A correction has been published: European Heart Journal, ehaa895, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa895

2020 ESC Guidelines for the management of acute coronary syndromes in patients presenting without persistent ST-segment elevation

Background: This document updates the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society/Japanese Respiratory Society/Latin American Thoracic Association guideline on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treatment.Methods: Systematic reviews and, when appropriate, meta-analyses were performed to summarize all available evidence pertinent to our questions. The evidence was assessed using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach and then discussed by a multidisciplinary panel. Predetermined conflict-of-interest management strategies were applied, and recommendations were formulated, written, and graded exclusively by the nonconflicted panelists.Results: After considering the confidence in effect estimates, the importance of outcomes studied, desirable and undesirable consequences of treatment, cost, feasibility, acceptability of the intervention, and implications to health equity, recommendations were made for or against specific treatment interventions.Conclusion...

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An Official ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT Clinical Practice Guideline: Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. An Update of the 2011 Clinical Practice Guideline

Aortic pulse wave velocity improves cardiovascular event prediction: an individual participant meta-analysis of prospective observational data from 17,635 subjects

In the United States, approximately 35% of adults with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) have clinical evidence of nephritis at the time of diagnosis; with an estimated total of 50–60% developing nephritis during the first 10 years of disease [1–4]. The prevalence of nephritis is significantly higher in African Americans and Hispanics than in Caucasians, and is higher in men than in women. Renal damage is more likely to develop in non-Caucasian groups [2–4]. Overall survival in patients with SLE is approximately 95% at 5 years after diagnosis and 92% at 10 years [5, 6]. The presence of lupus nephritis significantly reduces survival, to approximately 88% at 10 years, with even lower survival in African Americans [5, 6].

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) last published guidelines for management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 1999 [7]. That publication was designed primarily for education of primary care physicians and recommended therapeutic and management approaches for many manifestations of SLE. Recommendations for management of lupus nephritis (LN) consisted of pulse glucocorticoids followed by high dose daily glucocorticoids in addition to an immunosuppressive medication, with cyclophosphamide viewed as the most effective immunosuppressive medication for diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis. Mycophenolate mofetil was not yet in use for lupus nephritis and was not mentioned. Since that time, many clinical trials of glucocorticoids-plus-immunosuppressive interventions have been published, some of which are high quality prospective trials, and some not only prospective but also randomized. Thus, the ACR determined that a new set of management recommendations was in order. A combination of extensive literature review and the opinions of highly qualified experts, including rheumatologists, nephrologists and pathologists, has been used to reach the recommendations. The management strategies discussed here apply to lupus nephritis in adults, particularly to those receiving care in the United States of America, and include interventions that were available in the United States as of April 2011.

While these recommendations were developed using rigorous methodology, guidelines do have inherent limitations in informing individual patient care; hence the selection of the term “recommendations.” While they should not supplant clinical judgment or limit clinical judgment, they do provide expert advice to the practicing physician managing patients with lupus nephritis.

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American College of Rheumatology guidelines for screening, treatment, and management of lupus nephritis

Much has been published in the past 20 years on the use of measurements of arterial stiffness in animal and human research studies. This summary statement was commissioned by the American Heart Association to address issues concerning the nomenclature, methodologies, utility, limitations, and gaps in knowledge in this rapidly evolving field. The following represents an executive version of the larger online-only Data Supplement and is intended to give the reader a sense of why arterial stiffness is important, how it is measured, the situations in which it has been useful, its limitations, and questions that remain to be addressed in this field. Throughout the document, pulse-wave velocity (PWV; measured in meters per second) and variations such as carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV; measured in meters per second) are used. PWV without modification is used in the general sense of arterial stiffness. The addition of lowercase modifiers such as “cf” is used when speaking of specific segments of the arterial circulation.

The ability to measure arterial stiffness has been present for many years, but the measurement was invasive in the early times. The improvement in technologies to enable repeated, minimal-risk, reproducible measures of this aspect of circulatory physiology led to its incorporation into longitudinal cohort studies spanning a variety of clinical populations, including those at extreme cardiovascular risk (patients on dialysis), those with comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension, healthy elders, and general populations.

In the ≈3 decades of clinical use of PWV measures in humans, we have learned much about the importance of this parameter. PWV has proven to have independent predictive utility when evaluated in conjunction with standard risk factors for death and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the field of arterial stiffness investigation, which has exploded over the past 20 years, has proliferated without logistical guidance for clinical and …

Recommendations for Improving and Standardizing Vascular Research on Arterial Stiffness: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hep.24538

Circulating microRNAs as potential markers of human drug‐induced liver injury

The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing worldwide. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is strongly associated with CKD and constitutes one of its major causes of morbidity and mortality. Treatments that slow the progression of CKD and improve the cardiovascular risk profile of patients with CKD are needed. The endothelins (ET) are a family of related peptides, of which ET-1 is the most powerful endogenous vasoconstrictor and the predominant isoform in the cardiovascular and renal systems. The ET system has been widely implicated in both CVD and CKD. ET-1 contributes to the pathogenesis and maintenance of hypertension and arterial stiffness and more novel cardiovascular risk factors such as oxidative stress and inflammation. Through these, ET also contributes to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. By reversal of these effects, ET antagonists may reduce cardiovascular risk. In particular relation to the kidney, antagonism of the ET system may be of benefit in improving renal hemodynamics and reducing proteinuria. ET likely also is involved in progression of renal disease, and data are emerging to suggest a synergistic role for ET receptor antagonists with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in slowing CKD progression.

