The Impact of Medical Physical Training and a Structured Personalized Exercise Training Program on Hemodynamic Parameters and Arterial Stiffness in Pregnant Women.

INTRODUCTION: In developed countries, heart disease is the primary cause of maternal mortality during pregnancy. Arterial stiffness, an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and a predictor of cardiovascular complications, can be assessed using the augmentation index (AIx) and pulse wave velocity (PWV). In this prospective study, we aimed to evaluate diverse hemodynamic parameters and arterial stiffness in pregnant women before and after participating in a structured, personalized exercise training program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty healthy pregnant women, non-smokers, who agreed to participate daily for 12 weeks in a physical exercise training program under the supervision of a team made up of an obstetrician, a cardiologist, and a physiotherapist were included. Anthropometric characteristics, arterial function, and physical activity data were collected from the participants at two different time points: at the beginning of the exercise training program (T0) and at the end, after 12 weeks (T1). RESULTS: Upon conducting a statistical analysis, it was discovered that there were noteworthy disparities (p = 0.05) in body mass index, brachial AIx, systolic blood pressure, and pulse pressure values between the two time points. The regression analysis for the AIx brachial values and the PWVao values from Trim II (T0) and Trim III (T1) showed major differences between these two time points; the association between the AIx brachial values in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy revealed a strong direct significant correlation (p < 0.001), and the correlation between the PWVao values in the second (T0) and third trimester (T1) of pregnancy was weak and insignificant (p = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our study indicate that a personalized exercise training program positively impacts the physical and psychological well-being of pregnant women, leading to a reduction in PWV.

The Benefits of a Comprehensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Follow-Up Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Secondary prevention after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is essential to reduce cardiovascular mortality and hospital readmission, ensuring patients return to normal with an improved quality of life. Thus, we investigate the benefits of a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program on lifestyle, risk factors and adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) in patients after ACS and myocardial revascularization through coronary artery by-pass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: This is a prospective, longitudinal study in consecutive post-CABG or PCI patients after ACS that participated or not in a comprehensive CR. Cardiovascular risk factors, quality of life and adherence to GDMT were analyzed in terms of assessing the benefit of 12 months of comprehensive CR on reaching guidelines secondary prevention targets. RESULTS: At the inclusion in comprehensive CR of all patients (n = 480), 85% had hypertension; 86% had elevated total cholesterol values; 69% were characterized by metabolic syndrome; 43% were obese; 31% were active smokers and 29% had type 2 diabetes mellitus. Only 26.66% (n = 128) followed the entire program for 12 months. No statistically significant differences in the prescription of GDMT at hospital discharge after myocardial revascularization between the CR (+) group (n = 128) versus CR (-) group (n = 352) (p > 0.05) were observed. After 12 moths, a significant adherence to GDMT in the CR (+) group vs. CR (-) group was recorded, as follows: antiplatelet agents (100% versus 96%, p = 0.001), beta-blockers (99% versus 92%, p = 0.02), ACE inhibitors/ARAB (89% versus 79%, p = 0.04), lipid-lowering drugs (100% versus 89%, p = 0.001). In total, 82% of the CR (+) patients had a significantly higher adherence at GDMT (82% versus 64%, p = 0.001). At 12 moths, the CR (+) group was characterized by significantly lower values than at the inclusion but some values still increased: systolic blood pressure (139.25 + 19.20 mmHg (p < 0.03)), total cholesterol (171.07 + 48.59 mg/dL (p = 0.0001)) and LDL-cholesterol (102.83 + 41.30 mg/dL (p = 0.009)). At the same time, the analysis of psychosocial factors using the HAD questionnaire revealed a statistically significant improvement in anxiety and depression scores: HAD-A score (9.1 ± 3.7 at T0 vs. 7.1 ± 4.2 at T1, p = 0.001) and HAD-D score (7.7 ± 3.19 at T0 vs. 6.4 ± 4.3 at T1, p = 0.003). A multivariable analysis, following GDMT, showed the actual value or information and training of patients regarding optimal cardiovascular risk factor control was independently associated with lower values of systolic blood pressure (R2 = 0.48), diastolic (R2 = 0.38), serum glucose (R2 = 0.48), glycated hemoglobin (R2 = 0.50), total cholesterol (R2 = 0.31), LDL-cholesterol (R2 = 0.30), HDL-cholesterol (R2 = 0.19) and serum triglycerides (R2 = 0.20). CONCLUSION: The twelve-month participation of post-ACS patients in comprehensive CR resulted in excellent post-revascularization management, as well as good adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy, provided further confirmation of the benefit of secondary prevention. Despite high adherence to drug treatments, targets for blood pressure, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol are inadequately achieved. Therefore, in the era of personalized medicine, patients with ACS should benefit from specific, comprehensive cardiovascular recovery programs that contain physiotherapists, psychologists, nutritionists and an experienced cardiologist in cardiovascular rehabilitation.

Shared Molecular Targets in Parkinson's Disease and Arterial Hypertension: A Systematic Review.

