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Background and Purpose: Studies have shown that fecal occult blood is associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, but the relationship between fecal occult blood and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) remains largely unknown. This study aimed to identify predictors for CSVD, with fecal occult blood and its proxies as potential influencing factors in elderly patients., Method: Patients aged 65 years or older with various chronic diseases were enrolled. The presence of CSVD was evaluated by brain MRI results. Fecal occult blood was measured by fecal immunochemical test. Logistic regression analysis was used for the association between the presence of fecal occult blood and the risk of CSVD., Results: Logistic regression analysis indicated that a prevalence of positive fecal occult blood was related to CSVD (Model 1, adjusted OR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.15-2.29, P=0.006). We subsequently grouped all subjects as positive fecal occult blood (259, 16.48%) and negative fecal occult blood (1313, 83.52%), and logistic regression analysis indicated that a prevalence of CSVD was related to positive fecal occult blood (Model 2, adjusted OR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.08-2.08, P=0.015). In addition, the ratios of lacunes (67.18% vs. 53.85%, P<0.001) and enlarged perivascular spaces (43.63% vs. 34.42%, P=0.005) were higher in patients with positive fecal occult blood than in controls., Conclusions: The presence of fecal occult blood is probably related to the risk of CSVD in elderly patients and could be used as a screening tool for CSVD in elderly populations., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Fabry disease may be treated by enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), but the impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on the response to therapy remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to analyse the incidence and predictors of clinical events in patients on ERT., Study Design: Multicentre retrospective observational analysis of patients diagnosed and treated with ERT for Fabry disease. The primary outcome was the first renal, neurological or cardiological events or death during a follow-up of 60 months (24-120)., Results: In 69 patients (42 males, 27 females, mean age 44.6±13.7 years), at the end of follow-up, eGFR and the left ventricular septum thickness remained stable and the urinary albumin: creatinine ratio tended to decrease, but this decrease only approached significance in patients on agalsidase-beta (242-128mg/g (p=0.05). At the end of follow-up, 21 (30%) patients had suffered an incident clinical event: 6 renal, 2 neurological and 13 cardiological (including 3 deaths). Events were more frequent in patients with baseline eGFR≤60ml/min/1.73m 2 (log Rank 12.423, p=0.001), and this remained significant even after excluding incident renal events (log Rank 4.086, p=0.043) and in males and in females. Lower baseline eGFR was associated with a 3- to 7-fold increase the risk of clinical events in different Cox models., Conclusions: GFR at the initiation of ERT is the main predictor of clinical events, both in males and in females, suggesting that start of ERT prior to the development of CKD is associated with better outcomes., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)