Associations between cardiac structure and function and depressive disorder: A centenarian study in China.

Background: Depressive disorder is a common comorbidity in patients with cardiovascular diseases and is associated with increased hospitalization and death rates. The relationships between cardiac structure and function and depressive disorder remains unclear in the older adults, especially in centenarians. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the possible associations between cardiac structure and function and depressive disorder among centenarians.

Potential use of the S-protein-Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 binding pathway in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathogen that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), infects humans through a strong interaction between the viral spike protein (S-protein) and angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on the cell surface. The infection of host lung cells by SARS-CoV-2 leads to clinical symptoms in patients. However, ACE2 expression is not restricted to the lungs; altered receptors have been found in the nasal and oral mucosa, vessel, brain, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and heart.

Roles for c-Abl in postoperative neurodegeneration.

The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase c-Abl is inactive under normal conditions. Upon activation, c-Abl regulates signaling pathways related to cytoskeletal reorganization. It plays a vital role in modulating cell protrusion, cell migration, morphogenesis, adhesion, endocytosis and phagocytosis.

How Should Anesthesiologists Face Coronavirus Disease 2019?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease. Most infected patients manifest mild flu-like symptoms, but in some cases, the patients rapidly develop severe lung infections and pneumonia. It is estimated that about 15-20% of patients with COVID-19 develop hypoxemia and require some form of oxygen therapy and ventilation support.

Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Increased the Risk of Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality in Elderly Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease.

To investigate the predictors of acute cardiovascular events within 90 days after an acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in elderly patients with stable coronary artery disease (sCAD). Observational analyses were conducted in a prospective cohort of the elderly with sCAD, during 90 days after they were hospitalized for ALRTI. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors for acute cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction based on aging and comorbidities.

Heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a leading cause of hospitalizations and mortality when diagnosed at the age of ≥ 65 years. HFpEF represents multifactorial and multisystemic syndrome and has different pathophysiology and phenotypes. Its diagnosis is difficult to be established based on left ventricular ejection fraction and may benefit from individually tailored approaches, underlying age-related changes and frequent comorbidities.

Prognostic Value of Plasma NT-proBNP levels in Hospitalized Patients Older than 80 Years of Age in a Hospital in Beijing, China.

Background: Despite growing evidence that N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has an important prognostic value in older adults, there is limited data on its prognostic predictive value.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical significance of NT-proBNP in hospitalized patients older than 80 years of age in Beijing, China.

Methods: This prospective, observational study was conducted in 724 very elderly patients in a geriatric ward (age ≥80 years, range, 80100 years, mean, 86.

Extracellular vesicles in cardiovascular diseases.

Due to the continued high incidence and mortality rate worldwide, there is still a need to develop new strategies for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Proper cardiovascular function depends on the coordinated interplay and communication between cardiomyocytes and noncardiomyocytes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are enclosed in a lipid bilayer and represent a significant mechanism for intracellular communication.

Therapeutic Progress and Knowledge Basis on the Natriuretic Peptide System in Heart Failure.

Notwithstanding substantial improvements in diagnosis and treatment, Heart Failure (HF) remains a major disease burden with high prevalence and poor outcomes worldwide. Natriuretic Peptides (NPs) modulate whole cardiovascular system and exhibit multiple cardio-protective effects, including the counteraction of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS) and Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), promotion of vasodilatation and natriuresis, and inhibition of hypertrophy and fibrosis. Novel pharmacological therapies based on NPs may achieve a valuable shift in managing patients with HF from inhibiting RAAS and SNS to a reversal of neurohormonal imbalance.

Eight novel mutations detected from eight Chinese patients with isovaleric acidemia.

Background: Isovaleric acidemia (IVA), a rare autosomal recessive disorder in leucine metabolism caused by defected IVD gene, is characterized by episodes of acute metabolic crisis and psychomotor development retardation. This study aimed to determine the clinical, biochemical, and mutation spectrum of patients with IVA from mainland China.

Methods: Eight patients (three boys and five girls) from eight unrelated families were collected, IVD gene mutations and phenotypes were examined.

Relationship between drug application and mortality rate in Chinese older coronary artery disease/chronic heart failure patients with and without low glomerular filtration rate.

Background: This analysis was designed to investigate the relationship between drug application and mortality rate in Chinese older coronary artery disease (CAD)/chronic heart failure (CHF) patients with and without low glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

Methods: All 1050 Chinese hospitalized patients with diagnosed CAD were included in this analysis, and Cox Regression was used to analyze the relationship between drug application and mortality rate after multivariate adjustment. Low GFR was defined as GFR < 60 ml/min/1.

Right ventricle may be involved in regional diastolic dysfunction earliest in primary hypertension patients.

Background: Impaired ventricular diastolic function is common in hypertensive patients and is one of the major causes of heart failure. Both left and right ventricle diastolic dysfunction have been reported, but the order of involvement is not clear.

Method: A total of 161 primary hypertensive patients and 40 healthy volunteers were enrolled.

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels had an independent and added ability in the evaluation of all-cause mortality in older Chinese patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and has increased prevalence in older patients, leading to poor prognosis for these patients. There is a need for a biomarker or a model of prognostic evaluation in older patients with AF, especially in China. CHADS and CHADSVASc scores have been applied to evaluate their prognosis in patients with AF.

Relationship between age, osteoporosis and coronary artery calcification detected by high-definition computerized tomography in Chinese elderly men.

Background: Few studies have analyzed the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and coronary artery calcification (CAC) in older men, and it remains subject to debate. The present study was designed to evaluate the age-related acceleration of osteoporosis and CAC, as well as the relationship between BMD and CAC in Chinese elderly men.

Methods: Participants included 120 men older than 60 years.

Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Its Biochemical, Analytical, and Clinical Issues in Heart Failure: A Narrative Review.

Heart failure (HF) is a primary cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. As the most widely studied and commonly applied natriuretic peptide (NP), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has the effects of diuresis, natriuresis, vasodilation, anti-hypertrophy, and anti-fibrosis and it inhibits the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone and sympathetic nervous systems to maintain cardiorenal homeostasis and counteract the effects of HF. Both BNP and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are applied as diagnostic, managing, and prognostic tools for HF.

[Effectiveness comparison of titanium elastic nail and locking compression plate fixation in treating femoral subtrochanteric fractures in older children].

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of titanium elastic nail (TEN) and locking compression plate fixation in treating femoral subtrochanteric fracture in older children.

Methods: Between April 2015 and September 2016, 35 older children (aged 7-13 years) with femoral subtrochanteric fractures were treated, the clinical data were retrospectively reviewed. TEN fixation was used in 19 cases (group A) and locking compression plate fixation in 16 cases (group B).

Association of arterial stiffness and central hemodynamics with moderately reduced glomerular filtration rate in Chinese middle-aged and elderly community residents: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Kidney impairment constitutes severe risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke and all-cause mortality, and early identification and prevention of kidney impairment is critical to effective management of prognostic risk in community residents. Previous studies have validated that carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is a significant factor associated with chronic kidney disease. However, whether cfPWV is associated with moderately reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) remains unclear.

Biomarkers in Cardiorenal Syndromes.

There is a consensus that cardiorenal syndromes (CRS) are defined as the disorders of heart and kidney where acute or chronic dysfunction in one organ may induce acute or chronic dysfunction in another. Patients with CRS have increased hospitalization and mortality rates, and thus their identification is of great implication. Biomarkers are not only predictive in heart failure or renal diseases, but also useful in identifying cardiac dysfunction in renal diseases and renal injury in heart failure.

Single-marker and multi-marker approaches to appraise the relationships between biomarkers and microalbuminuria in Chinese middle-aged and elderly from communities: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Analyzing the relationships between biomarkers representing distinct pathophysiologic pathways and microalbuminuria (MA) can strengthen the identifying ability for renal damage and illuminate previously unrecognized pathways for the pathogenesis of renal damage. The current analysis was to clarify the associations between biomarkers, including N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), homocysteine and uric acid (UA), and MA in Chinese middle-aged and elderly from communities.

Methods: All 839 residents had complete set of these biomarkers and full assessment of MA.

Effects of NOB1 on the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma and its expression on the chemosensitivity to cisplatin.

The effects of NIN1/RPN12 binding protein 1 homolog (NOB1) on the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma and its expression on the chemosensitivity to cisplatin were investigated. Seventy-four patients with osteosarcoma who received surgical resection in The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University (Sichuan, China) from September 2013 to September 2016 were enrolled in this study. The expression of NOB1 in cancer and cancer-adjacent tissues of patients was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and the relationship between NOB1 expression and the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma was analyzed.

Poor sleep is responsible for the impaired nocturnal blood pressure dipping in elderly hypertensive: A cross-sectional study of elderly.

Objective: This study was aimed to assess whether sleep disorder was associated with an increased risk of less nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping in elderly patients with hypertension.

Methods: Cases were 1006 patients, aged >60 years, who were admitted to hospital with diagnosed hypertension during 2016-2017, and were divided into three groups with the systolic nocturnal BP dipping of 10%, and 0% as the cut-off value. The patients' sleep was evaluated by Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI).

Synthesis, secretion, function, metabolism and application of natriuretic peptides in heart failure.

As a family of hormones with pleiotropic effects, natriuretic peptide (NP) system includes atrial NP (ANP), B-type NP (BNP), C-type NP (CNP), dendroaspis NP and urodilatin, with NP receptor-A (guanylate cyclase-A), NP receptor-B (guanylate cyclase-B) and NP receptor-C (clearance receptor). These peptides are genetically distinct, but structurally and functionally related for regulating circulatory homeostasis in vertebrates. In humans, ANP and BNP are encoded by NP precursor A (NPPA) and NPPB genes on chromosome 1, whereas CNP is encoded by NPPC on chromosome 2.

Baseline type 2 diabetes had a significant association with elevated high sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels in Chinese community-dwelling population: a 5-year prospective analysis.

Background: The present analysis was designed to investigate the association of type 2 diabetes (T2D) with high sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) during the 5 years of follow-up, and explore which one of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and postprandial blood glucose (PBG) is a determinant of this association in Chinese community-dwelling population.

Methods: This prospective community-based analysis was conducted based on 730 participants without coronary artery disease and hs-cTnT values ≥14 pg/mL receiving two measurements of hs-cTnT levels at baseline and follow-up of 5 years.

Results: Prevalence of T2D was 16.

Predictive abilities of cardiovascular biomarkers to rapid decline of renal function in Chinese community-dwelling population: a 5-year prospective analysis.

Background: Predictive abilities of cardiovascular biomarkers to renal function decline are more significant in Chinese community-dwelling population without glomerular filtration rate (GFR) below 60 ml/min/1.73m, and long-term prospective study is an optimal choice to explore this problem. Aim of this analysis was to observe this problem during the follow-up of 5 years.