Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 20, Issue 39, 2014

The metabolic disorders, both as such and associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, are a group of pathological alterations in the steady expansion with regard to their rate [1]. In addition, a clear adverse interference with the heart and blood vessels has been widely described [2-5]. When other cardiovascular risk factors are associated, cardiovascular damage gets worse exponentially depending also on the type of Read More

Cardiovascular risk factors, irregardless of their assessment modalities, are based on cardiovascular health. Lifestyle influences metabolic profiles and these changes affect cardiovascular risk factors. Cardiovascular risk factors can be classified into three basic categories: 1. Predisposing risk factors (e.g., age, gender, medical history, and genetic factors); 2. Clinical and metabolic factors (e.g., hypertension, changes in lipid me Read More

Several experimental and clinical studies reported that hyperuricemia may trigger hypertension, metabolic syndrome, vascular damage and renal disease. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of epidemiological studies are compatible with the hypothesis that hyperuricemia may be an indipendent risk factor for cardiovascular disease as well as for an increased cardiovascular mortality. Xanthine oxidase is a critical sour Read More

Hypertension and atrial fibrillation are the most common cardiovascular risk factors and clinically significant arrhythmia, respectively. These conditions frequently coexist and their prevalence increases rapidly with aging. Despite several different risk factors and clinical conditions predisposing to hypertension for its high prevalence in the population is still the main risk factor for the development of atrial fibrillation. Read More

Arterial stiffness is independently associated with increased cardiovascular risk in patients with cardiovascular risk factors and in the general population. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is frequently characterized by increased arterial stiffness since all components of MetS are implicated in the pathogenesis of arterial stiffness. We review the management of arterial stiffness in patients with MetS. Several small, short-term studie Read More

Psoriasis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease characterized by topical skin lesions as well as an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). There is also increasing evidence that patients with psoriasis are more prone to several CVD risk factors (hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia and smoking), non-cardiac vascular diseases (carotid, peripheral artery and chronic kidney disease) and metabolic co-morbidities (type Read More

Obesity and diabetes are growing threats for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and heart failure. In order to identify early and effective treatment or prevention targets, it is fundamental to dissect the role of each organ and the sequence of events leading from health to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The advancements in imaging modalities to evaluate organ-specific metabolism in humans in vivo is substantial Read More

This review paper is intended for the interested outsider of the field of echocardiography and it presents a short introduction into the numerous ultrasound (US) methods and techniques for anatomical and functional diagnosis of the heart. The basic techniques are generally used for some times already, as there are one dimensional (1D) M(otion) mode, the real time 2D B(rightness) mode technique and the various Doppler Read More

Several diseases of the heart have been linked to an insufficient ability to generate enough energy (ATP) to sustain proper heart function. Hyperpolarized magnetic resonance (MR) is a novel technique that can visualize and quantify myocardial energy metabolism. Hyperpolarization enhances the MR signal from a biological molecule of interest by more than 10,000 times, making it possible to measure its cellular upta Read More

Cardiac health depends on the heart’s ability to utilize different substrates to support overall oxidative metabolism. To characterize a variety of cardiac diseases, there is an ever-growing demand for an accurate non-invasive approach to evaluating myocardial substrate metabolism. Data obtained from quantitative metabolic imaging modalities add functional information to the anatomic imaging modalities and can aid pati Read More

Cell migration and metastasis greatly contribute to the progression of tumors. Secreted Protein and Rich in Cysteine SPARC, as a multi-faceted protein, is highly expressed in highly metastatic tumors while low or undetectable in less metastatic types with aberrant promoter methylation. In highly metastatic tumors, such as glioblastomas, melanoma, breast cancer and prostate cancer, SPARC promotes bone metastasis and Read More

Apart from new anti-tuberculosis drug development, another approach for tuberculosis (TB) treatment optimization is to derive maximum benefit from current agents. However, the dosage of current anti-TB drug regimens has never been optimized according to the exposure-effect relationships of each drug. The objective of this article is to review the latest pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, experimental, and cli Read More

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health catastrophe. Mycobacterium w is a heat-killed immune-modulating vaccine designed to attenuate the effects of TB, reduce time to sputum conversion, and thereby decrease transmission and improve cure rates. Objectives: To evaluate Mycobacterium w (M w) immunotherapy as an adjunct to chemotherapy in participants with pulmonary TB (PTB). Search strategy: In Jan Read More