T he metabolic syndrome has received increased attention in the past few years. This statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is intended to provide up-to-date guidance for professionals on the diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome in adults.The metabolic syndrome is a constellation of interrelated risk factors of metabolic origin-metabolic risk factors-that appear to directly promote the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). 1 Patients with the metabolic syndrome also are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Another set of conditions, the underlying risk factors, give rise to the metabolic risk factors. In the past few years, several expert groups have attempted to set forth simple diagnostic criteria to be used in clinical practice to identify patients who manifest the multiple components of the metabolic syndrome. These criteria have varied somewhat in specific elements, but in general they include a combination of both underlying and metabolic risk factors.The most widely recognized of the metabolic risk factors are atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and elevated plasma glucose. Individuals with these characteristics commonly manifest a prothrombotic state and a proinflammatory state as well. Atherogenic dyslipidemia consists of an aggregation of lipoprotein abnormalities including elevated serum triglyceride and apolipoprotein B (apoB), increased small LDL particles, and a reduced level of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C). The metabolic syndrome is often referred to as if it were a discrete entity with a single cause. Available data suggest that it truly is a syndrome, ie, a grouping of ASCVD risk factors, but one that probably has more than one cause. Regardless of cause, the syndrome identifies individuals at an elevated risk for ASCVD. The magnitude of the increased risk can vary according to which components of the syndrome are present plus the other, non-metabolic syndrome risk factors in a particular person.

Xylella fastidiosa is a fastidious, xylem-limited bacterium that causes a range of economically important plant diseases. Here we report the complete genome sequence of X. fastidiosa clone 9a5c, which causes citrus variegated chlorosis--a serious disease of orange trees. The genome comprises a 52.7% GC-rich 2,679,305-base-pair (bp) circular chromosome and two plasmids of 51,158 bp and 1,285 bp. We can assign putative functions to 47% of the 2,904 predicted coding regions. Efficient metabolic functions are predicted, with sugars as the principal energy and carbon source, supporting existence in the nutrient-poor xylem sap. The mechanisms associated with pathogenicity and virulence involve toxins, antibiotics and ion sequestration systems, as well as bacterium-bacterium and bacterium-host interactions mediated by a range of proteins. Orthologues of some of these proteins have only been identified in animal and human pathogens; their presence in X. fastidiosa indicates that the molecular basis for bacterial pathogenicity is both conserved and independent of host. At least 83 genes are bacteriophage-derived and include virulence-associated genes from other bacteria, providing direct evidence of phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited disorders caused by mutations in HBB, which encodes haemoglobin subunit β. The incidence is estimated to be between 300,000 and 400,000 neonates globally each year, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa. Haemoglobin molecules that include mutant sickle β-globin subunits can polymerize; erythrocytes that contain mostly haemoglobin polymers assume a sickled form and are prone to haemolysis. Other pathophysiological mechanisms that contribute to the SCD phenotype are vaso-occlusion and activation of the immune system. SCD is characterized by a remarkable phenotypic complexity. Common acute complications are acute pain events, acute chest syndrome and stroke; chronic complications (including chronic kidney disease) can damage all organs. Hydroxycarbamide, blood transfusions and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation can reduce the severity of the disease. Early diagnosis is crucial to improve survival, and universal newborn screening programmes have been implemented in some countries but are challenging in low-income, high-burden settings.

Background-Water drinking increases blood pressure profoundly in patients with autonomic failure and substantially in older control subjects. The mechanism that mediates this response is not known. Methods and Results-We studied the effect of drinking tap water on seated blood pressure in 47 patients with severe autonomic failure (28 multiple system atrophy [MSA], 19 pure autonomic failure patients [PAF]). Eleven older controls and 8 young controls served as control group. We also studied the mechanisms that could increase blood pressure with water drinking. Systolic blood pressure increased profoundly with water drinking, reaching a maximum of 33Ϯ5 mm Hg in MSA and 37Ϯ7 in PAF mm Hg after 30 to 35 minutes. The pressor response was greater in patients with more retained sympathetic function and was almost completely abolished by trimethaphan infusion. Systolic blood pressure increased by 11Ϯ2.4 mm Hg in elderly but not in young controls. Plasma norepinephrine increased in both groups. Plasma renin activity, vasopressin, and blood volume did not change in any group. Conclusions-Water drinking significantly and rapidly raises sympathetic activity. Indeed, it raises plasma norepinephrine as much as such classic sympathetic stimuli as caffeine and nicotine. This effect profoundly increases blood pressure in autonomic failure patients, and this effect can be exploited to improve symptoms due to orthostatic hypotension. Water drinking also acutely raises blood pressure in older normal subjects. The pressor effect of oral water is an important yet unrecognized confounding factor in clinical studies of pressor agents and antihypertensive medications.

