Dyslipidemia

Joint inflammation could be reduced in rheumatoid arthritis patients by targeting a specific enzyme, according to research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

There have been some disappointing studies and contradictory recommendations on using statins to treat stroke. HCPLive's Gale Scott interviewed Koto Ishida, MD, medical director of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Stroke Care Center, about the implications for clinicians.

Around 10% of elders experience some form of elder abuse (physical, sexual or emotional abuse; neglect, exploitation, or abandonment), and elders who are abused appear to have a high level of comorbidity. Evidence suggests that patients who have experienced elder abuse are at higher risk of cardiovascular-related mortality.

Statins effectively lower LDL cholesterol levels in many patients, However, on the individual level, some patients do not respond with the expected 40% to 55% reduction in cholesterol levels. Genetic variation may be the cause.

The 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline for management of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk identified adults who could benefit from moderate- to high-intensity statin use.

Also known as alternate day fasting, "zigzag" caloric cycling calls for the dieter to eat the number of calories required to maintain weight one day, and then 25% of his or her energy needs on the fast day. Studies have shown that individuals who are compliant with this pattern can lose 4% to 8% of their body weight over 8 to 12 weeks.

Physicians caring for individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) must strike a balance between ensuring optimal lipid control for protection from vascular events, while avoiding undue risk.

Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) is a rare and severe hereditary lipid disorder. Patients with HoFH generally have very high serum levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) that is treatment-resistant. HoFH puts affected patients at extremely high risk of premature onset coronary heart disease, and many patients die before they reach their mid-30s.

News from the literature on a possible link between atherosclerosis and psoriasis and quality of life for patients with this skin condition.

For individuals with hypercholesterolemia, research published in the Journal of American Medical Association provided recommendations on statin use for treating their condition prior to age 80.

Resistant hypertension is common among patients with type 2 diabetes, and is strongly associated with microvascular disease.

Patients who do not have coronary artery disease but have fat around their hearts appear more likely to develop atherosclerosis, a team of researchers in Germany found.

Although variouis contraceptives are available for women whose baseline health is good, women who have chronic medical conditions have unique concerns.

Despite the debilitating symptoms associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, an alarming proportion of primary care providers mistreat or overlook the disease in their patients

Prior studies have reached contradictory conclusions about how strongly low levels of total testosterone correlate with high levels of metabolic syndrome.

Cardiovascular risk related to severity of inflammation, but not associated with disease duration

Patients with type 2 diabetes and inadequate glycemic control treated with dapagliflozin plus metformin and sulfonylurea experienced sustained improvements in HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, weight loss, and systolic blood pressure over 52 weeks.

Patients between the ages of 55 and 80 with type 2 diabetes treated with canagliflozin for more than 100 weeks experienced significant reductions in HbA1C, fasting plasma glucose, bodyweight, and systolic blood pressure.

Although patients who would have been considered high risk 10 years ago can now successfully undergo percutaneous cardiac intervention, those with severe sclerotic lesions in the ascending aorta still present a challenge to surgeons.

Severe coronary calcification is an independent predictor of worse prognosis in obstructive coronary artery disease patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Prebiotics and probiotics have been discussed frequently in the media for supposedly improving overall health, especially diseases related to the gut. However, the evidence on the efficacy and use of these dietary supplements is rather complicated.

After studying an Amish population, researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center have discovered a mutation in a fat-storage gene that increases a patient's risk for type 2 diabetes.

AstraZeneca's Epanova (omega-3-carboxylic acids) was approved by the FDA for the treatment of adults with severe hypertriglyceridemia; two new studies support the concept that there can be too much of a good thing when it comes to exercise; and the FDA has issued a new statement recommending against the use of aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke in people with no history of cardiovascular disease.

This meta-analysis attempts to definitively answer questions about the role of anger in cardiovascular events.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, so physicians must carefully weigh the pros and cons of treatment with corticosteroids and other proatherogenic drugs.

A hypertriglyceridemia drug from AstraZeneca has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

In this edition of Clinical Forum, we asked Cardiology Review editorial board members and an invited guest to comment on the controversial new cholesterol guidelines and risk calculator issued by the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) in November 2013.

A review of the relationship between body mass index, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.

Study results show testosterone therapy reduces total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides while boosting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

The ACC/AHA cholesterol guideline can be a powerful tool for making multifactorial measures of cardiovascular disease risk assessment, particularly in African American populations, but clinicians should be aware of its limitations.