Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Even though hypertension (HT) is highly prevalent in RA, the extent of target organ damage (TOD) caused by it remains unknown. Inflammation and sympathetic overdrive may also associate with TOD. We investigated the prevalence and associations of TOD in RA.
Methods: In this cross-sectional, observational study, 251 RA patients with no overt cardiovascular or renal disease had extensive clinical and laboratory evaluations, including a 12-lead electrocardiogram and urine albumin:creatinine ratio. Pulse pressure (PP) was used as a proxy of arterial stiffness and heart rate (HR) of autonomic activity. TOD was defined as described in the European guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the independence of the variables that associated with the presence of TOD.
Results: TOD prevalence was 23.5% (59/251). Of the 59 patients with TOD, 45.8% had suboptimally controlled HT, whereas 32.3% had undiagnosed HT. In univariable analysis, TOD was significantly associated with higher age (64.2+/-11.7 years vs. 58.0+/-12.4 years, p=0.001), HT prevalence (89.8% vs. 60.4%, p<0.001), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (150.3+/-18.8mmHg vs. 139.7+/-20.7mmHg, p=0.001), PP (70.6+/-16.6mmHg vs. 60.3+/-17.3mmHg, p<0.001), HR (77.1+/-15.4bpm vs. 72.2+/-12.2bpm, p<0.001), serum uric acid (320.6+/-88.8mumol/l vs. 285.0+/-74.9mumol/l, p=0.03) and type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence (13.6% vs. 4.7%, p=0.019). Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that only hypertension indices and HR associated independently with TOD.
Conclusions: TOD is highly prevalent in patients with RA and associates independently with hypertension, arterial stiffness and heart rate. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and examine the role of beta-blockers in this particular population.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2009.08.047 | DOI Listing |
Adv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Key Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510630, China.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is increasingly recognized as a whole-organ disease predominantly affecting the elderly, characterized by typical alterations in subchondral bone and cartilage, along with recurrent synovial inflammation. Despite the availability of various therapeutics and medications, a complete resolution of OA remains elusive. In this study, novel functional hydrogels are developed by integrating natural bioactive molecules for OA treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Bioeng Biotechnol
January 2025
Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Advances in tissue engineering and microfluidic technologies have enabled the development of sophisticated models known as organ-on-a-chip (OoC) or microphysiological systems. These systems enable to potential to simulate the dynamic interactions between host tissues and their microenvironment including microbes, biomaterials, mechanical forces, pharmaceutical, and consumer-care products. These fluidic technologies are increasingly being utilized to investigate host-microbe and host-material interactions in oral health and disease.
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January 2025
Human Molecular Genetics Research Unit, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) include atherosclerosis, which is an inflammatory disease of large and medium vessels that leads to atherosclerotic plaque formation. The key factors contributing to the onset and progression of atherosclerosis include the pro-inflammatory cytokines interferon (IFN)α and IFNγ and the pattern recognition receptor (PRR) Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Together, they trigger the activation of IFN regulatory factors (IRFs) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)s.
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January 2025
Key Laboratory of Longevity and Aging-related Diseases of Chinese Ministry of Education, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.
Background: () infection is a significant risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), yet its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the impact of infection on the serum proteomic and metabolomic profiling of HCC patients, focusing on the potential mechanisms.
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Phys Imaging Radiat Oncol
January 2025
Center for Proton Therapy, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
Background And Purpose: In proton therapy, a relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of 1.1 is used to convert proton dose into an equivalent photon dose. However, RBE varies with tissue type, fraction dose, and beam quality parameters beyond dose such as linear energy transfer (LET) raising concerns about increased local effectiveness and potential toxicity.
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