Publications by authors named "Betty Glascock"

Fibroblast growth factor 2 (basic FGF or FGF2) has been shown to affect growth and differentiation in some tissues and to be required for cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. FGF2 has been shown in vitro to signal through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) to affect cell survival and growth. To ascertain the role of FGF2 in cardiac hypertrophy, wildtype, Fgf2 knockout, non-transgenic, and FGF2 transgenic mice were treated with isoproterenol or saline via subcutaneous mini-osmotic pump implants to induce a hypertrophic response to β-adrenergic stimulation.

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Article Synopsis
  • Midwall shortening is a useful measure of heart function, especially in children with left ventricular hypertrophy due to chronic kidney disease (CKD).
  • Patients on hemodialysis showed significantly lower midwall shortening compared to healthy controls and those with less severe CKD.
  • Subclinical heart dysfunction in these children signals potential progression to more serious heart diseases.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 2-4 and its relation to various health parameters.
  • Despite similar peak FMD percentages between CKD patients and healthy controls, 23% of the children with CKD exhibited abnormally low FMD.
  • Low FMD in CKD patients was associated with being younger, lighter, and having a lower body mass index, but only weight and BMI showed significant differences compared to those with normal FMD.
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The purpose of this study is to provide standard echocardiographic and morphometric data for normal mouse valve structure and function from late fetal to aged adult stages. Cross-sectional, two-dimensional and Doppler transthoracic echocardiography was performed in C57BL6 mice anesthetized with 1% to 2% isoflurane at embryonic day 18.5 (late fetal), 10 days (neonate), 1 mo (juvenile), 2 mo (young adult), 9 mo (old adult), and 16 mo (aged adult).

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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in cardiac geometry, systolic and diastolic function before and after weight loss in morbidly obese adolescents.

Background: Cardiac abnormalities are present in morbidly obese adolescents; however, it is unclear if they are reversible with weight loss.

Methods: Data from 38 adolescents (13 to 19 years; 29 females, 9 males, 33 Caucasians, 5 African Americans) were evaluated before and after bariatric surgery.

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Adult and pediatric patients with ESRD have impaired maximum oxygen consumption (VO(2) max), a reflection of the cardiopulmonary system's ability to meet increased metabolic demands. We sought to determine factors associated with decreased VO(2) max in pediatric patients with different stages of CKD. VO(2) max was measured using a standardized exercise testing protocol in patients with stage 2 to 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n = 46), in renal transplant recipients (n = 22), in patients treated with maintenance hemodialysis (n = 12), and in age-matched healthy controls (n = 33).

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Objective: To evaluate whether essential hypertension impacts diastolic function in children.

Study Design: In this cross-sectional study, patients with essential hypertension (n = 50) were compared with a normotensive group (n = 53). Echocardiographic assessment of diastolic function included measures derived from transmitral, color M-mode, and tissue Doppler interrogation.

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Objective: To determine the prevalence and incidence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and LV geometry and identify variables associated with LV mass (LVM) growth and development of LVH in children and adolescents with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Study Design: A 2-year longitudinal study of children with CKD (glomerular filtration rate [GFR] 15-89 mL/minute/1.73 m2).

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In children, cardiac abnormalities such as increased left ventricular mass (LVM) and diastolic dysfunction develop at the time of mild to moderate chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) and progress as renal function deteriorates. It was hypothesized that in this age group, vascular abnormalities develop early in the course of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in parallel with cardiac abnormalities and become more severe as end-stage disease is reached. Echocardiography and ultrasound of the carotid artery were performed on 44 patients with CKD stages 2 to 4 (CRI group), 16 patients who were on maintenance dialysis, and 35 healthy individuals.

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Background And Purpose: To determine the association between structural cardiac changes and postoperative respiratory complications after adenotonsillectomy for obstructive breathing during sleep.

Patients And Methods: Forty-eight children, ages 2-18 years, undergoing adenotonsillectomy for obstructive breathing during sleep were recruited for this case control study. The case group consisted of 24 children with postoperative respiratory complications after adenotonsillectomy who also had an echocardiogram.

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Severe obstructive sleep apnea in children leads to congestive heart failure. We studied the early changes in left ventricular function across a range of severity of the disorder. A dose-dependent decrease in diastolic function with increased severity of obstructive apnea was demonstrated.

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Background: Abnormal carotid artery compliance and increased intima-media thickness (IMT), markers of early atherosclerosis, are prevalent in adults with chronic kidney failure. However, little is known about the extent of these abnormalities in children after transplantation.

Methods And Results: Thirty-one children (age, 14.

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Background: Diastolic dysfunction is frequent in adults with renal failure. However, in children with mild-to-moderate chronic renal insufficiency (CRI), it has not been evaluated. We compared diastolic function and assessed risk factors associated with diastolic dysfunction in children with CRI with those on dialysis.

