Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0038454 (stroke)
 147,016 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Several lipid-lowering intervention studies published in 2002 shed light on the current status and the future of cardiovascular risk reduction by drug therapy. The Heart Protection Study has demonstrated that simvastatin reduces heart attack, stroke and revascularisation risk by about one-third irrespective of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, patient's age or sex, or the nature of pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Coronary heart disease death and myocardial infarction risk reduction in elderly patients by pravastatin in the PROSPER study was similar to the benefit of statins in middle-aged populations in other studies. The ALLHAT-LLT study has failed to demonstrate a benefit of pravastatin on all-cause mortality, CHD death or nonfatal myocardial infarction, illustrating that too modest cholesterol lowering does not result in clinical benefit under all circumstances. The cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe has demonstrated significant LDL and total cholesterol lowering, and induced an additional 21% LDL cholesterol lowering when added to ongoing statin therapy. The cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor JJT-705 produced a dose-dependent increase in HDL cholesterol concentrations of up to 34% and improved the total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio in healthy individuals while having very mild side effects. Cholesterol absorption inhibitors and HDL cholesterol enhancers may become useful tools to achieve further improvements in cardiovascular risk reduction in the future.
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PMID:The future of lipid-lowering therapy: the big picture. 1291 48

Raised blood pressure (BP) is a major cause of CHD and the leading cause of stroke. Although BP rises with age in most populations, there are remote populations around the world where BP does not rise with age and where the high prevalence of high BP and frank hypertension seen in the UK and other Western countries in the older age-groups is not found. However, when such populations migrate to urban settings, their BPs rise, indicating that the population-wide BP problem is largely environmental in origin. Thus, a substantial body of evidence has accumulated on the importance of dietary factors in BP (Na and alcohol intakes (direct relationship) and K intake (inverse relationship)) as well as body weight (direct relationship). More recently, attention has shifted to other dietary factors that might affect BP. Data from studies of vegetarians (who tend to have lower BP than meat-eating populations) as well as clinical data on the adverse effects of protein intake in patients with renal insufficiency led to the view in Western countries that dietary (animal or total) protein had an adverse effect on BP. By contrast, studies in Japan and China suggested that dietary protein might be protective of high BP and stroke. Recent epidemiological studies have found inverse associations between dietary protein intake and BP, consistent with this view, and supported by some evidence from animal studies. Recent controlled clinical trials of soyabean supplementation have also suggested a BP-lowering effect of protein intake. Results of further large-scale epidemiological studies of protein and BP are awaited.
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PMID:Protein intake and blood pressure in cardiovascular disease. 1450 97

Light to moderate drinking is associated with lower risk of coronary heart (CHD) than non-drinkers. We have examined the relationships between total alcohol intake and type of alcoholic beverage and several potential biological mechanisms. We carried out the study in 3158 men aged 60-79 years drawn from general practices in 24 British towns with no history of myocardial infarction, stroke or diabetes and who were not on warfarin. Total alcohol consumption showed a significant positive dose-response relationship with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), coagulation factor IX, haematocrit, blood viscosity, and tissue plasminogen (t-PA) antigen, and an inverse dose-response relationship with insulin, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor (vWF) and triglycerides after adjustment for possible confounders. Total alcohol consumption showed weak associations with plasma viscosity and fibrin D-dimer, and no association with factors VII, VIII, or C-reactive protein (CRP). Wine was specifically associated with lower CRP, plasma viscosity, factor VIII and triglycerides. The findings are consistent with the suggestion that HDL-C in particular but also insulin and haemostatic factors may contribute to the beneficial effect of light to moderate drinking on risk of CHD. Wine has effects that may confer greater protection than other alcoholic beverages.
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PMID:The effects of different alcoholic drinks on lipids, insulin and haemostatic and inflammatory markers in older men. 1465 40

