Living Longer or Better-Patient's Choice in Cardiac Surgery Is Gender-Dependent-A Multicenter Study.

In view of the increasing age of cardiac surgery patients, questions arise about the expected postoperative quality of life and the hoped-for prolonged life expectancy. Little is known so far about how these, respectively, are weighted by the patients concerned. This study aims to obtain information on the patients' preferences.

It's all in our skin-Skin autofluorescence-A promising outcome predictor in cardiac surgery: A single centre cohort study.

Background: The optimum risk score determining perioperative mortality and morbidity in cardiac surgery remains debated. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) derived from glycaemic and oxidative stress accumulate to a comparable amount in skin and the cardiovascular system leading to a decline in organ function. We aimed to study the association between AGE accumulation measured as skin autofluorescence (sAF) and the outcome of cardiac surgery patients.

Alterations of protein expression of phospholamban, ZASP and plakoglobin in human atria in subgroups of seniors.

The mature mammalian myocardium contains composite junctions (areae compositae) that comprise proteins of adherens junctions as well as desmosomes. Mutations or deficiency of many of these proteins are linked to heart failure and/or arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy in patients. We firstly wanted to address the question whether the expression of these proteins shows an age-dependent alteration in the atrium of the human heart.

Age-Dependent Protein Expression of Serine/Threonine Phosphatases and Their Inhibitors in the Human Cardiac Atrium.

Heart failure and aging of the heart show many similarities regarding hemodynamic and biochemical parameters. There is evidence that heart failure in experimental animals and humans is accompanied and possibly exacerbated by increased activity of protein phosphatase (PP) 1 and/or 2A. Here, we wanted to study the age-dependent protein expression of major members of the protein phosphatase family in human hearts.

Positive impact of retrograde autologous priming in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Adult cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation is known to be associated with increased risk of blood transfusion leading to adverse outcomes. Procedures like retrograde autologous priming (RAP) may reduce these negative side effects. This randomized prospective study was initiated to assess whether RAP using specifically designed RAP bag (Terumo) has immediate effects on patient outcome.

The skin autofluorescence reflects the posttranslational glycation grade of the matrix protein collagen.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) seem to be involved in ageing as well as in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Accumulation of AGEs contribute to tissue stiffness and organ dysfunction by crosslinking extracellular matrix proteins like collagen. We aimed to assess whether AGE-modified cardiac tissue collagen and AGE related skin autofluorescence may reflect the cardiac function and have a prognostic value for the outcome of coronary artery bypass surgery patients.

The antioxidative effect of bread crust in a mouse macrophage reporter cell line.

Objective: Free radicals and oxidative stress are important factors in the biology of aging and responsible for the development of age-related diseases. One way to reduce the formation of free radicals is to boost the antioxidative system by nutrition. Heat treatment of food promote the Maillard reaction which is responsible for their characteristic color and taste.

Rehabilitation in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease: Participation and Its Effect on Prognosis.

Background: In Germany, rehabilitation is considered to be indicated after an acute hospital stay for the treatment of a severe cardiac condition. In comparative studies, at least 51% of German hospital patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) who were entitled to rehabilitative measures actually took part n rehabilitation.

Methods: We examined data on 1910 patients with CHD who took part in two prospective cohort studies at the University Hospital of Halle (Saale) in the years 2007-2011.

Protein glycation - Between tissue aging and protection.

Unlabelled: Non-enzymatic formation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) is associated with degenerative diseases. Chronic accumulation of AGEs with age in tissues especially in the extracellular matrix is well known and at least in part responsible for e.g.

Interleukin-1 potently contributes to 25-hydroxycholesterol-induced synergistic cytokine production in smooth muscle cell-monocyte interactions.

Objectives: Inflammation is essential for atherogenesis. Cholesterol, a cardiovascular risk factor, may activate inflammation in the vessel wall during this process. Cytokine-mediated interactions of human monocytes with vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) may perpetuate this process.

Carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity reflects the extent of coronary artery disease.

Arterial stiffness is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) as a measure of arterial stiffness was obtained in 155 (47 women; 67.2±9.

Microarray-based gene expression profiling suggests adaptation of lung epithelial cells subjected to chronic cyclic strain.

Background/aims: Mechanical strain of the lung tissue is a physiological process that affects the behavior of lung cells. Since recent evidence also suggests alterations in the expression of certain genes as a consequence of mechanotransduction, our study aimed at the analysis of the gene expression profile in lung epithelial cells subjected to chronic cyclic strain.

Methods: Various human lung epithelial cell lines (A549 as principal adherent cell line and four others) were subjected to cyclic strain (16 % surface distension, 12 min(-1)) in a Strain Cell Culture Device for 24 h.

RAGE influences the development of aortic valve stenosis in mice on a high fat diet.

Advanced glycation end product (AGE) accumulations as well as a high fat diet are associated with cardiovascular diseases. AGEs are recognized by several receptor molecules of which the receptor of AGEs (RAGE) is currently the most intensively studied. Activation of RAGE causes an unfavorable pro-inflammatory state.

Glycation of extracellular matrix proteins impairs migration of immune cells.

