Change in fatigue in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease initiating biologic therapy.

Background: Fatigue is common among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and is associated with decreased quality of life (QoL).

Aims: Describe fatigue evolution and identify factors associated with fatigue outcomes in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) initiating biologic treatment.

Methods: Data from adult Belgian patients with UC or CD enrolled in a prospective real-world study were utilized.

Central nervous system relapse after allogeneic HCT in FLT3-mutated AML.

Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is rare, but prognostically extremely unfavorable and associated with very high mortality rates. Aim of our single-center study was to define risk factors for CNS relapse in patients with FLT3-mutated AML after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and to determine the impact of pre-emptive or salvage therapy with FLT3-inhibitors (FLT3i) on occurrence of CNS relapse and overall prognosis. We analyzed 39 FLT3-mutated AML patients who were treated with intensive induction therapy and consecutively underwent HCT at our institution.

Course of brain damage following malignant hypertension.

Malignant hypertension (MHT) crisis triggers widespread microvascular damage, particularly in the brain. Despite recent MRI evidence highlighting acute cerebral injuries during MHT crises, follow-up data remain scarce. This study seeks to fill this gap by exploring how brain MRI markers evolve following acute MHT crisis management.

Baseline characteristics of the first 302 patients included for acute malignant hypertension crisis in the prospective multidisciplinary HAMA cohort.

Background: Malignant hypertension has not disappeared and remains the most severe form of hypertension. More than 100 years after its description, many points remain unanswered. Mechanisms, definitions, and optimal treatment are still controversial.

Catheter-based renal denervation in the treatment of arterial hypertension: An expert consensus statement on behalf of the French Society of Hypertension (SFHTA), French Society of Radiology (SFR), French Society of Interventional Cardiology (GACI), French Society of Cardiology (SFC), French Association of Private Cardiologists (CNCF), French Association of Hospital Cardiologists (CNCH), French Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (SFCTCV) and French Society of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (SCVE).

Several high-quality, randomized, sham-controlled trials have provided evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency, ultrasound and alcohol catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) for reducing blood pressure (BP). A French clinical consensus document has therefore been developed to propose guidance for the appropriate use of RDN in the management of hypertension along with a dedicated care pathway and management strategy. The French experts group concluded that RDN can serve as an adjunct therapy for patients with confirmed uncontrolled, resistant essential hypertension despite treatment with≥3 antihypertensive drugs, including a long-acting calcium channel blocker, a renin-angiotensin system blocker and a thiazide/thiazide-like diuretic at maximally tolerated doses.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody vaccine response in Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients with positive anti-nucleocapsid serology or history of COVID-19 infection.

Background: Previous history of COVID-19 infection is a natural booster of the vaccine response in the general population. The response to COVID-19 vaccines is lessened in Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients on selected class of immunosuppressive treatments.

Aims: The study was to assess anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific IgG antibody response in Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients with a history of COVID-19 infection.

Long term worsening of arterial stiffness from monitoring of QKD interval predicts the occurrence of cardiovascular events.

Arterial stiffness is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in different populations. Destiffening appears to be possible through the control of the main cardiovascular risk factors, with however important individual variations. There are so far too few data available on the prognostic importance of changes in arterial stiffness.

Depletion of TBC1D4 Improves the Metabolic Exercise Response by Overcoming Genetically Induced Peripheral Insulin Resistance.

The Rab-GTPase-activating protein (RabGAP) TBC1D4 (AS160) represents a key component in the regulation of glucose transport into skeletal muscle and white adipose tissue (WAT) and is therefore crucial during the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Increased daily activity has been shown to be associated with improved postprandial hyperglycemia in allele carriers of a loss-of-function variant in the human TBC1D4 gene. Using conventional Tbc1d4-deficient mice (D4KO) fed a high-fat diet, we show that moderate endurance exercise training leads to substantially improved glucose and insulin tolerance and enhanced expression levels of markers for mitochondrial activity and browning in WAT from D4KO animals.

Reciprocal activity of AgRP and POMC neurons governs coordinated control of feeding and metabolism.

