Publications by authors named "Jose Luis Diaz-Diaz"

Familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) is a very rare, underdiagnosed disorder that can cause abdominal pain and recurrent pancreatitis from childhood -potentially life-threatening- and chronic complications such as diabetes mellitus and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. FCS affects the quality of life and mental health of those who suffer from it, aspects that must be taken into account in its treatment, based on a strict low-fat diet, which is difficult to adhere to and persist. People with FCS lack the lipolytic capacity to hydrolyze triglycerides (TG) and have a minimal or null response to conventional lipid-lowering treatments.

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Multifactorial chylomicronemia associated with multiple comorbidities, drugs and habits is much more common than familial chylomicronemia, an autosomal recessive disease that can be considered as "rare disease". Like the rest of hypertriglyceridemias, chylomicronemias could be classified as primary or monogenic and secondary in which, on the basis of polygenic predisposition, there is concomitant exposure to multiple triggering factors. In this brief revision, we will review its causes and management as well as the keys to its differential diagnosis of the Multifactorial Chylomicronemia.

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Article Synopsis
  • Homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH) is a rare genetic disorder that causes extremely high LDL cholesterol levels, leading to heart disease at an early age; lomitapide is a medication designed to lower these cholesterol levels in affected adults and is being tested for safety and efficacy in children.
  • The APH-19 study involved 43 pediatric patients aged 5-17 years on existing cholesterol treatments; they received varying doses of lomitapide over a 24-week period to measure its effect on LDL cholesterol levels and other lipid parameters.
  • Results indicated a significant decrease in LDL cholesterol by 53.5% after 24 weeks of treatment, suggesting lomitapide may be effective for managing cholesterol
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Objectives: To gather opinions, recommendations, and proposals for improvement from Spanish clinicians on cardiovascular (CV) health, with particular focus on dyslipidemia management.

Methods: The Expert Insights project involved 8face-to-face sessions held throughout Spain, attended by 138 CV health experts. Clinicians answered to 25 questions survey related to CV health and dyslipidemia control.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), a severe genetic condition affecting cholesterol levels and cardiovascular health.
  • Data was collected from the SAFEHEART study between 2004 and 2022, analyzing 39 HoFH patients with a median follow-up of 11 years, revealing significant genetic and clinical variations among them.
  • Results showed a high initial level of LDL cholesterol (median 555 mg/dL), but treatment greatly improved this (median 122 mg/dL), which also led to a reduction in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events over time.
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Objectives: Individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) are at an increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). While prior research has shown variability in coronary artery calcification (CAC) among those with FH, studies with small sample sizes and single-center recruitment have been limited in their ability to characterize CAC and plaque burden in subgroups based on age and sex. Understanding the spectrum of atherosclerosis may result in personalized risk assessment and tailored allocation of costly add-on, non-statin lipid-lowering therapies.

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Background: Clinically diagnosed familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) may require a genetic test (GT) to confirm diagnosis. GT availability/accessibility is resource-dependent and usually restricted to specialized clinics. While GT has a diagnostic value, it has not yet defined its impact on long-term management and prognosis of FH.

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Background And Aims: We aimed to understand the impact of physicians' perception about LDL-cholesterol (LDLc) control on the management of patients with dyslipidemia in Spain.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional and multicenter study, in which 435 healthcare professionals participated in face-to-face meetings, collecting qualitative and quantitative information related to hypercholesterolemia management. Additionally, aggregated anonymized data of the last 10 patients with hypercholesterolemia attended by each physician were collected.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess how well dyslipidaemia is controlled and the types of lipid-lowering therapies used among patients at high and very high cardiovascular risk across different regions in Spain.
  • Data was gathered from 145 health areas involving 435 physicians, resulting in a total of 4010 patients being analyzed for their cardiovascular risk and therapy received.
  • Findings revealed that although patient distribution was similar across regions, significant variances existed in achieving cholesterol targets and in the types of therapies prescribed, highlighting regional disparities in cardiovascular prevention strategies.
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Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by the accumulation of cholesterol in the intima. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (iPCSK9) can reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels by 60%, but there is still no evidence that they can lower markers of systemic inflammation such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Acute-phase serum glycoproteins are upregulated in the liver during systemic inflammation, and their role as inflammatory biomarkers is under clinical evaluation.

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Objectives: GALIPEMIAS is a study designed to establish the prevalence of familial dyslipidemia in the general population of Galicia. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD), its relationship with other cardiovascular risk (CVR) factors, and the degree of lipid control.

Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in the general population over 18 years of age residing in Galicia and with a health card from the Galician Health Service (N=1,000).

