Proteome-Wide Genetic Investigation of Large Artery Stiffness.

The molecular mechanisms contributing to large artery stiffness (LAS) are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between circulating plasma proteins and LAS using complementary proteomic and genomic analyses. A total of 106 proteins associated with carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity, a noninvasive measure of LAS, were identified in 1,178 individuals from the Asklepios study cohort.

Colorimetric correcting for sample concentration in stool samples.

Objectives: Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) for hemoglobin are currently considered the screening investigation of choice for colorectal cancer and are worldwide recommended. Similarly, fecal calprotectin is a widely used test for monitoring intestinal inflammation. The pre-analytical issues regarding stool samples have hardly been dealt with and are difficult to solve.

Interventions for renal artery stenosis: Appraisal of novel physiological insights and procedural techniques to improve clinical outcome.

Randomized clinical trials failed to show additional benefit of renal artery stenting on top of medical therapy. Instead of writing an obituary on renal artery stenting, we try to explain these disappointing results. A transstenotic pressure gradient is needed to reduce renal perfusion and to activate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.

Prediction of certainty in artificial intelligence-enabled electrocardiography.

Background: The 12‑lead ECG provides an excellent substrate for artificial intelligence (AI) enabled prediction of various cardiovascular diseases. However, a measure of prediction certainty is lacking.

Objectives: To assess a novel approach for estimating certainty of AI-ECG predictions.

The Pixel Variation Score: An Echocardiographic Index to Assess Temporal Variation of Mitral Regurgitant Flow.

Background: In mitral regurgitation (MR), temporal variation of MR flow has been considered an important reason for inaccurate MR grading. Current echocardiographic methods for assessing temporal MR flow variation are complex, and their clinical relevance has not been investigated. In this study, we investigated whether assessing MR flow variation using a dimensionless index with echocardiography is feasible, clinically meaningful, and related to patient outcomes.

Defining Hemodynamic Significance of Renal Artery Stenosis: Insights From a Porcine Model of Graded Renal Artery Stenosis.

Rationale And Objectives: To investigate the renal pressure-flow relationship and its relation to renin release, because the renal perfusion pressure below which renal flow starts to decline and renin secretion is upregulated is unclear.

Materials And Methods: A porcine model of graded unilateral renal artery stenosis was created. The severity of the stenosis was expressed as the ratio between distal renal pressure (P) and aortic pressure (P).

Clinical and Experimental Evidence for a Strain-Based Classification of Left Bundle Branch Block-Induced Cardiac Remodeling.

Background: Septal strain patterns measured by echocardiography reflect the severity of left bundle branch block (LBBB)-induced left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. We investigated whether these LBBB strain stages predicted the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy in an observational study and developed a sheep model of LBBB-induced cardiomyopathy.

Methods: The clinical study enrolled cardiac resynchronization therapy patients who underwent echocardiographic examination with speckle-tracking strain analysis before cardiac resynchronization therapy implant.

Color Doppler Splay in Mitral Regurgitation: Hemodynamic Correlates and Outcomes in a Clinical Cohort.

Background: Recently, an artifactual horizontal extension of the color Doppler signal was described in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), called color Doppler splay (CDS). This side-lobe artifact was shown to be associated with concealed and significant MR. In the present study, the authors assessed the prognostic significance of CDS and its hemodynamic correlates.

Prognostic value of myocardial work and global longitudinal strain in patients with heart failure and functional mitral regurgitation.

In patients with heart failure and functional mitral regurgitation (FMR), the assessment of left ventricular (LV) function is important for risk stratification and decision making. As LV ejection fraction (LVEF) might not be an optimal metric for LV systolic performance in this population, alternatives such as global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global myocardial work index (GWI) have been proposed. In the present study, we investigated the prognostic value of GLS and GWI and compared these measures to other LV systolic performance parameters.

On the protein content of kidney stones: an explorative study.

Objectives: Kidney stone formation is complex; urinary protein inhibitors play a major role in natural defense against stone formation. Using attenuated total-reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy of kidney stones, proteins are usually not quantified and often reported as 'organic matrix', for which there is little attention: treatment of urolithiasis is based on the nature of the major organic/inorganic stone compound. Literature no longer regards urinary proteins as innocent bystander, but highlights the role of proteins as urolithiasis modulators.

Genetic Polymorphisms in the Host and COVID-19 Infection.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic shows a marked geographical variation in its prevalence and mortality. The question arises if the host genetic variation may (partly) affect the prevalence and mortality of COVID-19. We postulated that the geographical variation of human polymorphisms might partly explain the variable prevalence of the infection.

A Strain-Based Staging Classification of Left Bundle Branch Block-Induced Cardiac Remodeling.

Objectives: This study speculated that longitudinal strain curves in left bundle branch block (LBBB) could be shaped by the degree of LBBB-induced cardiac remodeling.

Background: LBBB independently affects left ventricular (LV) structure and function, but large individual variability may exist in LBBB-induced adverse remodeling.

Methods: Consecutive patients with LBBB with septal flash (LBBB-SF) underwent thorough echocardiographic assessment, including speckle tracking-based strain analysis.