Association of aortic dissection and lipoprotein (a): a meta-analysis.

Some studies reported a positive relation between aortic dissection (AD) and increased lipoprotein (a) (LP(a)), while other studies reported no association, so the authors aimed to do a meta-analysis to establish the relation between AD and high levels of LP(a). Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SAGE, EMBASE, Science Direct, and Cochrane Library were searched. The inclusion criteria were any randomized control trials or observational studies that measured the levels of LP(a) in AD patients and healthy controls. The authors excluded case reports, case series, noncontrolled studies, reviews, editorials, and animal studies. Results: After a search of the literature, four studies were included in the meta-analysis with 678 patients included in the analysis. The pooled analysis showed a statistically significant association between the AD group and increased levels of LP(a), decreased levels of TG, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and TC compared with the control group (MD=11.71, 95% CI=4.11-19.32, P-value=0.003), (MD=-0,32, 95% CI=-0.48 to -0.16, P-value<0.0001 ), (MD=-0,21, 95% CI=-0.42 to -0.1, P-value=0.04), (MD=-0,58, 95% CI=-0.62 to -0.54, P-value<0.00001), respectively. Conclusion: Our study showed that AD is significantly associated with increased levels of LP(a). The significant increase in LP(a) in AD was associated with decreased levels of TG, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and TC. Future clinical trials testing Lp (a) targeting medications could be useful in the primary, or secondary prevention of AD in high risk patients.

Herpes Zoster virus infection and the risk of developing dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Herpes Zoster, commonly known as shingles, is a viral infection that affects a significant portion of the adult population; however, its potential role in the onset or progression of neurodegenerative disorders like dementia remains unclear. METHODS: We searched the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane library, and Web of Science. We included any randomized control trials and controlled observational studies as Cross-sectional, prospective, or retrospective cohort and case-control studies that investigated the prevalence of dementia in Herpes Zoster Virus (HZV)-infected patients and HZV-free control group or if the study investigated the prevalence of HZV in demented patients. Also, if the studies measured the levels of dementia biomarkers in patients with HZV compared with a healthy control group. RESULTS: After the complete screening, 9 studies were included in the meta-analysis. In the outcome of the incidence of HZV, the pooled analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the dementia group and the No dementia group (RR = 1.04% CI = 0.86-1.25, P = .70). In the outcome of incidences of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, the pooled analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the HZV group and the incidence of dementia (RR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.92-1.08, P = .89), (RR = 3.74, 95% CI = 0.22-62.70, P = .36) respectively. In the outcome of incidences of Herpes Zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), the generic inverse variance showed a statistically significant association between patients who have HZO and increased incidence of dementia (RR = 6.26, 95% CI = 1.30-30.19, P = .02). CONCLUSION: Our study showed no significant association between HZV and the incidence of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, but it shows a significant association between HZO and the incidence of dementia. More multicenter studies are needed to establish the actual association between the HZV and dementia.

Cyclophilin C as a Novel Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker of Coronary Artery Diseases. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

We aimed to perform a meta-analysis to investigate the value of Cyclophilin C as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in Coronary Artery Disease. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Cochrane library databases were searched. The inclusion criteria were any randomized control trials or controlled observational studies that measured the levels of Cyclophilin C in Coronary Artery disease patients and healthy controls. We excluded case reports, case series, reviews, editorials and animal studies. After search of the literature, 4 studies were included in the meta-analysis with a total number of 454 individuals included in the study. The pooled analysis showed a significant association between CAD group and increased levels of Cyclophilin C (MD = 28.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 19.28-38.60, P-value < 0.00001). Subgroup analysis showed a significant association between acute and chronic CAD group with increased levels of cyclophilin c compared with the control group (MD = 35.98, 95% CI = 19.84-52.11, P-value < 0.0001) and (MD = 26.36, 95% CI = 21.87 to 30.85, P-value < 0.00001), respectively. The pooled effect estimate showed that the ROC area for the cyclophillin c as a diagnostic biomarker of CAD was (ROC= 0.880, 95% CI =0.844-0.917, P-value < 0.001). Our study revealed a significant association between acute and chronic coronary artery disease with increased levels of Cyclophilin C. Cyclophilin C could be used as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in acute and chronic CAD. More research is warranted to support our results.

Herpes simplex virus infection and the risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: The authors aimed to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the association between herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and the risk of developing dementia. Methods: The authors searched the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The authors included any randomized control trials and controlled observational studies that investigated the prevalence of dementia in HSV-infected patients and HSV-free control group. Also, if the studies measured the levels of HSV antibodies and incidence of these antibodies in patients with dementia compared with a healthy control group. Results: After a comprehensive literature search, 19 studies were included in the meta-analysis with 342 535 patients included in the analysis. The pooled analysis showed a statistically significant association between Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and increased levels of IgG titer group [mean difference (MD) = 0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.36-1.63, P-value = 0.002], (MD = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.26-1.35, P-value = 0.004), respectively. Additionally, the generic inverse variance showed a statistically significant association between the HSV group and increased incidence of dementia compared with the no HSV control group [risk ratio (RR) = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.18-2.29, P-value <0.00001]. Moreover, this analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the AD group and the control group in anti-HSV IgM titer n (%) outcome (RR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.91-2.01, P-value = 0.14), respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed that AD and MCI patients have increased levels of IgG antibodies titer against HSV infection. The study showed a significant association between HSV infection and increased incidence of dementia. Thus, regular follow-up of HSV patients' IgG titer levels could be useful in the prevention of dementia in these patients.

Effect of early metoprolol before PCI in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction on infarct size and left ventricular ejection fraction. A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

AIM: This meta-analysis aims to look at the impact of early intravenous Metoprolol in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on infarct size, as measured by cardio magnetic resonance (CMR) and left ventricular ejection fraction. METHODS: We searched the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane library, and Web of Science. We included only randomized control trials that reported the use of early intravenous Metoprolol in STEMI before PCI on infarct size, as measured by CMR and left ventricular ejection fraction. RevMan software 5.4 was used for performing the analysis. RESULTS: Following a literature search, 340 publications were found. Finally, 18 studies were included for the systematic review, and 8 clinical trials were included in the meta-analysis after the full-text screening. At 6 months, the pooled effect revealed a statistically significant association between Metoprolol and increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (%) compared to controls (mean difference [MD] = 3.57, [95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.22-4.92], p < .00001), as well as decreased infarcted myocardium(g) compared to controls (MD = -3.84, [95% [CI] = -5.75 to -1.93], p < .0001). At 1 week, the pooled effect revealed a statistically significant association between Metoprolol and increased LVEF (%) compared to controls (MD = 2.98, [95% CI = 1.26-4.69], p = .0007), as well as decreased infarcted myocardium(%) compared to controls (MD = -3.21, [95% CI = -5.24 to -1.18], p = .002). CONCLUSION: A significant decrease in myocardial infarction and increase in LVEF (%) was linked to receiving Metoprolol at 1 week and 6-month follow-up.