Impact of transcatheter mitral valve repair using MitraClip on right ventricular remodeling.

The potential of the MitraClip to prevent from right heart failure or to restore right ventricular (RV) function is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to analyze the impact of the MitraClip implantation on RV function and its association with clinical outcome. After MitraClip implantation patients underwent echocardiography follow-up scheduled between 3 and 6 months after the procedure in the present single-center registry.

Prognostic Impact of Left Atrial Function Following Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair.

Background Left atrial ( LA ) function predicts clinical outcome in a variety of cardiovascular diseases. However, limited data are available in the setting of mitral regurgitation. The aim of the present study was to assess potential changes in LA ejection fraction (LAEF) and its prognostic value in patients following transcatheter mitral valve repair using the MitraClip.

Monocyte-platelet aggregates affect local inflammation in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

The local inflammatory response following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is increasingly being recognized as a central factor determining infarct healing. Myocardial inflammation can be visualized in patients using fasting F-FDG PET/MRI. Although this novel biosignal correlates with long-term functional outcome, the corresponding cellular substrate is not well understood.

Quantitative cardiovascular magnetic resonance: extracellular volume, native T1 and 18F-FDG PET/CMR imaging in patients after revascularized myocardial infarction and association with markers of myocardial damage and systemic inflammation.

Background: Characterization of tissue integrity and inflammatory processes after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using non-invasive imaging is predictive of patient outcome. Quantitative cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) techniques such as native T and extracellular volume (ECV) mapping as well as F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) imaging targeting inflammatory cell populations are gaining acceptance, but are often applied without assessing their quantitative potential. Using simultaneously acquired PET/CMR data from patients early after AMI, this study quantitatively compares these three imaging markers and investigates links to blood markers of myocardial injury and systemic inflammatory activity.

Identification and expressional analysis of NLRC5 inflammasome gene in smolting Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

The NOD-like receptors (NLRs) were recently identified as an intracellular pathogen recognition receptor family in vertebrates. While the immune system participation of NLRs has been characterized and analyzed in various mammalian models, few studies have considered NLRs in teleost species. Therefore, this study analyzed the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) NLRC5.

Prospective Evaluation of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake in Postischemic Myocardium by Simultaneous Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Prognostic Marker of Functional Outcome.

Background: The immune system orchestrates the repair of infarcted myocardium. Imaging of the cellular inflammatory response by (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging in the heart has been demonstrated in preclinical and clinical studies. However, the clinical relevance of post-MI (18)F-FDG uptake in the heart has not been elucidated.

Hepatocyte growth factor mobilizes non-bone marrow-derived circulating mesoangioblasts.

Aims: The identification of factors that mobilize subsets of endogenous progenitor cells may provide new therapeutic tools to enhance the repair of ischaemic tissue. We previously identified circulating mesenchymal cells that co-express endothelial markers (so-called circulating mesoangioblasts, cMABs) in children undergoing heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). However, the mechanisms by which these cells are mobilized and their origin is unclear.