The immune response during aging and diabetes is disturbed and may be due to the altered migration of immune cells in an aged tissue. Our study should prove the hypothesis that age and diabetes-related advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have an impact on the migration and adhesion of human T-cells. To achieve our purpose, we used in vitro AGE-modified proteins (soluble albumin and fibronectin [FN]), as well as human collagen obtained from bypass graft.

A positive inotropic effect of UTP in the human cardiac atrium.

In the cardio-vascular system extracellular UTP can induce receptor-mediated vasoconstriction via smooth muscle cells and vasodilatation via endothelial cells. We evaluated inotropic effects of UTP in preparations from human heart. Contractile effects were studied in atrial preparations from patients undergoing cardiac bypass surgery.

Mechanisms of infective endocarditis: pathogen-host interaction and risk states.

Patients with infective endocarditis (IE) form a heterogeneous group, ranging from those who are successfully treated with no adverse events, to those with severe complications and a high mortality. In this Review, we highlight pathogen-host interactions and the mechanisms underlying various risk factors for patients with IE. A temporal trend in the pattern of IE has been observed in high-income countries within the past 5 decades, with patients contracting IE at an increasingly old age, and a growing incidence of health-care-associated staphylococcal IE.

Cell culture condition-dependent impact of AGE-rich food extracts on kinase activation and cell survival on human fibroblasts.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are stable end products of the Maillard reaction. Effects of food extracts are often initially analysed in cellular test systems and it is not clear how different cell culture conditions might influence the results. Therefore, we compared the effects of two models for AGE-rich food, bread crust and coffee extract (CE) on WI-38 human lung fibroblasts under different cell culture conditions (sub-confluent versus confluent cells, with and without serum).

The receptor for advanced glycation end-products supports lung tissue biomechanics.

The receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) and its soluble forms are predominantly expressed in lung but its physiological importance in this organ is not yet fully understood. Since RAGE acts as a cell adhesion molecule, we postulated its physiological importance in the respiratory mechanics. Respiratory function in a buffer-perfused isolated lung system and biochemical parameters of the lung were studied in young, adult, and old RAGE knockout (RAGE-KO) mice and wild-type (WT) mice.

Reduced expression level of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein contributes to lung aging.

Lung aging is associated with morphological and physiological changes in which alterations in transcription factors, including the cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (CREB), could play a role. We studied CREB in lung tissue from mice at different ages and in response to known age-related factors (e.g.

Age-dependent effects of high fat-diet on murine left ventricles: role of palmitate.

Obesity-associated heart disease results in myocardial lipid accumulation leading to lipotoxicity. However, recent studies are suggestive of protective effects of high-fat diets (HFD). To determine whether age results in differential changes in diet-induced obesity, we fed young and old (3 and 18 months) male C57Bl/6 mice control diet, low-fat diet (both 10 kcal% fat) or HFD (45 kcal% fat) for 16 weeks, after which we analyzed LV function, mitochondrial changes, and potential modifiers of myocardial structure.

Embolic events caused by aortic thrombi: an underestimated entity?

Stroke and other thromboembolic events are mainly caused by emboli from heart, aorta and other arteries. In this paper we describe a group of 5 middle-aged patients suffering from emboli caused by large thrombi in the aorta. Since the development of giant thrombi under high flow conditions in the aorta is a pathophysiological process which is not well understood, a model of flow distribution by numerically simulating the Navier-Stokes equation for an incompressible fluid was generated.

RAGE-dependent activation of gene expression of superoxide dismutase and vanins by AGE-rich extracts in mice cardiac tissue and murine cardiac fibroblasts.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are stable compounds formed from initial Maillard reaction products. They are considered as markers for ageing and often associated with age-related, degenerative diseases. Bread crust represents an established model for nutritional compounds rich in AGEs and is able to induce antioxidative defense genes such as superoxide dismutases and vanins in cardiac cells.

Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation in the treatment of infarction-related cardiogenic shock--review of the current evidence.

The European ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) guideline suggested the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) with a recommendation level I and a level of evidence C as an effective measure in combination with balloon angioplasty in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS), stent implantation, and inotropic and vasopressor support. Similarly, upon mechanical complication due to myocardial infarction (MI), the guideline suggests that in patients with a ventricular septal defect or in most patients with acute mitral regurgitation, preoperative IABP implantation is indicated for circulatory support. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association STEMI guideline recommends the use of the IABP with a recommendation level I and a level of evidence B if CS does not respond rapidly to pharmacological treatment.

Age-related expression, enzymatic solubility and modification with advanced glycation end-products of fibrillar collagens in mouse lung.

Changes in the expression of fibrillar collagens and post-translational modifications with advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are often associated with tissue aging. Less is known about age-related changes in mouse lung tissue. Therefore, we studied the expression level and AGE load of fibrillar collagens in lungs from young (≤6 months), adult (15 months) and old (≥25 months) mice.

Advanced glycation end product associated skin autofluorescence: a mirror of vascular function?

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) seem to be involved in aging as well as in the development of cardiovascular diseases. During aging, AGEs accumulate in extracellular matrix proteins like collagen and contribute to vessel stiffness. Whether non-invasive measurement of AGE accumulation in the skin may reflect vessel function and vessel protein modification is unknown.