Plasma parathyroid hormone and cardiovascular disease in treatment-naive patients with primary hyperparathyroidism: The EPATH trial.

Patients with primary hyperparathyroidism are at increased risk for high blood pressure, vascular stiffening, and left ventricular hypertrophy, but previous studies have failed to demonstrate the direct associations with circulating parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. The authors investigated cross-sectional relationships between PTH and 24-hour pulse wave velocity, nocturnal systolic blood pressure, and left ventricular mass index in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism who were treatment-naive with cinacalcet, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system inhibitors, and thiazide or loop diuretics. In 76 patients, mean±SD of pulse wave velocity, nocturnal systolic blood pressure, and left ventricular mass index values were 9.

Correction: Genome-wide physical activity interactions in adiposity - A meta-analysis of 200,452 adults.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.

Biomarker-Based Risk Model to Predict Cardiovascular Mortality in Patients With Stable Coronary Disease.

Background: Currently, there is no generally accepted model to predict outcomes in stable coronary heart disease (CHD).

Objectives: This study evaluated and compared the prognostic value of biomarkers and clinical variables to develop a biomarker-based prediction model in patients with stable CHD.

Methods: In a prospective, randomized trial cohort of 13,164 patients with stable CHD, we analyzed several candidate biomarkers and clinical variables and used multivariable Cox regression to develop a clinical prediction model based on the most important markers.

Anti-PCSK9 antibodies for hypercholesterolaemia: Overview of clinical data and implications for primary care.

Objectives: To put data from our recent systematic review of phase 3 studies of anti-proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) antibodies into the context of clinical practice.

Methods: Data from studies previously identified by a systematic review of phase 3 studies of alirocumab and evolocumab and additional references from non-systematic literature searches were used. We evaluated the hypothetical cardiovascular (CV) benefit in cases of typical patients in whom anti-PCSK9 antibodies may be recommended, using preliminary major CV event (CVE) rates from long-term clinical trials of anti-PCSK9 antibodies and from extrapolations derived from correlation between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction and CV benefit with other lipid-lowering therapies (LLTs).

Association analyses based on false discovery rate implicate new loci for coronary artery disease.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in coronary artery disease (CAD) had identified 66 loci at 'genome-wide significance' (P < 5 × 10) at the time of this analysis, but a much larger number of putative loci at a false discovery rate (FDR) of 5% (refs. 1,2,3,4). Here we leverage an interim release of UK Biobank (UKBB) data to evaluate the validity of the FDR approach.

Refining Long-Term Prediction of Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes - The VILDIA Score.

Cardiovascular risk assessment in patients with diabetes relies on traditional risk factors. However, numerous novel biomarkers have been found to be independent predictors of cardiovascular disease, which might significantly improve risk prediction in diabetic patients. We aimed to improve prediction of cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients by investigating 135 evolving biomarkers.

ST2 predicts survival in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Objective: To assess soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) serum concentrations and predict mortality in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 74 patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) who underwent TAVI and matched them to patients without aortic valve disease (n=74). AS patients underwent comprehensive echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and laboratory examinations.

Omega-6 fatty acids: Opposing associations with risk-The Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health Study.

Background: Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-6 PUFA) are recommended in European cardiovascular prevention guidelines. However, individual fatty acids have distinct biological functions, and there have been conflicting reports about the association of omega-6 PUFA with cardiovascular risk.

Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate the association of individual omega-6 fatty acids with mortality in a cohort of patients referred for coronary angiography.

Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on IGF-1 and Calcitriol: A Randomized-Controlled Trial.

Increasing evidence suggests a possible interaction between vitamin D and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). We aimed to investigate effects of vitamin D supplementation on IGF-1 (primary outcome) and calcitriol (1,25(OH)₂D) concentrations (secondary outcome). This is a post-hoc analysis of the Styrian Vitamin D Hypertension Trial-a single-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (RCT) conducted from 2011 to 2014 at the Medical University of Graz, Austria.

Relations between lipoprotein(a) concentrations, LPA genetic variants, and the risk of mortality in patients with established coronary heart disease: a molecular and genetic association study.

Background: Lipoprotein(a) concentrations in plasma are associated with cardiovascular risk in the general population. Whether lipoprotein(a) concentrations or LPA genetic variants predict long-term mortality in patients with established coronary heart disease remains less clear.

