A Holistic Approach to Cardiometabolic and Infectious Health in the General Population of Reunion Island: The REUNION Study.

Introduction: Reunion Island is a French overseas department in the South West Indian Ocean with a unique multi-ethnic population. Cardiovascular diseases are the most common chronic conditions with higher prevalences of hypertension and diabetes compared to mainland France. Moreover, Reunion Island is particularly exposed to vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya and dengue.

Use of ADAM-C and CHA2DS2-VASc scores to predict complex aortic atheroma after brain ischemia: A prospective observational study.

Background And Aims: Complex aortic atheroma (CAA) is a common cause of acute brain ischemia (BI), including ischemic stroke (IS) and transient ischemic attack (TIA), and is associated with recurrence. The CHA2DS2-VASc score is a useful tool for predicting stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), and can also predict cardiovascular events in other populations, including non-AF populations. The ADAM-C score is a new risk score for predicting the diagnostic yield of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) after BI.

Relationship between lipoprotein concentrations and short-term and 1-year mortality in intensive care unit septic patients: results from the HIGHSEPS study.

Background: High-density lipoproteins (HDLs), particles characterized by their reverse cholesterol transport function, display pleiotropic properties, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions. Moreover, all lipoproteins (HDLs but also low-density lipoproteins (LDLs)) neutralize lipopolysaccharides, leading to increased bacterial clearance. These two lipoproteins decrease during sepsis, and an association between low lipoprotein levels and poor outcome was reported.

The Use of Transthoracic Echocardiogram to Quantify Pulmonary Vascular Resistance in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis.

Objective: To explore the accuracy of tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV) to right ventricular outflow tract time-velocity integral (TVI) ratio by Doppler to determine pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: Thirty-five consecutive adult patients with SSc, fulfilling the 2013 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology classification criteria, with sinus rhythm referred for right heart catheterization (RHC), were retrospectively included. All patients underwent a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) performed within 24 h of RHC.

Prognostic Values of Inflammatory and Redox Status Biomarkers on the Risk of Major Lower-Extremity Artery Disease in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective: Inflammation and oxidative stress play an important role in the pathogenesis of lower-extremity artery disease (LEAD). We assessed the prognostic values of inflammatory and redox status biomarkers on the risk of LEAD in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α receptor 1 (TNFR1), angiopoietin-like 2, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), fluorescent advanced glycation end products, protein carbonyls, and total reductive capacity of plasma were measured at baseline in the SURDIAGENE (Survie, Diabete de type 2 et Genetique) cohort.

ADAM-C score: New risk score for predicting diagnostic yield of transesophageal echocardiography after cerebral ischemia.

Background And Aim: The clinical utility of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) after brain ischemia (BI) remains a matter of debate. We aimed to evaluate the clinical impact of TEE and to build a score that could help physicians to identify which patients should better benefit from TEE.

Methods: This prospective, multicenter, observational study included patients over 18 years old, hospitalized for BI.

Myocardial multilayer strain does not provide additional value for detection of myocardial viability assessed by SPECT imaging over and beyond standard strain.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of multilayer strain analysis to the assessment of myocardial viability (MV) through the comparison of both speckle tracking echocardiography and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. We also intended to determine which segmental longitudinal strain (LS) cutoff value would be optimal to discriminate viable myocardium.

Methods: We included 47 patients (average age: 61 ± 11 years) referred to our cardiac imaging center for MV evaluation.

Circulating Concentrations of Redox Biomarkers Do Not Improve the Prediction of Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Despite pathophysiological relevance and promising experimental data, the usefulness of biomarkers of oxidative stress for cardiac risk prediction is unclear. The aim of our study was to investigate the prognostic value of 6 biomarkers exploring different pathways of oxidative stress for predicting adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus beyond established risk factors.

Methods And Results: The SURDIAGENE (Survie, Diabete de type 2 et Genetique) prospective cohort study consecutively recruited 1468 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Association between Fluorescent Advanced Glycation End-Products and Vascular Complications in Type 2 Diabetic Patients.

