Competences of internal medicine specialists for the management of patients with multimorbidity. EFIM multimorbidity working group position paper.

Patients with multimorbidity increasingly impact healthcare systems, both in primary care and in hospitals. This is particularly true in Internal Medicine. This population associates with higher mortality rates, polypharmacy, hospital readmissions, post-discharge syndrome, anxiety, depression, accelerated age-related functional decline, and development of geriatric syndromes, amongst others.

The effect of sodium restricted diet on plasma visfatin levels in hypertensive patients with visceral obesity.

Aim/background: Experimental and clinical studies revealed contradictory data concerning the influence of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAA) system activation on visfatin release. The aim of the present study was the assessment of the effect of dietary sodium restriction with RAA system activation on visfatin level in hypertensive and normotensive patients with visceral obesity.

Methods: The study included 24 hypertensive patients with visceral obesity (12 women) and 22 normotensive subjects with visceral obesity (11 women) constituting the control group.

Ischemic nephropathy - pathogenesis and treatment.

In this review paper we would like to summarized the current knowledge concerning the  pathogenesis and treatment of ischemic nephropathy. Epidemiological data suggest that the prevalence of ischemic nephropathy increases, especially among older individuals. The pathogenesis of this disease is more complex than just narrowing of the renal artery due to atherosclerosis.

Cilazapril increases plasma ghrelin concentration in obese patients with arterial hypertension.

Introduction: Ghrelin is a polypeptide hormone secreted mainly by the stomach cells, stimulating food intake and growth hormone release. Decreased plasma ghrelin concentration was found in obese subjects. Clinical and experimental data suggest that ghrelin also exerts a blood pressure lowering property.

Ageing and plasma adiponectin concentration in apparently healthy males and females.

Objective: It is well known that ageing is associated with several hormonal alterations. However, the consequence of ageing on the endocrine function of adipose tissue is not fully elucidated. Adiponectin is a new anti-inflammatory protein secreted exclusively by adipocytes and plays a protective role against insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.