Effects of CPAP on Central and Peripheral Blood Pressure in Patients with Uncontrolled Hypertension and OSA: The MORPHEOS Trial.

Rationale: Previous studies evaluating the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on blood pressure (BP) showed variable results. Moreover, several studies recruited patients with normal or controlled BP, and compliance to antihypertensive drugs was not monitored. In addition, very few studies investigated central BP in this scenario.

Platypnea-Orthodeoxia Syndrome: Manifestation of a Patent Foramen Ovale.

Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) is a rare clinical condition characterized by dyspnea and hypoxemia during orthostatism, with relief in the supine position. The diagnosis of POS requires a high clinical suspicion, and its etiology stems from the admixture of venous blood, poor in oxygen, with arterial blood via a shunt. A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is the most commonly encountered anomaly at the root of POS.

Reforming the innovation system to deliver affordable medicines: a conceptual framework of pharmaceutical innovation as a complex adaptive system (forest) and theory of change.

Background: The current mainstream pharmaceutical innovation system (PIS) is driven by the market-based logic of charging the highest prices societies will bear. Outcomes include unaffordable medicines, restricted access and pressure on health budgets. How can the innovation system change to deliver fairly-priced medicines?

Methods: We inductively developed a novel conceptual framework of the PIS as a complex adaptive system (CAS) analogous to a forest.

The Intersection of Menopause, Lack of Physical Activity, and Cardiovascular Risk.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in women in the United States, and the physiologic changes that occur during perimenopause and menopause can increase women's risk of CVD. Physical activity levels decrease with age, but physical activity can effectively reduce both menopausal symptoms and CVD risk in women. Interventions to increase physical activity and reduce menopausal symptoms and CVD risks in women are often not comprehensive and are unsustainable due to individual contextual barriers.