Among patients with MFS, the use of losartan compared with atenolol did not result in significant differences in the progression of aortic root and ascending aorta diameters over 3 years of follow-up.

In high-risk patients with chronic respiratory failure as a consequence of a restrictive lung pathology, NPPV can play an important role to confront surgical procedure with general anaesthesia with greater security. To obtain these results, it was fundamental to coordinate between the Pulmonary Services and the Anaesthesia Services as well as to follow up jointly in the PRU.

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) is a global pandemic that will affect 300 million people in the next decade. It has been shown that early and aggressive treatment of T2DM from the onset decreases complications, and the patient's active role is necessary to achieve better glycemic control. In order to achieve glycemic control targets, an active attitude in patients is needed, and self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) plays a significant role. Nowadays, SMBG has become an important component of modern therapy for diabetes mellitus, and is even more useful if it is performed in a structured way. SMBG aids physicians and patients to achieve a specific level of glycemic control and to prevent hypoglycemia. In addition, SMBG empowers patients to achieve nutritional and physical activity goals, and helps physicians to optimize the different hypoglycemic therapies as demonstrated in the St Carlos study. This article describes the different ways of using this educational and therapeutic tool from the medical point of view as well as from the patient's perspective.

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A prospective, multicenter pharmacovigilance study was carried out to evaluate the safety of a new 7-dose treatment schedule of subcutaneous immunotherapy as opposed to the conventional 13 doses normally recommended. The study was carried out in 14 centers and included 261 patients (children and adults) with respiratory allergic disease due to sensitization to mites (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and/or farinae). A total of 2290 doses were administered under the direct supervision of the participating specialists. One hundred and ten reactions in 63 patients (24.1%) were recorded, representing 4.8% of the total doses administered. Most of the reactions (98) were local. Only 12 were systemic (0.5% of the administered doses) and occurred in 10 patients (3.8% of the sample). Ten reactions reverted quickly with rescue medication. The maintenance dose had to be lowered in one patient and another patient was withdrawn from the study after suffering two asthmatic crises after two consecutive doses. In view of the results obtained, we can conclude that the new schedule shows an acceptable tolerance profile and does not present a greater risk of reactions than the conventional scheme of 13 doses using an identical extract. Moreover, the new schedule represents substantial savings in the number of doses and visits required to reach the maintenance dose.