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Objective: A pilot study to evaluate a staff training intervention implementing a nurse-led hypertension care model., Design and Setting: Clinical and laboratory data from all primary care centres (PCCs) in the Swedish region Västra Götaland (VGR), retrieved from regional registers. Intervention started 2018 in 11 PCCs. A total of 190 PCCs served as controls. Change from baseline was assessed 2 years after start of intervention., Intervention: Training of selected personnel, primarily in drug choice, team-based care, measurement techniques, and use of standardized medical treatment protocols., Patients: Hypertensive patients without diabetes or ischemic heart disease were included. The intervention and control groups contained approximately 10,000 and 145,000 individuals, respectively., Main Outcome Measures: Blood pressure (BP) <140/90 mmHg, LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) <3.0 mmol/L, BP ending on -0 mmHg (digit preference, an indirect sign of manual measuring technique), choice of antihypertensive drugs, cholesterol lowering therapy and attendance patterns were measured., Results: In the intervention group, the percentage of patients reaching the BP target did not change significantly, 56%-61% (control 50%-52%), non-significant. However, the percentage of patients with LDL- C  < 3.0 mmol/L increased from 34%-40% (control 36%-36%), p = .043, and digit preference decreased, 39%-27% (control 41%-35%), p  = 0.000. The number of antihypertensive drugs was constant, 1.63 - 1.64 (control 1.62 - 1.62), non-significant, but drug choice changed in line with recommendations., Conclusion: Although this primary care intervention based on staff training failed to improve BP control, it resulted in improved cardiovascular control by improved cholesterol lowering treatment.

To investigate the effect of sea buckthorn puree consumption on reducing blood lipid and other risk factors of CVD. A total of 111 patients with hypercholesteromia who were treated with 90   ml sea buckthorn puree or placebo for 90   days were enrolled in this trial. Physical examination and analysis of lipid markers, hsCRP concentrations and cell adhesion protein concentrations with fasting blood samples were performed at 0-day, 45-day and 90-day after treatment. We found that the sea buckthorn puree did not affect the levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG). However, the level of HDL-C was decreased by sea buckthorn puree in a short period (first 6   weeks), which was increased in the last 6   weeks ( p   < 0.05). Compared with placebo, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was decreased after taking sea buckthorn puree ( p  > 0.05). There was moderately decreased in hsCRP concentration in sea buckthorn group. Nevertheless, there was no correlation between changes in ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 concentration. In conclusion, long term consumption of sea buckthorn puree has anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive effects on hypercholesterolemia in hypercholesterolemic patients. However, it did not translate into an effect on the concentration of lipid markers in the circulation.

Despite a favorable effect of imatinib on glucose metabolism in animal models, human reports are inconsistent. We retrospectively studied the long-term effect of imatinib on fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), LDL-cholesterol (LDL), and triglycerides (TGs) in a large HMO cohort of patients initiating therapy. In patients with diabetes ( n  = 118), significant reductions in HbA1c (0.53%, IQR 0.09, 1.19; p  < .001) and FPG (10.2 mg/dL, IQR -3.5, 32.2; p  < .001), independent of demographics and of glucose-lowering drugs utilization, were observed during the first year of imatinib treatment. Significant reductions in LDL (17.8 mg/dL, IQR -1.3, 34.0; p  < .001) and TG (25.0 mg/dL, IQR -2.3, 58.3; p  < .001), also independent of demographics and of statin utilization, were evident in the entire cohort ( n  = 611) during the first imatinib year. All reductions persisted during the second treatment year. To conclude, imatinib is associated with durable metabolic benefits, which may guide TKI choice in patients with cardiovascular co-morbidities.