update of National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP-III). METHODS: Of the 15,105 men and women aged 35 to 74 years enrolled in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), we included 14,648 subjects (97%). They had data to categorize them according to the NCEP-ATP-III criteria. We compared 4 categories: ‘‘0–1’’ risk factors, ‘‘2 or more risk factors’’, ‘‘CHD or CHD risk equivalent’’, and ‘‘CHD at very high risk’’. The sociodemographic determinants used were sex, age, ethnicity, income, education, and health insurance. Poisson regression was used to estimate the prevalence ratios for cholesterol (LDL-C), frequency, awareness, treatment, and control of high LDL-C

Neutralization and wake effects on the Coulomb explosion of swift H2+ ions traversing thin films

The Coulomb explosion of small cluster beams can be used to measure the dwell time of fragments traversing amorphous films. Therefore, the thickness of thin films can be obtainedwith the so-called Coulomb depth profiling technique using relatively high cluster energies where the fragments are fully ionized after breakup. Here we demonstrate the applicability of Coulomb depth profiling technique at lower cluster energies where neutralization and wake effects come into play. To that end, we investigated 50–200 keV/u H2 + molecular ions impinging on a 10 nm TiO2 film and measured the energy of the backscattered H+ fragments with high-energy resolution. The effect of the neutralization of the H+ fragments along the incoming trajectory before the backscattering collision is clearly observed at lower energies through the decrease of the energy broadening due to the Coulomb explosion. The reduced values of the Coulomb explosion combined with full Monte Carlo simulations provide compatible results with those obtained at higher cluster energies where neutralization is less important. The results are corroborated by electron microscopy measurements

Neutralization and wake effects on the Coulomb explosion of swift H2+ ions traversing thin films

The Coulomb explosion of small cluster beams can be used to measure the dwell time of fragments traversing amorphous films. Therefore, the thickness of thin films can be obtainedwith the so-called Coulomb depth profiling technique using relatively high cluster energies where the fragments are fully ionized after breakup. Here we demonstrate the applicability of Coulomb depth profiling technique at lower cluster energies where neutralization and wake effects come into play. To that end, we investigated 50–200 keV/u H2 + molecular ions impinging on a 10 nm TiO2 film and measured the energy of the backscattered H+ fragments with high-energy resolution. The effect of the neutralization of the H+ fragments along the incoming trajectory before the backscattering collision is clearly observed at lower energies through the decrease of the energy broadening due to the Coulomb explosion. The reduced values of the Coulomb explosion combined with full Monte Carlo simulations provide compatible results with those obtained at higher cluster energies where neutralization is less important. The results are corroborated by electron microscopy measurements