[By efficiently reducing serum cholesterol level, statins significantly decrease both cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Decreasing LDL-cholesterol level by 1% reduces coronary mortality risk by 1%, whereas increasing HDL-cholesterol level by 1% reduces the risk by 3%. At the same time, renal failure significantly increases cardiovascular events and/or mortality compared with the population mean. It is an exciting question whether statins are able to prevent and decelerate the deterioration of kidney function deterioration, preserve GFR and decrease albuminuria. Depending on the strength of their effect, statins have different cholesterol-lowering capacity (rosuvastatin and atorvastatin are especially effective). An important question is whether these differences can be detected in the renal function as well. The results of experimental data and major clinical trials (e.g. AURORA, PLANET I-II, SHARP) are often controversial. Nevertheless, statin therapy has advantages for patients with kidney diseases, although to a lesser extent than it has in the normal population.]

[The primary aim of cardiovascular prevention is to reach adequate blood pressure control. To prevent the development of target organ lesion it is essential to use long-acting, well tolerable drugs without significant side effects. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are popular and excellent preparations but their side effects reduce life long patient compliance. Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are effective drugs having unique tolerability and a capability to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality to the same extent as the ACE inhibitors. Especially high risk patients benefit from their combination with thiazide diuretics or with calcium channel blockers. Clinical trials proved that telmisartan can be safely given and well tolerable alone or in combination to high risk cardiovascular patients, in heart and renal, peripheral vascular and cerebrovascular diseases combined or not with diabetes.]

[Population based studies have proven that serum level of uric acid is a cardiovascular risk factor. Uric acid is produced in the human body as a result of the degradation of endogenous and exogenous purin nucleotids. It is eliminated mainly by the kidneys and in a small amount through the gastrointestinal tract. Serum uric acid can be decreased by some medical therapies. It has been demonstrated that atorvastatin treatment can decrease significantly uric acid level in patients with hyperlipidemia. Other statins do not seem to have such an effect. The uric acid lowering effect of atorvastatin is dose-dependent, and it most likely acts by increasing the renal elimination. The cholesterol, trgiglycerid and uric acid lowering effect of atorvastatin may have an important role in decreasing cardiovascular risk.]

[We conducted a multicentre, prospective, single cross-sectional, 12-month, open-label study for the assessment of treatment satisfaction using TSQM (Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication) for zoledronic acid therapy used in patients with osteoporosis, who suffered minor traumatic fractures. PATIENTS AND METHODS - In total 1736 patients from 94 centers completed the study and filled in the TSQM questionnaire at both visit 1 and visit 2. TSQM is suitable for measuring the patient’s satisfaction with a treatment, by evaluating side-effects, efficacy and convenience of the treatment and the patient’s overall satisfaction rated on a scale of 0 to 100. RESULTS - Patients included in the study previously received a mean of 1.58 other therapies for osteoporosis and their case history included a mean of 1.24 fractures. This real-life study demonstrated that even one year of zoledronate treatment significantly (p<0.0001) improved the satisfaction of patients regarding efficacy (a mean change from a score of 56.15 to 70.89) as well as the occurrence of side-effects on a TSQM score. Regarding the convenience of treatment, the mean score increased from 62.96 to 79.34 (p<0.0001), whereas the overall treatment satisfaction changed from 59.3 to 75.48 by visit 2 (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS - Our study demonstrated beneficial TSQM results associated with zoledronic acid treatment, which is a basic requirement for appropriate adherence as well. ]

[Nonadherence to pharmacological treat-ment in osteoporosis is a well-recognised problem not only in Hungary but all over the world. As in other chronic diseases, adherence to osteoporosis treatment is poor, which results in serious problems affecting patients as well as health care resources. Low adherence rates consistent-ly result in increased rates of fractures. Some approaches aimed to improve com-plience and persistence, such as extension of dosing intervals, might improve patients’ adherence to therapy. International clinical studies have demonstrated that the number of fractures cannot be reduced without suf-ficient adherence. Improving patient edu-cation, enhancing interactions between health care providers and patients, taking into account patients’ preferences and involving them in treatment decisions may all improve adherence.]