Publications by authors named "Plana Nuria"

Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a stress-response cytokine related to a wide variety of metabolic diseases. However, the impact of GDF15-specific genetic variants on the abovementioned conditions is poorly known. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of selected GDF15 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on metabolic disturbances and subclinical atherosclerosis.

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Background: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) have represented an important change in the management of hypercholesterolemia, although, until now, they have barely been used. Without PCSK9i, many patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) or those at very high risk do not reach their therapeutic LDLc objectives.

Objective: The analysis aimed to examine the clinical and biochemical characteristics of subjects receiving PCSK9i treatment in the Dyslipidemia Registry of the Spanish Atherosclerosis Society.

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Background: The familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) diagnosis is based on clinical and genetic criteria. A relevant proportion of FH patients fulfilling the criteria for definite FH have negative genetic testing. Increasing the identification of true genetic-based FH is a clinical challenge.

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Background: The diabetogenic effect of statins has been well established by clinical trials, Mendelian randomisation studies and meta-analyses. According to large clinical trials, PCSK9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) have no deleterious impact on glucose metabolism. However, few real-life studies have yet evaluated the long-term effects of these drugs on glucose homeostasis and their impact on new-onset diabetes (NODM).

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Background And Aim: Triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) can have an important role in atherosclerosis development due to their size and ability to penetrate the endothelium. While high plasma triglyceride (TG) levels and chronic inflammation are relevant in metabolic diseases, it remains unclear whether TGs are atherogenic or which TRL-TG-derived metabolites are responsible for inflammation. Here, we aimed to study the lipidome modifications of TRL particles enriched in TG in patients with hyperlipidemia and their associations with a proinflammatory status both in vivo and in vitro.

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with problems beyond the joints such as cardiovascular (CV) disease. MicroRNA-24, -146 and -Let7a are associated with carotid plaque presence in RA patients. We evaluated whether these microRNAs were involved in the inflammatory state of RA, and we studied their gene targets to understand their role in inflammation and atherosclerosis.

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Background And Aim: Circulating biomarkers of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases can help in the early detection and prevention of those diseases. Using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), we aimed to study the plasma levels of low-molecular-weight metabolites (LMWMs) in a cohort of 307 patients with metabolic diseases to assess their relationships with type-2 diabetes (T2D) and incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional and prospective study.

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Article Synopsis
  • Both Nordic and Mediterranean diets have been recognized as healthy, but their effects on children with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and their lipoprotein profiles are not well understood.
  • In a study involving 256 children, researchers compared the lipoprotein profiles of those with heterozygous FH from Spain and Norway, finding notable differences in LDL and HDL particle sizes and numbers between the two groups.
  • The results indicated that while overall lipid levels were similar between the two dietary groups, specific dietary fats in Norwegian children correlated with variations in their lipoprotein profiles, highlighting the role of diet in managing FH.
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  • The study aimed to assess how well dyslipidaemia is controlled and the types of lipid-lowering therapies used among patients at high and very high cardiovascular risk across different regions in Spain.
  • Data was gathered from 145 health areas involving 435 physicians, resulting in a total of 4010 patients being analyzed for their cardiovascular risk and therapy received.
  • Findings revealed that although patient distribution was similar across regions, significant variances existed in achieving cholesterol targets and in the types of therapies prescribed, highlighting regional disparities in cardiovascular prevention strategies.
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Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) share metabolic alterations such as abnormal insulin and lipid metabolism and have some common genetic factors such as genotype. Taking this into account, we hypothesized that we could identify common genetic factors involved in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Methodology: We first genotyped 48 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously associated with AD in a cohort composed of 330 patients with cognitive impairment (CI) to assess their association with plasma lipids.

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Statins have contributed to the prevention of numerous atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) events and cardiovascular deaths in the past three decades. The benefit of statins is mainly mediated by the lowering of LDLc. According to scientific evidence, the current international guidelines recommend very low LDLc goals in patients at high/very high cardiovascular risk because they are associated with fewer CV events and improvements in atherosclerotic plaques.

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Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by the accumulation of cholesterol in the intima. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (iPCSK9) can reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels by 60%, but there is still no evidence that they can lower markers of systemic inflammation such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Acute-phase serum glycoproteins are upregulated in the liver during systemic inflammation, and their role as inflammatory biomarkers is under clinical evaluation.

