[Dizziness and vertigo - like headache - are the most common complaints which leads patients to visit the doctor. In spite of the headache - which may be primary (e.g. migraine) or symptomatic - dizziness and vertigo do not appear to be a separate nosologic entity but rather the symptoms of several neurological disorders. For differential diagnosis, interdisciplinary thinking and activity is needed because the vestibular, neurological and psychiatric disorders might have a common role in the development of symptoms and further overlapping can also occur. The vascular disorders of the vertebrobasilar system are discussed in detail in this review. The importance, occurrence and causes of vertigo as a warning symptom is in the focus. The author draws attention to life-threatening conditions with acute onset in cases of the posterior scale ischemia and emphasizes the importance of the correct and early diagnosis. The author tries to clear up the nihilistic aspect in treating of stroke and stresses the necessity of thrombolysis and interventional radiological procedures which may be the only chance for the recovery of the patients. The pharmacological prevention of recurrent vascular events is also important and obligatory for the clinicians.]

[Accelerated cardiovascular disease is a frequent complication of chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease promotes hypertension and dyslipidaemia, which in turn can contribute to the progression of renal failure. Diabetic nephropathy is a leading cause of renal failure. Hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes together are the major risk factors of the development of endothelial dysfunction and progression of atherosclerosis. Inflammatory mediators are often elevated and the renin-angiotensin system is frequently activated in chronic kidney disease. Promoters of calcification are increased and inhibitors are reduced, which favors vascular calcification, an important cause of vascular injury associated with end-stage renal disease. Accelerated atherosclerosis will then lead to increased prevalence of coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke and peripheral arterial disease.]

[Purpose of review: To describe the clinical role of CDK 4/6 inhibitors in hormone receptor-positive (HR+) metastatic breast cancer (HR+MBC) as well as current controversies and evolving areas of research. Recent fi ndings: Palbociclib, ribociclib, and abemaciclib are each approved in combination with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant for HR+MBC. Abemaciclib is also approved as monotherapy for pre-treated patients. Key questions in the fi eld include whether all patients with HR+MBC should receive a CDK 4/6 inhibitor up front versus later line, impact on overall survival, role of continued CDK 4/6 blockade, mechanism of clinical resistance, and treatment sequencing. Summary: The development of CDK 4/6 inhibitors has changed the therapeutic management of HR+MBC. Additional research is needed to determine optimal treatment sequencing, understand mechanisms governing resistance, and develop novel therapeutic strategies to circumvent or overcome clinical resistance and further improve the outcomes of patients with MBC.]

[Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of major adult disability in developed countries. The annual incidence of hospitalized stroke varies between 400-500 per 100 000 inhabitants every year in Hungary. In the past decade, cholesterol lowering with 3- hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) has proved to reduce risk of stroke in patients with and without coronary disease (CAD). In patients with CAD, statin therapy reduces the risk of first stroke by 25% to 35% versus placebo and, moreover, intensive statin therapy to LDL-C targets below 2.6 mmol/L (100 mg/dL) appears to reduce the risk further. More recently it has also been shown that intensive statin therapy can reduce risk of recurrent stroke in nondiabetic as well as diabetic patients with recent stroke or transient ischaemic attack but no CAD. The overall reduction of stroke and TIA was 23%. Evidence from retrospective studies suggests that in addition to risk reduction statin pretreatment may improve stroke outcome. It may due to their pleiotropic effects that include improvement of endothelium function, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, and immunomodulatory effects. As statins have both an excellent safety profile and simple administration, physicians should consider using statins, at dosages shown to have efficacy in clinical trials, in all patients whose cardiovascular risk profile puts them at high risk of stroke.]

[Different antihypertensive agents, while having the same blood pressure lowering effect, will have significantly and clinically important different impact on the serum levels of glucose, lipids, insulin, potassium, creatinine, as well as on albumin excretion, heart rate, body weight, central pressure, various hypertensive target organ damages, and, in particular, 24-hour blood pressure dinamics. There is agreement in that the main benefits of first-line antihypertensive agents are related to the lowering of blood pressure itself. Some other drugs, however, have shown preventive and protective cardiovascular properties in certain patient groups, independent of their blood pressure lowering effect as measured traditionally.]