Amyloid-beta metabolism in age-related neurocardiovascular diseases.

Epidemiological evidence suggests the presence of common risk factors for the development and prognosis of both cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases, including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, heart, and peripheral vascular diseases. Accumulation of harmful blood signals may induce organotypic endothelial dysfunction affecting blood-brain barrier function and vascular health in age-related diseases. Genetic-, age-, lifestyle- or cardiovascular therapy-associated imbalance of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide metabolism in the brain and periphery may be the missing link between age-related neurocardiovascular diseases.

Incremental value of blood-based markers of liver fibrosis in cardiovascular risk stratification.

Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with advanced liver fibrosis is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). To examine if markers of vascular injury mediate the link between liver fibrosis non-invasive tests (LFNITs) and CVD events, and to compare the incremental predictive value of LFNITs over established CVD risk scores.

Methods: Consecutively recruited individuals (n=1,692) with or without clinically overt coronary artery disease (CAD) from the Athens Cardiometabolic Cohort, were analysed.

Amyloid beta is associated with carotid wall echolucency and atherosclerotic plaque composition.

Circulating amyloid-beta 1-40 (Αb40) has pro-atherogenic properties and could serve as a biomarker in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, the association of Ab40 levels with morphological characteristics reflecting atherosclerotic plaque echolucency and composition is not available. Carotid atherosclerosis was assessed in consecutively recruited individuals without ASCVD (n = 342) by ultrasonography.

Modification of the GRACE Risk Score for Risk Prediction in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Importance: The Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score, a guideline-recommended risk stratification tool for patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), does not consider the extent of myocardial injury.

Objective: To assess the incremental predictive value of a modified GRACE score incorporating high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) T at presentation, a surrogate of the extent of myocardial injury.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospectively designed longitudinal cohort study examined 3 independent cohorts of 9803 patients with ACS enrolled from September 2009 to December 2017; 2 ACS derivation cohorts (Heidelberg ACS cohort and Newcastle STEMI cohort) and an ACS validation cohort (SPUM-ACS study).

Effector T cell chemokine IP-10 predicts cardiac recovery and clinical outcomes post-myocardial infarction.

Background And Aims: Preclinical data suggest that activation of the adaptive immune system is critical for myocardial repair processes in acute myocardial infarction. The aim of the present study was to determine the clinical value of baseline effector T cell chemokine IP-10 blood levels in the acute phase of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) for the prediction of the left ventricular function changes and cardiovascular outcomes after STEMI.

Methods: Serum IP-10 levels were retrospectively quantified in two independent cohorts of STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Cathepsin S Levels and Survival Among Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Background: Patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) are at high residual risk for long-term cardiovascular (CV) mortality. Cathepsin S (CTSS) is a lysosomal cysteine protease with elastolytic and collagenolytic activity that has been involved in atherosclerotic plaque rupture.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the following: 1) the prognostic value of circulating CTSS measured at patient admission for long-term mortality in NSTE-ACS; and 2) its additive value over the GRACE (Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events) risk score.

Beta-Secretase-1 Antisense RNA Is Associated with Vascular Ageing and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.

Background:  The noncoding antisense transcript for β-secretase-1 () is a long noncoding RNA with a pivotal role in the regulation of amyloid-β (Aβ). We aimed to explore the clinical value of expression in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Methods:  Expression of and its target, β-secretase 1 () mRNA, was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from 434 individuals (259 without established ASCVD [non-CVD], 90 with stable coronary artery disease [CAD], and 85 with acute coronary syndrome).

Clinical frailty, and not features of acute infection, is associated with late mortality in COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with excess mortality after hospital discharge. Identification of patients at increased risk of death following hospital discharge is needed to guide clinical monitoring and early intervention. Herein, we aimed to identify predictors of early vs.

Estimated pulse wave velocity improves risk stratification for all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19.

Accurate risk stratification in COVID-19 patients consists a major clinical need to guide therapeutic strategies. We sought to evaluate the prognostic role of estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV), a marker of arterial stiffness which reflects overall arterial integrity and aging, in risk stratification of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This retrospective, longitudinal cohort study, analyzed a total population of 1671 subjects consisting of 737 hospitalized COVID-19 patients consecutively recruited from two tertiary centers (Newcastle cohort: n = 471 and Pisa cohort: n = 266) and a non-COVID control cohort (n = 934).

Prognostic value of admission high-sensitivity troponin in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Background And Aim: Although the diagnostic usefulness of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is well established in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), its prognostic relevance in risk stratification of patients with STEMI remains obscure. This study sought to determine the prognostic value of pre-reperfusion (admission) and post-reperfusion (12-hour) hs-cTnT in patients with STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).

Methods: Retrospective observational longitudinal study including consecutive patients with STEMI treated with PPCI at a university hospital in the northeast of England.

Interleukin-17A Triggers the Release of Platelet-Derived Factors Driving Vascular Endothelial Cells toward a Pro-Angiogenic State.

Platelets comprise a highly interactive immune cell subset of the circulatory system traditionally known for their unique haemostatic properties. Although platelets are considered as a vault of growth factors, cytokines and chemokines with pivotal role in vascular regeneration and angiogenesis, the exact mechanisms by which they influence vascular endothelial cells (ECs) function remain underappreciated. In the present study, we examined the role of human IL-17A/IL-17RA axis in platelet-mediated pro-angiogenic responses.

The Fractalkine Receptor CXCR1 Links Lymphocyte Kinetics in CMV-Seropositive Patients and Acute Myocardial Infarction With Adverse Left Ventricular Remodeling.

