Low Serum Vitamin D Status Is Associated with Incident Alzheimer's Dementia in the Oldest Old.

Background. Vitamins A, D and E and beta-carotene may have a protective function for cognitive health, due to their antioxidant capacities. Methods. We analyzed data from 1334 non-demented participants (mean age 84 years) from the AgeCoDe study, a prospective multicenter-cohort of elderly general-practitioner patients in Germany, of whom n = 250 developed all-cause dementia and n = 209 developed Alzheimer's dementia (AD) during 7 years of follow-up. We examined whether concentrations of vitamins A (retinol), D (25-hydroxycholecalciferol) and E (alpha-tocopherol) and beta-carotene, would be associated with incident (AD) dementia. Results. In our sample, 33.7% had optimum vitamin D concentrations (≥50 nmol/L). Higher concentrations of vitamin D were associated with lower incidence of all-cause dementia and AD (HR 0.99 (95%CI 0.98; 0.99); HR0.99 (95%CI 0.98; 0.99), respectively). In particular, subjects with vitamin D deficiency (25.3%, <25 nmol/L) were at increased risk for all-cause dementia and AD (HR1.91 (95%CI 1.30; 2.81); HR2.28 (95%CI 1.47; 3.53), respectively). Vitamins A and E and beta-carotene were unrelated to (AD) dementia. Conclusions. Vitamin D deficiency increased the risk to develop (AD) dementia. Our study supports the advice for monitoring vitamin D status in the elderly and vitamin D supplementation in those with vitamin D deficiency. We observed no relationships between the other vitamins with incident (AD) dementia, which is in line with previous observational studies.

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Is Associated with Decreased Incidence of Alzheimer's Dementia in the Oldest Old.

BACKGROUND: Omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may have different effects on cognitive health due to their anti- or pro-inflammatory properties. METHODS: We aimed to prospectively examine the relationships between n-3 and n-6 PUFA contents in serum phospholipids with incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease dementia (AD). We included 1264 non-demented participants aged 84 ± 3 years from the German Study on Ageing, Cognition, and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe) multicenter-cohort study. We investigated whether fatty acid concentrations in serum phospholipids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), linoleic acid (LA), dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), and arachidonic acid (AA), were associated with risk of incident all-cause dementia and AD. RESULTS: During the follow-up window of seven years, 233 participants developed dementia. Higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a lower incidence of AD (hazard ratio (HR) 0.76 (95% CI 0.63; 0.93)). We also observed that higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a decreased risk for all-cause dementia (HR 0.76 (95% CI 0.61; 0.94)) and AD (HR 0.66 (95% CI 0.51; 0.85)) among apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) non-carriers but not among APOE ε4 carriers. No other fatty acids were significantly associated with AD or dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Higher concentrations of EPA were associated with a lower risk of incident AD. This further supports a beneficial role of n-3 PUFAs for cognitive health in old age.

Análisis comparativo de las características clínico-angiográficasy de los resultados inmediatos y tardíos de stents liberadores de drogas vs. no liberadores / Immediate and late clinical an angiographic results of coronary stent implantation: comparison of drug eluting versus bare metal stents

Introducción: La reducción de la reestenosis intrastent ha permitido una gran aceptación de los stents liberadores de drogas (DES). El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido evaluar nuestra experiencia clínica inicial con DES y compararla con aquellos que sólo recibieron BMS (stents no liberadores de drogas). Materiales y Métodos: Se compararon 71 pacientes tratados con DES (Cypher® = 32 o Taxus® = 39) con 903 pacientes tratados sólo con BMS. Además del análisis clínico y angiográfico detallado, se efectuó seguimiento clínico de a lo menos 6 meses. Resultados: Los pacientes tratados con DES con mayor frecuencia eran más complejos y tenían características clínicas y angiográficas desfavorables. Sin embargo, no hubo diferencias en la tasa de éxito angiográfico (100 vs. 99,2 por ciento) ni en las complicaciones isquémicas intrahospitalarias (1,3 vs. 0 por ciento). En el seguimiento los tratados con DES tuvieron menor recurrencia de la angina (8,7 vs. 19,0 por ciento), revascularización del vaso tratado (0 vs. 7,5 por ciento) y menos eventos isquémicos (4,4 por ciento vs. 14,6 por ciento). Conclusiones: A pesar de su empleo en pacientes con características clínicas y angiográficas desfavorables, los DES lograron un mejor resultado a largo plazo en comparación con los BMS.

