Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Patient-Centered Educational Mailer Designed to Improve Statin Adherence: A Pragmatic Trial.

Background: Patients with high total cholesterol have increased risk of cardiovascular disease. National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) and American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines recommend cholesterol lowering with statin medications; however, statin adherence remains poor. We hypothesized that patient-centered education on the 10-year risk for each of the major constituents of cardiovascular disease would increase statin adherence and achievement of the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal.

Race is associated with differences in airway inflammation in patients with asthma.

Background: African American subjects have a greater burden from asthma compared with white subjects. Whether the pattern of airway inflammation differs between African American and white subjects is unclear.

Objective: We sought to compare sputum airway inflammatory phenotypes of African American and white subjects treated or not with inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs; ICS+ and ICS-, respectively).

Biomarkers in asthmatic patients: Has their time come to direct treatment?

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with multiple phenotypes that have variable risk factors and responses to therapeutics. Mild-to-moderate asthma often responds to traditional medications, whereas severe disease can be refractory to inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting β-agonists, and leukotriene receptor antagonists. There is robust research into the variable phenotypes of asthma.