Liver cancer risk after HCV cure in patients with advanced liver disease without non-characterized nodules.

Background & Aims: Recognition of non-characterized liver nodules (NCLN) prior to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) is associated with increased hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk in patients with HCV. The risk of HCC has not been defined in F3/F4 patients in whom NCLN have been ruled-out before starting DAAs and at sustained virological response (SVR). This study aimed to estimate HCC incidence in this population.

Predicting portal thrombosis in cirrhosis: A prospective study of clinical, ultrasonographic and hemostatic factors.

Background & Aims: Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a relatively frequent event in patients with cirrhosis. While different risk factors for PVT have been reported, such as decreased portal blood flow velocity (PBFV) and parameters related with severity of portal hypertension, these are based on retrospective studies assessing only a discrete number of parameters. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the incidence and risks factors for non-tumoral PVT development in a large prospective cohort of patients with cirrhosis.

Relationship Between Total Serum Bilirubin Levels and Carotid and Femoral Atherosclerosis in Familial Dyslipidemia.

Objective: Bilirubin is a potent antioxidant that has been inversely related to cardiovascular disease. There is little information on serum total bilirubin (TB) in relation to atherosclerosis in familial dyslipidemia. We assessed the association between TB and carotid and femoral atherosclerosis in this high-risk group.

Hepatitis C seroprevalence in an at-risk population in the southwest Madrid region of Spain.

Introduction: The estimated seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Spain is 1.7%, but is much higher in the at-risk population. The most efficient national screening strategy is unclear.

Effect of weight loss on abnormal 24-hour blood pressure patterns in severely obese patients.

Background: Nocturnal hypertension (night systolic [S]/diastolic [D] blood pressure [BP]≥120/70 mm Hg), nondipper status (nocturnal BP fall<10% of daytime values), and pulse pressure ([PP]; difference between 24-h SBP and DBP readings) are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We evaluated the 1-year effect of significant surgical weight loss (WL) on abnormal BP patterns in patients with and without hypertension and identified the factors involved.

Setting: University hospital, Spain.

Influence of (11)C-choline PET/CT on radiotherapy planning in prostate cancer.

Aim: To evaluate the influence of (11)C-choline PET/CT on radiotherapy planning in prostate cancer patients.

Background: Precise information on the extension of prostate cancer is crucial for the choice of an appropriate therapeutic strategy. (11)C-choline positron emission tomography ((11)C-choline PET/CT) has two roles in radiation oncology (RT): (1) patient selection for treatment and (2) target volume selection and delineation.

Longitudinal changes of blood pressure after weight loss: factors involved.

Background: The combination of obesity and hypertension (HT) places patients at a higher risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes and raises the need to establish the pathogenic mechanisms of this relationship. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of important weight loss on longitudinal changes in blood pressure (BP) and investigate the pathogenic factors associated with these changes.

Methods: We performed a prospective, open-label study including 37 obese hypertensive patients (28 females, mean age 52±8 yr) undergoing BS.

Changes in ultrasound-assessed carotid intima-media thickness and plaque with a Mediterranean diet: a substudy of the PREDIMED trial.

Objective: The Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED) trial showed that a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) supplemented with either extra virgin olive oil or 30 g/d of mixed nuts reduced incident cardiovascular events compared with a control (low fat) diet. The mechanisms of cardiovascular protection afforded by MedDiets remain to be uncovered. We assessed the effect of both supplemented MedDiets on internal carotid intima-media thickness (ICA-IMT) and plaque height, the ultrasound features that best predict future cardiovascular events, in subjects at high cardiovascular risk.

White blood cell count is associated with carotid and femoral atherosclerosis.

Objective: Chronic low-grade inflammation is associated with atherosclerosis. Ultrasound imaging allows measurement of intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque. We investigated the association between inflammatory markers and carotid and femoral atherosclerosis.

Carotid and femoral plaque burden is inversely associated with the α-linolenic acid proportion of serum phospholipids in Spanish subjects with primary dyslipidemia.

Objective: α-Linolenic acid (ALA), the vegetable n-3 fatty acid, appears to have antiatherosclerotic properties akin to those of marine n-3 fatty acids. A prior study in a US population with low fish intake showed an inverse association between ALA intake and carotid plaque. We examined the association between the ALA status and advanced carotid and femoral atherosclerosis in subjects at high cardiovascular disease risk from Spain, a country with low coronary heart disease (CHD) rates and high fish consumption.

Fatty acids in serum phospholipids and carotid intima-media thickness in Spanish subjects with primary dyslipidemia.

Background: Low rates of incident ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cardiac death occur in Spain despite a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. High consumption of unsaturated fatty acid-rich foods, such as olive oil, nuts, and seafood, might underlie this paradox.

Objective: We investigated whether serum phosphatidylcholine enrichment in oleic, linoleic, alpha-linolenic, and n-3 (omega-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (as biomarkers of olive oil, seed oil, walnut, and fish intake, respectively) relate to carotid atherosclerosis in Spanish subjects at risk of IHD.

Impact of low-density lipoprotein receptor mutational class on carotid atherosclerosis in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.

Background And Objectives: Defects in the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a highly atherogenic condition. The effect of different LDLR mutations on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk is insufficiently defined. We assessed carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), a surrogate marker of CHD, in relation to LDLR mutational class in FH.

