Objective To assess the effect of B vitamins supplementation on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and also to evaluate the relationship between homocysteine and risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Methods Using the words ‘homocysteine’, ‘cardiovascular disease’, ‘cerebrovascular disease’, ‘B vitamins’, and ‘randomized controlled trial’, we searched PubMed, Ovid, and Springer. We also hand searched relevant journals and conference proceedings. Randomized controlled trials published between 1998 and July 2008 which evaluated the effect of B vitamins supplementation on vascular diseases were collected. Two reviewers independently screened trials, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of included trials. The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2 software was used for statistical analysis. Results Sixteen trials involving 27,043 patients with vascular disease were included. Results of meta-analyses showed that no significant differences were identified between the B vitamins group and the control group for each of the four endpoints, including the risk of cardiovascular events (RR 0.98, 95%CI 0.94 to 1.03), the risk of coronary heart disease (RR 0.99, 95%CI 0.92 to 1.07), the risk of stroke (RR 0.90, 95%CI 0.80 to 1.02), and the total mortality (RR 0.98, 95%CI 0.92 to 1.05). Sensitivity analyses conducted by a random effect model or with the exclusion of low-quality trials did not change the overall results. Conclusion The trials currently available cannot confirm the causal relationship between homocysteine and risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. More evidence from large-scale randomized controlled trials is needed to confirm this. There is not sufficient evidence to show that B vitamins supplementation can lower the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. B vitamins supplementation should not be recommended for the secondary prevention of such diseases.
ObjectiveTo comprehensively review the status quo, contents, and problems of health technology assessments (HTAs) on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in Chinese rural. MethodsThe CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data and CBM databases were searched for the HTAs on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in Chinese rural up to October 31st, 2013. Two reviewers independently screened literatures and extracted data, and then the qualitative method was used to systematically analyze the literatures' information and results. ResultsA total of 34 studies were included. Of which, 23 were descriptive studies and 11 were experimental studies. The studied populations were patients and ordinary residents who had received the service of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases health technology in rural, as well as the grassroots medical technical personnel and promotion staffs who had developed the health technologies. HTAs on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in rural mainly included western medicine health technologies and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) health technologies. The contents of HTA of the included literatures mainly included:effectiveness, acceptability, requirements, economic characteristics, safety and technical specific property. The results of the included literatures showed that the type of diseases involved in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in rural were not widely enough, the fields involved in assessment contents were single, lack of rigorous and comprehensive study design. ConclusionWe need more HTAs of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in rural, we also need to strengthen early prevention, promote a wider range of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases health technology, strengthen promotion and application of both TCM health technologies and the combination of TCM and western medicine health technologies in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Objective To systematically review the effectiveness of Yindan Xinnaotong capsule for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Methods We electronically searched databases including PubMed, MEDLINE, CBM, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data for published articles of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Yindan Xinnaotong capsule plus conventional drugs versus conventional drugs for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases from inception to April, 2016. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 62 RCTs involving 6 306 patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the improvement of symptoms, such as the total clinical effective rate of cerebrovascular disease indications (stroke) (RR=1.25, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.31,P<0.000 01), and the total clinical effective rate of cerebrovascular disease (ischemic headache) indications (RR=1.27, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.38,P<0.000 01), and the total clinical effective rate of coronary heart disease and angina pectoris (RR=1.21, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.25,P<0.000 01), were superior in the combination arm to the conventional drugs alone arm. Conclusion The current evidence shows that the combination of Yindan Xinnaotong capsule and conventional drugs may significantly improve the effectiveness. Due to the limited quality and quantity of the included studies, the above conclusions need more high quality studies to verify.
Telomeres play an important role in maintaining genomic stability and cell life. Accumulating studies show that telomeres are closely related to human aging, cardiovascular diseases and cerebrovascular diseases. There are a series of researches about telomeres and atherosclerosis across the world, including studies on the relationship between atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases and telomere length, and on telomere-targeted treatments for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Telomeres may be a risk predictor or a new therapeutic target for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. This article reviews the relationship between telomeres and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, introduces the research progress of telomere length and cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and the possible mechanisms of their association, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for exploring new therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis.