Role of SARS-COV-2 and ACE2 in the pathophysiology of peripheral vascular diseases.

The occurrence of a novel coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), created a serious challenge worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 has high infectivity, the ability to be transmitted even during the asymptomatic phase, and relatively low virulence, which has resulted in rapid transmission. SARS-CoV-2 can invade epithelial cells, hence, many patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have suffered from vascular diseases (VDs) in addition to pulmonary manifestations. Accordingly, SARS-CoV-2 may can worsen the clinical condition of the patients with pre-existing VDs. Endothelial cells express angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). ACE2 is a biological enzyme that converts angiotensin (Ang)- 2 to Ang-(1-7). SARS-CoV-2 uses ACE2 as a cell receptor for viral entry. Thus, the SARS-CoV-2 virus promotes downregulation of ACE2, Ang-(1-7), and anti-inflammatory cytokines, as well as, an increase in Ang-2, resulting in pro-inflammatory cytokines. SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause hypertension, and endothelial damage, which can lead to intravascular thrombosis. In this review, we have concentrated on the effect of SARS-CoV-2 in peripheral vascular diseases (PVDs) and ACE2 as an enzyme in Renin-angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS). A comprehensive search was performed on PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, using related keywords. Articles focusing on ("SARS-CoV-2", OR "COVID-19"), AND ("Vascular disease", OR "Peripheral vascular disease", OR interested disease name) with regard to MeSH terms, were selected. According to the studies, it is supposed that vascular diseases may increase susceptibility to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection due to increased thrombotic burden and endothelial dysfunction. Understanding SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanism and vascular system pathogenesis is crucial for effective management and treatment in pre-existing vascular diseases.

Pilot study to investigate differences in middle molecules, oxidative stress and markers of peripheral vascular disease in patients treated by high flux haemodialysis and haemodiafiltration.

BACKGROUND: Dialysis patients have an increased risk of mortality. Recently treatment with haemodiafiltration (HDF) has been reported to reduce mortality, particularly cardiovascular mortality, compared to standard high-flux haemodialysis (HD). However, why HDF may offer a survival advantage remains to be determined. So, we conducted a pilot study to explore differences in middle-molecules, inflammation and markers of vascular disease in patients treated by HD and HDF. METHODS: Observational cross-sectional study measuring serum ß2-microglobulin (ß2M), Advanced Glycosylation End Products (AGEs) by skin autofluorescence (SAF), oxidative stress with ischaemia modified albumin ratio (IMAR) and peripheral vascular disease assessment using Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI), and arterial stiffness using Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index (CAVI). RESULTS: We studied 196 patients, mean age 69.1 ± 12.4 years, 172 (87.8%) treated by HD and 24 (12.2%) by HDF. Age, body mass index, co-morbidity and dialysis vintage were not different between HD and HDF groups. Middle molecules; ß2M (31±9.9 vs 31.2±10 ug/mL) and SAF (2.99±0.72 vs 3.0±0.84 AU), ABI (1.06±0.05 vs 1.07±0.10) and CAVI (9.34±1.55 vs 9.35±1.23) were not different, but IMAR was higher in the HD patients (38.4±14.8 vs 31.3 ± 17.4, P = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot observational study, we found patients treated by HDF had lower oxidative stress as measured by IMAR, with no differences in middle molecules. Lower oxidative stress would be expected to have diverse protective effects on the cardiovascular system Although we found no differences in ABI and CAVI, future studies are required to determine whether reduced oxidative stress translates into clinically relevant differences over time.

Genetically Predicted Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Liability, Glycated Hemoglobin and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Wide-Angled Mendelian Randomization Study.

