Cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome in a population of young students from the National University of Colombia.

Objective: To estimate prevalence and distribution of cardiovascular risk factors and Metabolic Syndrome (MS) in young individuals admitted to the National University of Colombia in Bogotá.

Methods: An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 249 individuals of both genders aged 15 to 20 years. A questionnaire was personally administered to collect demographic, socioeconomic, smoking, perinatal, and women's health data.

[New therapies for diabetes: beyond injectable insulin and oral antidiabetics].

New medicines for the therapy of the type 1 and type 2 diabetes have been incorporated in the list of traditional drugs: oral agents and injectable insulin. These treatment alternatives have a new mechanism of action that takes advantage of the antidiabetic properties of certain peptides such as amylin and glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1), whose levels are wanting or insufficient in diabetes. This is attained through amylin and GLP-1 analogues, although it can also be achieved by inhibiting the enzyme that degrades the latter.

[Raising HDL cholesterol: which is the best strategy?].

After having reached the objective for the LDL cholesterol levels, it becomes imperative to reach the objective for HDL cholesterol, known for its anti-atherogenic properties, generally confirmed in many epidemiological studies. This review deals, in a clear and concise manner, with the different alternatives available in daily clinical practice to raise the HDL cholesterol levels of patients, to achieve better outcomes in terms of morbidity and mortality in cardiovascular disease.