Angiogenesis-related proteins as biomarkers for peripheral artery disease.

Background: Angiogenesis plays an important role in peripheral artery disease (PAD) and angiogenesis-related proteins may act as prognostic biomarkers. This study assesses the potential for angiogenesis-related proteins to predict adverse events associated with PAD.

Methods: This was a case-control study.

Fatty acid binding protein 4 has prognostic value in peripheral artery disease.

Objective: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) remains undertreated, despite its association with major amputation and mortality. This is partly due to a lack of available disease biomarkers. The intracellular protein fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) is implicated in diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.

The prognostic capability of inflammatory proteins in predicting peripheral artery disease related adverse events.

Background: Levels of inflammatory proteins and their prognostic potential have been inadequately studied in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). In this study, we quantified and assessed the ability of inflammatory proteins in predicting PAD-related adverse events.

Methods: In this prospective case-control study, blood samples were collected from patients without PAD ( = 202) and patients with PAD ( = 275).

Low-dose aspirin and rivaroxaban combination therapy to overcome aspirin non-sensitivity in patients with vascular disease.

Approximately 20% of vascular patients treated with acetyl salicylic acid (i.e., aspirin) demonstrate less than expected platelet inhibition - putting them at a four-fold increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events.

Urinary Cystatin C Has Prognostic Value in Peripheral Artery Disease.

Despite its association with adverse outcomes, peripheral artery disease (PAD) remains undertreated. Cystatin C is elevated in patients with renal disease and may be a marker of cardiovascular disease. We examined the prognostic ability of urinary Cystatin C (uCystatinC) in predicting adverse PAD-related events.

Urinary Fatty Acid Binding Protein 3 Has Prognostic Value in Peripheral Artery Disease.

Background: Despite its significant association with limb loss and death, peripheral artery disease (PAD) remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. The current accepted gold-standard for PAD screening, the ankle brachial index (ABI), is limited by operator dependence, erroneous interpretation, and unreliability in patients with diabetes. Fatty acid binding protein 3 (FABP3) is an intracellular protein that becomes released into circulation and excreted into urine following skeletal muscle injury.

The Clinical Utility of D-Dimer and Prothrombin Fragment (F1+2) for Peripheral Artery Disease: A Prospective Study.

D-dimer and prothrombin fragment (F1+2) levels are elevated in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). We examined their prognostic potential in predicting decreasing ABI and major adverse limb events (MALE). A total of 206 patients were recruited from St.

Plateletworks as a Point-of-Care Test for ASA Non-Sensitivity.

Aspirin (ASA) therapy is proven to be effective in preventing adverse cardiovascular events; however, up to 30% of patients are non-sensitive to their prescribed ASA dosage. In this pilot study, we demonstrated, for the first time, how ASA non-sensitivity can be diagnosed using Plateletworks, a point-of-care platelet function test. Patients prescribed 81 mg of ASA were recruited in a series of two successive phases-a discovery phase and a validation phase.

Microfluidic Protein Imaging Platform: Study of Tau Protein Aggregation and Alzheimer's Drug Response.

Tau protein aggregation is identified as one of the key phenomena associated with the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we performed on-chip confocal imaging of tau protein aggregation and tau-drug interactions using a spiral-shaped passive micromixing platform. Numerical simulations and experiments were performed in order to validate the performance of the micromixer design.

Personalization of Aspirin Therapy Ex Vivo in Patients with Atherosclerosis Using Light Transmission Aggregometry.

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), also known as aspirin, appears to be ineffective in inhibiting platelet aggregation in 20-30% of patients. Light transmission aggregometry (LTA) is a gold standard platelet function assay. In this pilot study, we used LTA to personalize ASA therapy ex vivo in atherosclerotic patients.

Ticagrelor as an Alternative Antiplatelet Therapy in Cardiac Patients Non-Sensitive to Aspirin.

Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid-ASA) is a first-line antiplatelet therapy provided to patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it has been demonstrated that 20-30% of these patients are non-sensitive to their ASA therapy. ASA non-sensitivity is a phenomenon where low-dose ASA (81-325 mg) does not completely inhibit arachidonic-acid-induced platelet aggregation, putting patients at risk of adverse cardio-thrombotic events.

