Publications by authors named "Alexander Berezin"
Article Synopsis
- A study of 4,882 patients explored the long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19 in relation to sex and variant type (Alpha, Delta, Omicron), revealing specific trends over an 18-month follow-up.
- Results showed that men had significantly higher cardiovascular mortality rates compared to women during the Delta wave, while no significant differences were observed during the Alpha and Omicron variants.
- The study highlights discrepancies in cardiovascular outcomes and demographic factors between the different COVID-19 variants, indicating a need for more focused research on long-term effects based on sex and variant type.
Introduction: Although contrast-induced (CI) acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in high-risk individuals requiring evaluation with contrast-enhanced angiography, the possible predictors of CI-AKI in patients with obesity are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to elucidate plausible factors associated with the irreversibility of CI-AKI in individuals with obesity undergoing contrast-enhanced computed tomography coronary angiography.
Methods: A total of 96 adult patients with obesity and the KDIGO criteria of CI-AKI (increase of serum levels of creatinine ≥ 25% or ≥ 500 µmol/L at 48 h after procedure) were retrospectively screened from the cohort of 1833 patients who underwent iodine contrast medium (ICM)-enhanced computed tomography coronary angiography, and were included in the study.
Prediabetes is frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated, yet it poses significant cardiovascular risks. This study investigates the impact of prediabetes on short- and long-term survival outcomes in patients who experienced ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In this retrospective, single-center cohort study, we evaluated 725 STEMI patients stratified into non-diabetic, prediabetic, and diabetic groups based on HbA1c levels at presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), asymptomatic adverse cardiac remodeling plays a pivotal role in the development of heart failure (HF). Patients with T2DM often have low or near-normal levels of natriuretic peptides, including N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), which have been inconclusive in predicting the transition from asymptomatic adverse cardiac remodeling to HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The aim of this study was to elucidate the predictive ability of adropin for HFpEF depending on the circulating levels of NT-proBNP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Adropin is a multifunctional peptide linked to various health factors, and its lower levels are associated with worse outcomes in cardiovascular and renal diseases, obesity, and diabetes.
- The study specifically investigates adropin as a predictive biomarker for clinical outcomes in post-STEMI patients who are newly diagnosed with prediabetes, enrolling 498 such patients over a 3-year follow-up period.
- Results indicate that serum adropin levels below 2.15 ng/mL significantly predict adverse clinical events, suggesting that low adropin levels can serve as an independent risk factor for worse outcomes in this patient group.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines if irisin can serve as a predictive biomarker for kidney issues in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients with undiagnosed heart failure (HF).
- The research involved 146 T2DM patients, tracking their heart and kidney health over 52 weeks, using various cardiac function assessments and blood tests, including levels of irisin and NT-proBNP.
- Findings indicated that low baseline irisin levels (< 4.15 ng/mL) and a decrease of more than 20% over time were more reliable indicators of impending kidney complications than other measures like NT-proBNP or SGLT2 inhibitor use.
Diagnostic and predictive abilities of myokines in patients with heart failure.
Adv Protein Chem Struct Biol
July 2024
Article Synopsis
- Myokines are a diverse group of proteins released by muscle cells that have various effects on the body, impacting communication between muscles and organs like the brain, liver, and fat tissues.
- They play crucial roles in processes such as muscle growth, inflammation, energy balance, and adaptation to exercise, while also being linked to many health conditions.
- Recent research has identified over 250 myokines, with some, like myostatin and interleukin-6, showing potential as biomarkers for heart failure and helping to predict disease progression.
Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) defined by a substantial decrease in kidney function within hours to days and is often irreversible with higher risk to chronic kidney disease (CKD) transition.
Areas Covered: The authors discuss the diagnostic and predictive utilities of serum and urinary biomarkers on AKI and on the risk of AKI-to-CKD progression. The authors focus on the relevant literature covering evidence of circulating and urinary biomarkers' capability to predict the transition of AKI to CKD.
European guidelines recommend the implementation of lipid-lowering therapies (LLTs) in adults (≥ 65 years) with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and for risk-based primary prevention in older adults (≤ 75 years), yet their use in very-old adults (> 75 years) is controversial, discretionary, and oriented on the presence of risk factors. The aim of this retrospective study is to assess guideline-directed LLT implementation and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target achievement in high-/very-high-risk older/very-old adults (65-74 and ≥ 75 years) at presentation for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and also to assess evidence-based care delivery to older adults in our region. All STEMI patients with available LDL-C and total cholesterol presenting for treatment at a large tertiary center in Salzburg, Austria, 2018-2020, were screened ( = 910).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease and powerful predictor for new-onset heart failure (HF).
