Avances en el tratamiento de la hipercolesterolemia

Numerous epidemiological and prospective studies have shown a direct relationship between total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and cardiovascular disease (cardiovascular morbidity and mortality). In many intervention studies with more than 100,000 subjects, statins have shown a powerful and significant reduction of cardiovascular events and a decrease in cardiovascular and overall mortality, far superior to those produced by any other lipid-lowering group.Consequently statins are considered to be safe and well tolerated and are the first choice in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and in cardiovascular disease prevention. If targets are not reached, other pharmacological groups must be associated (resins, nicotinic acid, ezetimibe, fibrates, etc.). Moreover, when hypercholesterolemia is associated with low concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and high triglyceride levels, the association of statins with nicotinic acid, fibrates or omega-3 should be considered.Some questions remain to be answered: what LDL-C levels are desirable in secondary prevention? Which individuals might benefit from treatment in primary prevention? Which lipid-lowering drug is the most suitable to combine with statins and diminish cardiovascular risk in each situation? The present article reviews these important points.     

Alopurinol y su papel en el tratamiento de la sarcopenia

Xanthine oxidase (XO) is an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine and uric acid and plays an important role in purine catabolism. The purine analogue, allopurinol, is a well-known inhibitor of XO widely used in the clinical management of gout and conditions associated with hyperuricemia. More recent data indicate that allopurinol reduces oxidative stress and improves vascular function in several cardiometabolic diseases, prolongs exercise time in angina, and improves the efficiency of cardiac contractility in heart failure. XO also plays an important role in free radical generation during skeletal muscle contraction and thus, it has been related to the muscle damage associated to exhaustive exercise. Several research groups have shown the protective effect of allopurinol in the prevention of this type of damage.     

Utilidad clínica de la micafungina en el tratamiento de las candidiasis invasoras en el neonato

BackgroundIn neonatal intensive care units, deep fungal disease due to Candida spp. are an important clinical problem, partly due to the increasing prevalence of Candida disease and also to the high associated and constant morbimortality; both factors are independently maintained though there has been a significant improvement in the management of neonatal patients.AimsTo define the therapeutic use of micafungin for the treatment of neonatal invasive candidiasis.MethodsWe use a review of biomedic data bases namely Medline and EMBASE.ConclusionsMicafungin is the latest introduced echinocandin. It has a wide spectrum of activity and covers Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida species. It has scarce drugs interactions and is devoid of toxicity, being an attractive approach for the treatment of invasive candidiasis (without meningitis, endocarditis and endophthalmitis). Althought the European Medicines Agency approved in 2008 the use of Micafungin for the treatment of invasive candidiasis in children, the available clinical experience is limited and currently more clinical studies are warranted to define its efficacy and safety in neonates.     

El tratamiento de la mucormicosis (cigomicosis) en el siglo xxi

Infections due to zygomycetes, caused by mucorales and entomophthorales, are characterized by angioinvasion and invasion of neighboring organs or structures. Mucorales most commonly cause rhinocerebral, pulmonary, cutaneous or disseminated infection and its spread is favored by several diseases (such as diabetes or chronic kidney disease) and risk factors (neutropenia, immunosuppression, iron overload). They have a high mortality rate, and the key to success in their treatment are early diagnosis, prompt administration of antifungal treatment, and extensive surgical debridement. Currently, isavuconazole constitutes an option for the treatment of those mucormycosis refractory to liposomal amphotericin B. Due to its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics and its low toxicity, it is also the best choice for maintenance therapy.     

