Background:The pleiotropic effects of hypotensive drugs should always be taken into consideration. There is limited data on the effect of such drugs on reducing global cardiovascular risk in young hypertensives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nebivolol and ramipril on biochemical parameters, arterial stiffness, and circadian profile of blood pressure (BP) in young men undergoing treatment for hypertension (HT).Methods:A total of 80 patients aged 16 to 28 years of age with grade 1 HT were enrolled into the prospective randomized, open-label trial. They were randomized to receive 5 mg of nebivolol or 5 mg of ramipril, daily. Arterial stiffness index (SI), the circadian profile of BP registered in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), and biochemical parameters—including lipid profile, insulinemia, glycemia, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels—were evaluated before and after the twelve-week period.Results:After the treatment period, we observed significant decreases in both ABPM systolic blood pressure (SBP) in group of nebivolol (P = .0007) and ramipril (P = .0001) and in ABPM diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in group of nebivolol (P = .0018) and ramipril (P = .0006). Reductions in the nondippers percentage were found in group of nebivolol and ramipril (P = .0077, P = .0001 respectively). Ramipril treatment resulted in a significant plausible modification in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (P = .0390), glucose (P = .0213), and hsCRP (P = .0053) concentrations, as well as decreased SI (P = .0009) value, while nebivolol treatment showed no such benefits.Conclusions:Despite the similar hypotensive effect of nebivolol and ramipril, ramipril seems to possess better clinical potential in reducing cardiovascular risk in young men with HT.

Rationale:Acute calculous cholecystitis is a prevalent disease whose diagnosis and management still face significant debate. Although the overall incidence of gallstone disease is 18.8% in European women aged 30 to 69 years, there is little data and experience in managing acute calculous cholecystitis in populations over 80 years old. The incidence of acute cholecystitis among the elderly is probably increasing. For the reason, we here highlight the advantages and disadvantage of various treatment and management opens based on a 96-year-old patient.Patient concerns:We present a rare case in which a 96-year-old woman suffered from abdominal pain, nausea, and lack of appetite for over a month.Diagnoses:She was diagnosed with acute calculous cholecystitis and pancreatitis.Interventions:She was successfully treated without surgery, regaining her physical health after 5 months.Outcomes:The question of how to manage acute calculous cholecystitis is extremely difficult in many aspects. The patient of very advanced age presented in this paper, not very well diagnosed and with a life-threating condition, survived because of careful treatment and reasonable decision-making.Lessons:The take-away from this case is that, in a high-risk senile patient, strict conservative therapy of cholecystitis may be successful, as it can avoid the complications of surgery and leave the patient with a good quality of life.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a significant clinical and epidemiological problem that affects around 25% of the adult global population. A large body of clinical evidence highlights that NAFLD is associated with increased liver-related morbidity and mortality and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, extrahepatic cancers, type 2 diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. Recently, a series of studies revealed the pivotal role of gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis in NAFLD’s pathogenesis. The GM plays an essential role in different metabolic pathways, including the fermentation of diet polysaccharides, energy harvest, choline regulation, and bile acid metabolism. One of the most critical factors in GM stabilization is the diet; therefore, nutritional therapyappearsto be a promising tool in NAFLD therapy. This paper aims to review the current knowledge regardingthe nutritional approach and its implications with GM and NAFLD treatment. We discuss the positive impact of probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotics in a reverse dysbiosis state in NAFLD and show the potential beneficial effects of bioactive substances from the diet. The full description of the mechanism of action and comprehensive examination of the impact of nutritional interventions on GM modulation may, in the future, be a simple but essential tool supporting NAFLD therapy.

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A FIGURE 1 A -a gastroscopy image showing the submucosal presence of pigment depositions in the stomach (short arrows) and an ulcer scar on the posterior wall (long arrow)