Myocardial fibrosis and calcification are attenuated by microRNA-129-5p targeting Asporin and Sox9 in cardiac fibroblasts.

Myocardial fibrosis and calcification associate with adverse outcomes in nonischemic heart failure. Cardiac fibroblasts (CF) transition into myofibroblasts (MF) and osteogenic fibroblasts (OF) to promote myocardial fibrosis and calcification. However, common upstream mechanisms regulating both CF-to-MF transition and CF-to-OF transition remain unknown.

Oral 15-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acid Induces Pulmonary Hypertension in Mice by Triggering T Cell-Dependent Endothelial Cell Apoptosis.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal disease characterized by increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure. Elevated plasma and lung concentrations of oxidized lipids, including 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE), have been demonstrated in patients with PAH and animal models. We previously demonstrated that feeding mice with 15-HETE is sufficient to induce pulmonary hypertension, but the mechanisms remain unknown.

Involvement of Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background Recently, we and others have reported a causal role for oxidized lipids in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the role of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R) in PH is not known. Methods and Results We examined the role of LDL-R in the development of PH and determined the efficacy of high-density lipoprotein mimetic peptide 4F in mitigating PH.

Histological hallmarks and role of Slug/PIP axis in pulmonary hypertension secondary to pulmonary fibrosis.

Pulmonary hypertension secondary to pulmonary fibrosis (PF-PH) is one of the most common causes of PH, and there is no approved therapy. The molecular signature of PF-PH and underlying mechanism of why pulmonary hypertension (PH) develops in PF patients remains understudied and poorly understood. We observed significantly increased vascular wall thickness in both fibrotic and non-fibrotic areas of PF-PH patient lungs compared to PF patients.

Characterization of Factors Affecting the Detection Limit of EGFR p.T790M in Circulating Tumor DNA.

Objective: Circulating tumor DNA is a promising noninvasive tool for cancer monitoring. One of the challenges in applying this tool is the detection of low-frequency mutations. The detection limit of these mutations varies between different molecular methods.

Mutant Circulating Tumor DNA Is an Accurate Tool for Pancreatic Cancer Monitoring.

Background: Many new pancreatic cancer treatment combinations have been discovered in recent years, yet the prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains grim. The advent of new treatments highlights the need for better monitoring tools for treatment response, to allow a timely switch between different therapeutic regimens. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a tool for cancer detection and characterization with growing clinical use.

Autonomic nervous system involvement in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic pulmonary vascular disease characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) leading to right ventricular (RV) failure. Autonomic nervous system involvement in the pathogenesis of PAH has been demonstrated several years ago, however the extent of this involvement is not fully understood. PAH is associated with increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation, decreased heart rate variability, and presence of cardiac arrhythmias.

Clinically significant sub-clonality for common drivers can be detected in 26% of KRAS/EGFR mutated lung adenocarcinomas.

Genetic sub-clonality has been described in multiple malignancies, however the presence of sub-clonality for major drivers in lung adenocarcinoma and its clinical significance is a subject under debate. Using molecular and morphometric approach, 347 lung adenocarcinoma samples were analyzed for KRAS and EGFR sub-clonality, which was further correlated with clinical and pathological variables.KRAS and EGFR mutations were identified in 100 (29%) and 82 (23%) cases, respectively.

Gamma scintigraphic study of the hydrodynamically balanced matrix tablets of Metformin HCl in rabbits.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo performance of gastro-retentive matrix tablets having Metformin HCl as model drug and combination of natural polymers. A total of 16 formulations were prepared by a wet granulation method using xanthan, tamarind seed powder, tamarind kernel powder and salep as the gel-forming agents and sodium bicarbonate as a gas-forming agent. All the formulations were evaluated for compendial and non-compendial tests and in vitro study was carried out on a USP-II dissolution apparatus at a paddle speed of 50 rpm.

Increased fracture risk and osteoporosis not associated with vitamin D levels in Malaysian patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Introduction: Osteoporosis and osteopenia are well-recognized complications of inflammatory bowel disease. Previous studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency is an important risk factor for the development of osteoporosis. We hypothesized that low vitamin D levels is the main reason for reduced bone mineral density in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Production and first use of 153SmCl3-ion exchange resin capsule formulation for assessing gastrointestinal motility.

