Publications by authors named "F Biondi"
Article Synopsis
- The left atrium (LA) plays an active role in heart function, and its impaired compliance in severe mitral regurgitation (MR) can lead to increased pressures and symptoms like dyspnea.
- This study analyzes LA function in patients with severe degenerative MR to see how it correlates with symptom onset, classifying patients into symptomatic and asymptomatic groups.
- Results indicate that LA dysfunction is significantly linked to symptoms, with a specific marker (LASr) being a strong predictor, suggesting that recognizing LA dysfunction can help manage asymptomatic patients effectively.
Sotatercept (brand name WINREVAIR, developed by Merck) is an activin receptor type IIA-Fc (ActRIIA-Fc), working by sequestering free activins. Sotatercept restores the balance between the activin proliferative pathway and the bone morphogenic protein (BMP) antiproliferative pathway in the pulmonary arterial cirulation. Sotatercept recently received approval in the USA and in Europe for the treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) Group 1, on top of background PAH therapy to increase exercise capacity, improve WHO functional class and reduce the risk of clinical worsening events.
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- The study aimed to evaluate how well right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain can predict peri-operative mortality in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation undergoing tricuspid valve surgery, compared to traditional risk scores.
- Researchers analyzed data from 110 patients, ultimately focusing on 79 who met criteria, finding that 9% died within 30 days post-surgery.
- Results showed that right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain was the strongest predictor of mortality, outperforming classic risk scores when combined, indicating its potential importance in patient assessment before surgery.*
Sotatercept acts as a type IIA-Fc activin receptor, thereby scavenging free activin from its physiological membrane receptor. Through this type of action, sotaterpect leads to a rebalancing of the proliferation and antiproliferation pathways of pulmonary smooth muscle cells in response to bone morphogenic protein (BMP). Although sotatercept has been approved as the fourth pillar of therapy for group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the United States and Europe, several studies are ongoing to broaden the application of the drug to non-Group 1 PAH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith ongoing global warming, increasing water deficits promote physiological stress on forest ecosystems with negative impacts on tree growth, vitality, and survival. How individual tree species will react to increased drought stress is therefore a key research question to address for carbon accounting and the development of climate change mitigation strategies. Recent tree-ring studies have shown that trees at higher latitudes will benefit from warmer temperatures, yet this is likely highly species-dependent and less well-known for more temperate tree species.
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