Methods: We obtained data from 3313 patients with established coronary heart disease in the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) study.

[Congenital disorders of lipoprotein metabolism].

Congenital disorders of lipid metabolism are caused by a wide range of variants of the genes for receptors, apolipoproteins, enzymes, transfer factors, and cellular cholesterol transporters. Clinically most relevant are autosomal dominant familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and familial combined hyperlipoproteinemia (FCHL). FH has a prevalence of 1:250.

Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor and Outcomes in Patients with Diabetes on Hemodialysis.

Background And Objectives: Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor is a novel biomarker strongly predictive of cardiovascular outcomes implicated in the pathogenesis of kidney disease. Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor levels, however, correlate with declining kidney function. It is unclear whether soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor levels remain associated with outcomes in patients with ESRD.

Loss of Cardioprotective Effects at the Locus as a Result of Gene-Smoking Interactions.

Background: Common diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD) are complex in etiology. The interaction of genetic susceptibility with lifestyle factors may play a prominent role. However, gene-lifestyle interactions for CHD have been difficult to identify.

Vitamin-D concentrations, cardiovascular risk and events - a review of epidemiological evidence.

Vitamin D has long been established as an elemental factor of bone physiology. Beyond mineral metabolism, the expression of the vitamin D receptor has been identified throughout the cardiovascular (CV) system. Experimental studies showed beneficial effects of vitamin D on heart and vessels, but vitamin D intoxication in animals also led to hypercalcemia and vascular calcification.

Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Bone Turnover Markers: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Bone turnover markers (BTMs) are used to evaluate bone health together with bone mineral density and fracture assessment. Vitamin D supplementation is widely used to prevent and treat musculoskeletal diseases but existing data on vitamin D effects on markers of bone resorption and formation are inconsistent. We therefore examined the effects of vitamin D supplementation on bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (bALP), osteocalcin (OC), C-terminal telopeptide (CTX), and procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP).

The biomarker and causal roles of homoarginine in the development of cardiometabolic diseases: an observational and Mendelian randomization analysis.

High L-homoarginine (hArg) levels are directly associated with several risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases whereas low levels predict increased mortality in prospective studies. The biomarker role of hArg in young adults remains unknown. To study the predictive value of hArg in the development of cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases, we utilized data on high-pressure liquid chromatography-measured hArg, cardiovascular risk factors, ultrasound markers of preclinical atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes from the population-based Young Finns Study involving 2,106 young adults (54.

Circulating proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality: The Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health study.

Background It is unclear whether proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) concentrations may be useful for cardiovascular risk stratification. Design The LUdwigshafen RIsk and Cardiovascular health (LURIC) study is a prospective observational registry of patients who were referred for coronary angiography. Methods Circulating PCSK9 was measured in 2139 participants of the LURIC study.

Low-grade inflammation and tryptophan-kynurenine pathway activation are associated with adverse cardiac remodeling in primary hyperparathyroidism: the EPATH trial.

Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is associated with low-grade inflammation, left ventricular hypertrophy and increased cardiovascular mortality, but the association between inflammatory markers and parameters of adverse cardiac remodeling is unknown. We investigated the relationship between C-reactive protein (CRP), the essential amino acid tryptophan and its pro-inflammatory derivatives kynurenine and quinolinic acid (QUIN) with echocardiographic parameters.

Methods: Cross-sectional baseline data from the "Eplerenone in Primary Hyperparathyroidism" trial were analyzed.

Large-scale analyses of common and rare variants identify 12 new loci associated with atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation affects more than 33 million people worldwide and increases the risk of stroke, heart failure, and death. Fourteen genetic loci have been associated with atrial fibrillation in European and Asian ancestry groups. To further define the genetic basis of atrial fibrillation, we performed large-scale, trans-ancestry meta-analyses of common and rare variant association studies.

Relationship between bone turnover and left ventricular function in primary hyperparathyroidism: The EPATH trial.

Observational studies suggested a link between bone disease and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction that may be pronounced in hyperparathyroid conditions. We therefore aimed to test the hypothesis that circulating markers of bone turnover correlate with LV function in a cohort of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Cross-sectional data of 155 subjects with pHPT were analyzed who participated in the "Eplerenone in Primary Hyperparathyroidism" (EPATH) Trial.