Background-Erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). In diabetic patients, CAD is often silent. Among diabetic patients with silent CAD, the prevalence of ED has never been evaluated. We investigated whether ED is associated with asymptomatic CAD in type 2 diabetic patients. Methods and Results-We evaluated the prevalence of ED in 133 uncomplicated diabetic men with angiographically verified silent CAD and in 127 diabetic men without myocardial ischemia at exercise ECG, 48-hour ambulatory ECG, and stress echocardiography. The groups were comparable for age and diabetes duration. Patients were screened for ED using the validated International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) questionnaire. The prevalence of ED was significantly higher in patients with than in those without silent CAD (33.8% versus 4.7%; Pϭ0.000). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that ED, apolipoprotein(a) polymorphism, smoking, microalbuminuria, HDL, and LDL were significantly associated with silent CAD; among these risk factors, ED appeared to be the most efficient predictor of silent CAD (OR, 14.8; 95% CI, 3.8 to 56.9). Conclusions-Our study first shows a strong and independent association between ED and silent CAD in apparently uncomplicated type 2 diabetic patients. If our findings are confirmed, ED may become a potential marker to identify diabetic patients to screen for silent CAD. Moreover, the high prevalence of ED among diabetics with silent CAD suggests the need to perform an exercise ECG before starting a treatment for ED, especially in patients with additional cardiovascular risk factors.

OBJECTIVE -In patients with uncomplicated diabetes, there is low probability of finding significant coronary artery disease (CAD) by noninvasive tests. Therefore, screening for its presence is not justified, and it is important to find reliable predictors of silent CAD to identify patients with uncomplicated diabetes for further screening. The relationship between lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] polymorphism, and silent CAD has never been studied. We investigated the association of Lp(a) and apo(a) polymorphism with angiographically documented asymptomatic CAD in type 2 diabetic patients without evident complications. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-A total of 1,323 diabetic patients without any clinical and electrocardiographic evidence of CAD were evaluated. Of 121 patients with highly positive results of exercise electrocardiography (ECG) (n ϭ 30) or positive results on exercise thallium scintigraphy (n ϭ 91), 103 subjects showed angiographically documented CAD (CAD group). Of 1,106 patients with negative results on exercise ECG, 103 subjects without CAD (NO CAD group) were selected and matched by age, gender, and duration of diabetes to patients in the CAD group. In patients in the NO CAD group, results of exercise ECG, 48-h ambulatory ECG, and stress echocardiography were negative for CAD.RESULTS -The CAD group had higher Lp(a) levels (21.7 Ϯ 17.7 vs. 15.2 Ϯ 19.0 mg/dl; P ϭ 0.0093) than the NO CAD group, and a percentage of subjects had at least one small apo(a) isoform (68.9 vs. 29.1%; P ϭ 0.0000) higher than the NO CAD group. Logistic regression analysis showed that apo(a) phenotypes (odds ratio [OR] 8.13, 95% CI 3.65-21.23), microalbuminuria (5.38, 2.44 -11.88), smoking (2.72, 1.31-5.64), and Lp(a) levels (2.41, 1.15-5.03) were predictors of asymptomatic CAD. CONCLUSIONS -Our investigation reports the first evidence of an independent association of Lp(a) and apo(a) polymorphism with asymptomatic CAD. This suggests that Lp(a) levels and apo(a) phenotypes could be used together with other risk factors as markers of asymptomatic CAD in patients with diabetes. Diabetes Care 25:1418 -1424, 2002D iabetes is associated with a more than threefold-increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) (1). In patients with diabetes, CAD is often asymptomatic (2-4). Asymptomatic CAD is a strong predictor of future coronary events and early death, especially in patients with diabetes (5,6). Early identification of diabetic patients with silent CAD can allow reduction of mortality and morbidity for cardiovascular events (7,8). In patients with uncomplicated diabetes, there is low probability of finding significant CAD by noninvasive tests. Therefore, screening for its presence is not justified (2), and it is important to find reliable predictors of silent CAD to identify patients with uncomplicated diabetes for further screening.Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a powerful risk factor for CAD (9). Recent studies report that the polymorphism of the specific apolipoprotein of Lp(a), called apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)], ...