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Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant disease that has a prevalence of approximately 1/250 inhabitants and is the most frequent cause of early coronary heart disease (CHD). We included 1.343.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hypertension is linked to low-grade inflammation, with glycoproteins A, B, and F being potential indicators of this inflammatory state in affected patients.
  • A study involving 340 patients (211 hypertensive and 129 normotensive) found that hypertensive individuals had higher levels of these glycoproteins, which correlated with increased blood pressure and prevalence of conditions like obesity and diabetes.
  • The research suggests that elevated glycoproteins A, B, and F contribute to systemic inflammation, potentially leading to vascular injury and damage in other organs among hypertensive patients.
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  • Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than the general population, and traditional risk factors don't fully account for this increased risk.
  • A study involving 199 RA patients found that specific microRNAs in their plasma were linked to various markers of arterial health, like carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and the presence of carotid plaques.
  • Key microRNAs, such as microRNA-24 and microRNA-146, may serve as potential predictors of cardiovascular risk in RA patients, highlighting their importance in understanding cardiovascular complications related to the disease.
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Introduction: Clinical studies show that patients with high cardiovascular risk are still far from reaching the therapeutic objectives, especially of the levels of LDL cholesterol. If the management of these patients in specialized units differs from other scenarios is known.

Patients And Methods: 61 certified Lipid Units were selected in the Registry of Dyslipemias of the Spanish Arteriosclerosis Society for the collection of study data.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study utilized nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) to analyze triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) and acute-phase glycoprotein profiles in 280 patients, assessing their relationship with fatty liver disease through various liver function parameters.
  • * Findings suggest that higher TRL particle concentrations and specific glycoprotein levels are positively associated with liver dysfunction and the future development of fatty liver, indicating these could serve as biomarkers for MAFLD in at-risk patients.
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Liver steatosis is considered the onset of the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a major public health challenge. Nevertheless, NAFLD detection and diagnosis remain a difficult task. Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) has been proposed as potential biomarker for the ectopic fat accumulation in non-adipose tissues, although its role reflecting liver steatosis in metabolic patients is not fully explored.

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Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD) are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), so an interest in discovering inflammation biomarkers as indicators of processes related to CVD progression is increasing. This study aims (a) to characterize the plasma glycoprotein profile of a cohort of 504 participants, including patients with and without T2DM and/or AD and controls, and (b) to study the associations between the glycoprotein profile and other lipid and clinical variables in these populations. We characterized the plasma glycoprotein profiles by using H-NMR.

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Background: Chylomicronemias are generally diagnosed genetically by genomic sequencing or screening for mutations in causal genes with a large phenotypic effect. This strategy has allowed to improve the characterization of these patients, but we still have 30% of the patients without a conclusive genetic diagnosis. This is why we hypothesize that by adding the epigenetic component we can improve the genetic diagnosis, and for this we have explored the degree of methylation in the DNA of hypertriglyceridemic patients.

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Background And Aims: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] concentration in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (heFH) is not well established. Whether the genetic defect responsible for heFH plays a role in Lp(a) concentration is unknown. We aimed to compare Lp(a) in controls from a healthy population, in genetically diagnosed heFH and mutation-negative hypercholesterolemia subjects, and to assess the influence on Lp(a) of the genetic defect responsible for heFH.

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Background And Aims: Inflammation is a pathophysiological mechanism of atherosclerosis, and several mediators have been proposed as biomarkers. Acute-phase serum glycoproteins are upregulated in the liver during systemic inflammation. Because of their unique biochemical characteristics, they can be measured by H-NMR, and their role as subclinical inflammation markers is under clinical evaluation.

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Lipids are indispensable in the SARS-CoV-2 infection process. The clinical significance of plasma lipid profile during COVID-19 has not been rigorously evaluated. We aim to ascertain the association of the plasma lipid profile with SARS-CoV-2 infection clinical evolution.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines how different statins affect LDL cholesterol levels in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), a condition that raises cardiovascular risk due to high LDL cholesterol.
  • Results showed significant variability in LDL reduction among statins, with rosuvastatin being the most effective, reducing LDL by up to 48.2% compared to simvastatin's 30.2%.
  • Those with a confirmed genetic mutation had less response to statins, and about 20% of patients on high-intensity therapy experienced a suboptimal cholesterol reduction.
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Introduction: Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant disease with an estimated prevalence between 1/200-250. It is under-treated and underdiagnosed. Massive data screening can increase the detection of patients with FH.

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