Background: Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) risk stratification in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) may be complicated by other potential causes of arrhythmia.
Objective: We aimed to characterize SCA survivors with isolated MVP (iMVP) and non-isolated MVP (non-iMVP) and to assess their long-term follow-up.
Methods: This ambispective study included 75 patients with MVP who experienced SCA and were treated in our center between 2009 and 2024.
We have previously shown in small studies that full brain Transcranial Radiofrequency Wave Treatment (TRFT) to subjects with Alzheimer's Disease could stop and reverse their cognitive decline. An 8-emitter head device, the "MemorEM", was used in these studies to provide TRFT at 915 MHz frequency and power level of 1.6 W/kg Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) during daily 1-hour treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It remains a challenge to determine the best time to refer asymptomatic patients for aortic valve replacement (AVR).
Aims: We aimed to determine whether late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in patients with asymptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) has an independent prognostic significance for adverse postoperative cardiovascular events and changes in left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH) and LV ejection fraction (LVEF).
Methods: Consecutive patients with severe asymptomatic AS were prospectively enrolled in the study.
Objective: There is an assumption that because EBLVR requires less use of hospital resources, offsetting the higher cost of endobronchial valves, it should therefore be the treatment of choice wherever possible. We have tested this hypothesis in a retrospective analysis of the two in similar groups of patients.
Methods: In a 4-year experience, we performed 177 consecutive LVR procedures: 83 patients underwent Robot Assisted Thoracoscopic (RATS) LVRS and 94 EBLVR.
There is a lack of studies on non-linear heart rate (HR) variability in athletes. We aimed to assess the usefulness of short-term HR dynamics and asymmetry parameters to evaluate the neural modulation of cardiac activity based on non-stationary RR interval series by studying their changes during sympathetic nervous system activity stimulation (isometric handgrip test) and post-stimulation recovery in professional ski mountaineers. The correlation between the changes in the parameters and the respiratory rate (RespRate) and also the duration of the career was analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In a population under 45 years of age, the predominant causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD) are inherited cardiac diseases. Determining the underlying cause may help identify relatives at risk and prevent further events but is more difficult if an autopsy has not been performed.
Aims: We aimed to assess the diagnostic value of clinical and genetic screening in relatives of young non-autopsied sudden unexplained death (SUD) victims.
Pulmonary artery sling (PAS) is a rare congenital condition, in which the left pulmonary artery (LPA) originates from the right pulmonary artery instead of the main pulmonary artery. It courses between the oesophagus and the trachea, forming a sling and causes compression of both structures. We report a very rare case of a symptomatic adult patient with PAS and a coexisting tracheal anomaly with complete tracheal rings, referred to as a 'ring-sling complex'.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg
November 2023
Objectives: The goal was to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative histological assessment and the factors affecting the accuracy and the subsequent effect on postoperative survival after surgical treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).
Methods: We analysed the perioperative course of patients who underwent surgery for MPM in a single institution over a 5-year period. The primary end point was to evaluate the proportion of histological discordance between preoperative assessment and postoperative histological diagnosis.
J Bronchology Interv Pulmonol
April 2024
Background: Image-guided thermal ablation is a minimally invasive local therapy for lung malignancies. NAVABLATE characterized the safety and performance of transbronchial microwave ablation (MWA) in the lung.
Methods: The prospective, single-arm, 2-center NAVABLATE study (NCT03569111) evaluated transbronchial MWA in patients with histologically confirmed lung malignancies ≤30 mm in maximum diameter who were not candidates for, or who declined, both surgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy.
We examined the effects of ∼30 days of spaceflight on glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) content and inhibitory serine phosphorylation in murine muscle and bone samples from four separate missions (BION-M1, rodent research [RR]1, RR9, and RR18). Spaceflight reduced GSK3β content across all missions, whereas its serine phosphorylation was elevated with RR18 and BION-M1. The reduction in GSK3β was linked to the reduction in type IIA fibers commonly observed with spaceflight as these fibers are particularly enriched with GSK3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this paper, we studied the time-domain irreversibility of time series, which is a fundamental property of systems in a nonequilibrium state. We analyzed a subgroup of the databases provided by University of Rochester, namely from the THEW Project. Our data consists of LQTS (Long QT Syndrome) patients and healthy persons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The accepted aim of radical surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is the achievement of macroscopic complete resection (MCR) whilst reducing perioperative morbidity by preserving normal tissue. Whilst preservation of the lung by pleurectomy/decortication (PD) has become widely utilised, there remains debate regarding the management of the diaphragm. Muscle-sparing complete excision of the diaphragmatic pleura is technically challenging; thus, surgeons may proceed to extended PD with phrenectomy and possible increased morbidity or to preserve the diaphragmatic pleura at the expense of MCR with potential survival deficit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Endocrinol (Lausanne)
September 2022
The sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca ATPase (SERCA) pump is responsible for the transport of Ca from the cytosol into the sarcoplasmic reticulum at the expense of ATP, making it a regulator of both muscle relaxation and muscle-based energy expenditure. Neurogranin (Ng) is a small protein that negatively regulates calcineurin signaling. Calcineurin is Ca/calmodulin dependent phosphatase that promotes the oxidative fibre type in skeletal muscle and regulates muscle-based energy expenditure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is currently no therapeutic that can stop or reverse the progressive memory impairment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, we recently published that 2 months of daily, in-home transcranial electromagnetic treatment (TEMT) reversed the cognitive impairment in eight mild/moderate AD subjects. These cognitive enhancements were accompanied by predicted changes in AD markers within both the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurogranin (Ng) is a calmodulin (CaM) binding protein that negatively regulates calcineurin - a Ca/CaM-dependent phosphatase that can mitigate the slow-to-fast fibre type shift observed with muscle unloading. Here, we questioned whether heterozygous deletion of Ng (Ng) would enhance calcineurin activity, thereby minimizing the slow-to-fast fibre type shift caused by muscle unloading. As expected, soleus muscles from young adult (3-4 months old) Ng mice had lowered Ng content and enhanced calcineurin activity when compared to soleus muscles obtained from male age-matched wild-type (WT) mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Zephyr (PulmonX Inc., Redwood, CA) endobronchial valve (EBV), predominantly designed for lung volume reduction in emphysema, can also be used to close a spontaneous or post-operative prolonged air leak (PAL). We describe a previously unreported complication of cutaneous migration of an EBV, inserted for management of a PAL from a postoperative bronchopleural fistula (BPF), in a 62-year-old male following a right upper lobe posterior-apical (S1,2) segmentectomy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The immune system plays a critical role in the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there is disagreement as to whether development/progression of AD involves an over-activation or an under-activation of the immune system. In either scenario, the immune system's cytokine levels are abnormal in AD and in need of rebalancing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca ATPase (SERCA) restores intracellular Ca ([Ca ] ) to resting levels after muscle contraction, ultimately eliciting relaxation. SERCA pumps are highly susceptible to tyrosine (T)-nitration, impairing their ability to take up Ca resulting in reduced muscle function and increased [Ca ] and cellular damage. The mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), converts superoxide radicals into less reactive H O .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Most studies on heart rate variability (HRV) in professional athletes concerned linear, time-, and frequency-domain indices, and there is lack of studies on non-linear parameters in this group. The study aimed to determine the inter-day reliability, and group-related and individual changes of short-term symbolic dynamics (SymDyn) measures during sympathetic nervous system activity (SNSa) stimulation among elite modern pentathletes.
Methods: Short-term electrocardiographic recordings were performed in stable measurement conditions with a 7-day interval between tests.