Areas Covered: We focus on the relevant literature covering evidence of risk stratification based on imaging predictors and circulating biomarkers to optimize approaches to preventing HF in DM patients.
Expert Opinion: Multiple diagnostic algorithms based on echocardiographic parameters of cardiac remodeling including global longitudinal strain/strain rate are likely to be promising approach to justify individuals at higher risk of incident HF.
Physiologically, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been implicated as crucial mediators of immune response, cell homeostasis, angiogenesis, cell differentiation and growth, and tissue repair. In heart failure (HF) they may act as regulators of cardiac remodeling, microvascular inflammation, micro environmental changes, tissue fibrosis, atherosclerosis, neovascularization of plaques, endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis, and reciprocal heart-remote organ interaction. The chapter summaries the nomenclature, isolation, detection of EVs, their biologic role and function physiologically as well as in the pathogenesis of HF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis narrative review was conducted due to uncertainty in predicting the beneficial impact of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on a dip of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), regardless of albuminuria presence, with the aim of elucidating plausible predictors of kidney function outcome among patients treated with SGLT2 inhibitors. The PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched in May 2023 for relevant articles published in English between 2013 and 2023. A total of 25 full-length scientific publications (comprising 11 large randomized trials and two cohort studies) were included for analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have a favorable impact on the kidney function in patients with heart failure (HF), while there is no clear evidence of what factors predict this effect. The aim of the study was to identify plausible predictors for kidney function outcome among patients with HF and investigate their association with SGLT2i.
Methods: We prospectively enrolled 480 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with diet and metformin and concomitant chronic HF and followed them for 52 weeks.
Article Synopsis
- Circulating cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) is released during cell death and inflammation and has been linked to kidney function and allograft rejection.
- Previous studies suggest that changes in cf-DNA levels can serve as a noninvasive biomarker for worsening kidney function and may help manage chronic kidney disease (CKD) risks, especially in patients with diabetes and heart conditions.
- Elevated serum cf-DNA levels before and after hemodialysis are associated with higher all-cause mortality in end-stage kidney disease patients.
Unlabelled: The aim of this retrospective study was to provide real-world data on lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) implementation and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target achievement in an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) population, with a focus on very-high-risk patients according to European guidelines criteria.
Methods: Included were all STEMI patients with available LDL-C and total cholesterol treated at a large tertiary center in Salzburg, Austria, 2018-2020 ( = 910), with stratification into very-high-risk cohorts. Analysis was descriptive, with variables reported as number, percentages, median, and interquartile range.
Article Synopsis
- Current guidelines recommend early beta-blocker therapy for stable STEMI patients, but there's no clear guidance for NSTEMI patients regarding early treatment.
- A literature search identified 4 studies involving 184,951 NSTEMI patients, comparing early beta-blocker treatment to no treatment in terms of in-hospital mortality and cardiogenic shock.
- Results showed that early beta-blocker therapy significantly reduced in-hospital mortality without increasing cardiogenic shock, suggesting potential benefits for NSTEMI patients. However, the limited number of available studies should be taken into account.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with atrial remodeling, cardiac dysfunction, and poor clinical outcomes. External direct current electrical cardioversion is a well-developed urgent treatment strategy for patients presenting with recent-onset AF. However, there is a lack of accurate predictive serum biomarkers to identify the risks of AF relapse after electrical cardioversion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study focused on measuring the levels of irisin in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic heart failure to see if it can help predict acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).
- The results showed that ADHF patients had lower irisin levels and higher NT-proBNP levels compared to those without ADHF, with a specific irisin cut-off point identified.
- It concluded that lower irisin levels are linked to increased risk for ADHF, suggesting it could be a useful biomarker in monitoring these patients.
Article Synopsis
- Adropin is a protein that plays a role in regulating metabolic functions related to heart failure (HF) and the heart-brain-kidney axis.
- A study investigated the relationship between serum adropin levels and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in type 2 diabetes patients with chronic HF, using 417 participants, including healthy controls.
- Findings indicated that lower adropin levels (below 2.3 ng/mL) in T2DM patients with chronic HF significantly predicted the presence of CKD, suggesting that adropin could be a useful biomarker for assessing kidney health in these patients.
Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate whether increased left ventricular mechanical dispersion is an early predictor for adverse cardiac remodeling in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients who had post-percutaneous coronary intervention thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow grade > 2.
Methods: A total of 119 post-percutaneous coronary intervention ST elevation myocardial infarction patients with TIMI flow grade >2 were prospectively included in the study. Left ventricular global longitudinal strain was quantified by 2-dimensional speckletracking echocardiography, and left ventricular mechanical dispersion was determined at baseline and after 1 year to assess adverse cardiac remodeling.