[Lipid profile and cardiovascular risk of participants in the lipid measurement program in the industrial park in Höchst]. / Lipidprofil und kardiovaskuläres Risiko der Teilnehmer an den Lipidmesstagen im Industriepark Höchst.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are still the most frequent cause of death in industrial nations. Employer-initiated screening of the CV risk could make an early contribution to optimization of the prevention strategies. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study the CV risk profile (e.g., dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking, diabetes mellitus and familial disposition) of 1436 employees at the industrial park in Frankfurt Höchst was analyzed. The total risk was estimated using the PROCAM score. RESULTS: A hypercholesterolemia (low-density lipoprotein, LDL >130 mg/dl) was detected in 36% of the participants. Of the high-risk participants (myocardial infarct, apoplexy and/or diabetes) 23.7% (n = 9/38) were in the target range for LDL as defined by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) of below 70 mg/dl, 18.4% (n = 7) had levels between 70 and 100 mg/dl and 57.9% (n = 22) had levels of more than 100 mg/dl. In addition, more than half of the subjects (53.2%) had increased blood pressure values (defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg). The prevalence of diabetes (blood sugar >126 mg/dl) was very low (1.3%) as was the frequency of manifest CV diseases (1.4% myocardial infarct or apoplexy, 2.9% stabile angina pectoris or peripheral arterial occlusive disease, PAOD). CONCLUSION: The data confirm that the risk factors high blood pressure and dyslipidemia are widespread and the achievement of target values is insufficient, particularly with a high risk of CV. Behavioral therapeutic and/or pharmaceutical measures should be instigated in order to better exploit the high preventive potential for carriers of these risk factors.

Characterization of a suspect nuclear fuel rod in a case of illegal international traffic of fissile material.

This case study describes the characterization of a suspect rod of nuclear fuel seized in Italy: on request of the coroner, the characterization concerned the kind and the conditions of the rod, the amount and the specific characteristics of the species present in it, with particular attention to their possible use chemical and/or nuclear plants. The methodology used was based on radiochemical analyses (gammagraphic and gamma-spectrometry) whereas the comparison was performed by means of a fuel reference element working in the TRIGA nuclear reactor at Research Center of ENEA-Casaccia. The results show clearly how the exhibit was an element of nuclear fuel, how long it was irradiated, and the amount of (239)Pu produced and the (235)U consumed. Finally, even if the seized rod was briefly radiated at the "zero power" and traces of fission products and plutonium were found, it would be still usable as "fresh" fuel in a reactor type TRIGA if it had not been intercepted by Italian police authorities.

Designing a study to evaluate the effect of apheresis in patients with elevated lipoprotein(a).

Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is a risk factor for premature coronary artery disease. Lp(a) levels can neither be influenced sufficiently by standard hypolipemic diet nor by drug therapy. Currently, lipid apheresis is the only option to effectively lower Lp(a) levels in patients with elevated Lp(a) and progressive CVD. The lipid-clinic at the Charité University hospital Berlin and other German apheresis centres have longstanding positive experience with this therapeutic regimen. Lately, in Germany lipid apheresis was accepted as the treatment of choice for patients with elevated Lp(a) levels > 60 mg/dl and progressive CVD. At the same time, care providers were obliged to conduct a controlled trial to prove the efficacy of lipid apheresis for this indication. Therefore, we designed a prospective, randomized, controlled trial to prove the hypothesis that lipid apheresis decreases vascular events.