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Background: Indices such as strain rate (SR) and strain (epsilon) are free of geometric assumptions and, thus, may provide new insights into right ventricular (RV) function and compensatory mechanisms in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF).

Methods: All those with postoperative (>1 year) TOF had echocardiography evaluation of SR and epsilon indices along the RV lateral free wall (RVFW) and the interventricular septum (IVS) in the apical 4-chamber view. Pulmonary regurgitation, pulmonary stenosis, QRS duration, RV ejection fraction, and RV dimension were also measured and compared with control subjects.

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Background: Cardiac hypertrophy frequently is found in children with a renal transplant. In adults with a transplant, left ventricular (LV) mass (LVM) is associated with cardiac dysfunction. However, in children with a transplant, the relationship between LVM and LV function has not been evaluated.

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Automated border-detection techniques such as acoustic quantification have proven accurate and useful for quantifying left ventricular (LV) function. We acquired LV acoustic quantification waveforms from the parasternal short-axis window in 140 healthy patients in the age range of 16 to 78 years. Signal-averaged waveforms were analyzed for parameters of systolic and diastolic performance.

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We recently developed a mouse model with a single functional allele of Serca2 (Serca2+/-) that shows impaired cardiac contractility and relaxation without overt heart disease. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that chronic reduction in sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA)2 levels in combination with an increased hemodynamic load will result in an accelerated pathway to heart failure. Age-matched wild-type and Serca2+/- mice were subjected to 10 wk of pressure overload via transverse aortic coarctation surgery.

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity within the industrialized nations of the world, with coronary heart disease (CHD) accounting for as much as 66% of these deaths. Acute myocardial infarction is a typical sequelae associated with long-standing coronary heart disease resulting in large scale loss of ventricular myocardium through both apoptotic and necrotic cell death. In this study, we investigated the role that the calcium calmodulin-activated protein phosphatase calcineurin (PP2B) plays in modulating cardiac apoptosis after acute ischemia-reperfusion injury to the heart.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the validity of diastolic indices derived from color M-mode Doppler and Doppler tissue imaging in a heterogeneous group of pediatric patients by comparing them with simultaneously obtained invasive indices of diastolic function.

Methods: A total of 20 children undergoing left heart catheterization had echocardiographic images recorded simultaneously with high-fidelity left ventricular (LV) pressure tracings. Transmitral Doppler, pulmonary vein Doppler, Doppler tissue imaging, and color M-mode Doppler flow propagation velocity were recorded.

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The MAPKs are important transducers of growth and stress stimuli in virtually all eukaryotic cell types. In the mammalian heart, MAPK signaling pathways have been hypothesized to regulate myocyte growth in response to developmental signals or physiologic and pathologic stimuli. Here we generated cardiac-specific transgenic mice expressing dominant-negative mutants of p38alpha, MKK3, or MKK6.

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Changes in calcium (Ca2+) regulation contribute to loss of contractile function in dilated cardiomyopathy. Clinical treatment using beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists (beta-blockers) slows deterioration of cardiac function in end-stage heart failure patients; however, the effects of beta-blocker treatment on Ca2+ dynamics in the failing heart are unknown. To address this issue, tropomodulin-overexpressing transgenic (TOT) mice, which suffer from dilated cardiomyopathy, were treated with a nonselective beta-receptor blocker (5 mg.

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Background: Children with chronic renal disease have a high prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which is thought to be adaptive to improve contractility and lower wall stress in the face of increased afterload and preload. The aim of this study was to determine the association between LV mass, LV performance, and LV contractility in children with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) and children undergoing chronic dialysis.

Methods And Results: Twenty-five children with CRI, 12 undergoing chronic dialysis, and 24 controls had echocardiographic evaluation during rest and peak exercise.

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A calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) regulatory pathway has been implicated in the control of cardiac hypertrophy, suggesting one mechanism whereby alterations in intracellular calcium handling are linked to the expression of hypertrophy-associated genes. Although recent studies have demonstrated a necessary role for calcineurin as a mediator of cardiac hypertrophy, the potential involvement of NFAT transcription factors as downstream effectors of calcineurin signaling has not been evaluated. Accordingly, mice with targeted disruptions in NFATc3 and NFATc4 genes were characterized.

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Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of left atrial enlargement and the correlates of left atrial size in children and adolescents with essential hypertension.

Background: Left atrial enlargement has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke in adults. Risk factors for left atrial size in adults with hypertension include age, race, and obesity.

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adults. However, there are severe limitations in the extent to which the cardiovascular consequences of OSA are being studied in children. To investigate the echocardiographic changes in children with OSA, right and left ventricular (RV, LV) dimensions and LV mass index and geometry were measured in 28 children with OSA and 19 children with primary snoring (PS).

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