(1) Aim: To investigate the causal effects of T2DM liability and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels on various cardiovascular disease outcomes, both in the general population and in non-diabetic individuals specifically. (2) Methods: We selected 243 variants as genetic instruments for T2DM liability and 536 variants for HbA1c. Linear Mendelian randomization analyses were performed to estimate the associations of genetically-predicted T2DM liability and HbA1c with 12 cardiovascular disease outcomes in 367,703 unrelated UK Biobank participants of European ancestries. We performed secondary analyses in participants without diabetes (HbA1c < 6.5% with no diagnosed diabetes), and in participants without diabetes or pre-diabetes (HbA1c < 5.7% with no diagnosed diabetes). (3) Results: Genetically-predicted T2DM liability was positively associated (p < 0.004, 0.05/12) with peripheral vascular disease, aortic valve stenosis, coronary artery disease, heart failure, ischaemic stroke, and any stroke. Genetically-predicted HbA1c was positively associated with coronary artery disease and any stroke. Mendelian randomization estimates generally shifted towards the null when excluding diabetic and pre-diabetic participants from analyses. (4) Conclusions: This genetic evidence supports causal effects of T2DM liability and HbA1c on a range of cardiovascular diseases, suggesting that improving glycaemic control could reduce cardiovascular risk in a general population, with greatest benefit in individuals with diabetes.

Mosaic RASopathy due to KRAS variant G12D with segmental overgrowth and associated peripheral vascular malformations.

Oncogenic RAS variants lead to constitutive overactivation and increased signal transduction into downstream pathways. They are found as somatic driver events in various types of human cancer. In a somatic mosaic status, the same RAS variants have been associated with a wide spectrum of focal or segmental tissue dysplasia and overgrowth including various types of congenital nevi, vascular malformations, and other changes (mosaic RASopathies). We present a 3-year-old male patient with segmental overgrowth of the subcutaneous fatty tissue of the right lower extremity with colocalized arteriovenous and capillary malformations and dysplastic draining veins in combination with talipes equinovarus of the right foot. In tissue biopsies of the affected extremity, we identified a mosaic KRAS variant, c.35G>A (p.Gly12Asp), while this variant was absent in the DNA extracted from a biopsy of the normal extremity. This report provides further evidence for the wide clinical and phenotypic variability associated with mosaic KRAS variants. The described pattern confirms that the combination of segmental overgrowth and vascular anomalies in the form of arteriovenous and capillary malformations is a possible manifestation of a mosaic RASopathy. The accurate genetic diagnosis is crucial for molecular-targeted therapy, which might be a future therapeutic target for mosaic RASopathies.

Peripheral Vascular Abnormalities in Anorexia Nervosa: A Psycho-Neuro-Immune-Metabolic Connection.

Immune, neuroendocrine, and autonomic nervous system dysregulation in anorexia nervosa lead to cardiovascular complications that can potentially result in increased morbidity and mortality. It is suggested that a complex non-invasive assessment of cardiovascular autonomic regulation-cardiac vagal control, sympathetic vascular activity, and cardiovascular reflex control-could represent a promising tool for early diagnosis, personalized therapy, and monitoring of therapeutic interventions in anorexia nervosa particularly at a vulnerable adolescent age. In this view, we recommend to consider in the diagnostic route, at least in the subset of patients with peripheral microvascular symptoms, a nailfold video-capillaroscopy as an easy not invasive tool for the early assessing of possible cardiovascular involvement.

Apelin improves cardiac function mainly through peripheral vasodilation in a mouse model of dilated cardiomyopathy.

