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Biomedical subjects

M Pahor

Publications and source records attributed to M Pahor.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

New evidence on the prevention of cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes.

Recent trials in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes reveal important differences in the risk for major cardiovascular events when individual agents are compared. In the Fosinopril Amlodipine Cardiovascular Events Trial (FACET), 380 patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes were randomized to fosinopril or amlodipine and followed for up to 3.5 years to assess effects on serum lipids. Although both agents effectively controlled blood pressure, amlodipine caused a significantly greater decrease in systolic pressure. At the end of the trial, serum cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, HbA1c, serum glucose, plasma insulin, serum creatinine, and microalbuminuria were similar in both groups. The patients randomized to fosinopril were significantly less likely to experience the prospectively defined combined outcome of acute myocardial infarction (MI), hospitalized angina, or stroke compared to those randomized to amlodipine (RR 0.49; 95% CI 0.26-0.95). In the Appropriate Blood pressure Control in Diabetes (ABCD) trial, 470 patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes who were randomized to long-acting nisoldipine had an adjusted sevenfold increased risk for acute MI compared to those randomized to enalapril (RR 7.0; 95% CI 2.3-21.4). In the Multicenter Isradipine Diuretic Atherosclerosis Study (MIDAS) trial, the patients with hypertension and above the median of HbA1c (> or =6.7%) randomized to isradipine had a threefold increased risk for major cardiovascular events compared to those randomized to hydrochlorothiazide (RR 2.81; 95% CI 1.09-7.26). These findings are supported by several observational studies. Therefore, evidence is emerging that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and low-dose diuretics may be more effective than calcium antagonists for prevention of cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with diabetes or impaired glucose control.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed1998

Is the use of some calcium antagonists linked to cancer? Evidence from recent observational studies.

In animal and in vitro studies, several calcium antagonists have been shown to block apoptosis (programmed cell death), a natural cellular defence against cancer. On the basis of these studies, it has been hypothesised that calcium antagonists may function as cancer promoters and that they might cause cancer in humans. The association between the use of calcium antagonists and cancer has been addressed recently in 6 independent epidemiological studies. Four of these studies--2 cohort and 2 case-control--found a significantly higher risk of cancer among users of certain calcium antagonists as compared with either non-users or with users of other antihypertensive agents. The other 2 studies failed to find support for this association. All studies had limitations of varying types and significance. The emerging pattern from these investigations includes the following features: (i) the strength of the association appears to be dependent on daily dosage, ranging from no association in users of low dosages to a 2-fold (or possibly higher) increased risk in users of higher dosages; (ii) the time lag to the appearance of this association appears to be at least 2 to 3 years; (iii) an association with a higher risk of cancer has been found primarily for verapamil, while no such relationship has been reported for diltiazem; and (iv) no highly consistent associations have been shown with specific cancer sites or histological types. More data, preferably from long-term randomised clinical trials, are required before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1998

Isradipine in prediabetic hypertensive subjects.

OBJECTIVE: Investigators from the Multicenter Isradipine Diuretic Atherosclerosis Study (MIDAS) previously reported that the isradipine group had a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events than the diuretic group. The ultimate objective of the analyses presented here was to assess how indices of glycemia (specifically, serum glucose, serum insulin, and HbA1c) might have influenced the effects of the two agents on blood pressure control and CVD events. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Inclusion criteria included men and women > or = 40 years of age with ultrasonographically confirmed carotid atherosclerosis and a diastolic blood pressure of > 90 mmHg. Although insulin-dependent diabetic patients were excluded, the three glycemia indices had wide enough ranges to include patients who may be classified as prediabetic. A total of 883 patients were randomized either to the dihydropyridine calcium antagonist (CA) isradipine (2.5-5 mg twice a day) or to the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (12.5-25 mg twice a day) and followed in double-blind fashion for 3 years. RESULTS: Both treatment groups had achieved comparable control of diastolic blood pressure, and there were no statistically significant differences in any of the glycemia indices, either at baseline or during follow-up. However, the excess isradipine events were noted to be clustered among those patients with elevated baseline levels of HbA1c who also experienced greater blood pressure reductions during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The increased cardiovascular risk associated with dihydropyridine CAs in prediabetic patients may be an explanation for the overall CA debate.

