Given the limitations of available evidence, more studies are required before reaching definite conclusions about the effects of OF on human health.

Both nebivolol and irbesartan reduced postdialysis and 24-h BP in patients with intradialytic hypertension. Weekly administration had greater effect and nebivolol was numerically slightly more potent than irbesartan.

: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a public health burden and its co-existence with hypertension is long established in the context of the metabolic syndrome. Both DM and hypertension are major risk factors, for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular events and mortality. Strict blood pressure (BP) control in diabetics has been associated with a cardiovascular and renal risk decrease. Inhibitors of the sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) in the proximal tubule is a relatively novel class of agents for treatment of type 2 DM. Inhibition of SGLT-2 co-transporter combines proximal tubule diuretic and osmotic diuretic action leading to glucose reabsorption reduction and mild natriuretic and diuretic effects. On this basis, several studies showed that treatment with SGLT-2 inhibitors can effectively decrease hyperglycemia but also increase BP control and reduce renal outcomes and cardiovascular mortality. Based on such evidence, the recent guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes now suggest that SGLT-2 inhibitors should be preferred among oral agents in combination with metformin, in patients at increased cardiovascular risk, chronic kidney disease or heart failure. This review summarizes the existing data from studies evaluating the effect of SGLT-2 inhibitors on BP, and its potential value for cardio and nephroprotection.

Background: Short-term blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in hemodialysis. Patients with intradialytic hypertension have high risk of adverse outcomes. Whether BPV is increased in these patients is not clear. The purpose of this study was to compare short-term BPV in patients with and without intradialytic hypertension. Methods: Forty-one patients with and 82 patients without intradialytic hypertension (intradialytic SBP rise ≥10 mm Hg to > 150 mm Hg) matched in a 1: 2 ratio for age, sex, and hemodialysis vintage were included. All subjects underwent 48-h ambulatory BP monitoring during a regular hemodialysis and the subsequent interdialytic interval. Brachial and aortic BPV were calculated with validated formulas and compared between the 2 groups during the 48-h and the 44-h periods and during the 2 daytime and nighttime periods respectively. Results: During 48-h or 44-h periods and daytime or nighttime, brachial SBP/DBP and aortic SBP/DBP were significantly higher in cases than in controls. All brachial SBP/DBP BPV indexes [SD, weighted SD (wSD), coefficient-of-variation (CV) and average-real-variability (ARV)] were not significantly different between groups during the 48- or 44-h periods (48-h: SBP-ARV 11.59 ± 3.05 vs. 11.70 ± 2.68, p = 0.844, DBP-ARV: 8.60 ± 1.90 vs. 8.90 ± 1.63, p = 0.357). Analysis stratified by day or night between days 1 and 2 revealed, in general, similar results. No significant differences in dipping pattern were observed between groups. Analysis of aortic BPV had similar findings. Conclusions: BPV is similar between those with and without intradialytic hypertension. However, those with intradialytic hypertension have a sustained increase in systolic and diastolic BP during the entire interdialytic interval.

BackgroundIncreased short-term blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) in hemodialysis is associated with increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Studies on the impact of BP-lowering interventions on BPV are scarce. This study examined the effect of dry-weight reduction with a lung ultrasound-guided strategy on short-term BPV in hemodialysis patients with hypertension.MethodsThis is a prespecified analysis of a randomized clinical trial in 71 hemodialysis patients with hypertension, assigned in a 1:1 ratio in the active group, following a strategy for dry-weight reduction guided by pre-hemodialysis lung ultrasound and the control group following standard-of-care treatment. All patients underwent 48-hour ambulatory BP monitoring at baseline and after 8 weeks. BPV was calculated with validated formulas for the 48-hour interval and the 2 daytime and nighttime periods.ResultsDry-weight changes were –0.71 ± 1.39 in active vs. +0.51 ± 0.98 kg in the control group (P < 0.001), generating a between-group difference of 5.9/3.5 mm Hg (P < 0.05) in 48-hour BP at study end. All brachial BPV indices [SD, weighted SD, coefficient of variation, and average real variability (ARV)] did not change significantly from baseline to study end in the active [systolic blood pressure (SBP)-ARV: 12.58 ± 3.37 vs. 11.91 ± 3.13, P = 0.117; diastolic blood pressure (DBP)-ARV: 9.14 ± 1.47 vs. 8.80 ± 1.96, P = 0.190] or control (SBP-ARV: 11.33 ± 2.76 vs. 11.07 ± 2.51, P = 0.544; DBP-ARV: 8.38 ± 1.50 vs. 8.15 ± 1.49, P = 0.295) group (between-group comparison P = 0.211/0.117). Aortic BPV indices followed a similar pattern. Likewise, no significant changes in BPV indices for the daytime and nighttime periods were noted in both groups during follow-up.ConclusionsThis study is the first to evaluate the effects of a nonpharmacological intervention on short-term BPV in hemodialysis, showing no effect of dry-weight reduction on BPV, despite BP decrease.