There is growing evidence that apelin plays a role in the regulation of the cardiovascular system by increasing myocardial contractility and acting as a vasodilator. However, it remains unclear whether apelin improves cardiac contractility in a load-dependent or independent manner in pathological conditions. For this purpose we investigated the cardiovascular effects of apelin in α-actin transgenic mice (mActin-Tg mice), a model of cardiomyopathy. [Pyr1]apelin-13 was administered by continuous infusion at 2 mg/kg/d for 3 weeks. Effects on cardiac function were determined by echocardiography and a Pressure-Volume (PV) analysis. mActin-Tg mice showed a dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) phenotype similar to that encountered in patients expressing the same mutation. Compared to WT animals, mActin-Tg mice displayed cardiac systolic impairment [significant decrease in ejection fraction (EF), cardiac output (CO), and stroke volume (SV)] associated with cardiac ventricular dilation and diastolic dysfunction, characterized by an impairment in mitral flow velocity (E/A) and in deceleration time (DT). Load-independent myocardial contractility was strongly decreased in mActin-Tg mice while total peripheral vascular resistance (TPR) was significantly increased. As compared to vehicle-treated animals, a 3-week treatment with [Pyr1]apelin-13 significantly improved EF%, SV, E/A, DT and corrected TPR, with no significant effect on load-independent indices of myocardial contractility, blood pressure and heart rate. In conclusion [Pyr1]apelin-13 displayed no intrinsic contractile effect but improved cardiac function in dilated cardiomyopathy mainly by reducing peripheral vascular resistance, with no change in blood pressure.

Skin manifestations as potential symptoms of diffuse vascular injury in critical COVID-19 patients.

As a respiratory viral infection caused by a novel coronavirus, COVID-19 became rapidly pandemic within a few months. Despite the wide range of manifestations and organ involvement in COVID-19 patients, the exact pathogenesis of severe and fatal types of COVID-19 and causes involved with the individual base of the disease is not yet understood. Several studies have reported clinical, laboratory, and histopathological data in favor of vascular injury in multiple organs of critically ill patients with COVID-19 as a result of hyperactive immune response, inflammation, and cytokine storm. Also, both clinical and histopathological evidence points to such vascular involvements in the skin. Given the ease of clinical examinations and skin biopsy and the lower risks of transmission of COVID-19 to healthcare workers, the present review article was conducted to investigate the vascular skin manifestations of COVID-19 patients clinically and/or histopathologically as helpful clues for better understanding the pathogenesis and predicting the prognosis of the disease, especially in severe cases.

Peripheral vasoreactivity in acute ischemic stroke with hemiplegia.

The association between vasomotor tone of the peripheral arteries and cerebral hemisphere function has not been established. This study analyzed the peripheral vasoreactivity of patients with acute ischemic stroke and hemiplegia using a modified Raynaud scan, which is a new technology for blood flow measurement. In this retrospective case-control study, we examined patients with unilateral weakness consistent with ischemic lesions who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and modified Raynaud scanning within five days from the onset of symptoms. The modified Raynaud scan was used to quantify the radioactivity of the bilateral fingertips during rest and cooling-heating thermal stress conditions and estimate vasoreactivity based on the change in the blood amount per time under rest-thermal stress. The subjects were classified into the preserved and impaired groups based on their degrees of vasomotor reaction. Based on the modified Raynaud scanning, 37 (mean age = 69.1 ± 10.6) and 32 (mean age = 62.6 ± 11.8) subjects were allocated to the preserved and impaired groups, respectively. Binary logistic regression showed that the affected limb edema (odds ratio (OR) 6.15; confidence interval (CI) 1.40-26.97; p = 0.016) and anterior circulation (OR 3.68; CI 1.01-13.48; p = 0.049) were associated with impaired vasoreactivity. The modified Raynaud scans confirmed that central lesions in the anterior circulation with hemiparesis may influence the vasoreactivity of edematous peripheral arteries. These results may inform treatment and rehabilitation for stroke patients with hemiparesis.

Ubiquitous expression of Akt1 p.(E17K) results in vascular defects and embryonic lethality in mice.

