Role of Magnesium, Effects of Hypomagnesemia, and Benefits of Magnesium Supplements in Cardiovascular and Chronic Kidney Diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) account for nearly half of chronic kidney disease (CKD)-related deaths. Hypomagnesemia has been associated with various cardiovascular conditions and predicts a decline in renal function leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The objective of this review is to delve into and discuss the significance of magnesium (Mg) in cardiovascular and renal functions, the clinical consequences of hypomagnesemia on CVD and CKD, and the benefits of Mg supplementation in managing CVD and CKD. This review is the result of an extensive search for pertinent articles in databases like PubMed, Medline, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar. Based on the literature search conducted in this review, we concluded that Mg protects against various CVDs and delays the progression of CKD. Mg can regulate pathways associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis. Therefore, maintaining slightly elevated Mg levels and timely Mg supplementation may benefit patients with CVD and CKD. There is a need for additional prospective randomized controlled trials to fully comprehend the therapeutic effects of Mg on CVD and CKD along with setting individualized target levels for serum Mg in such patients.

Distribution and academic significance of learning approaches among pre-clinical medical students at Trinity School of Medicine, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

PURPOSE: Different students may adopt different learning approaches: namely, deep and surface. This study aimed to characterize the learning strategies of medical students at Trinity School of Medicine and to explore potential correlations between deep learning approach and the students' academic scores. METHODS: The study was a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional, observational study. A total of 169 medical students in the basic science years of training were included in the study after giving informed consent. The Biggs's Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire in paper form was distributed to subjects from January to November 2017. For statistical analyses, the Student t-test, 1-way analysis of variance followed by the post-hoc t-test, and the Pearson correlation test were used. The Cronbach alpha was used to test the internal consistency of the questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the 169 subjects, 132 (response rate, 78.1%) completely filled out the questionnaires. The Cronbach alpha value for the items on the questionnaire was 0.8. The score for the deep learning approach was 29.4± 4.6, whereas the score for the surface approach was 24.3± 4.2, which was a significant difference (P< 0.05). A positive correlation was found between the deep learning approach and students' academic performance (r= 0.197, P< 0.05, df= 130). CONCLUSION: Medical students in the basic science years at Trinity School of Medicine adopted the deep learning approach more than the surface approach. Likewise, students who were more inclined towards the deep learning approach scored significantly higher on academic tests.

Efficacy and safety of mipomersen in treatment of dyslipidemia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the primary target of lipid-lowering therapy in people at risk for cardiovascular diseases. Mipomersen inhibits apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB) synthesis and causes reduction in LDL-C by reducing apoB. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to perform a meta-analysis of all published randomized controlled trials comparing safety and efficacy of mipomersen with placebo in adults with dyslipidemia. METHODS: We searched PUBMED, CENTRAL, and EMBASE from inception through March 2014 and used random-effects model to compute the effect size. RESULTS: We identified 8 randomized controlled trials (n = 462). Mipomersen compared with placebo significantly reduced LDL-C by 32.37% (95% confidence interval, 25.55-39.18; P < .00001), total cholesterol by 24.18% (18.54-29.83; P < .00001), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 21.59% (9.16-34.02; P = .0007), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) by 30.83% (23.92-37.74; P < .00001), and triglycerides by 36.26% (22-50.54; P < .00001). It also significantly reduced apoB, lipoprotein(a), and apolipoprotein A1. However, mipomersen did not significantly change HDL-C levels. In safety analysis, mipomersen compared with placebo increased the risks of injection-site reaction (risk ratio, 2.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.39-3.04; P = .0003), flu-like symptoms (1.63; 1.22-2.17; P = .0008), alanine aminotransferase ≥3X upper limit of normal (4.44; 1.67-11.86; P = .003), and hepatic steatosis (3.85, 1.39-10.67; P = .01). The risks of alanine aminotransferase ≥10X upper limit of normal did not reach statistical significance (1.57; 0.32-7.6, P = .58). CONCLUSION: Mipomersen resulted in a significant improvement in lipid parameters except for HDL-C and increased the risks of injection-site reactions, flu-like symptoms, and hepatic steatosis compared with placebo.

The Effects of Aldosterone Antagonists in Patients With Resistant Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized and Nonrandomized Studies.

BACKGROUND: A few studies have shown aldosterone antagonists (AA) to be effective therapy in patients with resistant hypertension (RH). We performed a meta-analysis of randomized and nonrandomized studies of AA in patients with RH. METHODS: We searched PUBMED, EMBASE, and CENTRAL for studies on the use of AA in patients with RH. Meta-analysis was performed using random-effects model. The change in office and ambulatory blood pressures (BP), effects on biochemical profile, change in the number of antihypertensive agents, and adverse events were main outcomes. RESULTS: We included 15 studies (3 randomized controlled trials, 1 nonrandomized comparative study, and 11 single-arm studies) with 1,204 total patients in the meta-analysis. In comparative studies, AA reduced systolic BP (SBP) by 24.26 mm Hg (95% CI: 8.65-39.87, P = 0.002) and diastolic BP (DBP) by 7.79 mm Hg (3.79-11.79, P = 0.0001). Similarly, AA reduced SBP by 22.74 mm Hg (18.21-27.27, P < 0.00001) and DBP by 10.49 mm Hg (8.85-12.13, P < 0.00001) in single-arm studies. AA resulted in significant change in serum electrolytes in single-arm studies but not in comparative studies. Significantly more adverse events were noted in single-arm studies but not in comparative studies. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of the current meta-analysis, we conclude that AA is safe and effective therapy in patients with RH.

Multi-vessel versus culprit-vessel and staged percutaneous coronary intervention in STEMI patients with multivessel disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

INTRODUCTION: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is preferred in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In patients with acute STEMI with multivessel disease (MVD), the guidelines recommend culprit vessel PCI (CV-PCI) in the absence of hemodynamic instability. We performed a meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing multi-vessel PCI (MV-PCI) with CV-PCI or staged PCI (S-PCI) in patients with acute STEMI and MVD. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE and CENTRAL were searched for publications since inception to December 2013. Random effects model was used to compute summary effects. RESULTS: Four RCTs (840 patients) were identified. MV-PCI compared to CV-PCI significantly reduced the risks of major adverse cardiac events (MACE)-a composite of MI, revascularization and all-cause mortality (RR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.35-0.60, P<0.00001) by reducing the risks of MI (0.35, 0.17-0.71, P=0.004) and revascularization (0.35, 0.24-0.52, P<0.00001). The risk of all-cause mortality was not different (0.69, 0.39-1.21, P=0.19). S-PCI and MV-PCI had similar risks of MACE (0.96, 0.59-1.57, P=0.87), MI (0.60, 0.20-1.78, P=0.36), revascularization (0.86, 0.47-1.54, P=0.60) and all-cause mortality (1.50, 0.44-5.07, P=0.57). CONCLUSIONS: MV-PCI compared to CV-PCI resulted in lower risks of MACE driven by lower MI and revascularization in patients with STEMI and multi-vessel disease.