ApoB versus non-HDL-cholesterol: diagnosis and cardiovascular risk management.

The most recent guidelines released by the EAS/ESC and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) retain low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) as the primary measure of the atherogenic risk of the apolipoprotein B (apoB) lipoproteins and the primary target of LDL-C lowering therapy. Both organizations endorse non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) and apoB as "alternate/secondary" targets, but neither group offers evidence supporting the continued preference of LDL-C as the primary target over non-HDL-C and apoB. Further, both suggest that non-HDL-C and apoB more or less measure the same thing and, therefore, are essentially interchangeable.

The predictive value of transcranial duplex sonography for the clinical diagnosis in undiagnosed parkinsonian syndromes: comparison with SPECT scans.

Background: Transcranial duplex sonography (TCD) of the substantia nigra has emerged as a promising, non-invasive tool to diagnose idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). However, its diagnostic accuracy in patients with undefined parkinsonism remains to be determined. In this study we determined the predictive value of TCD for the clinical diagnosis in undiagnosed parkinsonian syndromes.

Diagnostic value of 123I-ioflupane and 123I-iodobenzamide SPECT scans in 248 patients with parkinsonian syndromes.

Background: SPECT is one of the most employed techniques in the diagnostic workup of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). Despite its widespread use, the exact diagnostic accuracy of this technique in parkinsonian syndromes remains controversial.

Methods: In this study, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy of an initial (123)I-ioflupane (FP-CIT) and/or (123)I-iodobenzamide (IBZM) SPECT to differentiate between IPD and other parkinsonian disorders.