Proteus syndrome is a progressive overgrowth disorder with vascular malformations caused by mosaic expression of the AKT1 c.49G > A, p.(E17K) activating variant which was predicted to cause lethality if expressed ubiquitously. To test that hypothesis, we used the ACTB-Cre gene to activate a conditional Akt1 p.(E17K) allele in the mouse. No offspring that was heterozygous for both Cre and the conditional allele (ßA-Akt1WT/flx) was viable. Fewer than expected numbers of ßA-Akt1WT/flx embryos were seen beginning at E11.5, but a few survived until E17.5. The phenotype ranged from mild to severe, but generally ßA-Akt1WT/flx embryos had fewer visible blood vessels and more hemorrhages than their wild-type littermates, which was suggestive of a vascular abnormality. Examination of E13.5 limb skin showed a primitive capillary network with increased branching complexity and abnormal patterning compared with wild-type skin. By E15.5, wild-type skin had undergone angiogenesis and formed a hierarchical network of remodeled vessels, whereas in ßA-Akt1WT/flx embryos, the capillary network failed to remodel. Mural cell coverage of the blood vessels was also reduced in ßA-Akt1WT/flx skin compared with that of wild type. Restricting expression of Akt1E17K to endothelial, cardiac or smooth muscle cells resulted in viable offspring and remodeled vasculature and did not recapitulate the ßA-Akt1WT/flx phenotype. We conclude that ubiquitous expression of Akt1E17K suppresses remodeling and inhibits the formation of a normal skin vasculature. We postulate that this failure prevents proper circulation necessary to support the growing embryo and that it is the result of interactions of multiple cell types with increased AKT signaling.

CD8+ T-cell plasticity regulates vascular regeneration in type-2 diabetes.

In this study, we observe that the ischemic tissues of type-2 diabetic (T2D) patients and mice have significantly more CD8+ T-cells than that of their normoglycemic counterparts, respectively. However, the role of CD8+ T-cells in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular complication has been less studied. Methods: We employed loss-of-function studies in mouse models using the non-lytic anti-CD8 antibody that blocks tissue infiltration of CD8+ T-cells into the injured tissue. We also performed genome-wide, single-cell RNA-sequencing of CD8+ T-cells to uncover their role in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular diseases. Results: The vascular density is negatively correlated with the number of CD8+ T-cells in the ischemic tissues of patients and mice after injury. CD8+ T-cells or their supernatant can directly impair human and murine angiogenesis. Compared to normoglycemic mice that can regenerate their blood vessels after injury, T2D mice fail in this regeneration. Treatment with the CD8 checkpoint blocking antibody increases the proliferation and function of endothelial cells in both Leprdb/db mice and diet-induced diabetic Cdh5-Cre;Rosa-YFP lineage-tracing mice after ischemic injury. Furthermore, single-cell transcriptomic profiling reveals that CD8+ T-cells of T2D mice showed a de novo cell fate change from the angiogenic, tissue-resident memory cells towards the effector and effector memory cells after injury. Functional revascularization by CD8 checkpoint blockade is mediated through unleashing such a poised lineage commitment of CD8+ T-cells from T2D mice. Conclusion: Our results reveal that CD8+ T-cell plasticity regulates vascular regeneration; and give clinically relevant insights into the potential development of immunotherapy targeting vascular diseases associated with obesity and diabetes.

Development of Eosinophilic Temporal Arteritis and Digital Ischemia in a Patient with Hypereosinophilic Syndrome.

We describe a case of eosinophilic temporal arteritis in a 61-year-old woman with hypereosinophilic syndrome, who developed subcutaneous nodules in the temporal areas and digital cyanosis with small nodules on the sides of her fingers. Ultrasound revealed occlusion and corkscrew-like changes of the temporal and digital arteries, respectively. Temporal artery biopsy revealed eosinophilic vasculitis without giant cell formation. Angiography showed occlusion of the ulnar and digital arteries. Administration of low-dose corticosteroid improved the temporal artery swelling and digital cyanosis. More reports of similar cases are required to characterize this type of non-giant cell eosinophilic vasculitis that affects the peripheral arteries.

Microchannel network hydrogel induced ischemic blood perfusion connection.

