The safety and efficacy of oral anticoagulants with dual versus single antiplatelet therapy in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: A meta-analysis.

Background: A growing number of patients require oral anticoagulant (OAC) after undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent implantation due to the development of atrial fibrillation, but the optimal antithrombotic regimen remains controversial in these patients.

Methods: We systematically searched PUBMED, EMBASE, and CENTRAL from inception until September 2016 for randomized controlled trials or cohort studies that evaluated the comparative effects of TT versus DT. Relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were pooled by a random-effects model or a fixed-effects model.

Atorvastatin prevents connexin43 remodeling in hypertrophied left ventricular myocardium of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Background: Connexin43 (Cx43) is the predominant gap junction protein in heart and is involved in the control of cell-to-cell communication to modulate the contractility and the electrical coupling of cardiac myocytes. Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is accompanied by changes of Cx43 expression. Recent studies have demonstrated that statins reduced cardiac hypertrophy.

Effects of aspirin on number, activity and inducible nitric oxide synthase of endothelial progenitor cells from peripheral blood.

Aim: To investigate whether aspirin has an influence on endothelial progenitor cells (EPC).

Methods: Total mononuclear cells (MNC) were isolated from peripheral blood by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation, then cells were plated on fibronectin-coated culture dishes. After 7 d of culture, attached cells were stimulated with aspirin (to achieve final concentrations of 1, 2, 5, and 10 mmol/L) for 3, 6, 12, and 24 h.