Effects of dopamine β-hydroxylase inhibition in pressure overload-induced right ventricular failure.

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system is observed in pulmonary arterial hypertension patients. This study investigates whether inhibiting the conversion of dopamine into noradrenaline by dopamine -hydroxylase (DH) inhibition with BIA 21-5337 improved right ventricular (RV) function or remodeling in pressure overload-induced RV failure. RV failure was induced in male Wistar rats by pulmonary trunk banding (PTB).

Lung volumes are increased in fetuses with transposition of the great arteries on intrauterine MRI.

Fetal brain size is decreased in some children with complex CHDs, and the distribution of blood and accompanying oxygen and nutrients is regionally skewed from early fetal life dependent on the CHD. In transposition of the great arteries, deoxygenated blood preferentially runs to the brain, whereas the more oxygenated blood is directed towards the lungs and the abdomen. Knowledge of whether this impacts intrauterine organ development is limited.

Effects of 12-Week Supplementation with Coffee Diterpene Cafestol in Healthy Subjects with Increased Waist Circumference: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

: Coffee consumption is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes. Cafestol, a bioactive compound in coffee, has demonstrated glucose-lowering and insulin-secretory properties in cell and animal studies. The acute effects of cafestol on glucose metabolism in humans have only been briefly investigated, and longer-term effects have not been explored.

Ex Vivo Simultaneous HO Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Porcine Kidneys-A Feasibility Study.

Unlabelled: The aim was to establish combined HO PET/MRI during ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) of isolated porcine kidneys. We examined whether changes in renal arterial blood flow (RABF) are accompanied by changes of a similar magnitude in renal blood perfusion (RBP) as well as the relation between RBP and renal parenchymal oxygenation (RPO).

Methods: Pig kidneys (n = 7) were connected to a NMP circuit.

Effects of semaglutide, empagliflozin and their combination on renal diffusion-weighted MRI and total kidney volume in patients with type 2 diabetes: a post hoc analysis from a 32 week randomised trial.

Aims/hypothesis: The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) derived from diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI-MRI) has been proposed as a measure of changes in kidney microstructure, including kidney fibrosis. In advanced kidney disease, the kidneys often become atrophic; however, in the initial phase of type 2 diabetes, there is an increase in renal size. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors both provide protection against progression of kidney disease in diabetes.

Lymphatic morphology and function in chronic right heart failure due to secondary tricuspid valve regurgitation.

Background: In heart failure, the capacity of the lymphatic system dictates symptoms of circulatory congestion. This study aimed at describing structural and functional changes of the lymphatic system in patients with chronic right-sided heart failure.

Methods: Individuals with long-standing severe tricuspid valve regurgitation and symptoms of heart failure were compared with age- gender- and weight-matched controls.

Right ventricular diastolic adaptation to pressure overload in different rat strains.

Different rat strains are used in various animal models of pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular (RV) failure. No systematic assessment has been made to test differences in RV response to pressure overload between rat strains. We compared RV adaptation to pulmonary trunk banding (PTB) in Wistar (W), Sprague Dawley (SD), and Fischer344 (F) rats by hemodynamic profiling focusing on diastolic function.

Similar insulin regulation of splanchnic FFA and VLDL-TG in men with nonalcoholic hepatic steatosis and steatohepatitis.

This study aimed to determine whether obese men with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) display differences between those with simple steatosis versus steatohepatitis (NASH) in splanchnic and hepatic FFA and VLDL-triglycerides (VLDL-TG) balances. The study involved 17 obese men with biopsy-proven NAFLD (9 with NASH and 8 with simple steatosis). We used hepatic vein catheterization in combination with [H]palmitate and [C]VLDL-TG tracers to measure splanchnic palmitate and VLDL-TG uptake and release rates during basal and hyperinsulinemic conditions.

An Innovative Plate Concept for Rotational Guided Growth: A Porcine Pilot Study.

Background Rotational deformities in children are currently treated with an osteotomy, acute de-rotation, and surgical fixation. Meanwhile, guided growth is now the gold standard in pediatric coronal deformity correction. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a novel implant intended for rotational guided growth (RotOs Plate) in a large porcine animal model.

Magnetic resonance imaging as a noninvasive adjunct to conventional assessment of functional differences between kidneys in vivo and during ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion.

Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) is increasingly considered for pretransplant kidney quality assessment. However, fundamental questions about differences between in vivo and ex vivo renal function, as well as the impact of ischemic injury on ex vivo physiology, remain unanswered. This study utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), alongside conventional parameters to explore differences between in vivo and ex vivo renal function and the impact of warm ischemia on a kidney's behavior ex vivo.

Effects of power training in older patients with multiple sclerosis on neurodegeneration, neuromuscular function, and physical function. A study protocol for the "power training in older multiple sclerosis patients (PoTOMS) randomized control trial.

Introduction: Approximately one-third of all persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) are older, i.e., having an age ≥60 years.

Investigating the importance of left atrial compliance on fluid dynamics in a novel mock circulatory loop.

The left atrium (LA) hemodynamic indices hold prognostic value in various cardiac diseases and disorders. To understand the mechanisms of these conditions and to assess the performance of cardiac devices and interventions, in vitro models can be used to replicate the complex physiological interplay between the pulmonary veins, LA, and left ventricle. In this study, a comprehensive and adaptable in vitro model was created.