Papel futuro de la micafungina en el tratamiento de las micosis invasoras por hongos filamentosos

BackgroundMicafungin is a echinocandin. It inhibits β-1,3-D-glucan synthesis, thus achieving fungicidal activity against virtually all Candida spp., including those resistant to fluconazole, and fungistatic activity against Aspergillus spp., as well as several but not all pathogenic molds. Results from in vitro studies, animal models, small clinical trials, hint at possible future indications such as invasive aspergillosis and empirical viantifungal therapy, although currently there is little information published.AimsTo describe published data of micafungin as treatment against invasive mold infections, specially analysing its role in the inmunodepressed host and critical care setting.MethodsA sistematic review of literature using the principal medical search engines was performed. Terms such as micafungin, aspergillosis, zygomycosis, invasive fungal infections, emerging fungal infections, antifungal treatment or therapy, antifungal prophylaxis, empiric or pre-emptive therapy were crossed. Febrile neutropenia patients were excluded.ResultsSeveral studies in these setting were identified and were described in this review. Although there were no blinded randomized clinical trials published, treatment or prophylaxis of invasive aspergillosis and other invasive mould infections with micafungin described in open clinical studies were analyzed.ConclusionsMicafungin could play a future important role as a primary or rescue therapy, alone or in combination, in the treatment or prophylaxis of invasive fungal infections caused by moulds. New randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm their efficacy.     

Prevención primaria del ictus en el anciano: evidencias actuales en el tratamiento de la hipertensión arterial

After age, arterial hypertension (AHT) is the most significant risk factor associated with stroke, and accounts for more than 25% of all strokes. The prevalence of AHT in the elderly in Spain is approximately 70%, which means that there are more than 5 million people over 65 years-old with hypertension in our country. There are currently numerous trials and meta-analyses that demonstrate that antihypertensive treatment clearly reduces the risk of stroke in elderly, and very elderly (≥80 years) subjects. However there are many areas of uncertainty such as, for example, when to start antihypertensive treatment, to what level should the blood pressure be lowered, or what is the best antihypertensive in the prevention of stroke in this population. In this article we present a review of the current evidence in the prevention of stroke in the elderly patient by means of treatment of the AHT.     

Determination of amphotericin B, liposomal amphotericin B, and amphotericin B colloidal dispersion in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

Amphotericin B is a potent polyene antifungal drug for intravenous treatment of severe infections. It is used as amphotericin B-deoxycholate and in order to reduce amphotericin B toxicity as lipid-formulated complex (liposomal or colloidal dispersion). A sensitive and specific analytical method is presented for the separation of lipid-complexed and plasma protein-bound amphotericin B in human heparinized plasma. This separation, which is required for pharmacokinetic studies, is achieved by solid-phase extraction (SPE) via Bond Elut C₁₈. The protein-bound amphotericin B has a higher affinity to the SPE material and is therefore retained, whereas the lipid-complexed amphotericin B is eluted in the first step. The recovery of the SPE was >75% for high concentrations and >95% for low concentrations. Quantification was performed by reversed-phase HPLC using a LiChrosorb-RP-8 column, UV detection (λ=405 nm) and a mixture of acetonitrile–methanol–0.010 M NaH₂PO₄ buffer (41:10:49, v/v) as mobile phase. The retention time for amphotericin B under the given conditions was 6.7 min. The calibration curves were found to be linear (r≥0.999) in two different ranges (5.0–0.50 μg/ml and 0.50–0.005 μg/ml). Intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy fulfilled the international requirements. No interference from other drugs (typical broad medication for intensive-care patients) or common plasma components was detected in >400 samples analyzed.     

两性霉素B脂质体抗烟曲霉的研究

目的 通过对两性霉素B脂质体（L-AmB）的烟曲霉抵抗实验的研究,初步探讨其抗真菌的机制,为临床的合理使用两性霉素B脂质体提供实验指导。方法 将烟曲霉菌株复苏后,接种于沙保弱平板,恢复正常毒力。用洗液洗脱烟曲霉的孢子,进行两性霉素B脂质体及两性霉素B体外抗真菌的研究;用注射器吸取一定量的含烟曲霉孢子的溶液,注入小鼠的肺部,当确证其肺部感染了烟曲霉后,用L-AmB进行治疗,后期通过观察小鼠肺部的病理结果判断疗效并检测鼠肺部细胞在药物治疗后的细胞自噬相关基因LC3B,Beclin-1的水平。结果 L-AmB组的体内外抑菌作用强于AmB组且L-AmB可显著增加鼠肺部细胞的自噬水平。结论 两性霉素B脂质体可通过显著的增加细胞的自噬水平,来有效的抵抗烟曲霉的感染。     

