Subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in HIV-infected patients: role of combination antiretroviral therapy.

Background And Purpose: Whether or not combination antiretroviral therapy (CART) alone directly contributes to accelerating atherosclerosis in HIV-infected patients has not been studied in depth. This study aimed to ascertain the relationship between this therapy and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis according to cardiovascular risk.

Methods: Sixty-eight HIV-infected patients with < or =1 cardiovascular risk factors and 64 with > or =2 risk factors completed the study protocol consisting of clinical, laboratory, and vascular evaluation by carotid high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography.

Hypertension in HIV-infected patients: prevalence and related factors.

Background: Little is known about hypertension in the HIV-infected population. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of hypertension and related factors in HIV-infected patients.

Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, 710 HIV-infected patients (626 on combination antiretroviral therapy and 84 naive) managed at the outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital during 2003 and 802 controls completed the study protocol consisting of medical examination and a 6-month follow-up period including three control visits.

Metabolic syndrome among HIV-infected patients: prevalence, characteristics, and related factors.

Objective: To assess the prevalence in HIV-infected patients of the metabolic syndrome as defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program, i.e., three or more of the following components: abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose.

Significance of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol in cardiovascular risk prevention: recommendations of the HDL Forum.

In the approach to lipid-related risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, serum high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels bear a particular significance as this lipoprotein is considered to be an antiatherogenic factor mainly, but not only, because of its influence and impact on reverse cholesterol transport. Hence the need and requirement to consider serum HDL-C levels for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. A particularly important aspect is the association of the 'low HDL syndrome' with the metabolic syndrome.

[Clinical autopsy: a useful tool in the emergency department of teaching hospitals].

Background And Objective: We aimed to know the usefulness of clinical autopsy at the medical room of an emergency department in a teaching hospital.

Patients And Method: Retrospective study of clinical autopsies performed in the emergency department of a teaching hospital between 1995 and 2000. We explored the correlation between clinical emergency and autopsy diagnosis.

[Cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy].

Background And Objective: Our goal was to assess the main characteristics of cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Patients And Method: Retrospective analysis of the clinico-epidemiological characteristics of 16 HIV-infected patients treated with HAART who had suffered a cardiovascular event from a 1,459 patients' cohort.

Results: Clinical presentation of cardiovascular disease was an acute coronary syndrome in 12 cases, ischemic stroke in 2 and peripheral vascular disease in 2.

Differences between genotyping and phenotyping methods for assessing apolipoprotein(a) size polymorphisms.

The aim of the present study was to analyze, on a double-blind basis, the relationships between the apolipoprotein(a) (apo(a)) gene and protein size polymorphisms in healthy volunteers (n = 99) and patients with premature myocardial infarction (n = 91). Apo(a) genotypes were determined by pulse-field electrophoresis and phenotypes were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-agarose gel electrophoresis. Results showed that phenotyping overestimated apo(a) size with respect to genotyping (mean (SD) = 3.

Heterozygous apolipoprotein (a) status and protein expression as a risk factor for premature coronary heart disease.

Exactly how apolipoprotein a [APO(a)] isoform size affects the degree of cardiovascular risk associated with high lipoprotein a [LP(a)] levels is not fully understood. Using a sodium dodecyl sulfate-agarose APO(a) & LP(a) phenotyping method, we assessed the role of APO(a) size heterogeneity according to the number of kringle 4 repeats and the differential APO(a) protein expression in 91 male Spanish patients with premature coronary heart disease (CHD) compared with 99 healthy Spanish men. CHD patients had significantly increased median plasma LP(a) levels (0.

Apolipoprotein E genotype affects plasma lipid response to atorvastatin in a gender specific manner.

The response to therapy with hypolipidemic agents shows considerable individual variation. These differences may be due to the interaction of environmental and genetic factors that affect drug bioavailability, receptor function or ligand structure. Our objective was to assess the effect of apolipoprotein (apo) E genotype and gender on lipid-lowering response to the HMG CoA reductase inhibitor, atorvastatin.

Low-density lipoprotein particle size, triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, and glucose tolerance in non-diabetic men with essential hypertension.

The aim of the study is to investigate serum lipoproteins abnormalities including low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size, and their relationship with other cardiovascular risk factors in men with essential hypertension. Plasma glucose and serum insulin levels during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), serum lipoprotein(a), apolipoprotein (apo) A-I. apo B.

Influence of photoperiod, laboratory caging and aging on plasma lipid response to an atherogenic diet among F1B hamsters.

The effects and interactions of photoperiod, animal caging, aging and diet on plasma lipid levels in male F1B hamsters were examined in the current study. Sixteen young and sixteen old animals were housed one or four per cage. Eight young animals from each housing group were placed in an animal room with either 12/12 h (PT-12) or 10/14 h (PT-10) light/dark cycle while the sixteen old animals were maintained under a PT-12 light cycle.

Apoprotein E genotype and the response of serum cholesterol to dietary fat, cholesterol and cafestol.

Previous studies on the effect of apoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism on the response of serum lipids to diet showed inconsistent results. We therefore studied the effect of apoprotein E polymorphism on responses of serum cholesterol and lipoproteins to various dietary treatments. We combined data on responses of serum cholesterol and lipoproteins to saturated fat, to trans-fat, to dietary cholesterol, and to the coffee diterpene cafestol with newly obtained data on the apoprotein E polymorphism in 395 mostly normolipidemic subjects.

Apolipoprotein E genotype and cardiovascular disease in the Framingham Heart Study.

Background: Apolipoprotein (apo) E is a constituent of lipoproteins with considerable variation due to cysteine-arginine exchanges. The apo E4 (Arg112-Cys) polymorphism has been associated with dementia and hypercholesterolemia. We investigated the relation of APOE genotype to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the Framingham Offspring Study.