scholarly journals COVID-19: In the Eye of the Cytokine Storm

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto de la Rica ◽  
Marcio Borges ◽  
Marta Gonzalez-Freire
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Inflammatory Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cytokine Storm ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Inflammatory State

The dysregulated release of cytokines has been identified as one of the key factors behind poorer outcomes in COVID-19. This ‘cytokine storm ‘produces an excessive inflammatory and immune response, especially in the lungs, leading to acute respiratory distress (ARDS), pulmonary edema and multi-organ failure. Alleviating this inflammatory state is crucial to improve prognosis. Pro-inflammatory factors play a central role in COVID-19 severity, especially in patients with comorbidities In these situations, an overactive, untreated immune response can be deadly, suggesting that mortality in COVID-19 cases is likely due to this virally driven hyperinflammation. Administering immunomodulators has not yielded conclusive improvements in other pathologies characterized by dysregulated inflammation such as sepsis, SARS-CoV-1 and MERS. The success of these drugs at reducing COVID-19-driven inflammation is still anecdotal and comes with serious risks. It is also imperative to screen the elderly for risk factors that predispose them to severe COVID-19. Immunosenescence and comorbidities should be taken into consideration. In this review, we summarize the latest data available about the role of the cytokine storm in COVID-19 disease severity as well as potential therapeutic approaches to ameliorate it. We also examine the role of inflammation in other diseases often comorbid with COVID-19, such as aging, sepsis, and pulmonary disorders. Finally, we identify gaps in our knowledge and suggest priorities for future research aimed at stratifying patients according to risk as well as personalizing therapies in the context of COVID19-driven hyperinflammation.

scholarly journals Exploring the Role of Endothelial Cell Resilience in Cardiovascular Health and Disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunling Gao ◽  
Zorina S. Galis
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Disease Understanding

Traditionally, much research effort has been invested into focusing on disease, understanding pathogenic mechanisms, identifying risk factors, and developing effective treatments. A few recent studies unraveling the basis for absence of disease, including cardiovascular disease, despite existing risk factors, a phenomenon commonly known as resilience, are adding new knowledge and suggesting novel therapeutic approaches. Given the central role of endothelial function in cardiovascular health, we herein provide a number of considerations that warrant future research and considering a paradigm shift toward identifying the molecular underpinnings of endothelial resilience.

scholarly journals Role of Neuroinflammation in Adult Neurogenesis and Alzheimer Disease: Therapeutic Approaches

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almudena Fuster-Matanzo ◽  
María Llorens-Martín ◽  
Félix Hernández ◽  
Jesús Avila
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Adult Neurogenesis ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Common Cause ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Chronic Activation ◽  
The Brain

Neuroinflammation, a specialized immune response that takes place in the central nervous system, has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases, and specially, it has been considered as a hallmark of Alzheimer disease, the most common cause of dementia in the elderly nowadays. Furthermore, neuroinflammation has been demonstrated to affect important processes in the brain, such as the formation of new neurons, commonly known as adult neurogenesis. For this, many therapeutic approaches have been developed in order to avoid or mitigate the deleterious effects caused by the chronic activation of the immune response. Considering this, in this paper we revise the relationships between neuroinflammation, Alzheimer disease, and adult neurogenesis, as well as the current therapeutic approaches that have been developed in the field.

scholarly journals The role of inflammation and metabolic risk factors in the pathogenesis of calcific aortic valve stenosis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maddalena Conte ◽  
Laura Petraglia ◽  
Pasquale Campana ◽  
Gerardo Gerundo ◽  
Aurelio Caruso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Systemic Inflammation ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Metabolic Risk Factors ◽  
Signal Pathways ◽  
Metabolic Risk ◽  
Inflammatory State ◽  
Fat Depot ◽  
And Function