两性霉素B脂质体、氟胞嘧啶和伊曲康唑联合治疗隐球菌性脑膜炎的临床回顾性研究

目的 观察两性霉素B脂质体、氟胞嘧啶和伊曲康唑联合治疗非AIDS、非器官移植隐球菌性脑膜炎患者的疗效和安全性,探讨非AIDS、非器官移植隐球菌性脑膜炎患者诱导治疗的新方案.方法 采用回顾性病例对照研究,18例非AIDS、非器官移植隐球菌性脑膜炎患者诱导期分别接受两性霉素B脂质体、氟胞嘧啶和伊曲康唑联合(研究组n=7)与两性霉素B、氟胞嘧啶和氟康唑联合治疗(对照组n=11).比较两组治疗方案在临床症状、体征变化、病死率、病原学转阴率、脑脊液改变等方面的差异及血常规、肝肾功能损害等不良反应发生情况.结果 治疗前研究组和对照组脑脊液新型隐球菌培养阳性分别为5例和8例(P =0.676),治疗1周后分别为5例和8例(P =0.676),治疗2周后分别为2例和4例(P =0.572),治疗3周后分别为0例和1例(P=0.611),治疗4周后,无死亡病例,两组脑脊液新型隐球菌培养均为阴性,脑脊液生化两组之间差异无统计学意义,对照组较研究组丙氨酸氨基转移酶(156.82±41.30 vs 97.00±22.02,P=0.003)、尿素氮(8.45±3.18 vs 5.54±1.28,P=0.020)升高更明显.结论 两性霉素B脂质体、氟胞嘧啶及伊曲康唑联合治疗非AIDS、非器官移植隐球菌性脑膜炎患者疗效确切,安全性较好,可以作为诱导期治疗的选择.     

Importancia de la vigilancia oftalmológica durante el tratamiento de la enfermedad invasora por Candida

BackgroundInvasive Candida disease (ICD) is the most common cause of endogenous endophthalmitis. There are two characteristic ocular signs: Candida chorioretinitis defined as retina and choroid lesions without vitreal involvement, and Candida endophthalmitis defined as chorioretinitis with extension into the vitreous with characteristic fluffy balls. The most common visual symptoms are blurred vision and floaters.AimsTo define in which patients with ICD a surveillance ophthalmoscopic examination should be done.MethodsWe searched the PubMed/Medline data base Candida endophthalmitis in adult and paediatric patients with ICD.Results and conclusionsThe need of ophthalmoscopic examination in patients with ICD is controversial, partly due to the fact that early antifungal treatment leads to a significant decrease of endogenous Candida endophthalmitis. Routine ophthalmoscopic examination seems of little value in patients with positive blood culture, with early implementation of antifungal treatment, without symptoms of ocular infection and without impairment of the level of consciousness during the episode. However, ophthalmoscopic examination should be performed in children with candidemia and critically ill patients with documented ICD, in the second week of treatment, especially in echinocandin treatment.     

Guía de consenso para el abordaje de la neumonía adquirida en la comunidad en el paciente anciano

The incidence of community-acquired pneumonia increases with age and is associated with an elevated morbidity and mortality due to the physiological changes associated with aging and a greater presence of chronic disease. Taking into account the importance of this disease from an epidemiological and prognostic point of view, and the enormous heterogeneity described in the clinical management of the elderly, we believe a specific consensus document regarding this patient profile is necessary. The purpose of the present work was to perform a review of the evidence related to the risk factors for the etiology, the clinical presentation, the management and the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in elderly patients with the aim of producing a series of specific recommendations based on critical analysis of the literature. This document is the result of the collaboration of different specialists representing the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine and Emergency Care (SEMES), the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (SEGG), the Spanish Society of Chemotherapy (SEQ), the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI), the Spanish Society of Respiratory Medicine and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR), Spanish Society of Home Hospitalization (SEHAD) and the Spanish Society of Infectious Disease and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC).