Treatment of chronic venous disease with flavonoids: recommendations for treatment and further studies.

OBJECTIVES A variety of studies have suggested that flavonoids are effective for the treatment of CVD. However, many questions remain about their mechanism of action and when, how, and for what signs and symptoms they should be used. METHOD A panel of experts in CVD met in Budapest, Hungary in December 2011 to discuss the current state of knowledge of CVD and the role of flavonoids in its treatment. The discussion was based on a literature search in the current databases. The goals of this paper are recommendations for further studies on the use of flavonoids in the treatment of CVD. RESULTS There is good evidence to recommend the use of flavonoids in the treatment of CVD. However, because of the poor quality of some older clinical trials, inadequate reporting, and insufficient information, much work is still needed to firmly establish their clinical efficacy and to determine when and how they should be employed. In particular, long-term randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies are needed to establish the efficacy and safety of flavonoids. Additional studies are also needed to establish their mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS Aside from good evidence for the use of flavonoids in CVD further studies are indicated to establish long term treatment in this indication.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Venous Malformations Consensus Document of the International Union of Phlebology (IUP): updated 2013

Venous malformations (VMs) are the most common vascular developmental anomalies (birth defects) . These defects are caused by developmental arrest of the venous system during various stages of embryogenesis. VMs remain a difficult diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to the wide range of clinical presentations, unpredictable clinical course, erratic response to the treatment with high recurrence/persistence rates, high morbidity following non-specific conventional treatment, and confusing terminology. The Consensus Panel reviewed the recent scientific literature up to the year 2013 to update a previous IUP Consensus (2009) on the same subject. ISSVA Classification with special merits for the differentiation between the congenital vascular malformation (CVM) and vascular tumors was reinforced with an additional review on syndrome-based classification. A "modified" Hamburg classification was adopted to emphasize the importance of extratruncular vs. truncular sub-types of VMs. This incorporated the embryological origin, morphological differences, unique characteristics, prognosis and recurrence rates of VMs based on this embryological classification. The definition and classification of VMs were strengthened with the addition of angiographic data that determines the hemodynamic characteristics, the anatomical pattern of draining veins and hence the risk of complication following sclerotherapy. The hemolymphatic malformations, a combined condition incorporating LMs and other CVMs, were illustrated as a separate topic to differentiate from isolated VMs and to rectify the existing confusion with name-based eponyms such as Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome. Contemporary concepts on VMs were updated with new data including genetic findings linked to the etiology of CVMs and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency. Besides, newly established information on coagulopathy including the role of D-Dimer was thoroughly reviewed to provide guidelines on investigations and anticoagulation therapy in the management of VMs. Congenital vascular bone syndrome resulting in angio-osteo-hyper/hypotrophy and (lateral) marginal vein was separately reviewed. Background data on arterio-venous malformations was included to differentiate this anomaly from syndrome-based VMs. For the treatment, a new section on laser therapy and also a practical guideline for follow up assessment were added to strengthen the management principle of the multidisciplinary approach. All other therapeutic modalities were thoroughly updated to accommodate a changing concept through the years.

ISVI-IUA consensus document - diagnostic guidelines on vascular anomalies: vascular malformations and hemangiomas.

The diagnostic approach to vascular anomalies should include the distinction between vascular tumors (i.e. hemangiomas) and congential vascular malformations (CVMs). This step is based more on history and clinical examination rather than on instrumental evaluation. In children Duplex ultrasound and histology can be helpful to separate hypervasularized tumors from CVMs. Appropriate record of objective measures as size or flow volume is required in order to evaluate the progress of the pathology and/or to assess the results of adopted therapeutic interventions. The anatomic, pathological and hemodynamic characteristics, the secondary effects on the surrounding tissues and the systemic manifestations should be defined. Basic diagnostic tools are Duplex sonography followed by MRI or CT scanning. The definition of the vascular anomaly should be according to the Hamburg classification and should separate vascular tumors from vacular malformations followed by separation of high flow from low flow CVMs. Diagnostic investigations are best undertaken at centers where subsequent therapeutic interventions will be performed.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) affects glucose metabolism and enhances fitness and life span in Drosophila melanogaster

