Impact of diabetes mellitus on coronary artery plaque characteristics and outcomes in the SCOT-HEART trial.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is an established cardiovascular risk factor. We assessed the impact of diabetes mellitus on quantitative plaque and long-term outcomes in patients with and without diabetes mellitus in the Scottish COmputed Tomography of the HEART (SCOT-HEART) trial.

Methods: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) was assessed on non-contrast computed tomography (CT).

Nuclear Cardiology Surrogate Biomarkers in Clinical Trials.

Nuclear cardiology offers a diverse range of imaging tools that provide valuable insights into myocardial perfusion, inflammation, metabolism, neuroregulation, thrombosis, and microcalcification. These techniques are crucial not only for diagnosing and managing cardiovascular conditions but also for gaining pathophysiologic insights. Surrogate biomarkers in nuclear cardiology, represented by detectable imaging changes, correlate with disease processes or therapeutic responses and can serve as endpoints in clinical trials when they demonstrate a clear link with these processes.

Phenotyping atherosclerotic plaque and perivascular adipose tissue: signalling pathways and clinical biomarkers in atherosclerosis.

Computed tomography coronary angiography provides a non-invasive evaluation of coronary artery disease that includes phenotyping of atherosclerotic plaques and the surrounding perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). Image analysis techniques have been developed to quantify atherosclerotic plaque burden and morphology as well as the associated PVAT attenuation, and emerging radiomic approaches can add further contextual information. PVAT attenuation might provide a novel measure of vascular health that could be indicative of the pathogenetic processes implicated in atherosclerosis such as inflammation, fibrosis or increased vascularity.

Collagen binding adhesin restricts skin infection.

causes approximately 80% of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). Collagen is the most abundant human extracellular matrix protein with critical roles in wound healing, and encodes a collagen binding adhesin (Cna). The role of this protein during skin infections is unknown.

Coronary Plaque Radiomic Phenotypes Predict Fatal or Nonfatal Myocardial Infarction: Analysis of the SCOT-HEART Trial.

Background: Coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography-derived attenuation-based plaque burden assessments can identify patients at risk of myocardial infarction.

Objectives: This study sought to assess whether more detailed plaque morphology assessment using patient-based radiomic characterization could further enhance the identification of patients at risk of myocardial infarction during long-term follow-up.

Methods: Post hoc analysis of coronary CT angiography was performed within the SCOT-HEART (Scottish Computed Tomography of the HEART) clinical trial.