Antihypertensive Agents↗
PubMed1998

Outcome results of the Fosinopril Versus Amlodipine Cardiovascular Events Randomized Trial (FACET) in patients with hypertension and NIDDM.

OBJECTIVE: ACE inhibitors and calcium antagonists may favorably affect serum lipids and glucose metabolism. The primary aim of the Fosinopril Versus Amlodipine Cardiovascular Events Randomized Trial (FACET) was to compare the effects of fosinopril and amlodipine on serum lipids and diabetes control in NIDDM patients with hypertension. Prospectively defined cardiovascular events were assessed as secondary outcomes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Inclusion criteria included a diagnosis of NIDDM and hypertension (systolic blood pressure of > 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure of > 90 mmHg). Exclusion criteria included a history of coronary heart disease or stroke, serum creatinine > 1.5 mg/dl, albuminuria > 40 micrograms/min, and use of lipid-lowering drugs, aspirin, or antihypertensive agents other than beta-blockers or diuretics. A total of 380 hypertensive diabetics were randomly assigned to open-label fosinopril (20 mg/day) or amlodipine (10 mg/day) and followed for up to 3.5 years. If blood pressure was not controlled, the other study drug was added. RESULTS: Both treatments were effective in lowering blood pressure. At the end of follow-up, between the two groups there was no significant difference in total serum cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, HbA1c, fasting serum glucose, or plasma insulin. The patients receiving fosinopril had a significantly lower risk of the combined outcome of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or hospitalized angina than those receiving amlodipine (14/189 vs. 27/191; hazards ratio = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.26-0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Fosinopril and amlodipine had similar effects on biochemical measures, but the patients randomized to fosinopril had a significantly lower risk of major vascular events, compared with the patients randomized to amlodipine.

Amlodipine↗
PubMed1998

Research hypotheses on muscle wasting, aging, loss of function and disability.

Advancing age is accompanied by modifications in body composition such as increase in fat and decrease in bone and muscle mass. Loss of muscle mass or sarcopenia is characterized by a decrease in the total number of muscle fibers, a reduced cross-sectional area of the thigh, and decreased muscle density associated with increased intramuscular fat. Loss of skeletal muscle mass may be a common pathway by which multiple diseases contribute to the risk of disability. Decreases in muscle mass are associated with an increased risk of morbidity, mortality and disability in old age, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are not fully understood. Inflammatory cytokines interfere with muscle contraction and are linked with sarcopenia. Recent evidence showing that decline in left ventricular function is accompanied by sarcopenia and an increase in cytokines might help to understand the role of cytokines in muscle loss in aging and disease. The Health and Body Changes (Health ABC) study, a large population-based cohort study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, will prospectively address the issues related to sarcopenia and incident disability. Defining modifiable risk factors of sarcopenia is the first step towards the identification of interventions for preventing or reversing disability in older persons.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

Hospital diagnoses, Medicare charges, and nursing home admissions in the year when older persons become severely disabled.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize hospital diagnoses, procedures and charges, and nursing home admissions in the year when older persons become severely disabled, comparing those in whom severe disability develops rapidly with those in whom disability develops gradually. DESIGN: A prospective, population-based cohort study with at least 6 annual interviews beginning in 1982. SETTING: A total of 3 communities: East Boston, Mass, New Haven, Conn, and Iowa and Washington counties in Iowa. SUBJECTS: A total of 6070 persons at least 70 years old with at least 1 interview after the fourth annual follow-up and without evidence of previous severe disability, defined as disability in 3 or more activities of daily living (ADLs). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Characteristics associated with development of severe disability after the fourth annual follow-up, in which the disability is classified as catastrophic disability if the individual did not report any ADL disability in the 2 interviews prior to severe disability onset or as progressive disability if the individual had previous disability in 1 or 2 ADLs. RESULTS: In the year during which severe disability developed, hospitalizations were documented for 72.1% of those developing catastrophic disability and for 48.6% of those developing progressive disability. In the corresponding year, only 14.7% of those who were stable with no disability and 22.3% of those with some disability were hospitalized. The 6 most frequent principal discharge diagnoses included stroke, hip fracture, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia in both severe disability subsets; coronary heart disease and cancer in catastrophic disability; and diabetes and dehydration in progressive disability. These diagnoses occurred in 49% of those with catastrophic disability and 25% of those with progressive disability. In both severe disability subsets, the oldest patients received less intensive hospital care as indicated by charges for surgery, diagnostics, and rehabilitation and by the percentage who received major diagnostic procedures; they were also more often admitted to nursing homes. CONCLUSIONS: In the year when they become severely disabled, a large proportion of older persons are hospitalized for a small group of diseases. Hospital-based interventions aimed at reducing the severity and functional consequences of these diseases could have a large impact on reduction of severe disability.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Serum iron level, coronary artery disease, and all-cause mortality in older men and women.