Objectives: Diabetes is a major health problem associated with hyperglycemia and chronically increased oxidative stress and enhanced formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). The aim of this study was to determine whether oxidative plasma biomarkers in diabetic patients could be evidenced and associated with vascular complications.

Methods: Oxidative stress biomarkers such as thiols, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), glycated albumin (GA), fructosamine, and AGEs were measured in 75 patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes (HbA1c > 7.

A hemorrhagic transformation model of mechanical stroke therapy with acute hyperglycemia in mice.

Clinical benefit for mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in stroke was recently demonstrated in multiple large prospective studies. Acute hyperglycemia (HG) is an important risk factor of poor outcome in stroke patients, including those that underwent MT. The aim of this therapy is to achieve a complete reperfusion in a short time, given that reperfusion damage is dependent on the duration of ischemia.

Prognostic impact of myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography in patients with major extracardiac findings by computed tomography for attenuation correction.

Background: Attenuation correction computed tomography (CT) contributes to an improvement in the diagnostic accuracy of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) by single photon emission tomography (SPECT). The aim of this study was to explore the prognosis of patients with major findings by CT according to the results of MPI.

Methods And Results: 1506 patients who underwent MPI by SPECT were retrospectively included.

Prevalence, treatment and control of hypertension in La Réunion: the RÉDIA population-based cohort study.

A better knowledge of prevalence, management and determinants of hypertension is needed in regions in epidemiological transition to adapt the strategies of public health screening and prevention, and to reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases. We conducted a prospective cohort study including 4610 participants aged between 18 and 69 years and representative of the general population of La Réunion, a French overseas island located in the western Indian Ocean. The median time between inclusion and follow-up was 7.

Combination of copeptin and troponin assays to rapidly rule out non-ST elevation myocardial infarction in the emergency department.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic accuracy and the clinical usefulness of the combination of troponin I (cTnI) and copeptin measured at presentation with an automated assay to rapidly rule out non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in patients with suspected cardiac chest pain presenting to an emergency department (ED).

Methods: This study was an ancillary analysis of a prospective observational study. Copeptin and cTnI levels were sampled at presentation in 641 consecutive patients admitted to the ED for chest pain with onset within the last 12 hours and without ST elevation on a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG).

Diagnostic accuracy of quantitative heart-fatty acid binding protein assays compared with Cardiodetect(®) in the early detection of acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Heart-fatty acid binding protein (h-FABP) has been proposed as a cardiac marker for the early detection of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In a study of 677 patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) for chest pain, we found that a semiquantitative point-of-care test that detects h-FABP (Cardiodetect(®)) had low sensitivity for the prediction of ACS.

Objective: The aim of this ancillary study was to analyze and compare the performance of h-FABP for early ACS diagnosis in this large cohort of unselected patients, using a quantitative immunoassay and Cardiodetect(®).

Arterial ultrasound screening as a tool for coronary risk assessment in asymptomatic men and women.

One of the imaging tests most commonly used to assess cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in daily practice is Doppler ultrasonography of the carotid and femoral arteries. We included 2709 participants with no history or symptoms of CVD; they had a risk factor assessment and a carotid and femoral ultrasonography at baseline. Incident cases of definite coronary events were recorded during a median follow-up of 6 years.

Usefulness of initial glucose level to improve acute coronary syndrome diagnosis in the emergency department.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to analyse the incremental usefulness of high blood glucose level for non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS) diagnosis in patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) for chest pain and suspected ACS.

Methods: A post hoc analysis of a prospective, observational study of 11 months duration was carried out. Initial glucose levels were analysed in 672 consecutive patients admitted to the ED with chest pain and suspected non-ST elevation ACS.

Clinical assessment of ischemia-modified albumin and heart fatty acid-binding protein in the early diagnosis of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome in the emergency department.

