Medlinks news July

Your Article Summary Association between atherosclerosis and osteoporosis, the role of vitamin D Archives of Medical Science, 05/31/11 Stojanovic OI et al. – The latest data support the correlation of atherosclerosis and osteoporosis, indicating the parallel progression of two tissue destruction processes with increased fatal and non–fatal coronary events, as well as higher fracture risk. Vitamin D inadequacy associated with low bone mineral density increases fall and fracture risk, leads to secondary hyperparathyroidism, calcifies coronary arteries and significantly increases cardiovascular disease. Randomized clinical trial evidence related to extraskeletal vitamin D outcomes was limited and generally uninformative. A recent recommendation on vitamin D dietary requirements for bone health is 600 IU/d for ages 1–70 years and 800 IU/d for 71 years and older, corresponding to a serum 25–hydroxyvitamin D level of at least 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/l) Further large randomized controlled trials are needed to reassess laboratory ranges for 25–hydroxyvitamin D in both diseases, in order to avoid under– and over–treatment problems, and completely clarify the relationship between atherosclerosis and osteoporosis. Other articles in Internal Medicine >> Click here to see the complete list Stroke Risk After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery and Extent of Cerebral Artery Atherosclerosis JACC - Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 04/26/11 Association Between Obesity, High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein 2 mg/L, and Subclinical Atherosclerosis Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 05/04/11 Tc-99m sestamibi lower extremity muscle scan, is it a useful screening tool for assessment of preclinical atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis patients? Rheumatology International, 04/21/11 ©1999-2011 MDLinx, Inc.

Your Article Summary Effect of Aspirin on Mortality in the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease American Journal of Medicine, 06/21/11 Raju N et al. – Aspirin prevents deaths, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke, and increases hemorrhagic stroke and major bleeding when used in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Methods Eligible articles were identified by searches of electronic databases and reference lists. Outcomes of interest were all–cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, and bleeding. Data were pooled from individual trials using the DerSimonian–Laird random–effects model, and results are presented as relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Nine randomized controlled trials enrolling 100,076 participants were included. Aspirin reduced all–cause mortality (RR 0.94; 95% CI, 0.88–1.00), myocardial infarction (RR 0.83; 95% CI, 0.69–1.00), ischemic stroke (RR 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75–0.98), and the composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death (RR 0.88; 95% CI, 0.83–0.94), but did not reduce cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.96; 95% CI, 0.84–1.09). Aspirin increased the risk of hemorrhagic stroke (RR 1.36; 95% CI, 1.01–1.82), major bleeding (RR 1.66; 95% CI, 1.41–1.95), and gastrointestinal bleeding (RR 1.37; 95% CI, 1.15–1.62). A lack of availability of patient–level data precluded exploration of benefits and risks of aspirin in key subgroups. Other articles in Internal Medicine >> Click here to see the complete list The Role of Aspirin in Childhood Tuberculous Meningitis Journal of Child Neurology, 06/16/11 Effect of Aspirin Dose on Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in People with Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis Journal of General Internal Medicine, 06/10/11 Meta-Analysis of Multiple Primary Prevention Trials of Cardiovascular Events Using Aspirin The American Journal of Cardiology, 06/09/11 ©1999-2011 MDLinx, Inc.