In contrast to CHD and cancer, the burden of stroke lies with long term disability as opposed to death and it is the most common cause of neurological disability in the western world. Consequently such patients frequently require longer acute hospital stays followed by lengthy periods of rehabilitation where such services are available, long term nursing care or indefinite dependency on community care. Inevitably stroke is a major economic burden on healthcare systems. It has been estimated that approximately 6% of total healthcare resources are consumed in the management of this condition a figure which is expected to grow with an increasing elderly population. Due to the high level of disability caused by stroke, patients often require longer and therefore costly periods of acute hospital stay. The aim of this study is to determine the cost of treating an acute episode of ischaemic stroke in an Irish teaching hospital. The costing evaluation was from the hospital admission perspective and the strategy used was a microcosting detailed collection of resources used on patients admitted to St. James's hospital between January 1999 and March 2000. The average cost of a hospital admission for the treatment of an episode of acute ischaemic stroke was 6,722 euros. The average cost per day was calculated at 263 euros. Approximately 83% of hospital costs were associated with ward costs whereas medications accounted for just 1% of total costs. The projected cost for the treatment of stroke in euros using the consumer price index for October 2002 would be 7,686 euros. The availability of Irish cost data is essential for the assessment of the cost effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for the treatment of stroke in our healthcare system.
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PMID:Cost of treating stroke in an Irish teaching hospital. 1513 76

Four randomized trials with a statin and one trial with a fibrate showed a modest but significant absolute reduction in the incidence of stroke in patients with a previous myocardial infarction. The reasons for the positive effect of statins on stroke end-point are unclear since, paradoxically, the link between serum cholesterol level and stroke has never been fully established. Furthermore, the positive results of statins trials were mainly obtained in patients with an average or a low serum cholesterol level. This suggests nonhypolipidemic effects of these drugs, so-called pleiotropic effects, acting on the biologic promoters of plaque instability. Statins have a good overall safety profile with no increase of hemorrhagic stroke and no increase in cancer. They have positive effects in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in high-risk young as well as elderly populations. Statins reduced stroke incidence in high-risk (mainly CHD, diabetics and hypertensives) population even with a normal baseline blood cholesterol level, which argues for a global cardiovascular risk-based treatment strategy. In patients with prior strokes, statins likely reduce the incidence of cononary events, but it is not yet proven that statins actually reduce the incidence of recurrent strokes in secondary prevention. If current hypotheses are verified by ongoing trials, we may expect between 20 to 30 more stroke events avoided per 1,000 patients treated during 2 years with a lipid-lowering agent, which adds to the 28 stroke events prevented with an antiplatelet agent over the same time period. This would be one of the most significant advances in stroke and vascular dementia prevention since the era of aspirin therapy.
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PMID:Statins and stroke prevention. 1469 85

The major message from this discussion is that the end points from hypertensive disease (stroke, CHD, and hypertensive emergencies) are now preventable. Cardiac failure and ESRD, however, two exceedingly common end points from long-standing hypertension, remain as major disabilities and causes of death. The former is the most common cause of hospitalization in industrialized societies; hypertension and diabetes mellitus are the most common causes of the latter. The mechanisms of risk of these target organ diseases is not LVH per se, or the elevated arterial pressure alone in the kidney, but the coronary and renal ischemia, organ fibrosis, and, perhaps, apoptosis. Present day therapy now can effectively reverse these costly (economically and by human suffering) complications. Recent experimental studies suggest that, when used early enough, these newer pharmacologic agents may even prevent their occurrences and consequences. The very practical lesson from these experiences is that early detection and treatment of hypertension, effective control of arterial pressure, and the suppression of the underlying disease mechanisms markedly reduce the now increasing prevalence of both cardiac and renal failure.
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PMID:Target organ involvement in hypertension: a realistic promise of prevention and reversal. 1487 Oct 60

Postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy is helpful in relieving menopausal vasomotor symptoms and vaginal atrophy and can prevent osteoporosis; however, attendant risks include breast cancer, thromboembolism, gallbladder disease, stroke, CHD, dementia, and hypertriglyceridemia. Decision making must weigh these risks and benefits and also include potential benefits on mood, colorectal cancer prevention, and hip fracture reduction. Some areas, such as ovarian cancer risk and the impact of combination estrogen-progestin versus unopposed estrogen on risk, remain unclear. The physician and patient need to carefully assess, discuss, and monitor the individual's symptoms and risks when considering HT use. For those with contraindications or concerns about HT, there are alternative therapies of variable efficacy for vasomotor symptoms and vaginal atrophy.
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PMID:Postmenopausal hormone therapy: a concise guide to therapeutic uses, formulations, risks, and alternatives. 1502 91