We produced an enteric-coated gelatine capsule containing neutron-activated (153)Sm-labelled resin beads for use in gastrointestinal motility studies. In vitro test in simulated gastrointestinal environment and in vivo study on volunteers were performed. Scintigraphic images were acquired from ten volunteers over 24h while blood and urine samples were collected to monitor the presence of (153)Sm.

Neutron-activated ¹⁵³Sm-ion-exchange resin as a tracer for gastrointestinal scintigraphy.

Nuclear medicine techniques are well established for the investigation of gastrointestinal (GI) motility and transit. Ion-exchange resins radiolabelled with ⁹⁹mTc and ¹¹¹In are widely used as nonabsorbable radiopharmaceutical markers, with ¹¹¹In being preferred for whole-gut transit studies. This radionuclide, however, is not produced in many countries and may be expensive when obtained through international shipment.

Quantitative ultrasound measurement of the calcaneus in Southeast Asian children with thalassemia: comparison with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that quantitative ultrasound properties of the calcaneus in Southeast Asian children treated for thalassemia have different characteristics than those of their healthy counterparts and thereby can be used for assessing the risk of osteoporosis.

Methods: Broadband ultrasound attenuation and the speed of sound were measured from groups of thalassemic and healthy children and compared with bone mineral density (BMD) estimated from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to determine intergroup and intragroup dependencies of the measurements and variations with differences in sex and anthropometric characteristics.

Results: Broadband ultrasound attenuation and speed of sound measurements were found to be independent of sex but dependent on age in the thalassemic children.

Is utilisation of computed tomography justified in clinical practice? Part IV: applications of paediatric computed tomography.

Computed tomography (CT) has been recognised as the most widely used imaging technique in both adults and children, owing to technological developments, especially with the recent innovations in multislice CT. This has resulted in an increase in the use of CT examinations in children younger than 15 years of age in developed countries. The increasing use of paediatric CT in clinical practice has raised concerns regarding the potential risk of radiation-induced malignancy.

Autoimmune hepatitis/primary sclerosing cholangitis overlap syndrome in a child: diagnostic usefulness of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography.

A 5-year-old Chinese girl with 1-year history of progressive jaundice, steatorrhoea and pruritus was referred. Physical examination showed failure to thrive, marked jaundice, finger clubbing and hepatomegaly. There was laboratory evidence of cholestatic jaundice and autoimmunity, with marked elevation of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (gammaGT).

Relapsed and late-onset Nipah encephalitis.

An outbreak of infection with the Nipah virus, a novel paramyxovirus, occurred among pig farmers between September 1998 and June 1999 in Malaysia, involving 265 patients with 105 fatalities. This is a follow-up study 24 months after the outbreak. Twelve survivors (7.

Echovirus 7 associated encephalomyelitis.

Background: Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is endemic in Malaysia. In 1997, a large outbreak of enterovirus 71 (EV-71) associated HFMD resulted in 41 deaths due to severe left ventricular dysfunction and central nervous system infection with extensive damage to the medulla and pons. The clinical presentation in all these patients were rapid cardio-respiratory decompensation leading to cardiac arrest.

MR imaging features of Nipah encephalitis.

Objective: The newly discovered Nipah virus causes an acute febrile encephalitic illness in humans that is associated with a high mortality. The purpose of this study is to describe the MR imaging findings of Nipah encephalitis.

Materials And Methods: MR imaging of the brain was performed in 31 patients with Nipah encephalitis divided into three groups.

Clinical features of Nipah virus encephalitis among pig farmers in Malaysia.

Background: Between September 1998 and June 1999, there was an outbreak of severe viral encephalitis due to Nipah virus, a newly discovered paramyxovirus, in Malaysia.

Methods: We studied the clinical features of the patients with Nipah virus encephalitis who were admitted to a medical center in Kuala Lumpur. The case definition was based on epidemiologic, clinical, cerebrospinal fluid, and neuroimaging findings.

Failed magnetic resonance imaging examinations due to claustrophobia.

A recognized cause of incomplete or cancelled MRI examinations is anxiety and claustrophobic symptoms in patients undergoing MR scanning. This appears to be a problem in many MRI centres in Western Europe and North America, where it is said to be costly in terms of loss of valuable scan time, and has led to researchers suggesting several anxiety-reducing approaches for MRI. To determine the incidence of failed MRI examination among our patients and if there are any associations with a patient's sex, age and education level, we studied claustrophobia that led to premature termination of the MRI examination in the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) in 3324 patients over 28 months.