Angiogenesis induction into damaged sites has long been an unresolved issue. Local treatment with pro-angiogenic molecules has been the most common approach. However, this approach has critical side effects including inflammatory coupling, tumorous vascular activation, and off-target circulation. Here, the concept that a structure can guide desirable biological function is applied to physically engineer three-dimensional channel networks in implant sites, without any therapeutic treatment. Microchannel networks are generated in a gelatin hydrogel to overcome the diffusion limit of nutrients and oxygen three-dimensionally. Hydrogel implantation in mouse and porcine models of hindlimb ischemia rescues severely damaged tissues by the ingrowth of neighboring host vessels with microchannel perfusion. This effect is guided by microchannel size-specific regenerative macrophage polarization with the consequent functional recovery of endothelial cells. Multiple-site implantation reveals hypoxia and neighboring vessels as major causative factors of the beneficial function. This technique may contribute to the development of therapeutics for hypoxia/inflammatory-related diseases.

Successful treatment of lymphedema in a vasculopath and neuropathic patient.

This is a case report of a 68-year-old male with stage III right lower extremity lymphedema following right inguinal lymph node dissection and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma. He developed peripheral neuropathy and radiation-induced right femoral artery thrombosis, treated with saphenous vein graft. He underwent three vascularized lymph node transfers (VLNTs) to the upper medial thigh, posterior calf, and ankle with placement of nanofibrillar collagen scaffolds. Three months after surgery, he had volume reduction, less neuropathic pain, and improved ambulation.

Histopathologic Spectrum of Neuromuscular and Vascular Hamartoma With Special Reference to the Vasculopathic Phenomenon.

Neuromuscular and vascular hamartoma (NMVH) is an unusual lesion presenting as intestinal obstruction by stricture formation. It is characterized by a hamartomatous mass comprising haphazardly arranged mesenchymal tissue native to the intestinal mucosa and submucosa. We aimed to characterize the clinicohistopathological spectrum of NMVH in adult subjects with a search for an etiological clue. We reviewed 84 resected specimens (adult cases) of intestinal obstruction in our institute and diagnosed 4 cases with NMVH. A panel of special stains (Masson trichrome, Verhoeff-van-Gieson, and periodic acid-Schiff) and immunohistochemistry (smooth muscle actin, S100, Bcl2, CD34, vimentin, desmin, CD117, and CD3) were performed in all cases. All cases of NMVH showed characteristic hamartomatous mounds comprising haphazardly arranged smooth muscle, nerves, ganglia, vessels, and collagen with overlying mucosal ulceration. Adjacent bowel showed submucosal fibrosis, muscularis mucosae thickening, and duplication along with vasculopathy. A typical vasculopathy ("vessel-in-vessel" appearance) was seen in the submucosal and/or subserosal veins. Besides, different other forms of vasculopathic changes like obliterative venopathy and concentric myohypertrophy were also seen. One case had vasculitis and the patient died despite successful surgery. One other case was associated with lymphocytic ganglioneuronitis and granulomatous etiology. We conclude that NMVH can be multifactorial in origin although ischemia resulting from vasculopathy appears to be directly causative. The characteristic vasculopathy in the submucosal location may aid in the diagnosis of NMVH in small biopsy samples.

Outcomes of limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis patients: Results on more than 12,000 patients from the EUSTAR database.

