Ivacaftor in People with Cystic Fibrosis and a → or Residual Function Mutation.

Ivacaftor's clinical effects in the residual function mutations and warrant further characterization. To evaluate ivacaftor's effect in people with cystic fibrosis aged ≥6 years with or residual function mutations and to explore the correlation between ivacaftor-induced organoid-based cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator function measurements and clinical response to ivacaftor. Participants were randomized (1:1) in this placebo-controlled crossover study; each treatment sequence included two 8-week treatments with an 8-week washout period.

Adherence pattern to study drugs in clinical trials by patients with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Clinical trials are all based on the assumption that patients are adherent to the study protocol. Many reports indicate that general adherence of patients with CF to their daily routine therapies is poor. However, no data exists on adherence to study drug regimens.

Ambulatory quantitative waking and sleeping cough assessment in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Although cough is a commonly reported symptom, objective quantitation of cough during normal activity has not been performed in patients with CF.

Methods: An ambulatory device was used to characterize cough over 24 hours. Pulmonary function and subject-reported coughing were also assessed.

Bupropion for smoking cessation in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Smokers hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are at high risk for subsequent ischemic events. Nevertheless, over two-thirds of patients continue to smoke after an acute myocardial infarction. Bupropion hydrochloride has proven efficacy as a smoking cessation aid, but data regarding its safety and efficacy in ACS patients are limited.

Serum cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 associated with the severity of coronary artery disease: indicators of an active inflammatory burden?

Background: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory process resulting in coronary artery disease.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between inflammatory markers and the angiographic severity of CAD.

Methods: We measured inflammatory markers in consecutive patients undergoing coronary angiography.

Mitral regurgitation augments post-myocardial infarction remodeling failure of hypertrophic compensation.

Objectives: We examined whether mitral regurgitation (MR) augments post-myocardial infarction (MI) remodeling.

Background: MR doubles mortality after MI, but its additive contribution to left ventricular (LV) remodeling is debated and has not been addressed in a controlled fashion.

Methods: Apical MIs were created in 12 sheep, and 6 had an LV-to-left atrial shunt implanted, consistently producing regurgitant fractions of approximately 30%.

Cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive Cannabis constituent, protects against myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major, nonpsychoactive Cannabis constituent with anti-inflammatory activity mediated by enhancing adenosine signaling. Inasmuch as adenosine receptors are promising pharmaceutical targets for ischemic heart diseases, we tested the effect of CBD on ischemic rat hearts. For the in vivo studies, the left anterior descending coronary artery was transiently ligated for 30 min, and the rats were treated for 7 days with CBD (5 mg/kg ip) or vehicle.

Periodontal destruction is associated with coronary artery disease and periodontal infection with acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a highly prevalent disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Periodontal disease has been suggested to influence this disease and has been associated with CAD in some epidemiologic studies. However, this relation is still controversial.

Anti-erbB2 treatment induces cardiotoxicity by interfering with cell survival pathways.

Introduction: Cardiac dysfunction is among the serious side effects of therapy with recombinant humanized anti-erbB2 monoclonal antibody. The antibody blocks ErbB-2, a receptor tyrosine kinase and co-receptor for other members of the ErbB and epidermal growth factor families, which is over-expressed on the surface of many malignant cells. ErbB-2 and its ligands neuregulin and ErbB-3/ErbB-4 are involved in survival and growth of cardiomyocytes in both postnatal and adult hearts, and therefore the drug may interrupt the correct functioning of the ErbB-2 pathway.

Volatile anesthetic preconditioning attenuates myocardial apoptosis in rabbits after regional ischemia and reperfusion via Akt signaling and modulation of Bcl-2 family proteins.

We tested whether isoflurane preconditioning inhibits cardiomyocyte apoptosis and evaluated the role of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway in anesthetic preconditioning and determined whether PI3K/Akt signaling modulates the expression of pro- and antiapoptotic proteins in anesthetic preconditioning. Six-month-old New Zealand rabbits subjected to 40 min of myocardial ischemia followed by 180 min of reperfusion were assigned to the following groups: ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), isoflurane preconditioning and isoflurane plus PI3K inhibitors, wortmannin and 2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-l-benzopyran-4-one (LY294002) (0.6 and 0.

Paradoxical effects of aurintricarboxylic acid and RG-13577: acute thrombosis and in-stent stenosis in a passive-coated stent.

Purpose: To investigate if a platelet inhibitor (aurintricarboxylic acid [ATA]) and a heparin-mimicking antagonist (RG-13577) of basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (bFGF2) could be combined as a stable compound and attached to conventional bare metal stents to hinder thrombus formation and inflammatory reactions of stenting.

Methods: Fifteen domestic pigs were stented with RG-13577/ATA-coated (n=6), ATA-coated (n=12), and bare metal stents (n=12) in the left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX) coronary arteries. All surviving pigs were evaluated with contrast angiography and intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) after 4 weeks.

Usefulness of intravascular ultrasound-guided histological measurements after stenting in porcine coronary artery.

Background: We evaluated the usefulness of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in the non-uniform distribution of in-stent neointimal hyperplasia, comparing macroscopic measurements with IVUS-guided histomorphometry.

Methods: Coronary stenting was performed in 45 left coronaries of 39 pigs, using 18 Tenax (Biotronik Gmbh and Co., Berlin, Germany), 11 bare Genius (Eurocor, Bonn, Germany), 10 polymer-coated Genius (Eurocor) and six Biodivysio Matrix LO (Biodivysio Ltd, Farnham, Surrey, UK) stents.