Relatively little is known about how the diet of chronically undernourished children may impact cardiometabolic biomarkers. The objective of this exploratory study was to characterise relationships between dietary patterns and the cardiometabolic profile of 153 3-5-year-old Peruvian children with a high prevalence of chronic undernutrition. We collected monthly dietary recalls from children when they were 9-24 months old. At 3-5 years, additional dietary recalls were collected, and blood pressure, height, weight, subscapular skinfolds and fasting plasma glucose, insulin and lipid profiles were assessed. Nutrient intakes were expressed as average density per 100 kcals (i) from 9 to 24 months and (ii) at follow-up. The treelet transform and sparse reduced rank regress\'ion (RRR) were used to summarize nutrient intake data. Linear regression models were then used to compare these factors to cardiometabolic outcomes and anthropometry. Linear regression models adjusting for subscapular skinfold-for-age Z-scores (SSFZ) were then used to test whether observed relationships were mediated by body composition. 26 % of children were stunted at 3-5 years old. Both treelet transform and sparse RRR-derived child dietary factors are related to protein intake and associated with total cholesterol and SSFZ. Associations between dietary factors and insulin were attenuated after adjusting for SSFZ, suggesting that body composition mediated these relationships. Dietary factors in early childhood, influenced by protein intake, are associated with cholesterol profiles, fasting glucose and body fat in a chronically undernourished population.

Hypertension remains a public health issue in Cameroon, though lifestyle and dietetic measures are the main approaches for the prevention and management of hypertension. The present study aimed at evaluating the impact of a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet using local foodstuffs on the status of hypertensive patients at the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital. A case-control study was carried out with 160 hypertensive patients divided into two groups, a test and a control group. A food questionnaire was used to evaluate the food habits of patients and design the sheet of the DASH diet to provide a maximum of 2000 kcal/d. The DASH diet was administered to the test group (eighty-eight patients), while the control group (seventy-two patients) consumed their normal diet. Both groups were followed up for 8 weeks. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP, DBP), body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, HDL-c, LDL-c and total-cholesterol levels of patients of the two groups were measured before and after the intervention. The results indicate that the DASH diet improves all the markers of hypertension in the test group with significant decreases in BMI, SBP, DBP, LDL-c and total-cholesterol. Patients of the control group had fourteen and seven times more risk of having increased systolic and diastolic pressures, respectively, and are thus exposed to hypertension complications. The DASH diet established in this study is therefore effective for the management of hypertension.

Smoking increases lipid levels, including triglycerides, leading to increased cardiovascular disease risk. We performed a meta-analysis to quantify the effects of smoking and smoking cessation on triglyceride levels. The PubMed and Scopus databases were searched to identify studies reporting either triglyceride levels in smokers and non-smokers or the effects of smoking cessation on triglyceride levels. Fixed- and random-effects models were used to perform the analyses when three or more studies/comparisons were available. We identified 169 and 21 studies evaluating the effects of smoking and smoking cessation, respectively, on triglyceride levels. Triglyceride levels were 0.50 mmol/L (95% confidence interval: 0.49-0.50 mmol/L) higher in smokers than non-smokers, but the effect differed widely across studies. No statistically significant effect was observed on triglyceride levels between baseline and 6 weeks (mean difference [MD] = 0.02 [-0.09, 0.12] mmol/L), 2 months (MD = 0.03 [-0.21, 0.27] mmol/L), 3 months (MD = 0.08 [-0.03, 0.21] mmol/L), or 1 year (MD = 0.04 [-0.06, 0.14] mmol/L) after quitting. However, a slightly significant decrease in triglyceride levels was observed at 1 month after cessation (MD = -0.15 [-0.15, -0.01] mmol/L). The results of this meta-analysis provide a basis for understanding the effects of smoking and smoking cessation on triglyceride levels, which could have important implications for public health.

The authors determined the effect of the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide on endothelial surface expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 in murine apolipoprotein E knockout atherosclerosis. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound molecular imaging using microbubbles targeted to VCAM-1 and control microbubbles showed a 3-fold increase in endothelial surface VCAM-1 signal in vehicle-treated animals, whereas in the liraglutide-treated animals the signal ratio remained around 1 throughout the study. Liraglutide had no influence on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or glycated hemoglobin, but reduced TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1, and OPN. Aortic plaque lesion area and luminal VCAM-1 expression on immunohistology were reduced under liraglutide treatment.

A 35-year-old woman with history of cardiovascular disease presented with shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fatigue, chest pain, and premature ventricular contractions 3 weeks after her second COVID-19 vaccine. Symptoms subsided following catheter ablation and ibuprofen except for chest pain and fatigue, which persisted following ablation and subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection. The case suggests causal associations between COVID-19 vaccine/infection and recurrence of cardiovascular disease, including long-COVID-like symptoms. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is epidemic throughout the world and is etiologic for such acute cardiovascular events as myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, unstable angina, and death. ASCVD also impacts risk for dementia, chronic kidney disease peripheral arterial disease and mobility, impaired sexual response, and a host of other visceral impairments that adversely impact the quality and rate of progression of aging. The relationship between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and risk for ASCVD is one of the most highly established and investigated issues in the entirety of modern medicine. Elevated LDL-C is a necessary condition for atherogenesis induction. Basic scientific investigation, prospective longitudinal cohorts, and randomized clinical trials have all validated this association. Yet despite the enormous number of clinical trials which support the need for reducing the burden of atherogenic lipoprotein in blood, the percentage of high and very high-risk patients who achieve risk stratified LDL-C target reductions is low and has remained low for the last thirty years. Atherosclerosis is a preventable disease. As clinicians, the time has come for us to take primordial and primary prevention more serously. Despite a plethora of therapeutic approaches, the large majority of patients at risk for ASCVD are poorly or inadequately treated, leaving them vulnerable to disease progression, acute cardiovascular events, and poor aging due to loss of function in multiple visceral organs. Herein we discuss the need to greatly intensify efforts to reduce risk, decrease disease burden, and provide more comprehensive and earlier risk assessment to optimally prevent ASCVD and its complications. Evidence is presented to support that treatment should aim for far lower goals in cholesterol management, should take into account many more factors than commonly employed today and should begin significantly earlier in life.