Aims: Latent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Virus-specific CXCR1 effector memory T-cells may be instrumental in this process due to their pro-inflammatory properties. We investigated the role of CXCR1 (fractalkine receptor) in CMV-related lymphocyte kinetics and cardiac remodeling in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI).

Bone marrow and plasma FGF-23 in heart failure patients: novel insights into the heart-bone axis.

Aims: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) is known to be elevated in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). As FGF-23 is expressed in the bone but can also be expressed in the myocardium, the origin of serum FGF-23 in CHF remains unclear. It is also unclear if FGF-23 expressed in the bone is associated with outcome in CHF.

Amyloid-β (1-40) and Mortality in Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Cohort Study.

Background: Amyloid-β (1-40) (Aβ40) is implicated in mechanisms related to plaque destabilization and correlates with adverse outcomes in stable coronary artery disease.

Objective: To determine the prognostic and reclassification value of baseline circulating levels of Aβ40 after adjustment for the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score, which is widely recommended for risk stratification in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

Design: Retrospective cohort study using data from 2 independent prospective cohorts, the Heidelberg study (n = 1145) and the validation multicenter international APACE (Advantageous Predictors of Acute Coronary Syndrome Evaluation) study (n = 734).

Different Effects of Ranibizumab and Bevacizumab on Platelet Activation Profile.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential influence of ranibizumab and bevacizumab on platelet activation and aggregation, which are critical processes in the pathogenesis of arterial thromboembolic events (ATEs).

Methods: For the assessment of platelet function, flow cytometry and aggregometry were employed. Platelets were isolated from healthy volunteers and exposed to ranibizumab (1 mg/ml and 150 ng/ml) and bevacizumab (2.

Amyloid-beta (1-40) and the risk of death from cardiovascular causes in patients with coronary heart disease.

Background: The amyloid beta peptide is the major protein constituent of neuritic plaques in Alzheimer disease and appears to play a central role in vascular inflammation pathophysiology.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the clinical value of amyloid-beta 1-40 (Abeta40) measurement in predicting cardiovascular (CV) mortality in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and arterial stiffness progression in young healthy subjects.

Methods: Abeta40 was retrospectively measured in blood samples collected from 3 independent prospective cohorts and 2 case-control cohorts (total N = 1,464).

Platelets as potential link between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

Diabetes is a well-known risk factor for Alzheimer`s disease (AD) development in the elderly. The molecular link between diabetes and AD is still not completely understood. Recent evidence suggests that platelet activation observed in diabetes may contribute to AD development.

Dysregulation of neurotrophic and haematopoietic growth factors in Alzheimer's disease: from pathophysiology to novel treatment strategies.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly. Growth factors have been demonstrated to act in a synergistic way in angiogenesis and neurogenesis contributing to self-healing powers of the adult human brain. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that levels of many growth factors (neurotrophins and hematopoietins) are altered in cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood from AD patients and in animal models of AD.

Increased myeloperoxidase plasma levels in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Increasing evidence supports the role of cardiovascular risk factors in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: In the present pilot study, we investigated plasma concentrations of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and its possible association with plasma amyloid-β (Aβ)1-42/1-40 ratio in AD patients and elderly healthy controls.

Methods: The study sample included 28 AD patients and 27 elderly individuals with a normal cognitive status as a control group.

Platelet activation in Alzheimer's disease: from pathophysiology to clinical value.

Vascular risk factors and atherosclerosis are critically involved in dementia development of both vascular and Alzheimer's type. However, the exact mechanisms linking atherosclerosis and the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are still unknown. As platelet activation and adhesion on vascular wall is the first step of vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis, it appears tempting to hypothesize that platelets could be the link between vascular risk factors/ atherosclerosis and AD.

Platelets in atherothrombosis--diagnostic and prognostic value of platelet activation in patients with atherosclerotic diseases.

Platelets and their activation have a pivotal role in the development of atherosclerotic diseases such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI), stroke and peripheral arterial occlusion. Biomarkers of platelet activation are making inroads into clinical studies and may serve as promising agents upstream to established downstream markers of myocardial necrosis such as troponin and creatin kinase. Targeting the degree of platelet activation assessed by the key collagen receptor of platelet activation, glycoprotein VI (GPVI), may have diagnostic and prognostic value for the assessement of high-risk groups of patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease and ischemic stroke and may be worthwhile to help to facilitate clinical decision-making and to rapidly initiate adequate therapy.

Platelets and platelet interaction with progenitor cells in vascular homeostasis and inflammation.

Platelet adhesion on vascular wall is the first step following vascular injury. Differential platelet secretion supports angiogenesis and vascular homeostasis. Progenitor cells are pluripotent cells responsible for tissue regeneration and wound healing.

Plasma levels of stromal cell-derived factor-1 in patients with coronary artery disease: effect of clinical presentation and cardiovascular risk factors.

Objective: To investigate the possible association of plasma levels of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1; CXCL12) with clinical presentation of symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) and with cardiovascular risk factors.

Methods: A cath lab cohort of 492 consecutive patients with symptomatic CAD were recruited. Blood for plasma-SDF-1 determination was taken at the time of heart catheterization before percutaneous coronary intervention.

Adipocytokines and CD34 progenitor cells in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and atherosclerosis share common vascular risk factors such as arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Adipocytokines and CD34(+) progenitor cells are associated with the progression and prognosis of atherosclerotic diseases. Their role in AD is not adequately elucidated.