Obesity-related kidney disease: Beyond hypertension and insulin-resistance.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes considerable morbidity, mortality, and health expenditures worldwide. Obesity is a significant risk factor for CKD development, partially explained by the high prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in obese patients. However, adipocytes also possess potent endocrine functions, secreting a myriad of cytokines and adipokines that contribute to insulin resistance and induce a chronic low-grade inflammatory state thereby damaging the kidney.

Heart failure in systemic right ventricle: Mechanisms and therapeutic options.

d-loop transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) and congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (cc-TGA) feature a right ventricle attempting to sustain the systemic circulation. A systemic right ventricle (sRV) cannot support cardiac output in the long run, eventually decompensating and causing heart failure. The burden of d-TGA patients with previous atrial switch repair and cc-TGA patients with heart failure will only increase in the coming years due to the aging adult congenital heart disease population and improvements in the management of advanced heart failure.

Understanding COVID-19 Vaccines Today: Are T-cells Key Players?

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has heavily mutated since the beginning of the coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this regard, the so-called variants of concern (VOCs) feature mutations that confer increased transmissibility and evasion of antibody responses. The VOCs have caused significant spikes in COVID-19 cases, raising significant concerns about whether COVID-19 vaccines will protect against current and future variants.