Antibodies recognising sulfated carbohydrates are prevalent in systemic sclerosis and associated with pulmonary vascular disease

Glycosylation represents an important modification that regulates biological processes in tissues relevant for disease pathogenesis in systemic sclerosis (SSc), including the endothelium and extracellular matrix. Whether patients with SSc develop antibodies to carbohydrates is not known.

QUALITY OF LIFE: A POTENTIALLY USEFUL MEASURE TO INDICATE SUBCLINICAL FLARES IN CROHN'S DISEASE

While quality of life (QoL) is a well-recognised outcome measure of Crohn disease (CD) activity, its influence on other outcome measures, including exacerbation of CD is poorly understood. If QoL measures were to be associated with intestinal inflammatory activity, they might be useful for early detection of subclinical flares.

Cardiometabolic effects in caregivers of nursing home placement and death of their spouse with Alzheimer's disease

To test the hypothesis that cardiometabolic risk is attenuated when caregivers are relieved of caregiving stress when the caregiving recipient transitions out of the home.

Effect of Alzheimer Caregiving on Circulating Levels of C-Reactive Protein and Other Biomarkers Relevant to Cardiovascular Disease Risk: A Longitudinal Study

Providing care to a spouse with Alzheimer's disease (AD) may contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD). The acute phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) is a well-established biomarker of an increased CVD risk.

Relationship between chronic stress and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in elderly Alzheimer's disease caregivers

The stress associated with providing care for a spouse diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease can have adverse effects on cardiovascular health. One potential explanation is that chronic caregiving stress may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the duration that one has provided care is associated with the degree of atherosclerotic burden, as measured by carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT). One hundred and ten Alzheimer caregivers [mean age 74 ± 8 (SD) years, 69% female] underwent in-home assessment of carotid artery IMT via B-mode ultrasonography. Data regarding medical history, blood pressure, and multiple indicators of caregiving stress were also collected. Multiple regression indicated that duration of care was positively associated with IMT measured in the internal/bifurcation segments of the carotid artery (β = 0.202, p = 0.044) independent of risk factors such as age, gender, body mass index, smoking history, sleep quality, hypertension status, and caregiving stressors. Duration of care was positively associated with IMT in the common carotid artery, but the relationship was not significant. These findings provide more evidence of the link between chronic caregiving stress and cardiovascular disease and indicate that enduring the experience of caregiving over a period of years might be associated with atherosclerotic burden.

Health-Related Quality of Life is Associated with Positive Affect in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease Entering Cardiac Rehabilitation

Health-related quality of life (QoL) is an important and widely used outcome measure in cardiac populations. We examined the relationship between positive affect and health-related quality of life, controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, clinical variables and negative affect. We further investigated the role of gender in this relationship given the well-known gender differences in cardiovascular health. We enrolled 746 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) before they entered outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. All patients completed the Global Mood Scale and the SF-36 Health Survey. Positive affect was independently associated with mental (p < .001) and physical QoL (p < .001) after controlling for control variables. Gender moderated the relationship between positive affect and physical QoL (p = .009) but not mental QoL (p = .60). Positive affect was positively associated with physical QoL in men (p < .001) but not in women (p = .44). The health-related QoL of patients with CHD is associated with a person's level of positive affect.

A Comparison of Psychosocial Risk Factors Between 3 Groups of Cardiovascular Disease Patients Referred for Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation

Few studies have examined psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) between diagnostic groups of CVD patients. We compared levels of depression, anxiety, hostility, exhaustion, positive affect, and social support, and the prevalence of type D personality between patient groups with a primary diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD), chronic heart failure (CHF), or peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Bevacizumab and erlotinib (BE) first-line therapy in advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (stage IIIB/IV) followed by platinum-based chemotherapy (CT) at disease progression: A multicenter phase II trial (SAKK 19/05)

This phase II trial aimed to evaluate feasibility and efficacy of a first-line combination of targeted therapies for advanced non-squamous NSCLC: bevacizumab (B) and erlotinib (E), followed by platinum-based CT at disease progression (PD).