Kitas GD

Publications (3)7.64 Total impact

• Article: Adverse Cardiovascular Effects of Antirheumatic Drugs: Implications for Clinical Practice and Research.

  Gasparyan AY, Ayvazyan L, Cocco G, Kitas GD
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  ABSTRACT: Clinical manifestations of most rheumatic diseases have changed over the past few decades, largely due to advances in therapies targeting autoimmune and (auto)inflammatory pathways. Improvements in the management of rheumatic diseases have also now brought to the fore the issue of comorbidities. It has become evident that the burden of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is increased in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the spondyloarthropathies, amongst other conditions. As a result, efforts have switched toward investigating the effects of conventional antirheumatic and new biologic agents on inflammationinduced atherothrombosis. Evidence is accumulating suggesting a beneficial cardiovascular profile of some antirheumatic drugs, such as methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine, but it also indicates the possibility of a variety of adverse events developing in the short- and long-term. The aim of this review is to highlight cardiovascular adverse effects of the drugs widely used in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. The literature search was performed through PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using the following terms: “antirheumatic drugs”, “inflammation”, “rheumatic diseases”, “cardiovascular diseases”, “adverse events”, “toxicity”, “drug design”, and “drug interactions”. Adverse events ranging from infusion-related hypertension and myocardial ischemia, to restrictive cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure have been reported in large trials and case series on most antirheumatic drugs. Clinicians should be alert of the wide variety of cardiovascular adverse effects of individual antirheumatic drugs, and should carefully monitor blood pressure and markers of inflammation, thrombosis, myocardial ischemia, electrolytes, and lipid disturbances while administering these drugs. Future prospective studies should specifically investigate the cardiovascular safety of most antirheumatic drugs as part of mono- or combination therapy in relation to different dosage regimens, duration of therapy, age, and gender.
  Current Pharmaceutical Design 01/2012; Curr Pharm Design2012, 18, 1543-1555(2012, 18, 1543-1555). · 3.87 Impact Factor
• Article: Diversity, value and limitations of the journal impact factor and alternative metrics.

  Bornmann L, Marx W, Gasparyan AY, Kitas GD
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  ABSTRACT: The highly popular journal impact factor (JIF) is an average measure of citations within 1 year after the publication of a journal as a whole within the two preceding years. It is widely used as a proxy of a journal's quality and scientific prestige. This article discusses misuses of JIF to assess impact of separate journal articles and the effect of several manuscript versions on JIF. It also presents some newer alternative journal metrics such as SCImago Journal Rank and the h-index and analyses examples of their application in several subject categories.
  Rheumatology International 01/2011; · 1.88 Impact Factor
• Article: Writing a narrative biomedical review: considerations for authors, peer reviewers, and editors.

  Gasparyan AY, Ayvazyan L, Blackmore H, Kitas GD
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  ABSTRACT: Review articles comprehensively covering a specific topic are crucial for successful research and academic projects. Most editors consider review articles for special and regular issues of journals. Writing a review requires deep knowledge and understanding of a field. The aim of this review is to analyze the main steps in writing a narrative biomedical review and to consider points that may increase the chances of success. We performed a comprehensive search through MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science using the following keywords: review of the literature, narrative review, title, abstract, authorship, ethics, peer review, research methods, medical writing, scientific writing, and writing standards. Opinions expressed in the review are also based on personal experience as authors, peer reviewers, and editors.
  Rheumatology International 01/2011; · 1.88 Impact Factor