BackgroundTo overcome nonadherence in patients with psychosis switch to long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic formulations is adopted. Most oral versus LAI comparisons showed similar antipsychotic responses. Psychoses often overlap with substance use disorder (SUD). Head-to-head LAI comparisons have hitherto focused only on non-comorbid populations.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to compare two LAIs, administered for 12 months, in initially hospitalized patients with psychosis comorbid with SUD in their clinical and quality of life (QoL) outcomes.Patients and methodsInpatients were recruited during 2016 and switched randomly to 400 mg intramuscular aripiprazole monohydrate (AM) (N=50) or to 100 mg intramuscular paliperidone palmitate (PP) once-monthly (N=51); patients were discharged and followed up for 12 months. Patients were rated at baseline and after 1 year through the Clinical Global Impression scale – severity (CGIs), substance craving intensity was rated through a visual analog scale for substance craving, and QoL through the World Health Organization (WHOQOL-BREF) scale. We addressed confounders with backward stepwise logistic regression and three-way analysis of variance.ResultsPP were older and had more cases of schizophrenia spectrum and less bipolar disorders than AM, but AM had a stronger craving for substances at baseline. Both LAIs were associated with significant improvements in all outcomes, with AM displaying stronger effect sizes than PP. The two groups did not differ on baseline WHOQOL-BREF scores in any domain, but at the 1-year follow-up, AM fared better on all domains. The two groups did not differ in final severity, but PP scored higher than AM in craving at the 1-year endpoint.Limitation: The CGIs is not a refined tool for severity and the substance craving may be subject to recall bias.Conclusion1-year AM and PP was followed by improved clinical status and QoL and reduced substance craving in a population with psychosis and SUD comorbidity. AM, compared to PP, improved craving and QoL at the 1-year follow-up.

Some studies observed an association between erectile dysfunction (ED) and coronary artery disease (CAD) extent in the general population, but others did not. There are no specific studies in diabetic populations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether ED is correlated with the extent of angiographic CAD in a large group of type II diabetic patients. We recruited 198 consecutive type II diabetic males undergoing an elective coronary angiography to evaluate chest pain or suspected CAD. Presence and degree of ED were assessed by the International Index Erectile Function -5 (IIEF-5) questionnaire. ED was considered present, when IIEF-5 score was p21. Moreover, each domain of IIEF-5 was considered. Angiographic CAD extent was expressed both by the number of vessels diseased and by the Gensini scoring system. The percentage of subjects with ED was significantly higher (45.8 versus 15.8%; P ¼ 0.0120) in patients with (n ¼ 179) than in those without (n ¼ 19) significant angiographic CAD (stenosis of the lumen X50%). No significant association of CAD extent with presence of ED, total IIEF-5 score and each domain of IIEF-5 was observed. Our study shows that ED was significantly more prevalent in type II diabetic males with angiographic CAD than in those with normal arteries. However, no correlation was found between the extent of angiographic CAD and the presence or the severity of ED.

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Our study shows that in severely obese women, insulin-resistance and the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome significantly decrease 1 year after SAGB. Our findings indicate that SAGB could be a useful tool to reduce the global cardiovascular risk in severely obese people and to improve their long-term prognosis.

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Background: Long-acting injectable (LAI) aripiprazole was found to be efficacious in schizophrenia. In common clinical practice, the use of LAIs is often restricted to chronic patients with frequent relapses and poor adherence. Recently, some investigators advanced the idea of early LAI use also in young people with schizophrenia at their first psychotic episode (FEP). Objective: Our study aimed to assess the effect of LAI aripiprazole once monthly (AOM) in the treatment of FEP in patients aged 18-26 years. Methods: We included 50 patients with DSM-5 schizophrenia as assessed with SCID, and used the Clinical Global Impressions Scale-Severity of Illness (CGI-S) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) to assess symptom severity and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL), the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP) to assess quality of life (QoL) and global health perception at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the first AOM injection. Results: AOM was associated with a progressive improvement, compared to baseline, of both positive (p < 0.001) and negative (p < 0.001) symptoms and in general psychopathology (p < 0.001) and decrease in global severity (p < 0.001). We also observed progressive improvement in QoL and social and personal functioning. Treatment adherence was 78% at study endpoint. Our results support that AOM may improve psychotic symptoms, QoL and social functioning in young FEP patients. Further studies should compare AOM to its oral formulation in the treatment of young patients with schizophrenia at the outset of their illness.