SEA 2024 Standards for Global Control of Vascular Risk. / Estándares de la Sociedad Española de Arteriosclerosis 2024 para el control global del riesgo vascular.

One of the objectives of the Spanish Society of Arteriosclerosis is to contribute to the knowledge, prevention and treatment of vascular diseases, which are the leading cause of death in Spain and entail a high degree of disability and health expenditure. Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disease and its prevention requires a global approach that takes into account the associated risk factors. This document summarises the current evidence and includes recommendations for patients with established vascular disease or at high vascular risk: it reviews the symptoms and signs to evaluate, the laboratory and imaging procedures to request routinely or in special situations, and includes the estimation of vascular risk, diagnostic criteria for entities that are vascular risk factors, and general and specific recommendations for their treatment. Finally, it presents aspects that are not usually referenced in the literature, such as the organisation of a vascular risk consultation.

Functional foods and nutraceuticals in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia: Statement of the Spanish Society of Arteriosclerosis 2023. / Alimentos funcionales y nutracéuticos en el tratamiento de la hipercolesterolemia: posicionamiento de la Sociedad Española de Arteriosclerosis 2023.

In the management of hypercholesterolemia, besides advising a healthy, plant-based diet, it may be useful to recommend functional foods or nutraceutical with cholesterol-lowering properties. Given the progressive increase in the number of these products and their rising use by the population, the Spanish Society of Arteriosclerosis (SEA) has considered it appropriate to review the available information, select the results of the scientifically more robust studies and take a position on their usefulness, to recommend to health professionals and the general population their potential utility in terms of efficacy and their possible benefits and limitations. The following clinical scenarios have been identified in which these products could be used and will be analyzed in more detail in this document: (1) Hypolipidemic treatment in subjects with statin intolerance. (2) Hypolipidemic treatment «a la carte¼ in individuals in primary prevention. (3) Long-term cardiovascular prevention in individuals with no indication for lipid-lowering therapy. (4) Patients with optimized lipid-lowering treatment who do not achieve therapeutic objectives.

Nutritional recommendations in the prevention and treatment of atherogenic dyslipidemia. / Recomendaciones nutricionales en la prevención y tratamiento de la dislipemia aterogénica. Grupo de Trabajo Dislipemia Aterogénica, Sociedad Española de Arteriosclerosis.

The incorporation of a healthy diet, regular physical exercise and smoking cessation are the initial measures to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with atherogenic dyslipidemia. In these patients, the nutritional quality of their diet should be improved, replacing foods with a greater atherogenic effect for others with a healthier effect. There is strong evidence that plant-based dietary patterns, low in saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and sodium, with a high content of fiber, potassium and unsaturated fatty acids, are beneficial and reduce the expression of cardiovascular risk factors. This document focuses on the role of nutrition in the prevention and treatment of atherogenic dyslipidemia, providing current evidence to serve as a tool for health professionals in its clinical management. To facilitate the reading of these recommendations, they are presented in a user-friendly table format, with a hierarchy of different levels of evidence.

Biological Effects of Maslinic Acid on Human Epithelial Cells Used in Tissue Engineering.

In the present work, we evaluated the potential of maslinic acid (MA) to improve currently available keratinocyte culture methods for use in skin tissue engineering. Results showed that MA can increase cell proliferation and WST-1 activity of human keratinocytes after 24, 48, and 72 h, especially at the concentration of 5 µg/ml, without affecting cell viability. This effect was associated to a significant increase of KI-67 protein expression and upregulation of several genes associated to cell proliferation (PCNA) and differentiation (cytokeratins, intercellular junctions and basement membrane related genes). When human keratinocytes were isolated from skin biopsies, we found that MA at the concentration of 5 µg/ml significantly increased the efficiency of the explant and the cell dissociation methods. These results revealed the positive effects of MA to optimize human keratinocyte culture protocols for use in skin tissue engineering.

Moderate Consumption of Beer and Its Effects on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health: An Updated Review of Recent Scientific Evidence.

