Publications by authors named "Ermioni Oikonomou"
Article Synopsis
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the top global cause of illness and death, with high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) being a significant risk factor.
- Research shows that medications that lower LDL-C can decrease cardiovascular events, and better outcomes are associated with lower LDL-C levels.
- The article explores the development of LDL-C lowering medications, including bile acid sequestrants, statins, bempedoic acid, PCSK9 inhibitors, inclisiran, and the new oral PCSK9 inhibitors currently in clinical trials.
Background: In this study we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the potential causal association of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] levels with pulse wave velocity (PWV).
Methods: Genetic variants associated with Lp(a) were retrieved from the UK Biobank GWAS (N = 290,497). A non- overlapping GWAS based on a European cohort (N = 7,000) was used to obtain genetic associations with PWV (outcome) and utilized two different measures for the same trait, brachial-ankle (baPWV) and carotid-femoral (cfPWV) PWV.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates how remnant cholesterol (RC) levels relate to the risk of developing or relapsing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), finding that higher RC levels correlate with increased cardiovascular risks in both patients with and without pre-existing conditions.
- - Analyzing data from 29 studies involving over 257,000 participants, the findings reveal that directly measured RC levels more strongly predict the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) than calculated levels.
- - While lipid-lowering therapies (LLTs) can lower RC levels, the clinical significance of this reduction in relation to ASCVD risk still requires further research to understand its impact.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the effectiveness of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and carotid ultrasound in determining eligibility for cholesterol-lowering treatments, focusing on differences between men and women.
- It analyzes data from two Greek cohorts to estimate the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) using specific tools and identifies where carotid plaque and elevated hsCRP levels influence treatment eligibility.
- Results show that women initially have lower eligibility for treatment, but when accounting for carotid plaque and hsCRP, their eligibility significantly increases compared to men, highlighting the need for further research on treatment impacts in these populations.