This week in BMC Medicine: Statins, personalized medicine and biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins are the first line of treatment for hypercholesterolemia in the prevention ofcardiovascular diseasesbut their side effects are associated withdepression. Current research approaches aim to determine genetic variants, biomarkers and prediction models for improved management and individualized treatment of patients with cardiac conditions. These topics are highlighted in some recently published articles inBMC Medicine我们在下面讨论。

Issues of the heart and mind are covered by asystematic review and meta-analysiswhereMichael Berkand colleagues conclude that statins may have mood-related benefits, which refutes previous evidence of adverse psychological side effects caused by statin therapy.

Steven LubitzandPatrick Ellinorreviewrecent progress in understanding the genetics ofatrial fibrillation, and discuss how genetic information can be applied in the clinic, leading to a personalized approach to prediction risk and pharmacological treatment. This article is the latest addition to our article collectionon personalized medicine: genes, biomarkers and tailored treatment.

Research by William A LaFramboise and colleagues onserum protein biomarkersshows that some biomarkers can discriminate between patients without significant coronary artery disease from those with the disease and requiring angiography. These data highlight that if the biomarkers are used in a clinical setting a reduced number of patients will be exposed to ionization, which will also lower healthcare costs.

Research into predicting mortality and cardiovascular events is also a topic that has been of much interest in recent years, and a study by Bob JH van Kempen and colleagues on theRotterdam Ischemic Heart and Disease and Stroke Computer Simulation (RISC) modelshows that these events can be reliably predicted during a period of 5 years and through an extended follow-up of 13 years. The model additionally is validated externally in a different cohort of patients.

Together, the latest evidence provides hope that patients with cardiovascular diseases can be selected and treated based on their genetic makeup, serum protein and risk-factor profiles to provide a more personalized approach to their therapy and care.

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