Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction in the Elderly Population: Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Considerations.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) refers to a clinical condition in which the signs of heart failure, such as pulmonary congestion, peripheral edema, and increased natriuretic peptide levels, are present despite normal ejection fractions and the absence of other causes (eg, pericardial disease). The ejection fraction cutoff for the definition of HFpEF has varied in the past, but recent society guidelines have settled on a consensus of 50%. HFpEF is particularly common in the elderly population.

The role of cellular senescence in profibrillatory atrial remodelling associated with cardiac pathology.

Aims: Cellular senescence is a stress-related or aging response believed to contribute to many cardiac conditions; however, its role in atrial fibrillation (AF) is unknown. Age is the single most important determinant of the risk of AF. The present study was designed to (i) evaluate AF susceptibility and senescence marker expression in rat models of aging and myocardial infarction (MI), (ii) study the effect of reducing senescent-cell burden with senolytic therapy on the atrial substrate in MI rats, and (iii) assess senescence markers in human atrial tissue as a function of age and the presence of AF.

The role of cellular senescence in cardiac disease: basic biology and clinical relevance.

Cellular senescence, classically defined as stable cell cycle arrest, is implicated in biological processes such as embryogenesis, wound healing and ageing. Senescent cells have a complex senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), involving a range of pro-inflammatory factors with important paracrine and autocrine effects on cell and tissue biology. Clinical evidence and experimental studies link cellular senescence, senescent cell accumulation, and the production and release of SASP components with age-related cardiac pathologies such as heart failure, myocardial ischaemia and infarction, and cancer chemotherapy-related cardiotoxicity.

Biotin decorated PLGA nanoparticles containing SN-38 designed for cancer therapy.

Active targeted chemotherapy is expected to provide more specific delivery of cytotoxic drugs to the tumor cells and hence reducing the side effects on healthy tissues. Due to the over expression of biotin receptors on cancerous cells as a result of further requirement for rapid proliferations, biotin can be a good candidate as a targeting agent. In this study, biotin decorated PLGA nanoparticles (NPs) containing SN-38 were prepared and in vitro studies were evaluated for their improved anti-cancer properties.