Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) share common risk factors and may have a parallel course. Statin treatment alone or in combination with other drugs has a substantially beneficial effect on CVD morbidity and mortality. The question was if these regimens were harmful for the liver. Mounting data suggest that statin monotherapy or statin-based treatments are safe in patients with NAFLD and can improve liver tests and liver ultrasonographic evidence of NAFLD. Recent data suggest that statin-based therapies are beneficial to the liver and at the same time reduce CVD morbidity and mortality in patients with NAFLD more than in subjects without it. These findings suggest that with statins we are able to get two birds with one stone.

Only 2 of 4 Rotterdam phenotypes, identical with those of the classic PCOS definition, have excess cardiometabolic risk. These need to be treated to prevent CVD events.

Background: Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is the cornerstone mode of treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Objectives: The present study aims to investigate the effect of two oxygen sources (concentrator and liquid oxygen) on quality of life, exercise tolerance and compliance to LTOT in patients with COPD. Methods: The survey included 104 patients with COPD (31 on concentrator treatment and 73 on liquid oxygen). Patients were subjected to pulse oximetry, basic spirometry, measurement of health-related quality of life by the St. George’s Hospital respiratory questionnaire instrument and assessment of dyspnoea severity by the modified Borg category scale. Exercise tolerance was evaluated by the S_aO₂ value after 3 min of walking. S_aO₂ was measured before and after treatment with each device. Compliance with therapy was defined by the daily duration of oxygen use. Results: The two LTOT groups did not differ significantly concerning pulmonary function tests (p = 0.49 for FEV₁, 0.98 for FVC, 0.15 for FEV₁/FVC% and 0.38 for FEF_50%), S_aO₂ before (p = 0.28) and after (p = 0.80) O₂ treatment and after the 3-min walking trial (p = 0.47), and St. George’s Hospital respiratory questionnaire score (p = 0.45). The liquid oxygen group was less dyspnoeic before treatment (p = 0.02), but this difference disappeared after treatment (p = 0.95). A highly significant difference (p < 0.001) was noted concerning the daily oxygen use. Complete compliance to LTOT (≧15 h/day) was observed in 12.9 and 42.5%, respectively (p < 0.005). Noise disturbance was noted only in the concentrator group (80%). Conclusions: We conclude that stationary liquid oxygen seems to be a satisfactory alternative mode for LTOT treatment in COPD patients, with higher patient compliance to therapy in comparison with concentrators.

BackgroundCOPD patients have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolism.MethodsThis study aimed to investigate whether patients with stable COPD have a prothrombotic state compared to COPD-free smokers. We conducted an observational study comparing levels of: D-dimers, INR, aPTT, coagulation factors: fibrinogen, FII, FV, FVII, FVIII, FIX, FX and coagulation inhibitors: protein S, proteins C and antithrombin between stable COPD patients and control subjects.ResultsA total of 103 COPD patients and 42 controls with similar age, sex, current smoking status, comorbidity burden and cardiovascular risk met the inclusion criteria. Compared to controls, COPD patients had higher levels of: D-dimers [360 (230–600) ng·mL−1versus 240 (180–400) ng·mL−1, p=0.001], fibrinogen (399±82 mg·dL−1versus 346±65 mg·dL−1, p<0.001), FII (122±22% versus 109±19%, p=0.004), FV (131±25% versus 121±19%, p=0.015), FVIII (143±32% versus 122±20%, p<0.001), FX [111 (94–134)% versus 98 (88–107)%, p=0.002] and lower levels of: Protein S [95 (85–105)% versus 116 (98–121)%, p<0.001], and antithrombin (94.4±11.5% versus 102.3±13.2%, p=0.001). In the COPD group, patients with more severe airflow limitation and frequent exacerbations had significantly higher levels of FII, FV and FX, whereas patients with higher CAT score had significantly higher levels of FX and lower levels of protein S.ConclusionPatients with stable COPD exhibited increased levels of key coagulation factors and decreased levels of coagulation inhibitors, namely protein S and antithrombin, compared to COPD-free smokers. Among COPD patients, increased levels of FII, FV and FX and decreased levels of protein S were found in patients with more severe disease.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder in women of reproductive age, affecting around 10% of them. Polycystic ovary syndrome is considered to be related to increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). There are 2 definitions for PCOS: one adopted in 1990 (classical PCOS with phenotypes A and B) and the otherin 2003 (Rotterdam criteria with 4 phenotypes A to D). The latter is a wider definition including the 1990 phenotypes. There is mounting data suggesting that phenotypes C and D are not actually related to increased CVD risk, and thus screening for CVD risk factors of intervening for primary CVD prevention in young women is not cost-effective. There is an increasing number of suggestions to return to the 1990 criteria plus some metabolic parameters to identify real CVD risk in this population. However, such a strategy needs verification by large, prospective studies.Keywords polycystic ovary syndrome, phenotypes, cardiovascular disease risk, dyslipidemia, obesity, metabolic syndrome Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder affecting 5% to 12% of women of reproductive age.