(1) Background: Parkinson's disease and arterial hypertension are likely to coexist in the elderly, with possible bidirectional interactions. We aimed to assess the role of antihypertensive agents in PD emergence and/or progression. (2) We performed a systematic search on the PubMed database. Studies enrolling patients with Parkinson's disease who underwent treatment with drugs pertaining to one of the major antihypertensive drug classes (ß-blockers, diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers and calcium-channel blockers) prior to or after the diagnosis of parkinsonism were scrutinized. We divided the outcome into two categories: neuroprotective and disease-modifying effect. (3) We included 20 studies in the qualitative synthesis, out of which the majority were observational studies, with only one randomized controlled trial. There are conflicting results regarding the effect of antihypertensive drugs on Parkinson's disease pathogenesis, mainly because of heterogeneous protocols and population. (4) Conclusions: There is low quality evidence that antihypertensive agents might be potential therapeutic targets in Parkinson's disease, but this hypothesis needs further testing.

Arterial Hypertension: Individual Therapeutic Approaches-From DNA Sequencing to Gender Differentiation and New Therapeutic Targets.

The aim of this paper is to provide an accurate overview regarding the current recommended approach for antihypertensive treatment. The importance of DNA sequencing in understanding the complex implication of genetics in hypertension could represent an important step in understanding antihypertensive treatment as well as in developing new medical strategies. Despite a pool of data from studies regarding cardiovascular risk factors emphasizing a worse prognosis for female patients rather than male patients, there are also results indicating that women are more likely to be predisposed to the use of antihypertensive medication and less likely to develop uncontrolled hypertension. Moreover, lower systolic blood pressure values are associated with increased cardiovascular risk in women compared to men. The prevalence, awareness and, most importantly, treatment of hypertension is variable in male and female patients, since the mechanisms responsible for this pathology may be different and closely related to gender factors such as the renin-angiotensin system, sympathetic nervous activity, endothelin-1, sex hormones, aldosterone, and the immune system. Thus, gender-related antihypertensive treatment individualization may be a valuable tool in improving female patients' prognosis.

Activity-Based Sensing with a Metal-Directed Acyl Imidazole Strategy Reveals Cell Type-Dependent Pools of Labile Brain Copper.

Copper is a required nutrient for life and particularly important to the brain and central nervous system. Indeed, copper redox activity is essential to maintaining normal physiological responses spanning neural signaling to metabolism, but at the same time copper misregulation is associated with inflammation and neurodegeneration. As such, chemical probes that can track dynamic changes in copper with spatial resolution, especially in loosely bound, labile forms, are valuable tools to identify and characterize its contributions to healthy and disease states. In this report, we present an activity-based sensing (ABS) strategy for copper detection in live cells that preserves spatial information by a copper-dependent bioconjugation reaction. Specifically, we designed copper-directed acyl imidazole dyes that operate through copper-mediated activation of acyl imidazole electrophiles for subsequent labeling of proximal proteins at sites of elevated labile copper to provide a permanent stain that resists washing and fixation. To showcase the utility of this new ABS platform, we sought to characterize labile copper pools in the three main cell types in the brain: neurons, astrocytes, and microglia. Exposure of each of these cell types to physiologically relevant stimuli shows distinct changes in labile copper pools. Neurons display translocation of labile copper from somatic cell bodies to peripheral processes upon activation, whereas astrocytes and microglia exhibit global decreases and increases in intracellular labile copper pools, respectively, after exposure to inflammatory stimuli. This work provides foundational information on cell type-dependent homeostasis of copper, an essential metal in the brain, as well as a starting point for the design of new activity-based probes for metals and other dynamic signaling and stress analytes in biology.

Investigation of paediatric occipital epilepsy using stereo-EEG reveals a better surgical outcome than in adults, especially when the supracalcarine area is affected.

Occipital epilepsy is the least common among surgical series because: (1) the location makes it hard to asses by EEG; (2) the seizure semiology often reflects propagation; and (3) surgery entails a high risk of neurological deficits. In children, subjective symptoms are harder to assess, adding to the difficulty of a proper diagnosis. We aimed to determine electroclinical characteristics of occipital lobe epilepsy in a paediatric population by reviewing 20 children between one and 16 years, who had undergone intracranial recordings with depth electrodes. Eight patients had pure occipital epilepsies and 12 had "occipital plus" epilepsies. We identified four different seizure spreading patterns: (1) pure occipital (40%) with oculomotor symptoms; (2) temporal (30%) with hypomotor behaviour and automatisms; (3) frontal (20%) with movements of the limbs; and (4) spasms (10%). Two thirds of the children above 11 years reported visual aura, but this was probably underestimated in younger children as some seizures began with non-specific motion arrest. Automatisms were only observed when the lateral temporal lobe was involved. Patients with a pure occipital form had a seizure onset zone strictly in the occipital lobe. Lingual and cuneus gyri were the most epileptogenic structures. Scalp EEG showed diffuse EEG abnormalities in two thirds of the patients and 25% of these led to false lateralization of the SOZ. Although MRI lesions were always visible, imaging and scalp EEG could be misleading and often not sufficient to guide surgery. After surgery, 68% of the patients were classified as Engel Class I, and surgical outcome was even better for patients in whom the supracalcarine area was affected, with 87.5% reaching seizure freedom. Seizure spread patterns in occipital epilepsy are similar in paediatric and adult populations, even though it is often impossible to obtain subjective symptoms in children. Postsurgical outcome is better than in adults, especially in patients in whom the supracalcarine area is affected.

