The Role of Genetics in Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: Findings From a Single Lipid Clinic and Review of the Literature.

Background: Genetic information is not routinely obtained in the management of most lipid disorders or in primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We sought to determine the prevalence of pathogenic variants associated with lipoprotein metabolism or coronary artery disease (CAD) in a single lipid clinic and discuss the future use of genetic information in CVD prevention.

Methods: Genetic testing was offered to patients with hypertriglyceridemia (defined as pre-treatment fasting triglycerides ≥150 mg/dL), elevated LDL-C (defined as pre-treatment ≥190 mg/dL), low HDL-C (defined as ≤40 mg/dL), elevated lipoprotein (a) (defined as ≥50 mg/dL or 100 nmol/L) or premature CAD (defined as an acute coronary syndrome or revascularization before age 40 years in men and 50 years in women) using next-generation DNA sequencing of 327 exons and selected variants in 129 genes known or suspected to be associated with lipoprotein metabolism or CAD.

Identification of in vivo-expressed antigens of Staphylococcus aureus and their use in vaccinations for protection against nasal carriage.

A spectrum of in vivo-expressed Staphylococcus aureus antigens was identified by probing bacteriophage expression libraries of S. aureus with serum samples from infected and uninfected individuals. Eleven recombinant antigenic proteins were produced, and specific antibody titers in a large collection of human serum samples were determined.

The staphylococcal ferritins are differentially regulated in response to iron and manganese and via PerR and Fur.

Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis ferritin (FtnA and SefA, respectively) homologues are antigenic and highly conserved. A previous study showed that ftnA is a component of the S. aureus PerR regulon with its transcription induced by elevated iron and repressed by PerR, which functions as a manganese-dependent transcriptional repressor.

Effectiveness of home based support for older people: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of home visiting programmes that offer health promotion and preventive care to older people.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 studies of home visiting.

Participants: older people living at home, including frail older people at risk of adverse outcomes.

The effectiveness of health services: the case of health visiting.

This article challenges the belief that health visiting is ineffective. Rebutting the arguments of some of health visiting's detractors, the authors point to a wealth of evidence that health visiting is effective. They acknowledge, however, that current methods of evaluating the effectiveness of many health services are far from perfect, and that some of the benefits of services like health visiting are more easily ascertained than others.