The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) have each published guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention: the ADA has issued separate recommendations for each of the cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes, and the AHA has shaped primary and secondary guidelines that extend to patients with diabetes. This statement will attempt to harmonize the recommendations of both organizations where possible but will recognize areas in which AHA and ADA recommendations differ. Diabetes Care 30:162-172, 2007D iabetes is a disease defined by abnormalities of fasting or postprandial glucose and is frequently associated with disorders of the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and circulatory system. Circulatory disorders associated with diabetes include coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, peripheral arterial disease, cardiomyopathy, and congestive heart failure. Diabetes generally results in early death from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In 1999, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Heart Association (AHA) published a joint statement with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International indicating the need for multiorganizational cooperation for prevention of CVD in patients with diabetes (1). The present statement represents a joint response of the ADA and AHA to this challenge.The ADA and AHA each have published guidelines for CVD prevention that overlap with the present statement: The ADA has issued separate recommendations for each of the cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes, and the AHA has shaped primary and secondary guidelines that extend to patients with diabetes. The present document will attempt to harmonize the recommendations of both organizations where possible but will recognize areas in which ADA and AHA recommendations differ.Clear clinical trial evidence published over the past decade suggests that broadbased treatment of dyslipidemia, hypertension, and hypercoagulability (as well as interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery during the acute coronary syndrome [2]) can improve the event-free survival rate in people with diabetes who already have clinical CVD. However, a much smaller body of clinical trial data addresses the issue of primary prevention of CVD in patients with diabetes and no known CVD. This is a critical issue because patients with diabetes have twice the risk of incident myocardial infarction and stroke as that of the general population. Furthermore, large numbers of people with diabetes do not survive their first event, and if they do survive, their mortality rate over the subsequent months to years is generally greater than that of the general population. As many as 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes will develop and possibly die of macrovascular disease. This represents a great societal cost, with major loss of life expectancy and quality of life (3,4). Although the i...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a debilitating monogenic blood disorder with a highly variable phenotype characterized by severe pain crises, acute clinical events, and early mortality. Interindividual variation in fetal hemoglobin (HbF) expression is a known and potentially heritable modifier of SCD severity. High HbF levels are correlated with reduced morbidity and mortality. Here, we genotyped additional BCL11A SNPs, HBS1L-MYB SNPs, and an SNP upstream of G ␥-globin (HBG2; the XmnI polymorphism), in two independent SCD cohorts: the African American Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease (CSSCD) and an SCD cohort from Brazil. We studied the effect of these SNPs on HbF levels and on a measure of SCD-related morbidity (pain crisis rate). We strongly replicated the association between these SNPs and HbF level variation (in the CSSCD, P values range from 0.04 to 2 ؋ 10 ؊42 ). Together, common SNPs at the BCL11A, HBS1L-MYB, and ␤-globin (HBB) loci account for >20% of the variation in HbF levels in SCD patients. We also have shown that HbF-associated SNPs associate with pain crisis rate in SCD patients. These results provide a clear example of inherited common sequence variants modifying the severity of a monogenic disease.genetic modifier ͉ single nucleotide polymorphism ͉ globin gene regulation

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The absence of preventive maintenance in individuals with pre-existing peri-implant mucositis was associated with a high incidence of peri-implantitis. Clinical parameters, such as bleeding on peri-implant probing, periodontal probing depth and the presence of periodontitis were associated with a higher risk of developing peri-implantitis.