Type 2 diabetes plays significant roles in pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome. The Japan Diabetes Complications Study(JDCS) is an ongoing trial with 2,205 patients with type 2 diabetes. It is clarified that the frequencies of CHD and stroke events in type 2 diabetic patients are three or more times greater than non-diabetic subjects. Gender, LDL cholesterol, glycohemoglobin A1c and triglycerides are significant age-adjusted risk factors for CHD in patients with type 2 diabetes, while systolic blood pressure and glycohemoglobin A1c are those for stroke. We can conclude from these results that the control of risk factors like LDL cholesterol and blood pressure, together with glycemic control, is essential for preventing CHD and stroke also in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.
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PMID:[Prevention and therapeutic strategy of metabolic syndrome--implications from the interim results of Japan Diabetes Complications Study(JDCS)]. 1520 56

Forty-year mortality and its association with entry risk factor levels is reported in men employed in the US Railroad industry within the Seven Countries Study of Cardiovascular Diseases. Cardiovascular risk factors were measured in 2571 men aged 40-59 at entry examination in 1957-1959 and after 5 years. Mortality data were collected during 40 years of follow-up (overall mortality of 83.4%). The main causes of death were coronary heart disease (CHD, 32.9% of all causes using strict criteria), atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (including coronary, stroke and peripheral artery diseases, (ACVD), 53.2% of all causes) and cancer (25.1% of all causes). Multivariate analysis showed that age, systolic blood pressure, serum cholesterol and cigarette consumption were strongly and significantly associated with all-cause mortality, coronary mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Multivariate relative risks per 5 years of age were 1.31 for all-causes, 1.32 for CHD and 1.36 for ACVD; per 20 mmHg systolic blood pressure were 1.12, 1.23 and 1.26, respectively; per 1 mmol/l of serum cholesterol were 1.06, 1.18 and 1.14, respectively; and per 10 cigarettes smoked per day were 1.14, 1.12 and 1.13, respectively. During a 40-year period classical cardiovascular risk factors were highly predictive of coronary, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in a US working population.
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PMID:Forty-year mortality from cardiovascular diseases and all causes of death in the US Railroad cohort of the Seven Countries Study. 1523 11

Because genetic predisposition to atherothrombosis in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains to be determined, the most common genetic prothrombotic factors, prothrombin G20210A and factor V Leiden mutations, were studied. Seventy-four SLE patients with vascular ischemia (SLE cases) were studied and stratified into myocardial infarction and/or cerebrovascular accident subgroup (MI/CVA), and coronary heart disease subgroup without overt arterial thrombotic events (CHD). Seventy-one SLE patients without atherothrombosis were investigated as SLE controls. Factor V Leiden was detected in six cases (five in MI/CVA, one in CHD group) and three controls (OR 2.00, 95%CI 0.48-8.32). Two cases (both CHD patients) had prothrombin G20210A mutation vs. three controls (OR 0.63, 95%CI 0.1-3.88). Anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) were increased in cases vs. controls (39/74 vs. 27/71); however, this was not statistically significant (OR 1.82, 95%CI 0.94-3.52). Neither univariate nor multivariate analysis indicated that investigated mutations are risk factors for atherothrombosis in SLE cases, MI/CVA, or CHD subgroups. Overall, disease activity was the strongest risk factor for atherothrombosis (p=0.0014) in SLE cases. Combination of disease activity+gender was the best predictor of atherothrombotic process (p=0.00045) in this cohort. In MI/CVA subgroup, disease activity was the only predictor (p=0.0058). In CHD patients, the best predictive value was conferred by combination of hypertension+gender+disease activity (p=0.00077). No other investigated risk factor (including aCL) conferred an increased risk individually or potentiated the other risk factors. The results deny the role of investigated mutations in atherothrombosis in SLE, but they underscore the importance of disease activity (i.e., ongoing inflammation) in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and arterial thrombosis.
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PMID:Factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A mutations and the risk of atherothrombotic events in systemic lupus erythematosus. 1524 80


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