Interrater variability of ML-based CT-FFR during TAVR-planning: influence of image quality and coronary artery calcifications.

Objective: To compare machine learning (ML)-based CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) in patients before transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) by observers with differing training and to assess influencing factors.

Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography (cCTA) can effectively exclude CAD, e.g.

Hypertrophic, Dilated, and Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy: Where Are We?

Cardiomyopathies are a heterogeneous group of structural, mechanical, and electrical heart muscle disorders which often correlate with life-threatening arrhythmias and progressive heart failure accounting for significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Currently, cardiomyopathies still represent a leading reason for heart transplantation worldwide. The last years have brought remarkable advances in the field of cardiomyopathies especially in terms of understanding the molecular basis as well as the diagnostic evaluation and management.

The P2X7 Receptor and NLRP3 Axis in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Brief Review.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide, and its prevalence is reaching epidemic characteristics both in adults and in children. The increase of NAFLD prevalence parallels that of obesity, now representing the major cause of liver inflammation, increasing the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma. Furthermore, NAFLD is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, two of the major leading causes of morbidity and mortality in western countries.

Relationship between Heart Disease and Liver Disease: A Two-Way Street.

In clinical practice, combined heart and liver dysfunctions coexist in the setting of the main heart and liver diseases because of complex cardiohepatic interactions. It is becoming increasingly crucial to identify these interactions between heart and liver in order to ensure an effective management of patients with heart or liver disease to provide an improvement in overall prognosis and therapy. In this review, we aim to summarize the cross-talk between heart and liver in the setting of the main pathologic conditions affecting these organs.

Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Metabolic Properties of Tocopherols and Tocotrienols: Clinical Implications for Vitamin E Supplementation in Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by the development of vascular complications associated with high morbidity and mortality and the consequent relevant costs for the public health systems. Diabetic kidney disease is one of these complications that represent the main cause of end-stage renal disease in Western countries. Hyperglycemia, inflammation, and oxidative stress contribute to its physiopathology, and several investigations have been performed to evaluate the role of antioxidant supplementation as a complementary approach for the prevention and control of diabetes and associated disturbances.

Cardio-Metabolic Disorders in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

With the progressive epidemics of obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most common cause of chronic liver disease in adults and children. The increasing prevalence and incidence of NAFLD with advanced fibrosis is concerning because patients appear to experience higher non-liver-related morbidity and mortality than the general population. Recent clinical evidence suggests that NAFLD is directly associated with an increased risk of cardio-metabolic disorders.

Cardiomyocyte mitochondrial dysfunction in diabetes and its contribution in cardiac arrhythmogenesis.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related morbidity and mortality. It is widely accepted that heart failure risk is increased in diabetic patients even after adjusting for coronary artery disease and hypertension. Mitochondria are the center of fatty acid (FA) and glucose metabolism and thus are likely to be impacted by impaired metabolism associated with diabetes.

Food Ingredients Involved in White-to-Brown Adipose Tissue Conversion and in Calorie Burning.

Obesity is the consequence of chronic positive energy balance and considered a leading risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Due to its epidemic trends among children and adults, there is an increasing interest in implementing new therapeutic interventions to tackle overweight and obesity. Activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) represents today a promising strategy to enhance energy expenditure (EE) through heat production.

Vitamin E as a Treatment for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Reality or Myth?

Obesity is one of the major epidemics of this millennium, and its incidence is growing worldwide. Following the epidemics of obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a disease of increasing prevalence and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality closely related to cardiovascular disease, malignancies, and cirrhosis. It is believed that oxidative stress is a main player in the development and progression of NAFLD.

Infrapatellar fat pad features in osteoarthritis: a histopathological and molecular study.

Objective: The infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) is considered a local producer of adipocytokines, suggesting a potential role in OA. The objective of this study was to evaluate the histopathological and molecular characteristics of OA IFPs compared with controls.

Methods: The histopathological characteristics of IFPs were evaluated in patients undergoing total knee replacements and in control patients (without OA), considering the following parameters: presence of inflammatory cells, vascularization, adipose lobules dimension and thickness of the interlobular septa.

Functional imaging of brown adipose tissue in human.

Obesity has become a major public health challenge and an increasing trend is seen in its prevalence worldwide. It is a complex disorder involving an excessive amount of body fat as a result of an energy imbalance leading to caloric overload. Since the discovery of functional brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans, with energy dissipating properties, this thermogenic tissue has thus emerged as an attractive therapeutic target to combat obesity and related cardiometabolic disorders.

Systemic and Local Adipose Tissue in Knee Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is a common chronic joint disorder affecting older people. The knee is the major joint affected. The symptoms of osteoarthritis include limited range of motion, joint swelling, and pain causing disability.

Infrared thermography for indirect assessment of activation of brown adipose tissue in lean and obese male subjects.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a key role in adaptive thermogenesis in mammals, and it has recently been considered as an attractive therapeutic target for tackling human obesity by increasing energy expenditure. Thermal imaging using infrared thermography (IRT) has emerged as a potential safe, rapid and inexpensive technique for detecting BAT in humans. However, little attention has been given to the reliability of this method in obese subjects.

Urinary metabolic profiling by H NMR spectroscopy in patients with cirrhosis may discriminate overt but not covert hepatic encephalopathy.

To date urinary metabolic profiling has been applied to define a specific metabolic fingerprint of hepatocellular carcinoma on a background of cirrhosis. Its utility for the stratification of other complications of cirrhosis, such as hepatic encephalopathy (HE), remains to be established. Urinary proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) spectra were acquired and NMR data from 52 patients with cirrhosis (35 male; 17 female, median (range) age [60 (18-81) years]) and 17 controls were compared.