Showing papers by "Kimon Stamatelopoulos published in 2019"
TL;DR: VRD can be an active regimen for newly diagnosed patients with AL amyloidosis able to induce very deep hematologic responses at the expense of increased toxicity.
34 citations
TL;DR: This research presents a novel probabilistic approach that allows us to assess the importance of knowing the carrier and removal status of canine coronavirus, as a source of infection for other animals.
Abstract: Rationale: Cardiac involvement and hypotension dominate the prognosis of light-chain amyloidosis (AL). Evidence suggests that there is also peripheral vascular involvement in AL but its prognostic ...
22 citations
TL;DR: 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) successfully evaluates arterial inflammation and improves
Abstract: Monoclonal antibodies that inhibit proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9i) reduce cardiovascular events ([1][1],[2][2]). 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) successfully evaluates arterial inflammation and improves
13 citations
TL;DR: Patients who respond to therapy for major psychotic depression present sustained improvement in vascular function, and further research to assess cardiovascular benefits of vigilant monitoring of antidepressant therapy is warranted.
13 citations
TL;DR: In high cardiovascular risk patients, an age-dependent association of cf-PWV with CAD and diastolic dysfunction was evinced, and results suggest that measuring arterial stiffness in elderly high-risk patients may lack clinical value.
Abstract: AimsProgressive arterial stiffening, as a marker of arterial aging, may reach a plateau in elderly patients and may thus lose its clinical utility. This phenomenon may be more prominent in high-risk patients. We aimed to investigate if carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) is related to co
9 citations
TL;DR: The currently available prognostic scores have generally low performance to predict the overall cardiovascular risk in ischemic stroke patients and further research is needed to improve vascular risk stratification in ischemic stroke patients.
Abstract: Background Stratification of overall vascular risk in patients with ischemic stroke is important as it may guide management decisions. Currently available schemes have only modest prognostic accuracy. The TRA2°P score aids in vascular risk stratification in patients with previous myocardial infarction (MI). Aim We investigated whether the prognostic performance of TRA2°P can be extended in patients with ischemic stroke and whether it can improve the risk stratification made by CHA2DS2VASc and Essen-Stroke-Risk-Score (ESRS). Methods We analyzed the Athens Stroke Registry using Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox-regression analyses to assess if TRA2°P (in different categorizations) predicts the composite endpoint of stroke recurrence, MI or cardiovascular death. We compared its incremental predictive value over CHA2DS2-VASc and ESRS and calculated continuous net reclassification indices (cNRI). Results In 2833 patients (followed for 9278 patient-years) and 776 events, there was decreased survival probability for TRA2°P-based high-risk patients compared to low-risk (log-rank-test P Conclusion The currently available prognostic scores have generally low performance to predict the overall cardiovascular risk in ischemic stroke patients. Further research is needed to improve vascular risk stratification in ischemic stroke patients.
7 citations
TL;DR: Chios mastic (CM) is the resin of Pistacia lentiscus var.
Abstract: Chios mastic (CM) is the resin of Pistacia lentiscus var. chia, exclusively produced in the Greek Aegean island of Chios. Accumulating evidence suggests a cardioprotective role of this resin by way of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These attributes may also convey favourable effects on prohypertensive mechanisms, but its impact on blood pressure (BP) haemodynamics has not been investigated in clinical or experimental settings. We therefore sought to assess the acute effects of CM on peripheral and aortic haemodynamics and associated changes in gene expression of molecules involved in pathways related to hypertension. The study population consisted of 27 consecutive eligible volunteers (13 hypertensive patients) who responded to a call for participation in the study. Exclusion criteria were history of cardiovascular disease, current treatment with statins, history of allergy to CM, current use of vitamins or antioxidant supplements, dieting at the time of the study, history of eating disorders, acute or chronic inflammatory disease and active cancer. All volunteers gave written informed consent. In a randomised double-blind case controlled crossover design, volunteers were assessed at two consecutive visits one week apart. Participants were randomly assigned to first visit oral administration of 2800mg of CM (four tablets of 700 mg IASIS pharma Hellas S.A., Athens, Greece) or placebo. At each visit, haemodynamic parameters were assessed at three distinct time points (baseline, 2 and 3 hours after administration). Haemodynamic assessment included non-invasive measurement of aortic systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure and aortic augmentation index normalised for heart rate at 75 bpm by using radial artery tonometry (Sphygmocor System; Atcor Medical, Sydney, Australia) as previously described. We also studied expression levels of genes involved in proteome stability, proteasome and chaperones, cellular pro-oxidant responses, mitochondrial– metabolic pathways and inflammation (Figure 1) using isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Gene expression analysis was performed in samples from four hypertensive patients with available samples of isolated PBMCs and the highest observed decrease in peripheral SBP 2 hours after CM administration, and was compared to three control normotensive subjects without decrease in peripheral SBP after CM administration. Univariable and multivariable analyses using linear mixed models with random effects were implemented to assess the effect of CM administration on longitudinal changes in parameters of interest. Statistical analysis was performed using the STATA package, version 11.1 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA). The level of statistical significance was set at P< 0.05 except for multiple comparisons
6 citations
TL;DR: A significant proportion of women entering the menopause present incident hypertension and this is mostly associated with obesity and insulin resistance.
Abstract: Introduction: We aimed to investigate the incidence of hypertension and to identify potential risk factors in healthy, non-diabetic recently postmenopausal Greek women with normal renal function.Pa...
4 citations
1 citations
TL;DR: High consumption of SFA is related to accelerated arterial stiffening, while high consumption of MUFA and fibre and low intake of carbohydrates is associated with attenuated progression in blood pressure and arterial wave reflections, respectively, expanding current knowledge on the association of macronutrient consumption with arterial aging in the general population.
Abstract: There is limited and inconsistent evidence regarding longitudinal effects of macronutrients on blood pressure (BP) haemodynamics and arterial aging in populations without cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to prospectively investigate potential association of dietary macronutrients with long-term changes in peripheral and central haemodynamics and arterial stiffness. One hundred and fifteen subjects (46.7 ± 8.73 years, 70 women), free of clinically overt CVD were consecutively recruited. Dietary macronutrient intake was evaluated using 3-day food records at baseline. Aortic stiffness and arterial wave reflections were assessed at baseline and in one follow-up visit 5 years later by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AI), respectively. Individuals with the highest consumption of saturated fatty acids (SFA) presented the highest rate of progression in PWV, AI and aortic diastolic BP (p < 0.05 for all) after adjustment for age, gender, smoking, body mass index, hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, changes in systolic BP and treatment with antihypertensive and hypolipidemic drugs. After similar multivariable adjustments, high consumption of carbohydrates was associated with higher progression of AI, whereas high consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and fibre with lower progression in aortic and peripheral systolic and diastolic BP (p < 0.05 for all). In subjects without CVD, high consumption of SFA is related to accelerated arterial stiffening, while high consumption of MUFA and fibre and low intake of carbohydrates is associated with attenuated progression in blood pressure and arterial wave reflections, respectively. These findings expand current knowledge on the association of macronutrient consumption with arterial aging in the general population.
1 citations