Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Formerly Current Medicinal Chemistry - Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents) - Volume 11, Issue 1, 2013

The prognostic importance of large artery structure and function in relation to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, together with the identification of new genetic risk factors have been two major areas of investigation in recent years. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), as measured by B-mode ultrasound, is a surrogate marker for atherosclerosis and can be used to detect an accelerated disease process a Read More

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and one of the major causes of morbidity and hospitalization. It is an important risk factor for thromboembolic complications and cerebrovascular disease. In AF, extensive electrical and structural remodeling of atrial tissue takes place with the main underlying mechanisms being inflammation and fibrosis. In recent years it has been shown, that beside conventional antiarrhyt Read More

We present a promising in silico paradigm called literature-based discovery (LBD) and describe its potential to identify novel pharmacologic approaches to treating diseases. The goal of LBD is to generate novel hypotheses by analyzing the vast biomedical literature. Additional knowledge resources, such as ontologies and specialized databases, are often used to supplement the published literature. MEDLINE, the largest an Read More

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is an obesity-associated collection of disorders, each of which contributes to cardiovascular risk. For patients with MS, it is difficult to follow a diet/exercise regime that would improve their symptoms. Therefore, the investigation of agents that may deal with its more serious aspects is an important medical field for research. Numerous experimental studies have confirmed the important role of medici Read More

An estimated 11% of the U.S. population has chronic kidney disease (CKD). Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality remain high among individuals with CKD and the higher mortality from cardiovascular disease persists even after adjusting for most of the traditional risk factors, suggesting the possible contributions of uremia-related, nontraditional risk factors. This has led to the current understanding that the pathophysiology o Read More

Bivalirudin, a direct thrombin inhibitor, is an anticoagulant commonly used in invasive cardiology procedures. It has evolved from relative obscurity, as an anticoagulation option only utilized in rare instances of allergy or resistance to heparin products, to the now preferred antithrombotic anticoagulant in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. On the way to displacing unfractionated heparin as the preferred anticoagulant f Read More

Blood platelets play a key role in normal hemostasis but also in atherothrombosis due to their ability of thrombus formation at site of a ruptured atherosclerotic plaque. Platelets are also involved in vascular inflammation due to interactions with endothelial cells, leukocytes, and smooth muscle cells that may result in an excessive fibroproliferative response after vessel dilatation. This review article describes both, the cur Read More

With improved and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) the average life span of HIV infected individuals has increased tremendously. HIV infections can now be managed with HAART for years making it a chronic disease much in line with others like diabetes or high blood pressure. However the increasing use of HAART therapy for HIV management has also revealed a growing concern for the side effects associated Read More

Background: membranous glomerulopathy (MG) is an immunomediated disorder which accounts for the most common cause of nephrotic syndrome (NS) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Objective and Methods: to provide an update on the issue by reviewing pertinent literature on the MEDLINE database. Results: sixty-nine post allogenic HSCT patients (42 male) with MG were identifi Read More

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of progression of arterial hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous studies suggested that a direct renin inhibitor, aliskiren, may be effective for blood pressure lowering, renoprotection and cardiovascular protection. This review focuses on the effects of aliskiren for arterial hypertension Read More