[Selective Sinus Replacement for Aortic Root Disease].

Background: Selective sinus replacement seems a reasonable option in cases requiring replacement of one or two sinuses of Valsalva, especially with acute aortic dissection and high bleeding risk.

Methods: Six patients (average age 58±17 years;five males) underwent selective replacement of the right sinus of Valsalva with right coronary artery bypass grafting (n=5) in 2015-2023. Five patients developed acute aortic dissection and one developed aneurysm of the right sinus of Valsalva.

Longitudinal Outcomes Following Surgical Repair of Primary Mitral Regurgitation.

Degenerative mitral valve (MV) disease is the most common cause of organic mitral regurgitation (MR) in developed countries. Surgical mitral valve repair is the gold standard treatment for primary MR. Surgical mitral valve repair is associated with excellent outcomes in terms of survival and freedom from recurrent MR.

What does complete revascularization mean in 2021? - Definitions, implications, and biases.

Purpose Of Review: Coronary revascularization is known to be an excellent treatment for coronary artery disease. However, whether incomplete myocardial revascularization compromises long-term outcomes, as compared to complete revascularization (CR), remains contentious. Herein, we review the concept of and evidence on CR/incomplete revascularization (ICR) and discuss future perspectives.

Perioperative use of the intra-aortic balloon pump: where do we stand in 2018?

Purpose Of Review: Intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) has been the most widely used device to help patients recover from circulatory disorder mainly because of cardiogenic shock; however, no evidence-based clinical benefit derived from IABP support has been reported in recent clinical trials. This review provides an overview of the current outcomes and challenges in perioperative IABP use for cardiogenic shock patients.

Recent Findings: Although IABP support yielded no significant difference in mortality for myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock, perioperative IABP use generated beneficial clinical outcomes for high-risk patients undergoing coronary revascularization.

Intravenously injected human multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring cells selectively engraft into mouse aortic aneurysms and attenuate dilatation by differentiating into multiple cell types.

Objectives: Aortic aneurysms result from the degradation of multiple components represented by endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, and elastic fibers. Cells that can replenish these components are desirable for cell-based therapy. Intravenously injected multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring (Muse) cells, endogenous nontumorigenic pluripotent-like stem cells, reportedly integrate into the damaged site and repair the tissue through spontaneous differentiation into tissue-compatible cells.

Is Trisomy 21 a Risk Factor for Rapid Progression of Pulmonary Arteriopathy? - Revisiting Histopathological Characteristics Using 282 Lung Biopsy Specimens.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is more progressive in trisomy 21 patients. However, pulmonary arteriopathic lesions in these patients have not been fully characterized histopathologically.

Methods and results: A retrospective review of a lung biopsy registry identified 282 patients: 188 patients with trisomy 21 (Group D) and 94 without (Group N).

Evidence of Pulmonary Vascular Reverse Remodeling After Pulmonary Artery Banding Performed in Early Infancy in Patients With Congenital Heart Defects.

Background: Histomorphometric evidence of the effect of pulmonary artery banding (PAB) in infancy on pulmonary vascular reverse remodeling has not been fully described.

Methods and results: We retrospectively reviewed 34 patients who underwent serial lung biopsies before and after PAB.Index of pulmonary vascular disease (IPVD) as a measure of the degree of progression of pulmonary arteriopathy significantly decreased after PAB (1.

Reconsideration of frailty in relation to surgical indication.

Given that an increasing number of elderly patients are undergoing surgical procedures for a diversity of indications, the concept of frailty is currently being examined in more depth in clinical medicine. Established surgical risk scores designed to predict mortality are mainly focused on general demographic information and clinical factors; however, these do not account for the frailty condition. With vulnerability and low resiliency in the frail elderly, these conventional scores are unable to accurately predict postoperative outcomes including adverse complications, disability, the need for additional rehabilitation, and prolonged length of hospitalization.

Optimizing the host substrate environment for cardiac angiogenesis, arteriogenesis, and myogenesis.

The diseased host milieu, such as endothelial dysfunction (ED), decreased NO bioavailability, and ischemic/inflammatory post-MI environment, hamper the clinical success of existing cardiac regenerative therapies. Area covered: In this article, current strategies including pharmacological and nonpharmacological approaches for improving the diseased host milieu are reviewed. Specifically, the authors provide focus on: i) the mechanism of ED in patients with cardiovascular diseases, ii) the current results of ED improving strategies in pre-clinical and clinical studies, and iii) the use of biomaterials as a novel modulator in damaged post-MI environment.

Echocardiography-Guided Intramyocardial Injection Method in a Murine Model.

Cardiac regenerative therapy has received attention as a potentially revolutionary approach for treating the damaged heart. The mouse model of myocardial infarction (MI) remains one of the most common tools for the evaluation of such new therapies. Typically, intramyocardial administration of cells or biomaterials in mice is performed by an open-chest surgical procedure, but less invasive delivery methods are becoming available.

Methylglyoxal-Induced Endothelial Cell Loss and Inflammation Contribute to the Development of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy.

The mechanisms for the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy remain largely unknown. Methylglyoxal (MG) can accumulate and promote inflammation and vascular damage in diabetes. We examined if overexpression of the MG-metabolizing enzyme glyoxalase 1 (GLO1) in macrophages and the vasculature could reduce MG-induced inflammation and prevent ventricular dysfunction in diabetes.

In situ thrombosis of small pulmonary arteries in pulmonary hypertension developing after chemotherapy for malignancy.

A few reports have provided histopathological insight into pulmonary hypertension developing after antitumor chemotherapy. In general, plexogenic pulmonary arteriopathy is a commonly observed finding in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension. We herein report a novel pathological finding that may characterize the histopathological change occurring in patients with pulmonary hypertension after chemotherapy for malignancy.

Histopathological examination by lung biopsy for the evaluation of operability and postoperative prognosis in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Background: To evaluate the prognosis after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), a lung biopsy was performed in 34 patients with central CTEPH and in 7 patients with peripheral CTEPH during PTE.

Methods And Results: Postoperative prognosis was classified from A to E based on the postoperative hemodynamic parameters and clinical condition, and was compared with the index of occlusion (IOCTEPH), which indicates the degree of occlusion in the small pulmonary arteries. Criteria of (A-E) were established only for central CTEPH.

Agonist-induced internalization of histamine H2 receptor and activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases are dynamin-dependent.

Histamine H2 receptor (H2R) is a member of G protein-coupled receptor family. Agonist stimulation of H2R results in several cellular events including activation of adenylate cyclase and phospholipase C, desensitization of the receptor, activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases ERK1/2, and receptor endocytosis. In this study, we identified a GTPase dynamin as a binding partner of H2R.

CLIC4 interacts with histamine H3 receptor and enhances the receptor cell surface expression.

Histamine H3 receptor (H3R), one of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), has been known to regulate neurotransmitter release negatively in central and peripheral nervous systems. Recently, a variety of intracellular proteins have been identified to interact with carboxy (C)-termini of GPCRs, and control their intracellular trafficking and signal transduction efficiencies. Screening for such proteins that interact with the C-terminus of H3R resulted in identification of one of the chloride intracellular channel (CLIC) proteins, CLIC4.