1,721,070 research outputs found
Genetic involvement in statins induced myopathy. Preliminary data from an observational case-control study
No full textEarly anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory actions of statins and fibrates -: time for adjuvant therapy in acute coronary syndromes?
No full textGenetic modulation of anti-inflammatory effects of atorvastatin; probably a multi-gene condition
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Mechanism for antiplatelet action of statins
No full textHydroxymethyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) offer important benefits for the large populations of individuals at high risk for coronary heart and cerebrovascular disease. the overall clinical benefits observed with statin therapy appear to be greater than what might be expected from changes in lipid profile alone, suggesting that the beneficial effects of such drugs may extend beyond their effects on serum cholesterol. Platelet hyperactivity is a key step in atherothrombosis and experimental data suggest that statins could exert an antiplatelet effect which could be involved in their protective action. In the present review we report of the major studies in humans showing the effect of statins on platelets, especially by the more sensitive methods to explore platelet function such as cytofluorymetric detection of specific proteins. Moreover we describe the putative mechanisms involved in platelet deactivation with particular regard to the effects related to cholesterol reduction or beyond lipid-lowering. Indeed, data from several studies suggest some differences among compounds in terms of timing of action by modulation of several activating pathways which could take part either in the early, cholesterol-lowering independent, effects in the acute phase of vascular disease or during chronic treatment. © 2005 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Role of genetic factors in statins side-effects
No full textStatins are relevant drugs involved in the reduction of cardiovascular events both in primary and secondary prevention. Related muscular side-effects are the most common cause of withdrawal and statins discontinuation could induce a negative rebound effect in terms of vascular events. Among factors in association with statins side-effects the combination with other drugs and the female sex are established conditions. However recent data suggest a specific genetic influence in intolerance development, at least for some statins. Indeed a genome-wide study in patients treated with simvastatin found an impressive association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within SLCO1B1 gene on chromosome 12 and established myopathy. Furthermore, the association between the SLCO1B1*5 variant and side-effects was found also in patients treated with atorvastatin but not, apparently, with pravastatin and categorized as carriers of mild-myopathy. Recently a similar evidence has been suggested in type 2 diabetic patients treated mainly with simvastatin. However another relevant issue is that, apart from genetic influence in liver transporters influencing drug levels, the complexity of mechanisms involved in the muscular side effects of statins has been addressed by the evidence of other influencing pathways such as the variant within the COQ2 gene involved in Coenzyme Q10 mildasymptomatic deficiency and skeletal muscle drug transporters expression. In conclusion, the picture of putative pharmacogenetic modulation of statins safety is reaching a growing body of evidence for translation into clinical practice but more specific studies for each single statin, in different clinical settings, both from genome-wide or competitive candidate genes evaluation, are needed before describing a definitive class-risk profile. © 2012 Bentham Science Publishers
Endogenous thrombin potential and screening parameters of coagulation [Potenziale endogeno di trombina e parametri di screening della coagulazione]
No full textBackground.: Thrombin is a pivotal player in the coagulation system. The activity of thrombin is the measurement of its concentration in function of time. The area under thrombin generation curve is called the endogenous thrombin potential (ETP). ETP is a global test and reflects the functions of the haemostatic system much better that the classical clotting tests. ETP increases in each ipercoagulability condition and decreases in each ipocoagulability condition. The measurement of ETP is the potentially applicable to clinical laboratories, but the technical limits haven't made it possible the routinely use, also if many clinical studies are executed in research and/or specialistic laboratories. Recent developments offer the possibility to evaluate ETP in automated coagulometers. In this study, we evaluate the possibility of application of ETP on an automated coagulometer and compare ETP value with the classical screening parameters of coagulation. Methods.: ETP was measured in 106 subjects: 60 males and 56 females, between 31-50 years of age, not using drugs known to affect the coagulation system and without history of thrombosis or bleeding disorder. Blood was taken by venipuncture and collected into sodium citrate (3.2%) tubes. Plasma was obtained by centrifugation at room temperature for 15 min at 2500 g and used immediately after centrifugation or frozen at -80 C and then defrosted at 37 C for 5 min. The dosage of prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, d-dimer, ETP are performed on an automated coagulation analyzer BCS XP System (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostic, Marburg, Germany), with reagents and protocols from the manufacturer (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics). Results.: In about three hours it is possible analyzer 106 subjects. No statistically significant difference is observed between results in women and men. The ETP values are expressed as AUC% and reference range is 80-110%. Conclusions.: Our study clearly shows the possibility to use automated coagulometer for ETP assay. ETP performed with a automated coagulometer is a rapid, suitable and reliable tool for screening coagulation, making possible this test in routine laboratory. This new opportunity has to carefully evaluate and could be made it possible to measurement ETP routinely at high throughput and thus transformed it from a research tool into a tool for clinical use for management of hemorrhagic or thrombotic diseases; hemorrhagic or venous thrombosis risk; congenital coagulophaties; use of conventional or new anticoagulants. This study represents the first step to build normal range for automated coagulometer. The potential utility of measurement of ETP in clinical settings should be investigated on a major number of subjects. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Italia
Coagulative, fibrinolytic and metabolic pattern in patients with central retinal vein occlusion
No full textCentral retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is an important cause of visual loss. Many risk factors have been associated with CRVO onset at various ages. Among them diabetes mellitus, hypertension, immunologic disorders, increase in blood viscosity and coagulation, decrease of fibrinolysis have been reported in many subjects. The aim of our study was to detect the metabolic, coagulative and fibrinolytic pattern in 54 patients (26 men, 28 women, mean age 50.4 ± 12.3) affected by CRVO. We excluded from the study patients with other ocular disorders. A fibrinolytic impairment is the most common feature in our population. It occurs either in dysmetabolic or in nonmetabolic subjects. Such data suggest a prominent role of the fibrinolytic system in the pathogenesis of CRVO
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