Obesity is a growing public health challenge across the globe. It is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality for people with obesity. Current strategies to reduce CVD are largely focused on addressing traditional risk factors such as dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hypertension. Although this approach is proven to reduce CVD, substantial residual risk remains for people with obesity. This necessitates a better understanding of the etiology of CVD in people with obesity and alternate therapeutic approaches. Reducing inflammation may be one such strategy. A wealth of animal and human data indicates that obesity is associated with adipose tissue and systemic inflammation. Inflammation is a known contributor to CVD in humans and can be successfully targeted to reduce CVD. Here we will review the etiology and pathogenesis of inflammation in obesity associated metabolic disease as well as CVD. We will review to what extent these associations are causal based on human genetic studies and pharmacological studies. The available data suggests that anti-inflammatory treatments can be used to reduce CVD, but off-target effects such as increased infection have precluded its broad therapeutic application to date. The role of anti-inflammatory therapies in improving glycaemia and metabolic parameters is less established. A number of clinical trials are currently ongoing which are evaluating anti-inflammatory agents to lower CVD. These studies will further clarify whether anti-inflammatory agents can safely reduce CVD.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of using particles only in the embolization of the hemorrhoidal arteries for the management of hemorrhoids. Subjects and Methods: This is a retrospective study for patients treated between March 2015 and December 2018. We treated 33 patients, 13 men and 20 women with a mean age of 37 years (range: 18–70 years), in which 11 patients had Grade II hemorrhoids and 22 had Grade III hemorrhoids. Technical and clinical successes together with procedural complications were assessed. Results: The technical success rate was 100%. No minor or major complications have been reported. No cases of anorectal ischemia, anal incontinence, hemorrhoidal thrombosis, or complications related to femoral arterial puncture have occurred. Follow-up was at 3 months and 12 months postembolization. Clinical success was observed in 32 patients (96.9%) with improvement by at least 2 points of the French bleeding score at 3 months postembolization. Conclusion: The use of particles alone in the embolization of hemorrhoidal arteries whether from the superior rectal artery and/or from the middle and inferior rectal arteries can offer a safe and effective treatment option.