The Endothelin System and Its Antagonism in Chronic Kidney Disease

Hypertension is the most common risk factor worldwide for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.1,2 Currently it is estimated that a quarter of the world’s adult population is hypertensive, and this number is projected to increase to ≈30% by 2025.1 Although, there exist a number of drug therapies for hypertension, blood pressure (BP) control to target is still only achieved in ≈30% of patients.3 Over the last 20 years, novel licensed therapies have primarily focused on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Endothelin (ET) receptor antagonism represents an innovative, but as yet only partially explored, alternative approach in the management of hypertension.

A review in Hypertension 10 years ago outlined the potential role that ET-1 may play in the development of hypertension,4 as proposed by Yanagisawa et al in their original Nature article in 1988.5 This largely focused on preclinical data because, at that time, there was only 1 published study of ET receptor antagonism in patients with essential hypertension.6 There were also few data that focused on the relative benefits of selective or mixed ET blockade. Finally, the lack of longer-term data on safety and tolerability for these drugs made their place in the antihypertensive armamentarium unclear. In this review we aim to answer many of these questions and outline some of the key findings in this field from the last decade.

The ET family consists of three 21-amino acid peptides (ET-1, ET-2, and ET-3) with powerful vasoconstrictor and pressor properties.7 Of the 3 peptides, ET-1 is the major vascular isoform and of most importance in the cardiovascular system.8 The gene product is the 212-amino acid prepro-ET-1. This is cleaved to big ET-1, after which an ET-converting enzyme (ECE) catalyzes the generation of the biologically active ET-1 and a C-terminal fragment.

ET-1 acts by binding to …

Role of Endothelin-1 in Clinical Hypertension 20 Years On

Cardiovascular disease is a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality and is the common end point of many chronic diseases. The endothelins comprise three structurally similar peptides of 21 amino acids in length. Endothelin 1 (ET-1) and ET-2 activate two G protein-coupled receptors — endothelin receptor type A (ETA) and endothelin receptor type B (ETB) — with equal affinity, whereas ET-3 has a lower affinity for ETA. ET-1 is the most potent vasoconstrictor in the human cardiovascular system and has remarkably long-lasting actions. ET-1 contributes to vasoconstriction, vascular and cardiac hypertrophy, inflammation, and to the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. Endothelin receptor antagonists have revolutionized the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Clinical trials continue to explore new applications of endothelin receptor antagonists, particularly in treatment-resistant hypertension, chronic kidney disease and patients receiving antiangiogenic therapies. Translational studies have identified important roles for the endothelin isoforms and new therapeutic targets during development, in fluid-electrolyte homeostasis, and in cardiovascular and neuronal function. Novel pharmacological strategies are emerging in the form of small-molecule epigenetic modulators, biologics (such as monoclonal antibodies for ETB) and possibly signalling pathway-biased agonists and antagonists. Endothelin 1 is the most potent vasoconstrictor in the human cardiovascular system. In this Review, Dhaun and Webb discuss the biology of the endothelins and endothelin receptors and how these pathways can be therapeutically targeted in cardiovascular and renal diseases.

Endothelins in cardiovascular biology and therapeutics.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasingly prevalent condition globally and is strongly associated with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). Hypertension is both a cause and effect of CKD and affects the vast majority of CKD patients. Control of hypertension is important in those with CKD as it leads to slowing of disease progression as well as reduced CVD risk. Existing guidelines do not offer a consensus on optimal blood pressure (BP) targets. Therefore, an understanding of the evidence used to create these guidelines is vital when considering how best to manage individual patients. Non-pharmacological interventions are useful in reducing BP in CKD but are rarely sufficient to control BP adequately. Patients with CKD and hypertension will often require a combination of antihypertensive medications to achieve target BP. Certain pharmacological therapies provide additional BP-independent renoprotective and/or cardioprotective action and this must be considered when instituting therapy. Managing hypertension in the context of haemodialysis and following kidney transplantation presents further challenges. Novel therapies may enhance treatment in the near future. Importantly, a personalised and evidence-based management plan remains key to achieving BP targets, reducing CVD risk and slowing progression of CKD.

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Neeraj Dhaun

Papers

Circulating microRNAs as potential markers of human drug‐induced liver injury

The Endothelin System and Its Antagonism in Chronic Kidney Disease

Role of Endothelin-1 in Clinical Hypertension 20 Years On

Endothelins in cardiovascular biology and therapeutics.

Management of Hypertension in Chronic Kidney Disease.