This paper is an overview of how the pandemic affected society during the Spanish flu period and its impact on the psychiatric hospitals and asylums of that period. The continuous changes of situations in the context of the current pandemic and the attempt of individuals to adapt led to comparisons between COVID-19 and the Spanish flu of 1918-1919. The progress of medicine and intervention measures are still struggling with the strength of influenza viruses and their ability to spread around the world has grown exponentially. The study analyzes how this new pathology can influence the attitude of individuals towards the disease, their thoughts, emotions and behaviors so as to prevent the onset of symptoms in the field of mental health and contribute to the well-being of the population.

Vascular aging, early vascular aging or supernormal vascular aging are concepts used for estimating the cardiovascular risk at a certain age. From the famous line of Thomas Sydenham that “a man is as old as his arteries” to the present day, clinical studies in the field of molecular biology of the vasculature have demonstrated the active role of vascular endothelium in the onset of cardiovascular diseases. Arterial stiffness is an important cardiovascular risk factor associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular events and a high risk of morbidity and mortality, especially in the presence of diabetes. Sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors decrease arterial stiffness and vascular resistance by decreasing endothelial cell activation, stimulating direct vasorelaxation and ameliorating endothelial dysfunction or expression of pro-atherogenic cells and molecules.

Background: Both obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and metabolic syndrome (MS) promote arterial stiffening. As a basis for this study, we presumed that arterial stiffness could be assessed using the Arteriograph (TensioMed, Budapest, Hungary) to detect early modifications induced by continuous positive airway therapy (CPAP) in reversing this detrimental vascular remodeling. Arterial stiffness is increasingly acknowledged as a major cardiovascular risk factor and a marker of subclinical hypertension-mediated organ damage. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the arterial stiffness changes in patients with moderate–severe OSA and MS after short-term CPAP use. Methodsː We performed a prospective study that included patients with moderate–severe OSA and MS who had not undergone previous CPAP therapy. All subjects underwent clinical examination and arterial stiffness assessment using the oscillometric technique with Arteriograph (TensioMed, Budapest, Hungary) detection before and after 8-week CPAP therapy. Resultsː 39 patients with moderate–severe OSA were included. Eight weeks of CPAP therapy significantly improved central systolic blood pressure (Δ = −11.4 mmHg, p = 0.009), aortic pulse wave velocity (aoPWV: Δ = −0.66 m/s, p = 0.03), and aortic augmentation index (aoAix: Δ = −8.25%, p = 0.01) only in patients who used the device for a minimum of 4 h/night (n = 20). Conclusionsː Arterial stiffness was improved only among CPAP adherent patients and could be detected using the Arteriograph (TensioMed, Budapest, Hungary), which involves a noninvasive procedure that is easy to implement for the clinical evaluation of arterial stiffness.

Background: The subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR), also known as the Buckberg index, is a parameter of arterial stiffness with indirect prognostic value in assessing long-term cardiovascular risk. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study on 70 patients with uncomplicated hypertension admitted to a county medical reference hospital. We analyzed demographics, laboratory data, arterial stiffness parameters and cardiovascular risk scores (SCORE and Framingham risk scores) and aimed to identify paraclinical parameters associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Results: Of the arterial stiffness parameters, SEVR correlates statistically significantly with age, central and peripheral systolic blood pressure, as well as with heart rate. SEVR seems to have prognostic value among hypertensive patients by increasing the risk of major cardiovascular events assessed by SCORE and Framingham risk scores. SEVR correlates statistically significantly with serum fibrinogen (p = 0.02) and hemoglobin (p = 0.046). Between pulse wave velocity and lipid parameters (p = 0.021 for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <LDL> and p = 0.030 for triglycerides) a statistically significant relationship was found for the study group. The augmentation index of the aorta also correlated with serum LDL-cholesterol (p = 0.032) and the hemoglobin levels (p = 0.040) of hypertensive patients. Conclusions: Age, abdominal circumference and Framingham score are independent predictors for SEVR in our study group, further highlighting the need for early therapeutic measures to control risk factors in this category of patients.