The association between iron levels and coronary artery disease (CAD) mortality is controversial. Whereas most data show no association, some have raised the possibility of a causal role, while others have suggested a protective effect of iron on CAD. To address these possibilities, we examined the association between serum iron and CAD, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality in a large cohort of 3,936 persons aged > or =71 years who completed an interview, had a serum iron determination, and survived at least 1 year after baseline. The median follow-up time was 4.4 years. Serum iron levels were categorized according to sex-specific quartiles. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated from proportional-hazards regression models adjusted for age, race, education, creatinine, serum albumin, serum lipids, use of iron supplementation, smoking, use of alcohol, blood pressure, body mass index, and presence of chronic conditions. There was a gradual decrease in the RRs of CAD, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality with increasing serum iron levels (all tests for trend, p <0.05). Men in the highest iron quartile were one fifth as likely to die of CAD as men in the lowest iron quartile (RR 0.22; 95% CI 0.11 to 0.48), and women in the highest quartile had half the risk of women in the lowest quartile (RR 0.48; 95% CI 0.27 to 0.87). When compared with the lowest quartile, risk of all-cause mortality was 38% lower in men in the highest iron quartile (RR 0.62; 95% CI 0.46 to 0.85) and 28% lower in women in the highest quartile (RR 0.72; 95% CI 0.53 to 0.96). Results of similar strength and magnitude were observed for cardiovascular disease mortality and in analyses that excluded the first 3 years of follow-up. In this large cohort of persons aged > or =71 years, there was consistent evidence of increasing risk of mortality at lower serum iron levels. In fact, lower serum iron levels were associated with an increased risk of CAD, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. The results are compatible with the possibility that in an older population, there is an inverse association between serum iron levels and risk of mortality.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

The first BSc nursing curriculum in Slovenia: its development and characteristics.

This paper presents the process of development-extending over several years- and characteristics of the new BSc curriculum in nursing (second university level), which is an upgrading of the already existing 2-year university nursing course at the School of Health Studies of Ljubljana University, Slovenia. The new 2-year curriculum is run in cooperation between the School of Health Studies and the Faculty of Education. It was prepared at the nursing department of the School on the initiative and with the support of the European Office of Nursing at World Health Organization (WHO). Preparations started in 1985, and the first students entered the programme in 1993. The curriculum is health oriented according to the strategy 'Health for All to Year 2000'. The theoretical framework as well as goals, contents and educational methods were established on the basis of the fundamental philosophy of the programme. One part of the programme is run as an integrated model to put into educational practice the goals of WHO. The reasons for the length of time which elapsed between the initiative for the programme and its implementation are discussed.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1997

Detection of arrhythmogenic cellular magnesium depletion in hip surgery patients.

The use of high-dose magnesium infusions in critically ill and surgical patients is increasing. This practice is associated with considerable risk of toxicity, as no reliable criteria are currently available to detect significant intracellular magnesium depletion. We have evaluated, before and after surgery, 33 elderly patients with hip fracture, by 24-h Holter ECG monitoring, Doppler echocardiography and serum chemistry; lymphocyte magnesium was measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The severity of ventricular arrhythmias increased, and serum and mononuclear magnesium concentrations decreased significantly after surgery. Decreases in either serum magnesium concentrations > 0.125 mmol litre-1 or cellular magnesium > 6 nmol mg-1, but not serum or lymphocyte absolute magnesium concentrations, were associated with postoperative development of repetitive arrhythmias. Variations in serum magnesium concentrations correlated with intracellular decreases, and yielded good accuracy in predicting the postoperative worsening of arrhythmias. Thus perioperative differences in serum magnesium concentrations reflected intracellular variations and allowed us to identify patients with clinically relevant cellular magnesium depletion.

Aged↗