In this study, we tested whether a standardized epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) rich green tea extract (comprising > 90% EGCG) affects fitness and lifespan as well as parameters of glucose metabolism and energy homeostasis in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Following the application of the green tea extract a significant increase in the mean lifespan (+ 3.3 days) and the 50% survival (+ 4.3 days) as well as improved fitness was detected. These effects went along an increased expression of Spargel, the homolog of mammalian PGC1α, which has been reported to affect lifespan in flies. Intriguingly, in flies, treatment with the green tea extract decreased glucose concentrations, which were accompanied by an inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity. Computational docking analysis proved the potential of EGCG to dock into the substrate binding pocket of α-amylase and to a greater extent into α-glucosidase. Furthermore, we demonstrate that EGCG downregulates insulin-like peptide 5 and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, major regulators of glucose metabolism, as well as the Drosophila homolog of leptin, unpaired 2. We propose that a decrease in glucose metabolism in connection with an upregulated expression of Spargel contribute to the better fitness and the extended lifespan in EGCG-treated flies.

Imperial Eyes. Van Dycks Porträtmalerei als globale Technologie

Zu Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts hatte sich die Malerei in Antwerpen vor allem durch Rubens als Medium einer zunehmend global verbundenen Welt etabliert. Doch auch zahlreiche von Van Dycks Porträts sind Zeugnisse eines oft hochgradig ambivalenten Kosmopolitismus. Neben Gemälden von international agierenden Antwerpener Händlern und Gelehrten fertigte der Künstler auch in Genua und England Porträts der adligen Elite an, in welchen sich deren globale Erfahrungen und Ambitionen spiegelten. Van Dyck reagierte in der Inszenierung der Marchesa Elena Grimaldi Cattaneo, mit einem schwarzen Sklaven, wie in der des Earl of Denbigh, zwischen einheimischen und exotischen Elementen, auf spezifische Anforderungen an das repräsentative Porträt im Zeitalter des disenclavement. Diese Anforderungen werden besonders deutlich in dem für eine geplante Expedition nach Madagaskar entstandenen Porträt des Earls of Arundel und dessen Frau Alethea Talbot. Das Gemälde verbindet Elemente herrschaftlicher, merkantilistischer und intellektueller Selbststilisierung mit einer Reduktion auf wenige, innovative Elemente. Die majestätische Inszenierung des Paars ist nur in einem globalen Kontext zu erklären, so dass sich die Frage nach der Funktion des in mehreren Werkstattkopien erhaltenen Gemäldes stellt. Hatte Van Dyck in seiner Komposition eine Lösung gefunden, die im Kontext des englischen Hofes, möglicherweise als Teil eines Festes, wie auch für potentielle Investoren, sowie die verarmte Landbevölkerung, die in der Indentur ihre einzige Hoffnung sah, gleichermaßen überzeugend wirkte? Die Hybris in dem überlebensgroßen Porträts des Paares, das mit leuchtend heller Haut, in kostbar glänzende Stoffe gekleidet und mit modernen Messinstrumenten in den Händen dargestellt ist, lässt es als ideales Medium der globalen Ambitionen des Paars erscheinen.

Room for Experiment: The Countess of Arundel’s "Site of Medication"

The so-called Dutch Pranketing Room of Alethea Talbot, Countess of Arundel, at Tart Hall was a site of domestic experiments, courtly splendour and global ambition. Lady Arundel, the probable author of a famous recipe book, would have used Tart Hall for cooking and experiments as well as for impressive dinner parties, and she would have used large amounts of sugar to create intricate imitations of meat and vegetables to astonish, entertain and delight her guests. Linking household practice with global trade as well as artistic creation, Lady Arundel’s banquets are situated not only between a national tradition of cooking, as it appears in Markham’s manuals, and the new possibilities the arising global trade provided, but also played with a mismatch between taste and sight. This mediating role could be compared to that played by the artists the Countess employed. Within this context it is worth noting that a series of paintings displayed in the building’s gallery showed still lifes, markets, and a cook. The inventory of Tart Hall gives an insight into the world of the widely travelled collector and patron of Van Dyck and Rubens, but raises also a number of questions. In my talk I would like to explore the Countess’ Pranketing Room as a site of mediation between alimentary and painterly experiments, considering the use of recipes, experience, invention and transformation