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There has been no evidence to suggest that antihypertensives and antidiabetic medications should be discontinued in COVID-19 patients but these patients should be closely monitored to ensure that their blood pressure and blood glucose levels are stable. Assessment of vaccination efficacy in cardiometabolic disease patients is also discussed.Hypercholesterolemia is a well-established risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). How cholesterol and its carrier lipoproteins are involved in ASCVD is still under extensive investigation. Satins are thus far the best proven class of cholesterol lowering medications to improve the clinical outcomes of ASCVD. Statins specifically inhibit the rate-limiting enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase of the mevalonate (MVA) pathway for cholesterol biosynthesis. The widely accepted theory is that statins inhibit the hepatic cholesterol synthesis causing upregulation of hepatocyte low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor; receptor mediated LDL uptake and metabolism in the liver results in reduction of circulating LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), which subsequently reduces vascular deposition and retention of cholesterol or LDL in atherogenesis. Nevertheless, cholesterol biosynthesis is ubiquitous, also in extrahepatic cells including those in vascular wall, under tight regulation by sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP), the master gene transcription factor governing cholesterol biosynthesis. Studies have shown that SREBP can be upregulated in vascular wall subject to injury or stent implantation. SREBP can be activated by proinflammatory and mitogenic factors in vascular cells, leading to hyperactive MVA pathway, which promotes vascular cell mobilization, further proinflammatory and mitogenic factor release from vascular cells, and vascular inflammation. In this article, we review the cellular cholesterol homeostasis regulation by SREBP and SREBP-mediated vascular hyperactive cholesterol biosynthesis, we term vascular hypercholesterolism, in the pathogenesis of ASCVD and vasculopathy. SREBP functions as a platform bridging cholesterol, inflammation, and vascular cell mobilization in ASCVD pathogenesis. Targeting vascular hypercholesterolism could open a new avenue in fighting against ASCVD.

This study aimed to estimate the frequency of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and its associated factors among pregnant women.

This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of consecutive pregnant women visiting the University of Cape Coast hospital's antenatal clinic. Meibomian gland assessment and tear function test were performed along with the administration of a symptom questionnaire. Correlation, analysis of variance, and logistic regression analyses were used to examine predictors of MGD.

All 201 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria and gave informed consent were included in the study. The mean age of the entire sample was 29.96 (±4.74) years. The frequency of MGD among the cohort of pregnant women was 22.9% (95% confidence interval, 17.4%-28.9%). Univariate logistic regression revealed that the following factors were significantly associated with MGD high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (odds ratio [OR] 1.017; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001-1.034; P=0.042), total cholesterol (TC) (OR 1.009; 95% CI, 1.003-1.016; P=0.006), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (OR 1.008; 95% CI, 1.00-1.016; P=0.049). selleck chemicals llc In multivariate analysis, the model confirmed that MGD was not significantly associated with TC, LDL, and HDL.

In summary, this study showed a high frequency of MGD in pregnant women but comparable with that reported in the normal population. Clinicians examining pregnant women for dry eye disease may need to pay attention to other causative instigators aside MGD to enable the clinicians to make an appropriate etiology-based diagnosis.

In summary, this study showed a high frequency of MGD in pregnant women but comparable with that reported in the normal population. Clinicians examining pregnant women for dry eye disease may need to pay attention to other causative instigators aside MGD to enable the clinicians to make an appropriate etiology-based diagnosis.

To estimate the prevalence of keratoconus in the United States using a large vision insurance database.

We used data from the 2016 vision service plan (VSP) Global claims database to estimate the prevalence of keratoconus among enrollees by state. The VSP Global database includes cross-sectional de-identified claims data summarized by state of residence in predefined age and gender groups. Crude values of prevalence of keratoconus are provided in the VSP Global database. The open-source software package qGIS version 3.12 was used as the geographic information system for geospatial analysis.

The prevalence of keratoconus among VSP enrollees in the United States was estimated to be 0.15% with 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.15%, 0.15%). The prevalence of keratoconus was highest in Western states and among male population. The highest prevalence of keratoconus was in Colorado (0.51%; 95% CI 0.49%-0.52%), with particularly high prevalence for men in the age groups 18 to 39 years (0.90%; 95% CI 0.84%-0.95%) and 40 to 64 years (0.90%; 95% CI 0.85%-0.95%).

The average prevalence of keratoconus in the United States in 2016 may be higher than previously reported. Living in Western states and male sex were associated with high prevalence.

The average prevalence of keratoconus in the United States in 2016 may be higher than previously reported. Living in Western states and male sex were associated with high prevalence.

To assess the potential effects of switching to online lecture format on dry eye symptoms and dry eye disease (DED) risk factors.

An anonymous cross-sectional online survey was conducted in 812 university students (mean age, 21.5±4.0 years). Participants were classified according to the number of hours the participants took online lectures into online students or in-person students. Respondents completed a total of three DED questionnaires (Ocular Surface Disease Index [OSDI]; 5-item Dry Eye Questionnaire; 8-item Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire) and were surveyed on dry eye risk factors contemplated by the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society Dry Eye Workshop II in addition to other factors potentially linked to dry eye.

Five hundred twenty-three subjects (64.4%) were classified into the online group and 289 (35.6%) into the in-person group. No statistically significant age (P=0.266) or sex (P=0.423) differences were found between groups. Students taking online lectures used the computer more, spent less time outdoors, practised more exercise, wore a face mask for less time, experienced fewer allergies and fewer psoriasis episodes, and obtained a higher OSDI score (P<0.