Myopericarditis and myositis in a patient with COVID-19: a case report.

Background: Concurrent myopericarditis and myositis can present in patients with pre-existing systemic inflammatory diseases. Here we present a case of myopericarditis and myositis associated with COVID-19, in the absence of respiratory symptoms.

Case Summary: We present a middle-aged female with a history of hypertension and previous myopericarditis.

Twiddler's syndrome with a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator presenting with an inappropriate shock: a case report.

Background: Subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (S-ICDs) are increasingly used in patients at risk of fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Twiddler's syndrome is a condition in which a device is manipulated by the patient after implantation leading to lead twisting and retraction. Device manipulation has been reported multiple times in transvenous pacing systems and occasionally leads to inappropriate discharges from implanted defibrillators.

Arterial injury and endothelial repair: rapid recovery of function after mechanical injury in healthy volunteers.

Objective. Previous studies suggest a protracted course of recovery after mechanical endothelial injury; confounders may include degree of injury and concomitant endothelial dysfunction. We sought to define the time course of endothelial function recovery using flow-mediated dilation (FMD), after ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) and mechanical injury in patients and healthy volunteers.

Endothelial function does not relate to haemoglobin or serum erythropoietin concentrations and these do not explain the gender difference in endothelial function in healthy middle-aged men and women.

Background: Haemoglobin scavenges nitric oxide, and a previous study has shown a negative association between flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD), a measure of nitric oxide (NO)-dependent vasomotor function and haemoglobin concentrations [Hb]. Circulating erythropoietin (EPO) is also negatively associated with [Hb] and could influence availability of NO. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of FMD with [Hb] and EPO concentrations and to determine whether these contribute to the sex difference in FMD.

Prospective study on circulating MicroRNAs and risk of myocardial infarction.

Objectives: This study sought to explore the association between baseline levels of microRNAs (miRNAs) (1995) and incident myocardial infarction (1995 to 2005) in the Bruneck cohort and determine their cellular origin.

Background: Circulating miRNAs are emerging as potential biomarkers. We previously identified an miRNA signature for type 2 diabetes in the general population.

Erythropoietin: a future therapy for failing hearts?

Recently, it has been suggested that erythropoietin may be useful in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, particularly heart failure. This may be by improving microvascular blood supply and ventricular function through prevention of apoptosis and angiogenesis. Promising results were seen in animals but the few, limited clinical trials have shown modest benefits.

Darbepoetin enhances endothelium-dependent vasomotor function in patients with stable coronary artery disease only after preceding ischaemia/reperfusion.

Vasoprotective effects of erythropoietin in animal models are mediated by endothelium-derived NO and/or mobilization of EPCs (endothelial progenitor cells) and may be enhanced by ischaemia: whether they are present in humans is unknown. We examined whether the erythropoietin analogue darbepoetin improves FMD (flow-mediated dilatation), a measure of endothelium-derived NO, and whether this is influenced by preceding I/R (ischaemia/reperfusion). A total of 36 patients (50-75 years) with stable coronary artery disease were randomized to receive a single dose of darbepoetin (300 μg) or saline placebo.

Progenitors in motion: mechanisms of mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells.

Endothelial progenitor cells are a population of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells thought to engage in endothelial repair and hence are considered potential therapeutic agents in many pathological conditions. The mechanism of their exit from the bone marrow to the circulation and damaged tissues, termed mobilization, has not been fully elucidated. Despite this, several pharmacological interventions have been shown to influence mobilization of these specialized cells.

Longitudinal regional brain volume changes quantified in normal aging and Alzheimer's APP x PS1 mice using MRI.

In humans, mutations of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilins (PS) 1 and 2 are associated with amyloid deposition, brain structural change and cognitive decline, like in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mice expressing these proteins have illuminated neurodegenerative disease processes but, unlike in humans, quantitative imaging has been little used to systematically determine their effects, or those of normal aging, on brain structure in vivo. Accordingly, we investigated wildtype (WT) and TASTPM mice (expressing human APP(695(K595N, M596L)) x PS1(M146V)) longitudinally using MRI.

Progression and variability of TNBS colitis-associated inflammation in rats assessed by contrast-enhanced and T2-weighted MRI.

