In light of the unprecedented public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is highly important to acknowledge the psychological impact of this mounting threat on healthcare professionals. ...Previous experience from smaller scale epidemics and emerging literature around COVID-19 show that the unparalleled amount of stress that healthcare workers are dealing with, is associated with increased psychological morbidities. We have depicted the psychological burden that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed on healthcare professionals in Greece and have reviewed the literature around the effect of previous epidemics on frontline healthcare staff. Moreover, we discuss potential triggers and the need for measures to minimise the psychological pressure on those at the frontline against this biothreat.
COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global public health emergency resulting in unprecedented individual and societal fear and anxiety. The stress surrounding this biothreat appears to have clinical ...implications in all aspects of medicine, both in mental and physical health spheres. The impact of COVID-19 related anxiety in Cardiology, Paediatrics, Oncology, Dermatology, Neurology and Mental Health and how it affects treatments is discussed. Moreover, the need for introducing novel communication and therapeutic approaches is highlighted in the new landscape of the COVID-19 era.
The multi-ligand receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and its ligands AGEs and S100/calgranulin proteins are important mediators of inflammation and oxidative stress whereas the ...soluble form of RAGE (sRAGE) by acting as a decoy and the antioxidant PARK7/DJ-1 exert antiatherogenic effects. We examined whether sRAGE and its ligands AGEs, S100A8/A9, S100B, S100A12 and DJ-1 are associated with the presence of angiographic coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic patients with and without diabetes.
Plasma levels of RAGE ligands, sRAGE and DJ-1 were determined in 50 patients with angiographically proven CAD and in 50 age-matched healthy controls. In the whole cohort, lower levels of sRAGE and higher levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), the RAGE ligands S100B, S100A12 and the AGEs/sRAGE ratio were associated with CAD. In patients without diabetes (n = 72), lower levels of sRAGE and DJ-1 and higher levels of IL-6 and AGEs/sRAGE ratio were associated with CAD. In multivariable analysis, AGEs/sRAGE ratio was an independent predictor of CAD both in the whole cohort (p = 0.034, OR = 1.247, 95%CI: 1.024, 1.0519) and in the subgroup of patients without diabetes (p = 0.021, OR = 1.363, 95%CI 1.048, 1.771) on top of established cardiovascular risk factors.
Alterations in plasma RAGE axis inflammatory mediators are associated with atherosclerosis, and higher levels of AGEs/sRAGE ratio are independently associated with CAD in asymptomatic patients and may act as a novel biomarker for predicting CAD. DJ-1 emerges as promising marker of oxidative stress in CAD patients without diabetes, a finding that deserves further study.
•In the cohort, CAD patients had higher IL-6, S100B, S100A12 and AGEs/sRAGE ratio and lower of sRAGE compared with controls.•CAD patients without diabetes had higher IL-6, AGEs/sRAGE ratio and lower sRAGE and DJ-1 compared with controls.•The soluble form of RAGE (sRAGE) by acting as a decoy and the antioxidant PARK7/DJ-1 may exert antiatherogenic effects.•AGEs/sRAGE ratio is independently associated with CAD, on top of established cardiovascular risk factors.
PDF