Agouti-related peptide (AgRP)-expressing and proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-expressing neurons reciprocally regulate food intake. Here, we combine non-interacting recombinases to simultaneously express functionally opposing chemogenetic receptors in AgRP and POMC neurons for comparing metabolic responses in male and female mice with simultaneous activation of AgRP and inhibition of POMC neurons with isolated activation of AgRP neurons or isolated inhibition of POMC neurons. We show that food intake is regulated by the additive effect of AgRP neuron activation and POMC neuron inhibition, while systemic insulin sensitivity and gluconeogenesis are differentially modulated by isolated-versus-simultaneous regulation of AgRP and POMC neurons.

Real-world Effectiveness and Safety of Risankizumab in Patients with Moderate to Severe Multirefractory Crohn's Disease: A Belgian Multicentric Cohort Study.

Background: As real-world data on risankizumab in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD) are scarce, we evaluated its effectiveness and safety in multirefractory Belgian patients.

Methods: Data from consecutive adult CD patients who started risankizumab before April 2023 were retrospectively collected at 6 Belgian centers. Clinical remission and response were defined using the 2-component patient-reported outcome.

Endovascular ultrasound renal denervation to lower blood pressure in young hypertensive women planning pregnancy: study protocol for a multicentre randomised, blinded and sham controlled proof of concept study.

Introduction: A major issue confronting clinicians treating hypertension in pregnancy is the limited number of pharmacological options. Endovascular catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) is a new method to lower blood pressure (BP) in patients with hypertension by reducing the activity of the renal sympathetic nervous system. Drugs that affect this system are safe in pregnant women.

Treatment with midostaurin and other FLT3 targeting inhibitors is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular adverse events in patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with FLT3-mutated AML.

The addition of midostaurin to standard chemotherapy has improved survival in patients with FLT3-mutated AML. However, the impact of midostaurin and other FLT3 inhibitors (FLT3i) on cardiovascular adverse events (CAEs) has not been studied in patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a real-world setting. We reviewed 132 patients with AML who were treated with intensive induction therapy and consecutive allogeneic stem cell transplantation at our institution (42 FLT3-mutated AML and 90 with FLT3 wildtype).

Cardiovascular and health cost impacts of cuff blood pressure underestimation and overestimation of invasive aortic systolic blood pressure.

Objective: Hypertension management is directed by cuff blood pressure (BP), but this may be inaccurate, potentially influencing cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and health costs. This study aimed to determine the impact on CVD events and related costs of the differences between cuff and invasive SBP.

Methods: Microsimulations based on Markov modelling over one year were used to determine the differences in the number of CVD events (myocardial infarction or coronary death, stroke, atrial fibrillation or heart failure) predicted by Framingham risk and total CVD health costs based on cuff SBP compared with invasive (aortic) SBP.

Revisiting malignant hypertension: rationale and design of the 'HAMA cohort', on behalf of the ESH working group 'hypertension and the kidney'.

Background: Malignant hypertension has not disappeared and is associated with a poor prognosis. Yet, so far, it has received limited attention from the medical community. Guidelines are mainly based on expert consensus and low quality evidences.

Deletion of Tbc1d4/As160 abrogates cardiac glucose uptake and increases myocardial damage after ischemia/reperfusion.

Background: Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and associated with poor outcome after myocardial infarction (MI). In T2DM, cardiac metabolic flexibility, i.e.

Arterial stiffness (from monitoring of Qkd interval) predict the occurrence of cardiovascular events and total mortality.

Arterial stiffness, most often assessed with carotido-femoral pulse wave velocity predicts cardiovascular events but its use in clinical practice remains limited. The 24 h ambulatory monitoring of Blood pressure and timing of Korotkoff sounds (QKD interval) allows an automatic assessment of arterial stiffness and is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients. The long term follow up of our cohort of hypertensive patients gave us the opportunity to test the consequences of increased arterial stiffness on the incidence of all causes deaths and to define the populations who could benefit of this measurement beyond risk scores.