Exploring perinatal mesenchymal stromal cells as a potential therapeutic strategy for rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation in the synovial tissue, driven by aberrant activation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems, which can lead to irreversible disability. Despite the increasing therapeutic approaches for RA, only a low percentage of patients achieve sustained disease remission, and the persistence of immune dysregulation is likely responsible for disease recurrence once remission is attained. Cell therapy is an attractive, wide-spectrum strategy to modulate inflammation, and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) derived from perinatal tissues provide valuable tools for their use in regenerative medicine, mainly due to their immunomodulatory properties.

Left atrial strain and risk of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass-grafting.

Aim: Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation (POAF) is a common complication following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Aim of the study is to analyze whether the measurement of preoperative Left Atrial (LA) strain can offer advantages over conventional clinical and echocardiographic parameters to identify patients at risk of developing POAF.

Methods And Results: We conducted a prospective study involving 100 patients undergoing isolated CABG from April 2023 to April 2024.

Coronary Plaque Characteristics Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography and Plasma Lipoprotein(a) Levels in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, but its influence on plaque characteristics at optical coherence tomography (OCT) evaluation is not fully understood.

Aims: This study seeks to explore the impact of Lp(a) levels on plaque morphology as assessed by OCT in a very high-risk subset of patients.

Methods: Consecutive patients admitted for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and undergoing OCT-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at a large tertiary care center between 2019 and 2022 were deemed eligible for the current analysis.

Use of Cangrelor in Older Patients: Findings from the itAlian pRospective Study on CANGrELOr Study.

Outcome data on using cangrelor in older patients are limited. This post hoc analysis of the itAlian pRospective Study on CANGrELOr (ARCANGELO) study aims to assess bleeding and ischemic outcomes with the transition from cangrelor to any oral P2Y inhibitors in age-stratified subgroups (≥75 years-older, <75 years-younger) of patients with acute coronary syndrome who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Of 995 patients, 215 (21.