Fatty Acid Binding Protein 4-A Circulating Protein Associated with Peripheral Arterial Disease in Diabetic Patients.

Diabetic patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) often suffer from poor clinical outcomes such as limb-loss. Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) is mainly expressed by adipocytes and is known to play a significant role in the development of atherosclerosis. In this study, we sought to investigate whether FABP4 is associated with PAD in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).

MicroRNA Profile of Patients with Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia.

Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) results in devastating complications such as lower-limb amputations. In this study, a genome-wide plasma microRNAs (miRNA) sequencing was performed to identify miRNA(s) associated with CLTI. Blood samples were collected from early stage CLTI patients (ABI < 0.

Altered coagulation profile in peripheral artery disease patients.

Objective: Peripheral artery disease patients have been shown to be more susceptible to thrombotic events compared to non-peripheral artery disease patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the coagulation profile in peripheral artery disease patients with chronic limb threatening ischemia, moderate peripheral artery disease patients with claudication, and non-peripheral artery disease controls.

Methods: Chronic limb threatening ischemia patients were matched to peripheral artery disease patients with claudication and non-peripheral artery disease controls in a 1:1:1 ratio.

Valproic Acid Induces Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition-Like Phenotypic Switching.

Valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, is a widely used anticonvulsant drug that is currently undergoing clinical evaluation for anticancer therapy due to its anti-angiogenic potential. Endothelial cells (ECs) can transition into mesenchymal cells and this form of EC plasticity is called endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), which is widely implicated in several pathologies including cancer and organ fibrosis. However, the effect of VPA on EC plasticity and EndMT remains completely unknown.

The celecoxib derivatives AR-12 and AR-14 induce autophagy and clear prion-infected cells from prions.

Prion diseases are fatal infectious neurodegenerative disorders that affect both humans and animals. The autocatalytic conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrP) into the pathologic isoform PrP is a key feature in prion pathogenesis. AR-12 is an IND-approved derivative of celecoxib that demonstrated preclinical activity against several microbial diseases.

Solvent-Free Green and Efficient One-Pot Synthesis of Dihydropyrano[3,2-c]chromene Derivatives.

A rapid, clean, and highly efficient method for synthesis of dihydropyrano[3,2-c]chromene derivatives by one-pot, three-component condensation of aromatic aldehydes, malononitrile, and 4-hydroxycoumarin using DABCO as catalyst in solvent-free neat conditions is described. The present method has the advantages of mild reaction conditions, short reaction times, easy isolation of products, and excellent yields.

DABCO Catalyzed Synthesis of Xanthene Derivatives in Aqueous Media.

The reaction of 5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione with various heteroarylaldehydes afforded the corresponding heteroaryl substituted xanthene derivatives 1(a-f). The reaction proceeds via the initial Knoevenagel, subsequent Michael, and final heterocyclization reactions using 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.

Microwave-assisted synthesis and biological evaluation of dihydropyrimidinone derivatives as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal agents.

A simple protocol for the efficient preparation of aryl and heteroaryl substituted dihydropyrimidinone has been achieved via initial Knoevenagel, subsequent addition, and final cyclization of aldehyde, ethylcyanoacetate, and guanidine nitrate in the presence of piperidine as a catalyst in solvent-free under microwave irradiation. The synthesized compounds showed a good anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal activity.

An Efficient One-Pot Green Protocol for the Synthesis of 5-Unsubstituted 3,4-Dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-Ones Using Recyclable Amberlyst 15 DRY as a Heterogeneous Catalyst via Three-Component Biginelli-Like Reaction.

An environmentally benign green protocol for the synthesis of 5-unsubstituted 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones using Amberlyst 15 DRY as a recyclable catalyst has been developed. The use of resinous, nontoxic, thermally stable, and inexpensive Amberlyst 15 DRY, as a recyclable heterogeneous catalyst, makes the process simple with negligible chemical waste. Among the various solid acid catalysts Amberlyst 15 DRY was found to be the most efficient catalyst with regard to reaction time, yield, and ease of work-up procedure.