There is growing interest in the potential health-related effects of moderate alcohol consumption and, specifically, of beer. This review provides an assessment of beer-associated effects on cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors to identify a consumption level that can be considered "moderate". We identified all prospective clinical studies and systematic reviews that evaluated the health effects of beer published between January 2007 and April 2020. Five of six selected studies found a protective effect of moderate alcohol drinking on cardiovascular disease (beer up to 385 g/week) vs. abstainers or occasional drinkers. Four out of five papers showed an association between moderate alcohol consumption (beer intake of 84 g alcohol/week) and decreased mortality risk. We concluded that moderate beer consumption of up to 16 g alcohol/day (1 drink/day) for women and 28 g/day (1-2 drinks/day) for men is associated with decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease and overall mortality, among other metabolic health benefits.

Effects of Sodium Chloride-Rich Mineral Water on Intestinal Epithelium. Experimental Study.

Since knowledge concerning the cellular and tissue substrate that explains the therapeutic action of mineral waters is generally very scarce, we address the different effects that Lanjarón-Capuchina mineral water exerts on the intestinal epithelium in an experimental model as a prototype of the sodium chloride-rich mineral waters used in digestive disorders. In the experimental protocol, two groups of five adult Wistar rats received unrestricted mineral water in their diet or mineral water directly into the gastrointestinal tract through a catheter. A third control group was given a standard diet and water ad libitum. Intestinal samples for scanning electron microscopy were analyzed according to standardized methods. The observations carried out by microscope after the administration of the sodium chloride-rich mineral water clearly indicate that the hypertonic action of this mineral water affects the structure of the intestinal epithelium. It modifies the microvilli absorption in terms of the groups of enterocytes and the secretion of goblet cells, but it particularly affects the epithelial renewal process, accelerating and stimulating cell extrusion. The type of extrusion mechanism observed by microscope allows us to affirm that, although this increased after direct administration, it does not generate an epithelial disruption as it occurs in other circumstances with other extrusion modalities.

Fermented dairy foods rich in probiotics and cardiometabolic risk factors: a narrative review from prospective cohort studies.

Probiotic foods, including fermented dairy (FD) products such as yogurt and cheese, naturally contain live microorganisms, but the relationship between the consumption of probiotic foods and health is unclear. The aim of the present narrative review is to integrate the available information on the relationship between the most studied FD products, which are yogurt and cheese, and cardiometabolic risk factors obtained from meta-analysis, systematic reviews of prospective cohort studies (PCSs) and PCSs published up to 2 November 2019. Additionally, the effects identified by randomized controlled trials of less-studied FD products, such as kefir and kimchi, on cardiometabolic risk factors are provided. PCSs have shown that the consumption of cheese, despite its high saturated fat content, is not associated with expected hypercholesterolemia and an increased cardiovascular risk. PCSs have revealed that the total consumption of FD appears to be associated with a lower risk of developing stroke and cardiovascular disease. The consumption of yogurt seems to be associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. There is a lack of sufficient evidence of a protective relationship between FD or cheese consumption and metabolic syndrome. Moreover, the association of FD, cheese and yogurt with hypertension needs further evidence. In conclusion, the intake of fermented foods containing probiotics, particularly yogurt and cheese (of an undetermined type), opens up new opportunities for the management of cardiometabolic risk factors.

Recomendaciones de manejo del paciente con pie diabético. Curso de instrucción / Management recommendations for diabetic foot patients. Instructional course

