The prognostic value of body-mass index on mortality in older adults with dementia living in nursing homes.

Background & Aims: A protective effect of obesity on death has been reported in the context of various co-morbidities. We studied if the obesity paradox applied to nursing home (NH) older residents according to dementia status.

Methods: Prospective data from 3741 NH residents from France.

Efficacy and safety of fondaparinux in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Fondaparinux (Arixtra, GlaxoSmithKline) is a synthetic, selective, activated Factor X inhibitor. On the grounds of its favorable benefit:risk ratio, fondaparinux is approved for the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism. Two large trials involving approximately 32,000 patients recently evaluated fondaparinux in the treatment of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes and ST elevation acute myocardial infarction.

Superior efficacy of clopidogrel plus acetylsalicylic acid compared with extended-release dipyridamole plus acetylsalicylic acid in preventing arterial thrombogenesis in healthy volunteers.

Introduction: Recent ex vivo platelet aggregometry data indicate that clopidogrel 75 mg/day plus acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) 75 mg/day is a more potent antiplatelet regimen than the marketed combination of dipyridamole+ASA. The present study was designed to assess the antithrombotic effect of both dual antiplatelet regimens using a human ex vivo model of arterial thrombosis.

Materials And Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.

Strenuous but not moderate exercise increases the thrombotic tendency in healthy sedentary male volunteers.

We have investigated the effect of moderate and strenuous exercise on experimental arterial thrombus formation in men. Thrombogenesis was measured in 15 sedentary healthy male volunteers at rest or immediately after two standardized exercise tests performed for 30 min on a bicycle ergometer. The exercises were performed at a constant load corresponding to either 50 or 70% maximal oxygen uptake.

The expression of tissue factor and tissue factor pathway inhibitor in aortic smooth muscle cells is up-regulated in synthetic compared to contractile phenotype.

Tissue factor (TF) and its specific inhibitor TF pathway inhibitor (TFPI) are produced by vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in vitro and are increased in vivo in atherosclerotic compared to normal vessels. Besides local regulation of the hemostatic balance, this may be related to non-hemostatic TF/protease dependent functions such as SMC proliferation, adhesion and migration. The aim of the study was to compare the expression of both proteins between the contractile (normal adult) and synthetic (neo-intimal) SMC phenotypes.