Do patients need to stay in bed all day in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit? Safety data from a non-restrictive setting.

PURPOSE: To assess whether injuries occur more often in an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) where portable EEG amplifiers are used, and where patients can freely move within a large area during the monitoring. METHODS: Patients were monitored at the Danish Epilepsy Center, in an EMU specifically designed for this purpose, and they were under continuous surveillance by personnel dedicated to the EMU. Adverse events (AEs) - including injuries, were prospectively noted, as part of the safety policy of the hospital. Other data were retrospectively extracted from the electronic database, for a 5-year period (January 2012-December 2016). RESULTS: 976 patients were admitted to the EMU. Falls occurred in 19 patients (1.9%) but none of them resulted in injury. Only one serious AE occurred: a patient had a convulsive status epilepticus, which did not respond to first-line treatment in the EMU and was transferred to the intensive care unit. The rate of AEs were similar or lower than previously reported by other centers, where the mobility of the patients had been restricted during monitoring. CONCLUSION: In an EMU specially designed for this purpose, where patients are under continuous surveillance by personnel dedicated to the EMU, injuries can be avoided even when the mobility of the patients is not restricted.

Diagnostic yield of five minutes compared to three minutes hyperventilation during electroencephalography.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether hyperventilation (HV) for 5min increases the diagnostic yield of electroencephalography (EEG) compared to 3min HV. METHODS: data were evaluated from 1084 consecutive patients, from three European centres, referred to EEG on suspicion of epilepsy. Seizures and interictal EEG abnormalities precipitated during the first 3min and during the last 2min of the HV period (totally 5min) were determined. RESULTS: Eight hundred seventy-seven patients (81%) completed 5min HV. Seizures were precipitated during the first 3min of HV in 21 patients, and during the last 2min in four more patients. Interictal EEG abnormalities were precipitated in the first 3min of HV in 16 patients, and during the last 2min in 7 more patients. Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures occurred in eight patients during the first 3min of HV and in two more patients during the last 2min. No adverse events occurred during the last 2min of HV, but eight patients (1%) stopped HV during the last 2min because they were not able to hyperventilate further. CONCLUSION: 16% of seizures and 30% of interictal EEG abnormalities triggered by HV occurred during the last 2min of HV, suggesting the clinical usefulness of prolonged hyperventilation for 5min. The vast majority of patients (99%) who are able to hyperventilate for 3min can complete 5min HV, without additional adverse events.

Smoking prevalence in coronary patients from EuroAspire III Romania.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluating smoking incidence, the compliance to smoking cessation recommendation and benefits of quitting smoking in coronary patients included in EuroAspire III Romania survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated the acute cardiovascular events (MACE) incidence in 530 consecutive coronary patients (> or = 18 years and < 80 years at the time ofidentification) with first or recurrent clinical diagnosis or treatments for coronary heart disease, retrospectively identified from diagnostic registers or hospital discharge lists. The coronary events for hospital admission were: elective or emergency coronary artery by-pass graft (CABG), elective or emergency percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and unstable angina (UA). The starting date for identification was not less than 6 months and not more than 3 years prior to the expected date ofinterview. Patients were divided in three groups according to their condition of smoker (smoking at interview moment), ex-smoker (quitting smoking prior to interview moment) and no smoker (never smoking). RESULTS: Smoking incidence before hospital admission for coronary event was 68.3% and 10% after hospital discharge. Prior the coronary event, percentage of male smokers (77.15%) predominated by female smokers (42.64%) - p<0.05, OR=4.54. Male smokers (67.25%) were more compliant to smoking cessation recommendation compared to females (32.35%) - p=0.04, OR=2.16; there was no significant difference between the two sexes concerning smoking incidence at interview moment (p>0.05). Patients who continued smoking after hospital discharged presented an increased frequency of MACE compared to non smokers (p=0.043, OR=1.98). Also, patients who continued smoking till hospitalization for coronary event, presented a higher risk compared to non smokers concerning re-intervention by PTCA (p=0.017, OR=4.28) and AMI incidence (p=0.01, OR=4.89). The MACE incidence was higher in active smokers versus passive smokers, but there was no significant differences between the two groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Majority of coronary patients renounced smoking after their first experience with cardiovascular events, a small part continued smoking. Patients who continued smoking after the acute event had higher incidence of MACE compared to non-smokers or ex-smokers (p<0.05). Also, MACE incidence was higher in active smokers versus passive but the difference was not significant between the two groups (p>0.05).