UNASSIGNED: Quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) is a reliable and non-invasive diagnostic tool to quantify cortical synaptic injury or loss in the clinical assessment of neurodegenerative diseases, and may be able to differentiate various types of dementia. We investigated if QEEG indices can differentiate Parkinson\'s Disease (PD) with nondementia (PD-ND) from PD with dementia (PDD), and to determine if QEEG indices correlate with inflammation and lipid metabolism markers in PD.
UNASSIGNED: This clinical study collected data between July 1, 2018 and July 1, 2021 in Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University in China and data was analysed. A total of 125 individuals comprising of 31 PDD, 47 patients with PD-ND and 47 healthy controls were included. We calculated the absolute spectral power (ASP) of frequency bands and the slow-to-fast frequency ratios of specific brain regions. Plasma levels of hypersensitive C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured and correlations with QEEG indices were examined.
UNASSIGNED: A significantly higher ASP of delta frequency especially in the frontal region was observed in patients with PDD compared to PD-ND (P=0.004) and controls (P=0.000). Decreased HDL-C (OR=0.186, P=0.030), and increased Hs-CRP (OR =2.856, P=0.015) were associated with PDD. Frontal-delta ASP was negatively correlated with plasma HDL-C (r=-0.353, P=0.000) and SOD (r=-0.322, P=0.001), and positively correlated with Hs-CRP (r=0.342, P=0.000).
UNASSIGNED: We highlight novel correlations between QEEG indices and inflammation and lipid metabolism markers in PD-ND and PDD. QEEG indices, HDL-C and Hs-CRP are potentially useful for the evaluation of PDD. Our current findings suggest that peripheral inflammation might contribute to the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment and EEG slowing in PDD. The mechanism underlying frontal-delta ASP and its correlation with neuro-inflammatory and metabolic markers in PDD should be further investigated.
UNASSIGNED: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO: 81873777, 82071414); the Scientific Research Foundation of Guangzhou (NO: 202206010005); the Science and Technology Program of Guangdong of China (NO: 2020A0505100037); the High-level Hospital Construction Research Project of Maoming People\'s Hospital (NO: xz2020009); the Science and Technology Program of Maoming City (NO: 2021S0026). Dr EK Tan is supported by the National Medical Research Council, Singapore.

UNASSIGNED: Statins have been shown to delay the inevitable progression of atherosclerosis in native coronaries and saphenous vein grafts, thereby reducing ischemic events after surgical coronary revascularization. However, there is significant controversy as to whether titrating statin therapy to concrete cholesterol targets is appropriate.
UNASSIGNED: A single-center retrospective analysis of 309 consecutive patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass graft in 2007 and 2008 was performed. Measurements of lipid profile subcomponents, namely total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides, in mmol/L, were obtained by retrospective review of electronic health records. The primary end point was cardiac death. The secondary end point was the composite of cardiac events, including cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, hospitalization for unstable angina, and target lesion revascularization. Database lock date was August 15, 2020.
UNASSIGNED: The median follow-up duration was 12.5 years. Cardiac death occurred in 6.8% of the cohort. Cardiac events occurred in 21.7% of the cohort. New-onset myocardial infarction occurred in 8.7% (n = 27), of which 48.1% (n = 13) underwent repeat revascularization. A 2-level nested Cox proportional hazards regression model was constructed to determine whether cholesterol target attainment was independently associated with cardiac events. After risk adjustment, LDL-C, non-HDL-C, total cholesterol (TC), and TC/HDL-C ratio were independently associated with cardiac death. In receiver operating characteristics analyses, the optimal cut-off values for non-HDL-C, LDL-C, and TC/HDL-C ratio were 3.2 mmol/L, 2.3 mmol/L, and 3.5, respectively.
UNASSIGNED: Exposure to elevated LDL-C and non-HDL-C cholesterol levels independently predicted long-term cardiac death after coronary artery bypass graft.

LpX is a lipoprotein formed in cholestatic conditions and often erroneously reported as LDL-C. A low ApoB level can support the diagnosis of LpX. Treatment should not automatically focus on lowering serum lipid levels, but primarily on resolving the cause of cholestasis. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

The present study aimed to explore the possible mechanisms underlying Dendrobium officinale leaf polysaccharides of different molecular weight to alleviate glycolipid metabolic abnormalities, organ dysfunction and gut microbiota dysbiosis of T2D mice. An ultrafiltration membrane was employed to separate two fractions from Dendrobium officinale leaf polysaccharide named LDOP-A and LDOP-B. Here, we present data supporting that oral administration of LDOP-A and LDOP-B ameliorated hyperglycemia, inhibited insulin resistance, reduced lipid concentration, improved β-cell function. LDOP-A with lower molecular weight exhibited improved effect on diabetes than LDOP-B, concurrent with increased levels of colonic short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) i.e., butyrate, decreased ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes phyla, and increased abundance of the gut beneficial bacteria i.e., Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia. These results suggest that LDOP-A possesses a stronger effect in ameliorating T2D than LDOP-B which may be related to the distinct improved SCFAs levels produced by the change of intestinal flora microstructure.