Objectives: Heart fatty acid-binding protein (h-FABP) and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) have recently been evaluated, but to the best of our knowledge, no study has reported an analysis of these two markers for the detection of early myocardial infarction and myocardial ischemia in a large cohort of consecutive patients presenting to an emergency department (ED). This study evaluates the diagnostic accuracy and the clinical utility of h-FABP and IMA for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS) diagnosis in the first hour of management in an ED.

Methods: In a prospective 11-month study, 677 patients admitted to the ED with chest pain and suspected non-ST-segment elevation ACS were enrolled.

Additional prognostic value of physical examination, exercise testing, and arterial ultrasonography for coronary risk assessment in primary prevention.

Background: The choice of noninvasive tests used in primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases must be based on medical evidence. The aim of this study was to assess the additional prognostic value, over conventional risk factors, of physical examination, exercise testing, and arterial ultrasonography, in predicting a first coronary event.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted between 1996 and 2004 (n = 2,709), with follow-up in 2006 (response rate 96.

Determinants and prognostic impact of compliance with guidelines in reperfusion therapy for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: results from the ESTIM Midi-Pyrénées Area.

Background: Early reperfusion therapy has proven benefit in reducing mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Expert guideline committees have defined recommendations to improve the management of patients with STEMI and decrease their mortality rates.

Aims: To identify predictors of compliance with American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for reperfusion therapy in STEMI and to determine the prognostic impact of compliance.

Risk of neurological decompression sickness in the diver with a right-to-left shunt: literature review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Literature review and meta-analysis to review the evidence of relationship between the presence of right-to-left shunts (RLSs) and the occurrence of neurological decompression sickness (DCS) in divers.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Health Technology Assessment databases.

Study Selection: Five case-control studies in which the prevalence of a RLS in a group of divers with neurological DCS was compared with that of a group of divers with no history of DCS, 3 cross-transversal studies in which the prevalence of RLS was measured in divers with neurological DCS, and 4 cross-transversal studies in which the prevalence of RLS was measured in divers with no history of DCS were reviewed.

Ceramide production associated with retinal apoptosis after retinal detachment.

Background: During retinal detachment, premature apoptosis of photoreceptors and a loss of optimally corrected visual acuity occur. We hypothesized that retinal cell death and generation of ceramide, a pro-apoptotic lipid, would progress as a function of time following experimental retinal detachment, and undertook to define the appropriate temporal window.

Methods: Unilateral retinal detachment was induced in white New Zealand rabbits by subretinal injection of sodium hyaluronate.

Scoliosis in patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Objective: Our goals were to determine the prevalence and estimate the evolution of spinal deformities in patients suffering from Prader-Willi syndrome; find out which kind of spine deformity predominates regarding genotype and clinical patterns; and evaluate the affect of growth-hormone treatment on the onset and progression of spinal deformities.

Patients And Methods: This was a retrospective longitudinal, clinical, and radiologic study. One hundred forty-five children followed between 1980 and 2006 were studied in 2 referral centers for Prader-Willi syndrome.

Optimization of the use of B-type natriuretic peptide levels for risk stratification at discharge in elderly patients with decompensated heart failure.

Background: In elderly patients hospitalized for decompensated heart failure, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels at discharge and the change in BNP during hospitalization may provide different information and may need to be taken into account simultaneously to best reflect the response to therapy. The aim of this study was to determine whether the most accurate risk stratification is obtained using BNP level after stabilization on treatment, the change in BNP under optimal treatment, or a combination of both markers.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included 157 consecutive patients aged >or=70 (mean, 83 years), hospitalized for decompensated heart failure.

Morphological study of fiber-reinforced post-bonding system-root dentin interface by evaluation of two bonding systems.

Unlabelled: Morphological study of fiber post/bonding system/root dentin interface by evaluation of two bonding systems.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyze the interfaces, and thus the seal, between root dentin and bonded fiber-reinforced posts. The interfaces were obtained by applying two enamel-dentin adhesive systems, a one-bottle system used after application of phosphoric acid and a self-etch system, both used with an adhesive cement.