Defects in microvascular haemodynamics during prediabetes: contributor or epiphenomenon?

Dendritic cells in cardiovascular diseases: epiphenomenon, contributor, or therapeutic opportunity.

C ardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. 1 It has been so for decades, notwithstanding a wide array of – mostly preventive – treatment modalities targeting known risk factors, such as hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or obesity. Recent technical and conceptual advances have unveiled important contributions of the immune system ...

Menopause: Adaptation or Epiphenomenon?

Evolutionary biologists consider all complex design features of organisms to be ultimately the result of natural selection. As such, menopause can always be considered an adaptation. At the same time, it is also recognized that an adaptation is always morphologically, physiologically, and developmentally constrained by an organism’s phylogenetic heritage.18 The question of origin is whether men...

Microcirculatory Haemodynamics and Endothelial Dysfunction in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Wright: Microvascular Haemodynamics in SLE

Rhinosinusitis and asthma: epiphenomenon or causal association?

I t has long been recognized that diseases of upper and lower airways may coexist. Indeed, as many as 80% of patients with asthma have rhinitis,1 and up to 15% of patients with allergic rhinitis have asthma.2 Sinusitis and asthma are also frequently associated in the same patient, but doubts still remain as to whether a causal relationship exists wherein sinusitis worsens bronchial asthma, or w...

Psychological disorders in gastrointestinal disease: epiphenomenon, cause or consequence?

BACKGROUND Psychological disorders have been associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for decades in the absence of other objective etiology. However, such associations are also evident in other chronic diseases with more clearly defined pathogenesis such as ulcerative colitis. In this study, we examined the prevalence and severity of psychological disorders among IBS and ulcerative colit...