European journal of clinical investigation
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Feb 2024
ReviewThe association of testosterone with sarcopenia and frailty in chronic liver disease.
Testosterone is an important anabolic hormone responsible for maintaining body composition and muscle mass and circulates mostly albumin-bound, or sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)-bound or free in the plasma. Of these fractions, the latter is bioactive and exerts the androgenic effects on male population. Liver cirrhosis, the advanced stage of any chronic liver disease characterized by permanent distortions to the hepatic architecture, disrupts the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, leading to diminished levels of free testosterone and hypogonadism. ⋯ Low serum testosterone is strongly correlated with sarcopenia, frailty, higher rate of hepatic decompensation and mortality. Nonetheless, exogenous supplementation of testosterone did not ameliorate the liver-related outcomes and complications.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Feb 2024
Review Meta AnalysisOmega-3 fatty acids and endothelial function: A GRADE-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis.
N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) supplementation has been reported to have an impact on flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), a conventionally used clinical technique for estimating endothelial dysfunction. However, its proven effects on endothelial function are unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the effects of n-3 PUFAs supplementation on FMD of the brachial artery. ⋯ We found that n-3 PUFA supplementation improves endothelial function as estimated by flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Feb 2024
Review Meta AnalysisAssociations of cataract, cataract surgery with dementia risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 448,140 participants.
Cataract is the leading cause of blindness around the world. Previous investigations have assessed the relationship between cataract, cataract surgery and dementia risk, but their results remain controversial. Herein, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the associations between cataract, cataract surgery and the risk of dementia. ⋯ Current evidence from the existing studies supports that cataract is associated with an increased risk of dementia, and cataract surgery may be instrumental in reducing the risk of dementia in patients with cataract.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Feb 2024
Real-world persistence of initial targeted therapy strategy in monotherapy versus combination therapy in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis.
The persistence of biologic (b) and targeted synthetic (ts) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs(DMARDs) in monotherapy versus in combination with conventional synthetic (cs) DMARDs is still a controversial topic in rheumatic diseases. To clarify this issue, the retention of the initial treatment strategy of b/tsDMARD in combination with csDMARD versus monotherapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients under real-life conditions was evaluated. Factors associated with maintenance of the initial strategy were analysed. ⋯ In this real-life study, the strategy of combining a b/tsDMARD with a csDMARD is associated with lower persistence and worse safety profile compared to monotherapy in RA and especially in PsA and AS, suggesting that combination therapy should be rethought as first choice in RA patients, but especially in PsA and AS patients.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Feb 2024
Association between exposure to air pollution and blood lipids in the general population of Spain.
We aimed to assess the associations of exposure to air pollutants and standard and advanced lipoprotein measures, in a nationwide sample representative of the adult population of Spain. ⋯ Our study shows an association between the exposure to air pollutants and blood lipids in the general population of Spain, suggesting a link to atherosclerosis.