[Femoral ultrasound in the assessment of preclinical atherosclerosis. Distribution of intima-media thickness and frequency of atheroma plaques in a Spanish community cohort].

Background And Objective: High-resolution B-mode ultrasound measurements of intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque presence are useful to assess preclinical atherosclerosis. Normal carotid IMT values, but not normal femoral IMT values, have been reported in Spanish subjects. Our aim was to define the normality data of femoral ultrasound by sex and age.

Femoral atherosclerosis in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia: influence of the genetic defect.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess femoral atherosclerosis by ultrasound in patients with molecularly defined heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) in comparison with matched control subjects and in relation to mutational class in the LDL receptor and apolipoprotein B (APOB) genes.

Methods And Results: Femoral intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque were evaluated in 146 FH patients carrying null alleles (n=48), defective-receptor alleles (n=62), undetermined-function alleles (n=25), or APOB defects (n=11) and in 193 healthy subjects. Twenty-three patients had coronary heart disease (CHD).

Carotid atherosclerosis in familial combined hyperlipidemia associated with the APOB/APOA-I ratio.

Objectives: The effects of risk factors on carotid atherosclerosis in familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL) remain unclear. We assessed carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque in relation to classical risk factors and apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and B (apoB) levels in patients with FCHL.

Methods And Results: We included 131 unrelated FCHL patients (27 with prior cardiovascular disease (CVD)) diagnosed by standard criteria and 190 age- and sex-matched control subjects.

Carotid atherosclerosis and vascular age in the assessment of coronary heart disease risk beyond the Framingham Risk Score.

Objectives: To assess how ultrasound measurements of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and plaque burden compare with the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in a clinical setting.

Methods And Results: In a cross-sectional study, we determined CIMT and plaque in 409 asymptomatic, non-diabetic hyperlipidemic subjects (242 men, age 49+/-11 years) who were assessed for risk factors and classified into FRS categories: 10-year risk < or =5% (n=191), 6-20% (n=176), and >20% (n=42). Percentiles of CIMT and plaque height and regression equations of CIMT against age obtained in 250 controls subjects were used to define atherosclerosis and estimate vascular age, respectively.

Acute effects of high-fat meals enriched with walnuts or olive oil on postprandial endothelial function.

Objectives: We sought to investigate whether the addition of walnuts or olive oil to a fatty meal have differential effects on postprandial vasoactivity, lipoproteins, markers of oxidation and endothelial activation, and plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA).

Background: Compared with a Mediterranean diet, a walnut diet has been shown to improve endothelial function in hypercholesterolemic patients. We hypothesized that walnuts would reverse postprandial endothelial dysfunction associated with consumption of a fatty meal.

Influence of HDL cholesterol on preclinical carotid atherosclerosis in familial hypercholesterolemia.

Objective: The effect of risk factors on carotid atherosclerosis in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is unclear. We evaluated carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) by sonography in relation to classical and emergent risk factors in a large FH cohort.

Methods And Results: Risk factors and carotid IMT were assessed in 196 asymptomatic subjects aged > or =25 years fulfilling strict diagnostic criteria for clinical FH who were either undertreated or treatment-naive.

[Carotid ultrasound in the assessment of preclinical atherosclerosis. Distribution of intima-media thickness values and plaque frequency in a Spanish community cohort].

Background And Objective: High-resolution B-mode ultrasound measurements of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and determination of plaque presence are useful to assess preclinical atherosclerosis. Normal IMT values have not been reported in Spanish subjects. Our aim was to define normality data of carotid ultrasound by sex and age.

The use of Achilles tendon sonography to distinguish familial hypercholesterolemia from other genetic dyslipidemias.

Objective: Achilles tendon (AT) xanthomas, specific for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), may be clinically undetectable. We assessed the usefulness of AT sonography in the diagnosis of FH.

Methods And Results: Sonographic AT characteristics were evaluated in 127 subjects with FH (81 genetically ascertained), 84 familial combined hyperlipidemia, 79 polygenic hypercholesterolemia, and 88 normolipidemic controls.

PARP inhibition sensitizes p53-deficient breast cancer cells to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis.

p53 deficiency confers resistance to doxo (doxorubicin), a clinically active and widely used antitumour anthracycline antibiotic. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the reversal mechanism of doxo resistance by the potent PARP [poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase] inhibitor ANI (4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide) in the p53-deficient breast cancer cell lines EVSA-T and MDA-MB-231. The effects of ANI, in comparison with doxo alone, on doxo-induced apoptosis, were investigated in matched pairs of EVSA-T or MDA-MB-231 with or without ANI co-treatment.

Crosstalk between PARP-1 and NF-kappaB modulates the promotion of skin neoplasia.

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1)-deficient mice are protected against septic shock, type I diabetes, stroke and inflammation. It is now accepted that inflammation and related events, such as activation of NF-kappaB, are key components in the initiation and progression of epithelial cancer and in particular in the neoplastic transformation of keratinocytes and skin carcinogenesis. Here, we report that PARP-1-deficient mice display a strikingly reduced susceptibility to skin carcinogenesis.

A walnut diet improves endothelial function in hypercholesterolemic subjects: a randomized crossover trial.

Background: Epidemiological studies suggest that nut intake decreases coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. Nuts have a cholesterol-lowering effect that partly explains this benefit. Endothelial dysfunction is associated with CAD and its risk factors and is reversed by antioxidants and marine n-3 fatty acids.