Background: A common feature of preclinical models of colitis is that the time-course, magnitude, and persistence of inflammation vary considerably within the experimental animal group. Accordingly, noninvasive, serial quantification of colonic inflammation could advantageously guide dosing regimens and assess drug efficacy, thus enhancing the value of colitis models in research. This investigation using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was therefore undertaken to objectively determine inflammatory progression, variability, and response to therapy associated with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in Wistar rats.

Analysis of serial magnetic resonance images of mouse brains using image registration.

The aim of this paper is to investigate techniques that can identify and quantify cross-sectional differences and longitudinal changes in vivo from magnetic resonance images of murine models of brain disease. Two different approaches have been compared. The first approach is a segmentation-based approach: Each subject at each time point is automatically segmented into a number of anatomical structures using atlas-based segmentation.

Pharmacological fMRI--challenges in analysing drug-induced single-event BOLD responses.

The interest in BOLD contrast based phMRI is likely to increase in the coming years, but detecting a direct modulation of regional brain activity by drugs presents a challenging problem. Based on in-vivo MRI and simulations we highlight some of the issues in detecting especially small BOLD signals in rat phMRI experiments.

Cinacalcet-associated cardiogenic shock in a patient with cardiomyopathy.

Introduction: Cinacalcet is a calcimimtic agent used to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis or hypercalcemia related to parathyroid carcinoma. This report describes recurring circulatory collapse in a patient treated with cinacalcet for unrelated refractory primary hyperparathyroidism.

Case Summary: A white man, aged 54 years and weighing 68 kg, was admitted to the hospital with lethargy, dyspnea, and twitching in the extremities.

Methotrexate and hepatic toxicity in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

Background: We set out in this study to demonstrate the adverse effect profile of methotrexate when used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a district general hospital population, and to investigate the effect of alcohol consumption in these patients.

Methods: A prospective evaluation of 550 RA patients and 69 PsA patients was undertaken, controlling for confounding factors. Systematically randomised patients were further analysed regarding alcohol consumption.

Imaging of pericardial tumours: a case report.

Background: Pericardial tumours are unusual and may be difficult to characterise with imaging. They manifest as large, non-contractile, solid masses within the pericardium. Presenting symptoms include heart failure, arrythmias, sudden death, cyanosis and chest pain.

Falls as a complication of diabetes mellitus in older people.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine the incidence of falls in a group of elderly patients with diabetes and to assess for the prevalence of risk factors for falls in this population.

Design: This is a population-based study with questionnaire-based interviews.

Setting: The setting for this study was the London District General Hospital outpatient department.

The vanishing vast ventricular thrombus.

A 54-year old man presented with multiple pulmonary emboli and an incidental finding of a huge left ventricular thrombus. Transthoracic echo images demonstrated a globally dilated heart with very poor left ventricular function. It was elected to manage the patient medically, and he was commenced on warfarin therapy, resulting in completed resolution of the thrombus over 10 weeks.

The resistance of low density lipoprotein to oxidation promoted by copper and its use as an index of antioxidant therapy.

The measurement ex vivo of the resistance of low density lipoprotein (LDL) to oxidation promoted by copper is now being used in surveys of human populations at risk of developing atherosclerosis. However, it is not known whether a relationship between LDL oxidisability measured in this way and the development of atherosclerotic lesions exists. Using Watanabe rabbits as a model of the disease, we have found that dietary supplementation with the antioxidants, probucol and alpha-tocopherol, increased the resistance of LDL isolated from small volumes of plasma to oxidation.

Changes in the caldesmon isoform content and intimal thickening in the rabbit carotid artery induced by a silicone elastomer collar.

The presence of a silicone elastomer collar around one carotid artery of a rabbit induces thickening of the tunica intima. We used immunoblotting to study quantitatively changes in the isoforms of caldesmon, a protein implicated in the regulation of contractility in smooth muscle, while also monitoring the histological changes during 28 days after collaring. Control rabbit carotid arteries (n = 28) contained 245 +/- 6.

The adventitia and atherogenesis: removal initiates intimal proliferation in the rabbit which regresses on generation of a 'neoadventitia'.

Removal of the carotid artery adventitia from rabbits induced the formation of an intimal hyperplastic lesion. In rabbits fed a normal diet, the lesion (measured as the intimal:medial ratio) was maximal by day 14 (0.456 +/- 0.