Improvement in left atrial strain following ferric carboxymaltose in heart failure: an analysis of the Myocardial-IRON trial.

Aims: Iron deficiency (ID) is associated with an impaired cardiac function and remodelling in heart failure (HF). Treatment with ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) has been showed recently to improve biventricular systolic function and ventricular strain parameters in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction and ID, but there is no evidence on the benefit of FCM on the left atrium (LA). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of FCM on LA longitudinal strain (LA-LS).

Detection and Classification of Myocardial Infarction Transmurality Using Cardiac MR Image Analysis and Machine Learning Algorithms.

The presence of abnormalities when the left ventricle is deformed is related to the patients' prognosis after a first myocardial infarction. These deformations can be detected by performing a cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) study. Currently, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) is considered to be the gold standard when performing CMR imaging.

Short-Term Changes in Left and Right Ventricular Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking Strain Following Ferric Carboxymaltose in Patients With Heart Failure: A Substudy of the Myocardial-IRON Trial.

Background The mechanisms explaining the clinical benefits of ferric carboximaltose (FCM) in patients with heart failure, reduced or intermediate left ventricular ejection fraction, and iron deficiency remain not fully clarified. The Myocardial-IRON trial showed short-term cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) changes suggesting myocardial iron repletion following administration of FCM but failed to find a significant increase in left ventricular ejection fraction in the whole sample. Conversely, the strain assessment could evaluate more specifically subtle changes in contractility.

The impact of prolonged frozen storage on the preparation quality of bird skins and skeletons in zoological collections.

Specimens from zoological collections play a pivotal role in improving scientific knowledge in many natural science disciplines. To guarantee an optimum state of conservation and ensure their usefulness, the preparation process employed is crucial. Skins and skeletons are key elements in vertebrate scientific collections and, ideally, are prepared from recently deceased animals; however, specimens are often stored in a frozen state for a long time (years) prior to preparation.

Development and Long-Term Follow-Up of an Experimental Model of Myocardial Infarction in Rabbits.

A chronic model of acute myocardial infarction was developed to study the mechanisms involved in adverse postinfarction ventricular remodeling. In an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the left circumflex coronary artery of New Zealand White rabbits (n = 9) was occluded by ligature for 1 h, followed by reperfusion. A specific care protocol was applied before, during, and after the intervention, and the results were compared with those of a sham operated group (n = 7).