El ataque de pie diabético es uno de los desenlaces más fatídicos para el paciente con diabetes, lo que demuestra la importancia del control en una enfermedad que avanza hasta presentar cambios macroscópicos importantes en el miembro inferior. Durante la progresión de la Diabetes, la enfermedad puede derivar en un aumento de la morbilidad e intervenciones invasivas y limitantes para el paciente, de ahí la importancia de la detección e intervención temprana y oportuna de la patología por parte del equipo médico. Estas recomendaciones van dirigida a médicos generales y especialistas en diversas ramas médicas, con el objetivo de enfatizar el cómo se debe realizar el abordaje integral del paciente con pie diabético. Abarcando la prevención, diagnóstico inicial, evaluación de la progresión de la patología, estratificación con las clasificaciones propuestas, y por último el tratamiento según el estadio en el que se encuentre el paciente. Esto con el fin de minimizar desenlaces, intervenciones y complicaciones derivadas de la progresión del pie diabetico. Hablamos de recomendaciones y no de guías debido a la ausencia en un gran número de oportunidades de evidencia científica debidamente estructurada (I y II). Tal vez lo más importante por recalcar en todas estas recomendaciones es recordarle al lector que en los casos de afectación de un pie diabético, siempre se debe tener en cuenta que el pie contralateral también ha estado sometido a la misma enfermedad durante el mismo tiempo y por lo tanto aunque no tenga síntomas se debe considerar igualmente enfermo y se debe examinar también.

Diabetic foot is one of the most fatal outcomes for patients with diabetes; the importance of control in a disease that progresses until presenting important macroscopic changes in the lower limb is absolutely relevant. Along diabetes progression, the disease can lead to increased morbidity and invasive and limiting interventions for the patient, hence the importance of early and timely detection and intervention of the pathology by the medical team. These recommendations are addressed to general practitioners and specialized faculty in various medical branches, emphasizing how a comprehensive approach to the patient with diabetic foot should be carried out. Covering prevention, initial diagnosis, evaluation of the progression of the pathology, stratification with the proposed classifications, and finally the treatment according to the stage in which the patients are, is actually well described herein in order to minimize unsatisfactory outcomes, interventions and complications derived from the progression of diabetic foot. We are talking about recommendations and not guidelines due to the absence in a large number of opportunities of properly structured scientific evidence (I and II). Perhaps, the most important thing to emphasize in all these recommendations is to remind the reader that in cases of treating a diabetic foot, it should always be kept in mind that the contralateral foot is not healthy because it has also been subjected to the same disease, for the same period of time and stressed equally as well. Therefore, even if the contralateral foot does not have symptoms, it should be considered equally ill and should be examined and treated likewise.

Management recommendations for diabetic foot patients. Instructional course / Recomendaciones de manejo del paciente con pie diabético. Curso de instrucción

Diabetic foot is one of the most fatal outcomes for patients with diabetes; the importance of control in a disease that progresses until presenting important macroscopic changes in the lower limb is absolutely relevant. Along diabetes progression, the disease can lead to increased morbidity and invasive and limiting interventions for the patient, hence the importance of early and timely detection and intervention of the pathology by the medical team. These recommendations are addressed to general practitioners and specialized faculty in various medical branches, emphasizing how a comprehensive approach to the patient with diabetic foot should be carried out. Covering prevention, initial diagnosis, evaluation of the progression of the pathology, stratification with the proposed classifications, and finally the treatment according to the stage in which the patients are, is actually well described herein in order to minimize unsatisfactory outcomes, interventions and complications derived from the progression of diabetic foot. We are talking about recommendations and not guidelines due to the absence in a large number of opportunities of properly structured scientific evidence (I and II). Perhaps, the most important thing to emphasize in all these recommendations is to remind the reader that in cases of treating a diabetic foot, it should always be kept in mind that the contralateral foot is not healthy because it has also been subjected to the same disease, for the same period of time and stressed equally as well. Therefore, even if the contralateral foot does not have symptoms, it should be considered equally ill and should be examined and treated likewise.

