Publications by authors named "P A Downie"

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of premature death in the UK. Lipid testing is a key tool used to assess cardiovascular risk and guide clinical management decisions. There are currently no national guidelines to provide evidence-based recommendations on lipid testing and reporting for UK laboratories and clinicians.

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Purpose: Survival for childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) has surpassed 90%, making quality of survival an important endpoint in treatment outcomes. This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQoL) trajectories in early survivorship for patients post-ALL treatment compared with a matched group of healthy peers, and explored the association of individual factors (age, sex) and treatment intensity with HRQoL outcomes.

Methods: Eighty-three paediatric patients aged 4-16 years who recently completed treatment for ALL were recruited to the study, alongside 53 age- and sex-matched healthy children.

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Background: Familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. This study aimed to study the genotype distribution of FCS-causing genes in the United Kingdom, genotype-phenotype correlation, and clinical differences between FCS and multifactorial chylomicronemia syndrome (MCS).

Methods: The study included 154 patients (FCS, 74; MCS, 80) from the UK FCS national registry and the UK arm of the FCS International Quality Improvement and Service Evaluation Project.

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Article Synopsis
  • Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk has traditionally focused on lowering LDL cholesterol, but this review highlights the significance of hypertriglyceridaemia as another critical risk factor.
  • Despite treating patients with LDL-lowering therapies, high triglyceride levels continue to pose a risk for ASCVD, especially when paired with low HDL cholesterol levels.
  • Recent studies show mixed results regarding triglyceride-lowering medications, with purified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) showing promise, suggesting the need for updated clinical guidelines and further investigation into novel therapies targeting other ASCVD risk factors.
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