The effects of semaglutide, empagliflozin and their combination on the kidney sodium signal from magnetic resonance imaging: A prespecified, secondary analysis from a randomized, clinical trial.

Aims: To evaluate the effect of treatment with semaglutide and empagliflozin on the cortico-medullary sodium gradient (MCR; medulla/cortex ratio), urine sodium/creatinine ratio (UNACR), and estimated plasma volume (ePV) and to compare the MCR between persons with and without type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Using the Na magnetic resonance imaging (Na-MRI) technique, we investigated the effects of 32 weeks of treatment with semaglutide, empagliflozin or their combination on MCR in 65 participants with type 2 diabetes and high risk of cardiovascular disease. The participants were recruited from a randomized, controlled interventional trial and further characterized by UNACR and ePV.

Effects of empagliflozin on right ventricular adaptation to pressure overload.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) failure is the prime cause of death in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Novel treatment strategies that protect the RV are needed. Empagliflozin, a sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor, shows cardioprotective effects on the left ventricle in clinical and preclinical studies, but its direct effects on RV remain elusive.

No neuroprotective effect of therapeutic hypothermia following lipopolysaccharide-sensitized hypoxia-ischemia: a newborn piglet study.

Introduction: Therapeutic hypothermia is the only proven neuroprotective treatment for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. However, studies have questioned whether therapeutic hypothermia may benefit newborns subjected to infection or inflammation before a hypoxic-ischemic insult. We aimed to compare newborn piglets with lipopolysaccharide-sensitized hypoxia-ischemia treated with and without therapeutic hypothermia with regards to measures of neuroprotection.

Daytime Variation in Kidney Perfusion, Oxygenation, and Sodium Concentration Assessed by Multiparametric MRI in Healthy Volunteers.

Background: MRI can provide information on kidney structure, perfusion, and oxygenation. Furthermore, it allows for the assessment of kidney sodium concentrations and handling, allowing multiparametric evaluation of kidney physiology. Multiparametric MRI is promising for establishing prognosis and monitoring treatment responses in kidney diseases, but its intraindividual variation during the day is unresolved.

Separate and combined effects of semaglutide and empagliflozin on kidney oxygenation and perfusion in people with type 2 diabetes: a randomised trial.

Aims/hypothesis: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1ras) and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) have shown kidney-protective effects. Improved kidney oxygenation and haemodynamic changes are suggested mechanisms; however, human data are scarce. We therefore investigated whether semaglutide (GLP-1ra), empagliflozin (SGLT2i) or their combination improve kidney oxygenation and perfusion.

Ectopic lipid deposition and insulin resistance in patients with GH disorders before and after treatment.

Objectives: Insulin resistance is associated with ectopic lipid deposition. Growth hormone (GH) status also modulates ectopic lipid accumulation, but how this associates with insulin resistance in patients with GH disorders is not well established.

Design And Methods: Twenty-one patients diagnosed with acromegaly and 12 patients with adult GH deficiency (GHD) were studied at diagnosis and after treatment.

Heterochronic maturation of anatomical plugs for protecting the airway in rorqual whales (Balaenopteridae).

Recently, a unique mechanism for protecting the airway during lunge feeding was discovered in rorqual whales (Balaenopteridae). This mechanism is based on an oral plug structure in the soft palate with similarities in musculo-fatty composition to the nasal plugs protecting the respiratory tract of rorquals from water entry and barotrauma during diving. As a follow-up, we present here a developmental series on fetal, prenatal, juvenile and adult specimens across five species of rorquals, showing differential maturation of the nasal and oral respiratory protection plugs.

Adults with small, unrepaired atrial septal defects have reduced cardiac index during exercise.

Objectives: Small, unrepaired atrial septal defects are considered a benign lesion with good prognosis. Recently, clinical and register-based studies discovered increased long-term mortality and morbidity. The nature of these findings is not fully understood.

Cerebral monitoring in a pig model of cardiac arrest with 48 h of intensive care.

Background: Neurological injury is the primary cause of death after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. There is a lack of studies investigating cerebral injury beyond the immediate post-resuscitation phase in a controlled cardiac arrest experimental setting.

Methods: The aim of this study was to investigate temporal changes in measures of cerebral injury and metabolism in a cardiac arrest pig model with clinically relevant post-cardiac arrest intensive care.

Impaired Glucagon-Mediated Suppression of VLDL-Triglyceride Secretion in Individuals With Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD).

Individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) have elevated plasma lipids as well as glucagon, although glucagon suppresses hepatic VLDL-triglyceride (TG) secretion. We hypothesize that the sensitivity to glucagon in hepatic lipid metabolism is impaired in MAFLD. We recruited 11 subjects with severe MAFLD (MAFLD+), 10 with mild MAFLD (MAFLD-), and 7 overweight control (CON) subjects.

A randomized placebo-controlled trial of nicotinamide riboside and pterostilbene supplementation in experimental muscle injury in elderly individuals.

BACKGROUNDDuring aging, there is a functional decline in the pool of muscle stem cells (MuSCs) that influences the functional and regenerative capacity of skeletal muscle. Preclinical evidence has suggested that nicotinamide riboside (NR) and pterostilbene (PT) can improve muscle regeneration, e.g.