Background: There has been considerable enthusiasm for drug eluting stents (DES) in coronary angioplasty due to the lower restenosis rate associated to their use. Aim: To compare clinical and angiographic results of DES implantation, compared to traditional bare metal stents (BMS) Methods: 71 patients who received DES (Cypher® = 32; Taxus® = 39) were compared to 903 patients who had received BMS. Detailed clinical and angiographic evaluation and 6 month follow up data were analyzed. T test and X2 analysis were used for comparisons. Results: Compared to the BMS group, the DES group had complex clinical (diabetes mellitus, family history, active smokers) and agiographic findings (lower ejection fraction, longer lesions) in a greater proportion of cases (p < 0.05 vs BMS). The immediate angiographic success rate did not differ between groups (100 percent vs 99.2 percent, respectively). Acute ischemic complications occurred in 1.3 percent in DES patients compared to 0 percent in BMS (pNS). At follow-up, angina recurrence (8.7 percent vs 19 percent, p < 0.043), need for revascularization (0 percent vs 7.5 percent, p < 0.02) and new ischemic events (4.4 percent vs 14.6 percent, p < 0.02) were lower in DES as compared to BMS patients. Conclusion: In spite of the greater clinical and angiographic complexity, patients with DES had better long term clinical results than patients who received BMS.

Mutations in CLCN2 encoding a voltage-gated chloride channel are associated with idiopathic generalized epilepsies.

Idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) is an inherited neurological disorder affecting about 0.4% of the world's population. Mutations in ten genes causing distinct forms of idiopathic epilepsy have been identified so far, but the genetic basis of many IGE subtypes is still unknown. Here we report a gene associated with the four most common IGE subtypes: childhood and juvenile absence epilepsy (CAE and JAE), juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), and epilepsy with grand mal seizures on awakening (EGMA; ref. 8). We identified three different heterozygous mutations in the chloride-channel gene CLCN2 in three unrelated families with IGE. These mutations result in (i) a premature stop codon (M200fsX231), (ii) an atypical splicing (del74-117) and (iii) a single amino-acid substitution (G715E). All mutations produce functional alterations that provide distinct explanations for their pathogenic phenotypes. M200fsX231 and del74-117 cause a loss of function of ClC-2 channels and are expected to lower the transmembrane chloride gradient essential for GABAergic inhibition. G715E alters voltage-dependent gating, which may cause membrane depolarization and hyperexcitability.

Inhibición de la respuesta depresora del miocardio inducida por frio: acción de nifedipina / Inhibition of myocardial depressor response induced by cold: action of nifedipine

Se estudian 15 pacientes portadores de Cardiopatía Isquémica reconocida por el antecedente de Infarto de Miocardio con evolución media de 6,1 mes desde el episodio agudo. Se realizó evaluación de la función ventricular con ventriculografia radioisotópica en condiciones basales y después de realizar Test presor con Frío. Según respuesta fueron didividos en: a) Grupo I: el cambio en la fracción de eyección inducido por el Test presor con frío es inferior o igual a 3% (No Reactivos). b) Grupo II: El cambio inducido por el test presor con frío en la fracción de eyección de ventrículo izquierdo es igual o superior a 4% (Reactivos). Después de administrar 20 mgrs. de Nifedipina por vía oral se repite ventriculografía isotópica evaluando respuesta al frío. El grupo reactivo deprime su fracción de eyección por influencia del Test con frío de 49,8% a 42,2%. Nifedipina impide se manifeste esta respuesta depresora de la función cardíaca inducida por el Test con frío encontrándose por la acción del fármaco una Fracción de eyección ventricular izquierda semejante en ambos grupos de pacientes y que no se modifica por influencia del frío