MiR-6721-5p as a natural regulator of Meta-VCL is upregulated in the serum of patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD), the leading cause of mortality globally, arises from atherosclerotic blockage of the coronary arteries. Meta-vinculin (meta-VCL), a large spliced isoform of VCL, co-localizes in muscular adhesive structures and plays significant roles in cardiac physiology and pathophysiology. This study aimed to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) regulating expression and investigate the expression alterations of the miRNAs of interest and as potential biomarkers in the serum of CAD patients.

Increased prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in Tehran - HAMRAH study.

Background: The aim of the current study is to assess the prevalence of different categories of thyroid dysfunction and their associated risk factors among the modern urban population of Tehran, the capital of Iran.

Methods: The present investigation is a sub-study of the HAMRAH study, a population-based prospective study designed to assess the prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and their changes through a 10-year follow-up. 2228 (61% female) adults aged between 30 and 75 years old and with no overt cardiovascular diseases were selected through a multistage cluster randomized sampling.

Higher Improvement of Cardiac Function Following Myocardial Infarction using Menstrual Blood Stromal/Stem Cells (MenSCs) Suspended in Conditioned Medium Conditioned Medium Alone in Rat Model.

Background: To evaluate the efficiency of Menstrual blood Stromal/Stem Cells (MenSCs) administration in Myocardial Infarction (MI), the effects of MenSCs and their derived conditioned Medium (CM) on cardiac function in MI rat model was assessed.

Methods: Animals were divided into four groups including sham group, MI group, MenSCs derived CM group (CM group), and MenSCs suspended in CM (MenSCs+CM) group. The injection of different groups was carried out 30 after ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery into the infarct border zone.

Development of a patients' satisfaction analysis system using machine learning and lexicon-based methods.

Background: Patients' rights are integral to medical ethics. This study aimed to perform sentiment analysis and opinion mining on patients' messages by a combination of lexicon-based and machine learning methods to identify positive or negative comments and to determine the different ward and staff names mentioned in patients' messages.

Methods: The level of satisfaction and observance of the rights of 250 service recipients of the hospital was evaluated through the related checklists by the evaluator.

Circular RNAs: New Players in Cardiomyopathy.

Cardiomyopathies comprise a heterogeneous group of cardiac diseases identified by myocardium disorders and diminished cardiac function. They often lead to heart failure or heart transplantation and constitute one of the principal causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel type of noncoding RNAs.

Warning signals of elevated prediabetes prevalence in the modern Iranian urban population.

Background: We sought to estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and pre-DM and their associated factors among a sample of the Iranian urban population between 2017 and 2019.

Methods: The present investigation is a sub-study on the HAMRAH cohort study, a longitudinal population-based cohort study to assess the 10-year risk of cardiovascular diseases and their related risk factors in the adult population of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Via a multistage cluster randomized sampling method, 2123 adults aged between 30 and 75 years who had no history of cardiovascular diseases were selected for the study.

Best management in isolated right ventricular hypoplasia with septal defects in adults.

Hypoplastic right ventricle is a rare congenital disease usually associated with pulmonary atresia or tricuspid atresia. Isolated right ventricular hypoplasia is a rare anomaly without important valvular abnormalities. It is associated with inter atrial septal defects leading to the right-to-left shunting of blood.

Insights into role of microRNAs in cardiac development, cardiac diseases, and developing novel therapies.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a subfamily of small noncoding RNAs that play a variety of roles in regulating gene expression in nearly all organisms. They affect different biological pathways by post-transcriptionally regulating mRNAs. Aside from miRNAs' role in maintaining cellular homeostasis, their perturbation is related to several pathologic states and diseases.

Small Molecules with Big Impacts on Cardiovascular Diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although in recent years there has been a significant progress in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of CVD, but due to their complex pathobiology, developing novel biomarkers and therapeutic interventions are still in need. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a fraction of non-coding RNAs that act as micro-regulators of gene expression.

Modulatory Role of SIRT1 and Resistin as Therapeutic Targets in Patients with Aortic Valve Stenosis.

Background: Inflammatory is one of the main cause of aortic valve stenosis (AS), so discovering novel biomarkers for the targeted therapy of inflammation could be an attractive strategy in AS prevention. The objectives of our study were to clarify the modulatory role of resistin and silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) before and after surgery and also to evaluate the therapeutic effects of resveratrol.

Methods: Nineteen AS patients and 15 healthy subjects were studied as the case and control groups, respectively.

Interaction of mTOR and iNOS pathways in protection against Ischemia/Reperfusion injury.

Chronic morphine (CM) treatment increases the phosphorylation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which confers neuroprotection against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Besides its important regulatory role in the proliferation, metabolism, and survival of cells, the mTOR is critically involved in intracellular signaling events during I/R injury. In the present study, we investigated the interaction between the expressions of the mTOR and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and their possible protective effects on hippocampal neurons against I/R injury in morphine-dependent mice.

Activation of mitochondrial KATP channels mediates neuroprotection induced by chronic morphine preconditioning in hippocampal CA-1 neurons following cerebral ischemia.

Purpose: Pharmacologic preconditioning, through activating several mechanisms and mediators, can increase the tolerance of different tissues against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Recent studies have shown that morphine preconditioning has protective effects in different organs, especially in the heart. Nevertheless, its mechanisms are not well elucidated in the brain.

Role of morphine preconditioning and nitric oxide following brain ischemia reperfusion injury in mice.

Objectives: Morphine dependence (MD) potently protects heart against ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury through specific signaling mechanisms, which are different from the pathways involved in acute morphine treatment or classical preconditioning. Since opioid receptor density changes post cerebral ischemia strongly correlated with brain histological damage, in the present study, we tried to elucidate the possible role of opioid receptors in IR injury among morphine-dependent mice.

Materials And Methods: Accordingly, incremental doses (10 mg/kg/day to 30 mg/kg/day) of morphine sulphate were subcutaneously administered for 5 days before global brain ischemia induction through bilateral common carotid artery occlusion.

Vasorelaxant and hypotensive effects of Allium cepa peel hydroalcoholic extract in rat.

The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of onion (Allium cepa) peel hydroalcoholic extract (OPE) on rat hypertension induced by high-fructose diet and aorta contractility. The OPE was prepared by maceration method using 70% ethanol. The thoracic aorta from male adult rat (Wistar) was dissected and suspended in Krebs-Henseleit solution under 1 g resting tension.