Patient preferences and willingness to pay for different options of anticoagulant therapy.

New anticoagulant drugs alternative to vitamin K antagonists are currently under clinical evaluation. Patient's preferences should be considered in the development of new therapeutic strategies. Our study aim was to elicit patient preferences, and estimate their willingness to pay for the different treatment options.

Causes and correlates of anemia in 200 patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema.

Background: Acute heart failure has a poor prognosis and the presence of anemia may increase the risk of adverse outcomes. However, the clinical and laboratory characteristics of anemia in acute heart failure are poorly known. We aimed to assess the causes and the clinical and laboratory correlates of anemia in patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema (ACPE).

The role of natural VWF/FVIII complex concentrates in contemporary haemophilia care: a guideline for the next decade.

Current treatment for haemophilia provides excellent efficacy and safety albeit with a number of unresolved issues. The development of inhibitors following treatment with factor VIII (FVIII) is the most challenging complication of haemophilia and bears the highest economic burden for a chronic disease. Moreover, prophylactic therapy for haemophilia requires repeated infusions of FVIII, frequently as often as two or three times weekly, which can impact greatly on patients' daily lives.

Implementation and outcomes of a transfusion-related acute lung injury surveillance programme and study of HLA/HNA alloimmunisation in blood donors.

Background: Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is the leading cause of transfusion-associated mortality. Antibodies against human leucocyte antigens (HLA) and human neutrophil antigens (HNA) are often detected in the implicated donors. We investigated the incidence and aetiology of TRALI in Lombardy.

Management of antithrombotic therapy for acute coronary syndromes and atrial fibrillation in patients with hemophilia.

Introduction: Patients with hemophilia now have a life expectancy very close to that of the unaffected male population and, hence, are at risk of developing the classic age-related morbidities, i.e., cardiovascular diseases.

Getting rid of refractory hemophilia.

In a prospective randomized, multicenter study of immune tolerance induction(ITI) in patients with hemophilia A refractory to replacement therapy after the development of alloantibodies that inhibit factor VIII (FVIII) activity, Hay and DiMichele compared two regimens, a low dose of FVIII (50 IU/Kg thrice weekly)or a high-dose (200 IU/kg daily

Effects of short-term exposure to inhalable particulate matter on telomere length, telomerase expression, and telomerase methylation in steel workers.

Background: Shortened leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a marker of cardiovascular risk that has been recently associated with long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM). However, LTL is increased during acute inflammation and allows for rapid proliferation of inflammatory cells. Whether short-term exposure to proinflammatory exposures such as PM increases LTL has never been evaluated.