El ataque de pie diabético es uno de los desenlaces más fatídicos para el paciente con diabetes, lo que demuestra la importancia del control en una enfermedad que avanza hasta presentar cambios macroscópicos importantes en el miembro inferior. Durante la progresión de la Diabetes, la enfermedad puede derivar en un aumento de la morbilidad e intervenciones invasivas y limitantes para el paciente, de ahí la importancia de la detección e intervención temprana y oportuna de la patología por parte del equipo médico. Estas recomendaciones van dirigida a médicos generales y especialistas en diversas ramas médicas, con el objetivo de enfatizar el cómo se debe realizar el abordaje integral del paciente con pie diabético. Abarcando la prevención, diagnóstico inicial, evaluación de la progresión de la patología, estratificación con las clasificaciones propuestas, y por último el tratamiento según el estadio en el que se encuentre el paciente. Esto con el fin de minimizar desenlaces, intervenciones y complicaciones derivadas de la progresión del pie diabetico. Hablamos de recomendaciones y no de guías debido a la ausencia en un gran número de oportunidades de evidencia científica debidamente estructurada (I y II). Tal vez lo más importante por recalcar en todas estas recomendaciones es recordarle al lector que en los casos de afectación de un pie diabético, siempre se debe tener en cuenta que el pie contralateral también ha estado sometido a la misma enfermedad durante el mismo tiempo y por lo tanto aunque no tenga síntomas se debe considerar igualmente enfermo y se debe examinar también.

[SEA/SEMERGEN consensus document 2019: Dietary recommendations in the prevention of cardiovascular disease]. / Documento de consenso SEA/SEMERGEN 2019. Recomendaciones dietéticas en la prevención cardiovascular.

The current paradigm in the nutrition sciences states that the basic nutritional unit is not the nutrients, but the foods that contain them (oils, nuts, dairy products, eggs, red or processed meats, etc.). These act as a food matrix in which the different nutrients synergistically or antagonistically modulate their effects on the various metabolic pathways determining health and disease. Food is not based on nutrients or isolated foods but on complex mixtures of one and the other that are part of a specific food pattern, a concept that has been targeted as the most pertinent to evaluate the associations between nutrition and health or disease. This document presents a summary of the available evidence on the relationship between different foods and cardiovascular health, and offers simple recommendations to be implemented in the dietary advice offered by the health professional.

SEA/SEMERGEN consensus document 2019: Dietary recommendations in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. / Documento de consenso SEA/SEMERGEN 2019. Recomendaciones dietéticas en la prevención cardiovascular.

The current paradigm in the nutrition sciences states that the basic nutritional unit is not the nutrients, but the foods that contain them (oils, nuts, dairy products, eggs, red or processed meats, etc.). These act as a food matrix in which the different nutrients synergistically or antagonistically modulate their effects on the various metabolic pathways determining health and disease. Food is not based on nutrients or isolated foods but on complex mixtures of one and the other that are part of a specific food pattern, a concept that has been targeted as the most pertinent to evaluate the associations between nutrition and health or disease. This document presents a summary of the available evidence on the relationship between different foods and cardiovascular health, and offers simple recommendations to be implemented in the dietary advice offered by the health professional.

Document of recommendations of the SEA 2018. Lifestyle in cardiovascular prevention. / Documento de recomendaciones de la SEA 2018. El estilo de vida en la prevención cardiovascular.

Lifestyle is a complex concept that includes aspects external to ourselves that can modulate and influence our health. The knowledge of the relationship between lifestyle and cardiovascular risk does not attain the level of evidence achieved with clinical trials with drugs, because clinical studies are scarce and mainly of observational nature, albeit based on large cohorts. Nutritional epidemiology has the added difficulty of being based mostly on subjective dietary recall methods to ascertain nutrient and food intake over time, with the additional problems of incomplete data collection, variable measurements of adherence due to seasonal and geographical differences in food composition, and the changing eating behavior that human beings have over time. The purpose of this document is to carry out an updated and hierarchical review of the relationship between lifestyle and cardiovascular disease based on current evidence, paying attention to three aspects that are of great pathogenic importance and are directly modifiable: physical activity, tobacco consumption, and diet. With this, we intend to update the knowledge on this relationship, construct evidence-based recommendations, and provide a simple tool for clinical practice especially directed to health professionals involved in the care of people at cardiovascular risk, defining simple and easy strategies for individuals who receive advice for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

[Opinion from physicians on the need for dyslipidemia screening in cardiovascular risk. Similarities and differences between primary care and other specialties. The DIANA study]. / Opinión de los médicos sobre la necesidad de cribado de la dislipidemia ante el riesgo cardiovascular. Coincidencias y diferencias entre Atención Primaria y otras especialidades. Estudio DIANA.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical inertia in the screening and treatment of patients at high or very high cardiovascular risk leads to the failure to achieve LDLc targets in this population. The aim of the DIANA study was to determine the opinion of doctors about the screening for dyslipidaemia, the usual practice, and the differences between Primary Care physicians and other specialties. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A questionnaire, using the modified Delphi method, included four blocks on dyslipidemic patients with impaired glucose metabolism. RESULTS: Of the 497 participating experts, 58% were Primary Care physicians. There was agreement on the need for dyslipidemia screening in patients with diabetes, ischaemic heart disease or hypertension, although to a lesser extent among Primary Care physicians. Greater significant differences were found in situations such as pre-diabetes or family history of premature cardiovascular disease (86.2% and 88.6% in Primary Care physicians versus 96.1% and 97.6% in other specialties, respectively). There was no agreement on the need for screening in the presence of xanthomas, xanthelasmas or corneal arcus in people under the age of 45 years, with statistically significant differences in the latter. CONCLUSIONS: Dyslipidaemia screening is mainly performed on patients with cardiovascular disease or any major cardiovascular risk factor, and cutaneous lesions of familial hypercholesterolaemia are underestimated. The need for accurate screening and treatment of dyslipidemia in subjects at high cardiovascular risk must be stressed.

[Chronic kidney disease and dyslipidaemia]. / Enfermedad renal crónica y dislipidemia.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has to be considered as a high, or even very high risk cardiovascular risk condition, since it leads to an increase in cardiovascular mortality that continues to increase as the disease progresses. An early diagnosis of CKD is required, together with an adequate identification of the risk factors, in order to slow down its progression to more severe states, prevent complications, and to delay, whenever possible, the need for renal replacement therapy. Dyslipidaemia is a factor of the progression of CKD that increases the risk in developing atherosclerosis and its complications. Its proper control contributes to reducing the elevated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality presented by these patients. In this review, an assessment is made of the lipid-lowering therapeutic measures required to achieve to recommended objectives, by adjusting the treatment to the progression of the disease and to the characteristics of the patient. In CKD, it seems that an early and intensive intervention of the dyslipidaemia is a priority before there is a significant decrease in kidney function. Treatment with statins has been shown to be safe and effective in decreasing LDL-Cholesterol, and in the reduction of cardiovascular events in individuals with CKD, or after renal transplant, although there is less evidence in the case of dialysed patients.

Effect of coenzyme A on outer hair cells in cisplatin ototoxicity: functional and ultrastructural study.

The aim of this study was to use functional and morphological analyses to evaluate the protective effect of coenzyme A (CoA) in cisplatin-induced toxicity in outer hair cells (OHC). Three groups of 8 guinea pigs were used: control (group I), cisplatin-treated (group II) and cisplatin + CoA-treated (group III). In groups II and III, a single ototoxic dose of cisplatin (10 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally. Group III was co-treated with CoA (900 µg/kg per day for 7 consecutive days). Electrocochleography (ECoG) recordings were made before and after the 7-day treatment period in all groups. After ECoG on day 7, all animals were anesthetized and the cochleae were removed and fixed for ultrastructural analysis. Cell damage in OHC was observed with transmission electron microscopy. Cisplatin induced a significant increase in auditory thresholds (p<0.001) compared to group I (control). In contrast, group III (cisplatin + CoA) had significantly reduced thresholds (p<0.001) compared to the group treated with cisplatin alone (group II).We found no significant differences between the control group and animals co-treated with cisplatin and CoA. The electron microscopy findings in OHC were consistent with these results. Ultrastructural analysis of OHC in group II showed morphological indications of necrosis, i.e. cytoplasmic swelling and vacuolation, and mitochondrial swelling. In group III the cell morphology of OHC was preserved, with ultrastructural characteristics similar to the control group. In conclusion, co-treatment with cisplatin with CoA inhibited antineoplastic-induced cytotoxicity in OHC in a guinea pig model.

[Delphi consensus on management of dyslipidaemia in patients with impaired glucose metabolism: Diana study]. / Consenso Delphi sobre el manejo de la dislipidemia en pacientes con alteración del metabolismo de la glucosa: estudio Diana.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to develop a multidisciplinary consensus based on the Delphi system to establish clinical recommendations for the management of dyslipidaemia when hyperglycaemia is present, and the relevant factors that should be taken into consideration when prescribing and monitoring treatment with statins. METHODS: The questionnaire developed by the scientific committee included four blocks of questions about dyslipidaemia in patients with impaired glucose metabolism. The results of the first two blocks are presented here: a) management of dyslipidaemia; b) relevant factors that should be taken into consideration when prescribing and monitoring treatment with statins. RESULTS: Among the 497 experts who participated in the study, an agreement of over 90% was attained for recommending screening for dyslipidaemia in patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease or a family history and/or abdominal obesity and/or hypertension. There was a high degree of agreement that a statin is the lipid-lowering treatment of choice, and that it should be switched when side effects develop. Also, the choice of statin and dose should be made according to baseline LDL cholesterol levels, the target to achieve, and the possible drug-drug interactions. CONCLUSIONS: The screening of dyslipidaemia is primarily conducted in patients with cardiovascular disease, or any major cardiovascular risk factor. When prescribing a statin, physicians mainly focus on the ability to reduce LDL cholesterol and the risk of drug interactions.

Bone mineral density aspects in the femoral neck of hip fracture patients.

Elderly people, due to neurological conditions and muscular atrophy, present a greater propensity to falls and thus are very susceptible to hip fractures. Other variables, such as osteoporosis, may also be related to the etiopathogenesis of hip fractures, although osteoporosis is in fact a concurrent disease, and merely a coadjutant cause. Nonetheless, osteoporosis can make fracture patterns more severe and interfere with osteosynthesis. Osteoporosis is the radiological image of osteopenia, a pathological concept meaning a smaller quantity of bone per unit of volume. The radiological expression of osteopenia is therefore that of bone tissue with a lower radiological density than normal. In the context of hip fractures, bone mineral density and bone architecture of the femoral neck together with protein expression profiles and cross-links of this anatomical area are of special interest which is reviewed in the current paper. Spatial variations in bone mineral density in the femoral neck were found in the literature with increased porosity from the periosteal to the endosteal region and also from the distal to the proximal part of the femoral neck. Furthermore, increased crystal size, increased cortical porosity, reduced osteocyte lacunar density and an increased Ca/P ratio associated with higher concentrations of Ca and P were described in hip fracture patients compared to control patients. Osteocalcin/collagen type 1 expression ratio and enzymatic cross-link content in high-density bone was found to be significantly lower in hip fractures compared to controls. In conclusion, further research in bone mineral density and associated parameters are of interest to deepen the understanding of osteoporotic hip fractures.

[Patient's care and management of dyslipidemia at discharge after an acute coronary syndrome in the clinical practice in Spain: The SINCOPA study]. / Atención al alta en pacientes con síndrome coronario agudo y control de la dislipidemia en la práctica clínica en España: Estudio SINCOPA.

INTRODUCTION: European guidelines acknowledge that patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) should have LDLc levels below 70mg/dL or reduced a 50% respect to their basal levels. However, some studies demonstrated that this goal is achieved in a small number of patients. The aim of this study was to determine how cardiologists (MC) and primary care specialist (GPs) from Spain manage LDLc in ACS patients during their daily practice. METHODS: An observational, cross-sectional, multicentric study was conducted. Information about daily practice was obtained from 291 MC and 564 GPs across Spain. RESULTS: 68% of MC and 67% of GPs considered ACS patients to be high-risk. Most consider the cLDL targets based on European guidelines. The statins most widely used for MC are atorvastatin and rosuvastatina and for GPs are atorvastatin and simvastatin. 66.4% of GPs follow the prescription of MC. 42% of MC and 19.9% of GPs considered that 75-100% of their patients achieved the LDLc target. The main reason of not achieving this target was lack of treatment adherence. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of adherence and poor perception of real LDLc control may contribute to the failure in achieving lipid targets in ACS patients.