Bojsen Martin (officemonth9)
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a rapidly evolving global health issue associated with a markedly increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. The hyperglycaemic milieu contributes to the development of CV complications via several pathological pathways, leading to increased arterial stiffness (AS), that can be considered as a predictor of CV events in patients with diabetes. The measurement of AS is increasingly used for the clinical assessment of patients. Several methodologies were used in large population studies to assess AS; the most commonly used is the pulse wave velocity (PWV). The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) was developed to measure AS; it is not affected by blood pressure at the time of measurement and shows stable values in healthy persons for years. There are several potential pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions aiming to reduce AS. Recent evidence from clinical trials suggests that newer antidiabetic drugs do not only exert glycaemic-lowering properties but also decrease CV risk. In this context, sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) (i.e. empagliflozin, canagliflozin and dapagliflozin) significantly reduced the risk of CV and all-cause mortality (only EMPA-REG OUTCOME study) and hospitalization for heart failure in patients with T2DM with established CV disease and/or with CV risk factors. Improved endothelial function and AS probably represents one of the mechanisms by which these drugs exert their beneficial effects. The present review aimed both to describe the association between AS and T2DM and to discuss the effectiveness of SGLT2i on vascular endothelial dysfunction and AS. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.BACKGROUND The research on the association between relative glycemic level post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and adverse prognosis in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients is relatively inadequate. OBJECTIVE To identify whether the glycemic level post-PCI predicts adverse prognosis in NSTE-ACS patients. METHODS Patients (n=2465) admitted with NSTE-ACS who underwent PCI were enrolled. check details The relative glycemic level post-procedure was calculated as blood glucose level post-PCI divided by HbA1c level, which was named post-procedural glycemic index (PGI). The primary observational outcome of this study was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) [defined as a composite of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) and any revascularization]. RESULTS The association between PGI and MACE rate presented as a U-shape curve. Higher PGIs [hazard ratio (HR) 1.669 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.244-2.238) for the third quartile (Q3) and 2.076 (1.566-2.753) for the fourth quartile (Q4), p less then 0.001], adjusted for confounding factors, were considered to be one of the independent predictors of MACE. The association between the PGI and the risk of MACE was more prominent in the non-diabetic population [HR (95%CI) of 2.356 (1.456-3.812) for Q3 and 3.628 (2.265-5.812) for Q4, p less then 0.001]. There was no significant differences in MACE risk between PGI groups in the diabetic population. CONCLUSION Higher PGI was a significant and independent predictor of MACE in NSTE-ACS patients treated with PCI. The prognostic effect of the PGI is more remarkable in subsets without pre-existing diabetes than in the overall population. The predictive value of PGI was not identified in the subgroup with diabetes. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.OBJECTIVES Previous case-control studies have focused on the relationship between ALDH2 gene polymorphism and late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), but no definite unified conclusion has been reached. Therefore, the correlation between ALDH2 Glu504Lys polymorphism and LOAD remains controversial. To analyze the correlation between ALD