Abstract Given the epidemiologic increase of aged population in the world, aortic stenosis (AS) represents now the most common valvular heart disease in industrialized countries. It is a very challenging disease, representing an important cause of morbidity, hospitalization and death in the elderly population. It is widely recognized that AS is the result of a very complex active process, driven by inflammation and involving multifactorial pathological mechanisms promoting valvular calcification and valvular bone deposition. Several evidence suggest that epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), the visceral fat depot of the heart, represents a direct source of cytokines and could mediate the deleterious effects of systemic inflammation on the myocardium. Importantly, obesity and metabolic disorders are associated with chronic systemic inflammation leading to a significant increase of EAT amount and to a pro-inflammatory phenotypic shift of this fat depot. It has been hypothesized that the EAT inflammatory state can influence the structure and function of the heart, thus contributing to the pathogenesis of several cardiac diseases, including calcific AS. The current review will discuss the recently discovered mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of AS, with particular attention to the role of inflammation, metabolic risk factors and pro-fibrotic and pro-osteogenic signal pathways promoting the onset and progression of the disease. Moreover, it will be explored the potential role of EAT in the AS pathophysiology.

scholarly journals Role of Multiple Comorbidities and Therapies in Conditioning the Clinical Severity of DRESS: A Mono-Center Retrospective Study of 25 Cases

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 7072
Author(s):  
Andrea Toniato ◽  
Chiara Gamba ◽  
Jan Walter Schroeder ◽  
Valeria Fabbri ◽  
Scarlett Valeria Bernal Ortiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Drug Reaction ◽  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Clinical Severity ◽  
Severe Reaction ◽  
Skin Involvement ◽  
Inflammatory State ◽  
Reaction Severity ◽  
Clinical Conditions

DRESS/DiHS is a complex and potentially fatal drug reaction. Little is known about risk factors and elements that can help to identify patients with a severe reaction early. The aim of the study was to investigate those factors favoring the disease and its severity by analyzing the clinical conditions and therapies preceding the reaction. We conducted a retrospective analysis on patients admitted to our center between 2010 and 2020 who were discharged with a diagnosis of DRESS. We used the RegiSCAR diagnostic criteria. We defined the severity of DRESS using the criteria of Mizukawa et al. We included 25 patients (15 females) with a median age of 66 years. Skin involvement, eosinophilia, and liver injury were the most important aspects. Allopurinol was found to be the most involved drug. Reaction severity was significantly associated with the number of daily medications (p=0.0067) and an age of at least 68 years (p=0.013). In addition, 75% of severe cases had at least three comorbidities in history, and most of the severe cases were female. In our study the advanced age, the high number of comorbidities and home therapies, and the inflammatory state were found to be predisposing elements to the development of the disease and its severity.

Neuroinflammation in Huntington’s disease: A starring role for astrocyte and microglia

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julieta Saba ◽  
Federico López Couselo ◽  
Julieta Bruno ◽  
Lila Carniglia ◽  
Daniela Durand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Genetic Disorder ◽  
Cag Repeat ◽  
Inflammatory Factors ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Reactive Microglia ◽  
New Treatments ◽  
The Brain

: Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene. HD causes motor, cognitive, and behavioral dysfunction. Since no existing treatment affects the course of this disease, new treatments are needed. Inflammation is frequently observed in HD patients before symptom onset. Neuroinflammation, characterized by the presence of reactive microglia and astrocytes and inflammatory factors within the brain, is also detected early. However, in comparison with other neurodegenerative diseases, the role of neuroinflammation in HD is much less known. Work has been dedicated to altered microglial and astrocytic functions in the context of HD, but less attention has been given to glial participation in neuroinflammation. This review describes evidence of inflammation in HD patients and animal models. It also discusses recent knowledge on neuroinflammation in HD, highlighting astrocyte and microglia involvement in the disease and considering anti-inflammatory therapeutic approaches.

scholarly journals A Framework for Green Remodeling Enabling Energy Efficiency and Healthy Living for the Elderly

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Park ◽  
Mi Kim
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Aging In Place ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Healthy Living ◽  
Critical Components