OBJECTIVES: Limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (LcSSc) is the most common subset of SSc but it has been overlooked in the past years. At a time at which clinical trials focus on diffuse cutaneous SSc (DcSSc) we aimed at clarifying the outcomes of LcSSc and at evaluating whether potential drug positioned in DcSSc may also be used in LcSSc. METHODS: The EUSTAR database was used to investigate skin, lung and peripheral vasculopathy outcomes in LcSSc. Worsening of skin fibrosis, ILD and peripheral vasculopathy were defined by an increase in modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) > 3.5 points, a decrease of FVC > 10% in patients with ILD at baseline, and by the development of new digital ulcers (DU) in patients without DU at baseline. RESULTS: 8013 LcSSc and 4786 DcSSc patients were included. In contrast to DcSSc, skin disease was remarkably stable in the majority of LcSSc patients with >80% having a change lower than ±4 units of mRSS at 12, 24 and 36 months follow-up. Conversely, FVC changes over time were very similar between LcSSc and DcSSc. Regarding DU, numbers of patients with new DU over time seemed to be almost similar between the two subsets. CONCLUSIONS: LcSSc patients have a low mRSS at baseline with marginal changes with time. Conversely, SSc-ILD can be as progressive as in DcSSc supporting the inclusion of LcSSc patients in SSc-ILD trials and suggesting potential benefit of any anti-ILD drugs. Similarly, although slightly less common, DU should receive the same attention in the two subsets.

Infrared thermography in children: a reliable tool for differential diagnosis of peripheral microvascular dysfunction and Raynaud's phenomenon?

BACKGROUND: Infrared Thermography (IRT) has been used for over 30 years in the assessment of Raynaud Phenomenon (RP) and other peripheral microvascular dysfunctions in adults but, to date, very little experience is available on its use in children for this purpose. The first aim of the study was to assess reproducibility of thermographic examination after cold exposure by comparing inter-observer agreement in thermal imaging interpretation. The secondary aim was to evaluate whether IRT is reliable to diagnose and differentiate peripheral circulation disturbances in children. METHODS: Children with clinical diagnosis of primary Raynaud's phenomenon (PRP), secondary RP (SRP), acrocyanosis (AC) and age-matched controls underwent sequential measurements of skin temperature at distal interphalangeal (DIP) and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints with IRT at baseline and for 10 min after cold challenge test. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated for inter-rater reliability in IRT interpretation, then temperature variations at MCP and DIP joints and the distal-dorsal difference (DDD) were analysed. RESULTS: Fourteen PRP, 16 SRP, 14 AC and 15 controls entered the study. ICC showed excellent agreement (> 0.93) for DIPs and MCPs in 192 measures for each subject. Patients with PRP, SRP and acrocyanosis showed significantly slower recovery at MCPs (p < 0.05) and at DIPs (p < 0.001) than controls. At baseline, higher temperature at DIPs and lower at MCPs was observed in PRP compared with SRP with significantly lower DDD (p < 0.001). Differently from AC, both PRP and SRP showed gain of temperature at DIPs and less at MCPs after cold challenge. PRP but not SRP patients returned to DIPs basal temperature by the end of re-warming time. Analysis of DDD confirmed that controls and PRP, SRP and AC patients significantly differed in fingers recovery pattern (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: IRT appears reliable and reproducible in identifying children with peripheral microvascular disturbances. Our results show that IRT examination pointed out that PRP, SRP and AC patients present significant differences in basal extremities temperature and in re-warming pattern after cold challenge therefore IRT can be suggested as an objective tool for diagnosis and monitoring of disease.

Histopathological and proteomic analyses identify integrin-ß1 as a potential mediator of phlebosclerosis in uremic patients.

BACKGROUND: Patients with uremia have an excessive mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Arterial remodeling is mainly responsible for uremia-induced CVD and has been well studied, yet venous remodeling is poorly understood. Here we investigate the histopathology and proteomic profiles of venous remodeling in uremic patients. METHODS: Forearm cephalic veins were isolated from nine uremic patients during surgeries for arteriovenous fistula, and from nine healthy controls when applying surgical debridement. Hematoxylin-eosin, Masson's trichrome, von Kossa, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) against proliferating cell nuclear antigen were stained for histopathology. Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) proteomic analysis was executed to explore the proteome of the veins. The core regulatory protein was validated by western blot, IHC, and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Phlebosclerosis, characterized by intimal rarefaction and medial thickening with disordered proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), was the prominent pathological manifestation of peripheral veins in uremic patients, while inflammatory cell infiltration, atherosclerosis or calcification were not obviously detected. iTRAQ analysis showed that 350 proteins were significantly changed in phlebosclerosis of uremic patients compared with healthy controls, of which integrin-ß1 (ITGß1) exhibited the strongest regulatory ability by intermolecular interaction network analysis. The enhanced ITGß1 expression was mainly co-expressed with the disordered proliferation of VSMCs while a little with vascular endothelial cells in the forearm cephalic veins of uremic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Phlebosclerosis is the prominent pathological manifestation in peripheral veins of uremic patients. This pathological alteration mainly attributes to the disordered proliferation of VSMCs, which is potentially mediated by ITGß1.

Iloprost use and medical management of systemic sclerosis-related vasculopathy in Italian tertiary referral centers: results from the PROSIT study.

Vasculopathy is a crucial feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc), and Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and digital ulcers (DU) have a deep impact on the quality of patients' life. The management of vascular disease can be challenging for the clinician because of the suboptimal tolerability of the treatments and lack of consensus on the best therapeutic approach. Intravenous iloprost, a synthetic analogue of prostacyclin, is broadly used for the treatment of RP and ischemic ulcers secondary to SSc. However, no standardized protocol on iloprost use is currently available and, consequently, the management of this treatment is largely based on the experience of each single center. The PROSIT project is an observational, multicenter study aiming to investigate the current treatments for SSc vasculopathy, the use of prostanoids, with special regard to iloprost, and the perception of the treatment from a patient's perspective. The study was conducted on a cohort of 346 patients from eight Italian centers and included a structured survey addressed to physicians, data collected from patient's medical records and two patient-administered questionnaires assessing the level of satisfaction, tolerability and perception of the efficacy of Iloprost. PROSIT data confirmed that in the contest of SSc iloprost represents the first-line choice for the management of severe RP and DU. Moreover, it is a well-tolerated treatment as reported by patients' experience. Although a standard protocol for the treatment of SSc-related vasculopathy is lacking, PROSIT study identified different therapeutic approaches largely supported by tertiary Italian centers. Further studies are needed in order to optimize the best treatment for SSc vascular diseases, in particular to improve the best iloprost schedule management.

Age-related decline in peripheral vascular health predicts cognitive impairment.

Preclinical studies demonstrate that generalized endothelial cell dysfunction and microvascular impairment are potentially reversible causes of age-related vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that severity of age-related macro- and microvascular dysfunction measured in the peripheral circulation is an independent predictor of cognitive performance in older adults. In this study, we enrolled 63 healthy individuals into young (< 45 years old) and aged (> 65 years old) groups. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to construct a comprehensive peripheral vascular health index (VHI) encompassing peripheral microvascular reactivity, arterial endothelial function, and vascular stiffness, as a marker of aging-induced generalized vascular dysfunction. Peripheral macrovascular and microvascular endothelial function were assessed using flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and laser speckle contrast imaging tests. Pulse waveform analysis was used to evaluate the augmentation index (AIx), a measure of arterial stiffness. Cognitive function was measured using a panel of CANTAB cognitive tests, and PCA was then applied to generate a cognitive impairment index (CII) for each participant. Aged subjects exhibited significantly impaired macrovascular endothelial function (FMD, 5.6 ± 0.7% vs. 8.3 ± 0.6% in young, p = 0.0061), increased arterial stiffness (AIx 29.3 ± 1.8% vs 4.5 ± 2.6% in young, p < 0.0001), and microvascular dysfunction (2.8 ± 0.2 vs 3.4 ± 0.1-fold change of perfusion in young, p = 0.032). VHI showed a significant negative correlation with age (r = - 0.54, p < 0.0001) and CII significantly correlated with age (r = 0.79, p < 0.0001). VHI significantly correlated with the CII (r = - 0.46, p = 0.0003). A decline in peripheral vascular health may reflect generalized vascular dysfunction and predict cognitive impairment in older adults.