Current Vascular Pharmacology - Volume 13, Issue 5, 2015

Percutaneous coronary intervention is widely used to reduce the risk of death or cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Dual antiplatelet treatment with aspirin and clopidogrel has become routine practice to prevent thrombotic events after coronary surgery. Despite advances of significant reduction of thrombotic complications in this adjunctive therapy, major adverse cardiovascular events still occur, Read More

Glycaemic management is of paramount importance in the cardiac surgery setting. A growing body of evidence confirms a J-shaped relationship between blood glucose (BG) level and perioperative morbidity and mortality. On one hand, acute hypoglycaemia causes irreversible cerebral damage. On the other hand, hyperglycaemia increases the risk of infections, acute kidney injury, atrial fibrillation, low cardiac output sy Read More

Accumulation of lipids in the intima is the initial and crucial step in atherogenesis, but, this step is not always synonymous with atherogenesis. The factors that trigger the mechanisms modulating lipid accumulation in the vessel wall and in the subsequent development of atherosclerotic plaque remain unclear. In this review we evaluate whether atherogenesis is modulated by cortisol, the end hormone of the stress-related anti-i Read More

There has been a considerable effort to improve adjunctive antithrombotic therapies to reperfusion strategies in the treatment of ST-segment elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). Therefore, the aim of this article is to provide a critical and updated overview of recent advances on adjunctive antithrombotic therapies in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for STEMI. Due to very low costs, early Unfractionated H Read More

Pharmacogenetics investigates heritable genetic polymorphisms that can effect responses to drug therapy. The main application of pharmacogenetics is genotype-guided dosing of medications and genotype-selection of treatment with the highest efficacy and lowest risk of adverse effects. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally. Dyslipidemia is one of the classica Read More

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) remains a health care challenge worldwide. We evaluated the trends and outcome of DM in patients presenting with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) over a 22-year period in Qatar. Methods and Results: A retrospective analysis was performed between 1991 and 2012, including 48,803 patients admitted to the tertiary Heart Hospital (HH). The average CVD hospitalization rate was 37 admissions pe Read More

With a history that began in 800 A.D., coffee is the most popular drink known and as a result, the issues regarding its physiologic effects deserve attention. Maintaining alertness is a wellknown benefit and in addition, the cardiovascular (CV) effects of the active compounds, which include polyphenols and caffeine, must be considered. Genetics are relevant and where slow caffeine metabolism is inherent, the risk of nonfata Read More

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the commonest chronic liver disease and is more prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Incretin-based antidiabetic agents (glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors) are used in the treatment of T2DM but it is unclear whether they may also play a role in the management of NAFLD. We systematically reviewed t Read More

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is among the most major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Great progress has been made in the management of CVD which has been influenced by the use of experimental animal models. These models provided information at cellular and molecular levels and allowed the development of treatment strategies. CVD models have been developed in many species, including lar Read More

Background: The number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients has increased significantly, although the number of deaths due to HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has dramatically reduced. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has increased not only survival but also the risk of deaths caused by other diseases or by long-term side effects of these drugs. AIM: The aim of this study i Read More

Background and Aims: Recent findings have highlighted enhanced fish consumption as a potential measure to increase intake of healthy fatty acids, particularly omega-3. The generalizability of this recommendation, however, may fall short of differences in fish species and cooking techniques. Hence, we investigated how these 2 variables affect the lipid content in fish flesh. Methods and Results: Nine species of freshwater, deep Read More

Abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contributes significantly to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. MiR-10b has recently emerged as a critical mediator in regulating cell proliferation in many diseases. In our study, miR-10b expression was up-regulated in VSMCs isolated from atherosclerotic plaques, as well as in PDGFstimulated VSMCs.Overexpression of miR-10b promoted cell proliferatio Read More

We aimed to determine the association between the change in mean platelet volume (MPV) over time and aspirin/ clopidogrel resistance in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The MPV and platelet function were analysed in 302 patients who underwent PCI. MPV changes were associated with increased aspirin reaction units (ARU, r = 0.114; P = 0.047), increased P2Y12 reaction units (PRU, r = 0.1 Read More