European journal of internal medicine
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2024
ReviewThe impact of colchicine on patients with acute and chronic coronary artery disease.
Inflammation plays a central role in coronary artery disease (CAD), and recent data have shown that anti-inflammatory drugs have the potential to reduce ischemic events in CAD patients. Colchicine is an ancient anti-inflammatory drug that targets neutrophil and inflammasome activities. ⋯ In fact, there is a growing body of randomized data suggesting that use of low-dose colchicine reduces the risk of ischemic events in patients with CAD, particularly repeated revascularizations, new myocardial infarctions and strokes. This review article summarizes background information-including possible side effects and contraindications-as well as the current evidence backing up the use of colchicine in patients with established CAD.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2024
ReviewTowards precision medicine in COPD: Targeting type 2 cytokines and alarmins.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a main global epidemic increasing as population age and affecting approximately 10% of subjects over 45 years. COPD is a heterogeneous inflammatory disease with several endo-phenotypes and clinical presentations. Although neutrophilic inflammation is canonically considered a hallmark of COPD, eosinophilic inflammation can also be present in a subgroup of patients. ⋯ TSLP and IL-33 are upstream regulators of T2-high and T2-low immune responses in airway inflammation. Several ongoing RCTs are evaluating the efficacy and safety of anti-TSLP (tezepelumab), anti-IL-33 (itepekimab, tozorakimab), and anti-ST2 (astegolimab) in patients with COPD, who experience exacerbations. In conclusion, targeting T2 inflammation or epithelial-derived alarmins might represent a step forward in precision medicine for the treatment of a subset of COPD.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2024
ReviewGender-specific insights into the irritable bowel syndrome pathophysiology. Focus on gut dysbiosis and permeability.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder involving the brain-gut interaction. IBS is characterized by persistent abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits. IBS exerts significant impacts on quality of life and imposes huge economic costs. ⋯ While the exact pathophysiology of IBS remains incompletely understood, the mechanism involves a dysregulation of the brain-gut axis, leading to disturbed intestinal motility, local inflammation, altered intestinal permeability, visceral sensitivity, and gut microbiota composition. We reviewed several gender-related pathophysiological aspects of IBS pathophysiology, by focusing on gut dysbiosis and intestinal permeability. This perspective paves the way to personalized and multidimensional clinical management of individuals with IBS.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2024
Multicenter StudyIdentifying COPD patients with poor health status and low exercise tolerance through the five-repetition sit-to-stand test and modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Score.
The objective of this study was to determine whether the concomitant presence of poor health status (COPD Assessment Test, CAT ≥ 10 points) and low exercise tolerance (6-Minute Walking Test, 6MWT < 350 m) is associated with worse clinical characteristics in patients with COPD. In addition, we aimed to develop a readily applicable diagnostic model to discriminate COPD patients with these conditions. ⋯ COPD patients with concurrent conditions have worse clinical status. The diagnostic model developed to discriminate these patients shows good internal validation.