Subclinical HMOD in Hypertension: Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction.

Arterial hypertension represents an important risk factor for the development of cardiac, vascular and renal events, predisposing to heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, peripheral artery disease, stroke, and chronic renal disease. Arterial hypertension leads to the development of subclinical hypertension mediated organ damage (HMOD) which has prognostic relevance and may influence the choice of treatment options. Alterations of cardiac structure and function represent the more widely assessed form of HMOD.

Definitions and Epidemiological Aspects of Hypertensive Urgencies and Emergencies.

Acute blood pressure (BP) elevation represents a frequent reason of concern for clinicians in everyday clinical practice. The terms "hypertensive emergencies" and "hypertensive urgencies" may be used in order to better define the so called "hypertensive crises". A hypertensive emergency may be defined as a condition characterized by an acute and severe elevation of blood pressure (BP) associated to a new onset or worsening organ damage (OD).

Exploring the Role of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors and Their HLA Class I Ligands in Autoimmune Hepatitis.

Background: Natural killer cells are involved in the complex mechanisms underlying autoimmune diseases but few studies have investigated their role in autoimmune hepatitis. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors are key regulators of natural killer cell-mediated immune responses.

Methods And Findings: KIR gene frequencies, KIR haplotypes, KIR ligands and combinations of KIRs and their HLA Class I ligands were investigated in 114 patients diagnosed with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis and compared with a group of 221 healthy controls.