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Article Synopsis
  • * Out of 696 patients studied, a high persistence rate of 96.1% with PCSK9i treatment was observed over a median follow-up of 3.7 years, leading to significant reductions in LDL-C levels.
  • * The treatment not only improved cholesterol management, with 77% reaching 2016 LDL-C goals, but also maintained a good quality of life for the patients throughout the study period.
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Article Synopsis
  • Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder that significantly raises cardiovascular risk, and the review focuses on the role of lipoprotein(a) in this context.
  • Higher levels of lipoprotein(a) in these patients are linked to specific genetic variants and greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular issues and aortic valve stenosis.
  • Measuring lipoprotein(a) can help identify individuals at higher risk, suggesting that targeted treatment for LDL cholesterol might be necessary to manage their condition effectively.
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Introduction And Objectives: The treatment of dyslipidemia exhibits wide variability in clinical practice and important limitations that make lipid-lowering goals more difficult to attain. Getting to know the management of these patients in clinical practice is key to understand the existing barriers and to define actions that contribute to achieving the therapeutic goals from the most recent Clinical Practice Guidelines.

Methods: Observatory where the information gathered is based on routine clinical practice and the experience from the healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of dyslipidemia in Spain.

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Aims: Knowledge of the features of patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) who are protected from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is important for the clinical and prognostic care of this apparently high-risk condition. Our aim was to investigate the determinant and characteristics of patients with FH who are protected from ASCVD and have normal life expectancy, so-called 'resilient' FH (R-FH).

Methods And Results: Spanish Familial Hypercholesterolaemia cohort study (SAFEHEART) is an open, multicentre, nation-wide, long-term prospective cohort study in genetically defined patients with heterozygous FH in Spain.

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Article Synopsis
  • Statins are medicines that help lower cholesterol but might increase the risk of diabetes, especially in people with prediabetes.
  • A study looked at 407 patients who were using different statins and found that those on pitavastatin had better blood sugar levels compared to those on atorvastatin and simvastatin.
  • The research suggests that some statins, like simvastatin and high doses of atorvastatin, might make it harder to control blood sugar compared to others like pitavastatin or pravastatin.
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Background: PCSK9 inhibitors are a treatment option for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia not on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goals despite the use of maximally tolerated high intensity-statins dose.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of alirocumab and evolocumab in LDL-C reduction and targets attainment in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia in clinical practice setting.

Methods: SAFEHEART is an open, long-term prospective study of a cohort of subjects with molecular diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia.

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The accumulation of chylomicrons in plasma beyond the postprandial period is a pathological event secondary to the partial or complete lack of activity of lipoprotein lipase that can lead to recurrent episodes of abdominal pain and acute pancreatitis. This article reviews the pathophysiology of this syndrome and the differential characteristics depending on whether it is due to congenital monogenic causes or acquired on a polygenic basis in which multiple factors may inluence.

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Aims: Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) and elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] are inherited disorders associated with premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Aortic valve stenosis (AVS) is the most prevalent valvular heart disease and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and Lp(a) may be involved in its pathobiology. We investigated the frequency and predictors of severe AVS requiring aortic valve replacement (AVR) in molecularly defined patients with FH.

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Background And Aims: Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is associated with premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Semi-automated plaque characterization (SAPC) by coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) provides information regarding coronary plaque burden and plaque characterization. Our aim was to quantify and characterize the coronary plaque burden of patients with FH using SAPC analysis and to identify which factors are related to plaque burden and plaque characteristics.

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Objective: Characterize homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) individuals from Iberoamerica. Approach and Results: In a cross-sectional retrospective evaluation 134 individuals with a HoFH phenotype, 71 adults (age 39.3±15.

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Introduction And Objectives: The SAFEHEART study was designed to analyze the situation of familial heterozygous hypercholesterolemia (FHH) and improve knowledge of this disease in Spain. Our objective was to determine the incidence rate of cardiovascular events, the estimated risk of developing an event and its modification, the use of lipid-lowering treatment, and the achievement of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol targets in patients with FHH.

Methods: SAFEHEART is a prospective, open, multicenter, nationwide cohort study, with long-term protocol-based follow-up in a population of individuals with molecularly-characterized FHH.

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Article Synopsis
  • The research aimed to investigate whether microRNAs (miRNAs) could serve as biomarkers for predicting atherosclerotic plaque progression and cardiovascular events in patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH).
  • A study compared miRNA levels in FH patients who experienced cardiovascular events over 8 years to those who did not, identifying 10 significant miRNAs, with miR-133a showing the strongest association with increased risk.
  • Findings indicated that higher levels of miR-133a correlated with a nearly fourfold increased risk of cardiovascular events, suggesting its potential as a predictive biomarker in FH patients.
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Cardiovascular disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV (PLWH), who commonly experience lipid disturbances. The aim of this study was to determine whether the plasma lipidomic profile differs between PLWH receiving a darunavir-based ART and those receiving integrase inhibitor-based ART. This was a cross-sectional study of unselected patients for whom metabolomic analysis was performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.

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