The presence of hypertension in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) substantially increases cardiovascular risk. Blood pressure (BP) decrease in these individuals is associated with large reductions in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but the optimal BP levels in DM still remain a matter of important controversy. For almost 20 years, guidelines recommended an office BP target of <130/80 mmHg in diabetic individuals, following evidence from trials randomizing patients to diastolic BP levels. When the action-to-control-cardiovascular-risk-in-diabetes-blood-pressure (ACCORD-BP) study showed that systolic BP (SBP) <120 mmHg was associated with similar risk to SBP < 140 mmHg in type 2 DM, all guidelines stepped back to recommend a SBP < 140 mmHg, despite the obvious limitations of ACCORD-BP, including the surprisingly low event rate and the actual average BP of 133.5/70.5 mmHg in the "standard-target" arm. In contrast, the systolic-blood-pressure-intervention-trial (SPRINT) showed cardiovascular benefits in hypertensive patients without DM randomized to SBP<120 versus <140 mmHg and many believed that absence of between-group differences in ACCORD-BP was rather a matter of power and not of dissimilar cardiovascular profile of diabetic patients. In this regard, the American-College-of-Cardiology/American-Heart-Association 2017 BP guidelines advocated a BP target of <130/80 in all hypertensives, including those with DM. However, the 2018 American-Diabetes-Association recommendations were not in the same direction, suggesting BP goal <140/90 for most patients, with the exception of those with "high cardiovascular risk", where a <130/80 mmHg target may apply. This review presents the evidence from old and recent trials relevant to optimal BP levels in DM, aiming to shed light in this major clinical question.

Observational studies suggest an adverse effect of maternal hypovitaminosis D during pregnancy. However, intervention studies failed to show convincing benefit from vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy. With analytical advances, vitamin D can now be measured in ten forms—including as epimers—which were thought to be biologically inactive, but can critically impair immunoassays. The aim of this commentary is to highlight the potential clinical and analytical significance of vitamin D epimers in the interpretation of vitamin D roles in pregnancy. Epimers may contribute a considerable proportion of total vitamin D—especially in the neonate—which renders the majority of common assays questionable. Furthermore, epimers have been suggested to have activity in laboratory studies, and evidence suggests that the fetus contributes significantly to epimer production. Maternal epimer levels contribute significantly to predict neonate circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. In conclusion, the existence of various vitamin D forms (such as epimers) has been established, and their clinical significance remains obscure. These results underscore the need for accurate measurements to appraise vitamin D status, in order to understand the current gap between observational and supplementation studies on the field.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is common in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) and it is predominately attributed to the interplay between chronic inflammation and traditional CVD risk factors. CVD has significant impact on the survival of patients with IMIDs as it is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Despite recommendations for monitoring and managing CVD in patients with IMIDs, the individual CVD risk assessment remains problematic as CVD risk calculators for the general population consistently underestimate the risk in patients with IMIDs. Application of new technologies utilizing artificial intelligence techniques have shown promising potential for tailoring predictive medicine to the individual patient, but further validation of their role in clinical decision-making is warranted. In the meantime, individuals with IMIDs should be encouraged to adopt behavioral interventions targeting at modifiable lifestyle CVD risk factors, whereas rheumatologists need to be well aware of the unfavorable effects of antirheumatic medication on various CVD risk factors and outcomes. In the current paper, we aim to provide an overview of current and emerging strategies for mitigating CVD risk in patients with IMIDs, based on a practical approach.