This study proposes a framework for green remodeling for the elderly that emphasizes the role of designers and the notion of aging in place. Energy efficiency is critical for older persons because many of them spend more time at home and are less likely to heat and cool their homes appropriately. Improving the energy performance of the elderly’s housing by green remodeling could promote energy efficiency and healthy living for the elderly. Based on remodeling components derived from related work, key factors to be considered regarding the remodeling for the elderly were investigated. A framework for green remodeling enabling energy efficiency was developed for home upgrades for the elderly. Identifying the area of application and critical components for energy efficiency helps improve the energy performance for the elderly. This study is significant because it considers the elderly’s characteristics and experiences in the development of a sustainable remodeling process rather than new-building construction.

Risk factors of attempted suicide in the elderly: The role of cognitive impairment

2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Osvath ◽  
Attila Kovacs ◽  
Viktor Voros ◽  
Sandor Fekete
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Attempted Suicide ◽  
The Elderly

scholarly journals Pasture establishment on non-cultivable hill country: a review of the New Zealand literature

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 213-224
Author(s):  
K.N. Tozer ◽  
G.B. Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Seed Quality ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Large Contribution ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Sowing Time ◽  
Hill Country

Steep, non-cultivable hill country below 1000 m comprises about 40% of New Zealand's land surface and is known as "hill country". It is used predominantly for mixed livestock farming, and makes a large contribution to the national economy. Recently there has been renewed interest by industry and government in germplasm introduction through pasture establishment to increase forage supply in these difficult environments. In this review, establishment is defined as development of a sown pasture species to a stage where it is able to reseed. The aim of this review was to determine the effect of key factors associated with pre-sowing management, sowing, and post-sowing management on establishment, including: site selection, herbicides, the role of litter, grazing management, burning, weed and pest control, fallow, fertiliser, species selection, seed quality, sowing time, sowing method, sowing rate, seed inoculation, coating and pelleting, natural reseeding and dissemination of seeds by animals. Over 120 studies were reviewed. A secondary aim was to highlight directions for future research. Keywords: establishment success, sowing, pasture renewal, oversowing

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Hyperinflammation: Role of Steroid in Mild Disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
Jhasaketan Meher ◽  
Manish Kumar Nayak
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Cytokine Storm ◽  
Multiorgan Dysfunction ◽  
Mild Disease ◽  
Persistent Symptoms

Current COVID-19 has become a major public health problem because of its pandemicity, with wide spectrum of disease manifestation. SARS-COV-2 can have a varied clinical manifestation ranging from asymptomatic, mild symptomatic to severe disease like acute respiratory distress syndrome, cytokine storm, and multiorgan dysfunction. It has been described in literature that cytokine storm/hyperinflammation arises as result of dysregulated immune response leading to excessive release of various cytokines which causes multiorgan dysfunction. But there is paucity of literature describing the immune response and hyperinflammation in mild disease which may cause unremitting symptoms. Here we describe a case series of three patients with mild disease, who had persistent symptoms beyond 1 week and managed with low dose steroid after confirming it to be hyperinflammation. So it is imperative to detect the hyperinflammatory phase to halt the disease progression. Also we have discussed the role of immune system and role of steroid in COVID-19.

scholarly journals STROKE PREVENTION OPPORTUNITIES FOR CARDIOLOGISTS: COMPLEX MANAGEMENT OF ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION (ROLE OF CALCIUM ANTAGONISTS)

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 79-81
Author(s):  
E. O. Taratukhin
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Arterial Hypertension ◽  
Calcium Channel Blockers ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Channel Blockers ◽  
Hypertension Treatment ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Antihypertensive Medications ◽  
Multiple Risk Factors

The paper focuses on the important issue of cardio-cerebral interactions, cardiac comorbidities, and the need for complex therapeutic approaches. While stroke is traditionally regarded as a neurologic problem, cardiologists play an important role in its prevention, via modification of multiple risk factors. One of the key preventive measures is arterial hypertension treatment. New calcium channel blockers are a promising group of modern antihypertensive medications. 

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