Variables affecting the presence of mesenchymal stromal cells in peripheral blood and their relationship with apheresis products.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) demonstrate the properties of self-renewal, multipotentiality, and immunosuppression, which are responsible for their widespread clinical applications in tissue repair and regeneration. MSCs have been isolated from bone marrow, adipose tissue, and cord blood using culture in specialised media. Their presence in peripheral blood (PB) is debatable.

2019 HRS/EHRA/APHRS/LAHRS expert consensus statement on catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias: Executive summary.

Ventricular arrhythmias are an important cause of morbidity and mortality and come in a variety of forms, from single premature ventricular complexes to sustained ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation. Rapid developments have taken place over the past decade in our understanding of these arrhythmias and in our ability to diagnose and treat them. The field of catheter ablation has progressed with the development of new methods and tools, and with the publication of large clinical trials.

An atrial fibrillation rotor, mapped conventionally.

This case illustrates that the condition of atrial fibrillation (AF) may harbor site(s) of regular rotational activity, reentry may be an underlying mechanism, high periodicity and wavebreak through areas of the scar may generate fibrillatory conduction, and disintegration of the "rotor" may not abolish AF.

Baseline Right Ventricular Dysfunction Predicts Worse Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Implantation.

Introduction: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown to improve survival in patients with systolic heart failure, wide QRS duration, and left-bundle-branch-block. However, CRT outcomes stratified by right ventricular (RV) function at implant have not been well studied.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients at Cleveland Clinic who underwent CRT implantation (n = 777) from 2003 to 2011 with a diagnosis of heart failure, echocardiography with both pre-CRT left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35% and available post-CRT echocardiography at 6 months post-implant.

Sex differences in implantable cardiac defibrillator therapy according to arrhythmia detection times.

Objective: In implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs), long-detection times safely reduce unnecessary and inappropriate therapies. We aimed to evaluate ICD treatment of ventricular arrhythmias in women, compared with men, also taking into account ICD detection.

Methods: The Advance III trial randomised patients implanted with an ICD for primary or secondary prevention in two arms-long and nominal ventricular arrhythmias detection times before therapy delivering (number of intervals needed to detect (NID) 30/40 and 18/24, respectively).

Randomized controlled trial of twice-daily versus alternate-day oral iron therapy in the treatment of iron-deficiency anemia.

Recent studies in iron-depleted women have challenged the current approach of treating iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) with oral iron in divided daily doses. Alternate day dosing leads to more fractional absorption of iron. In this randomized controlled trial, we looked at the efficacy and safety of alternate-day (AD) versus twice-daily (BD) oral iron in all severity of IDA.

Evaluation, Management, and Outcomes of Patients Poorly Responsive to Cardiac Resynchronization Device Therapy.

Background: "Nonresponse" to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is recognized, but definition(s) applied in practice, treatment(s), and their consequences are little known.

Objectives: The authors sought to assess nonresponse in the prospective, international, ADVANCE CRT registry (Advance Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Registry).

Methods: Each subject's response was assessed at 6 months post-implantation using site-specific definitions and compared with the independently derived clinical composite score (CCS).

Acquired neuro-secretory defect in growth hormone secretion due to Imatinib mesylate and the efficacy of growth hormone therapy in children with chronic myeloid leukemia.

Imatinib results in growth retardation in children with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The study was planned to assess the GHRH-GH-IGF1 axis in children with CML, receiving Imatinib and to evaluate the efficacy of human growth hormone (hGH) therapy. Twenty children with CML, receiving Imatinib for a period exceeding 6 months, with resultant growth retardation were included.

High Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenia.

Celiac disease (CD) is known to be associated with several autoimmune disorders. We studied the prevalence of subclinical CD among patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) as compared to general population. Cases of primary ITP between the age group of 18-60 years were studied.

Screening for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) in patients presenting with cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT): Results of a FLAER based flowcytometry study in Indian patients.

Patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) may present with thrombosis at unusual sites, of which cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) is one and screening for PNH is recommended in this condition. Though many patients diagnosed with PNH develop CSVT, it is unclear how many patients with PNH would present for the first time with thrombosis. We analysed the results of screening for PNH by flowcytometry in our patients with CSVT.

Dynamic atrioventricular delay programming improves ventricular electrical synchronization as evaluated by 3D vectorcardiography.

Background: Optimal timing of the atrioventricular delay in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can improve synchrony in patients suffering from heart failure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of SyncAV™ on electrical synchrony as measured by vectorcardiography (VCG) derived QRS metrics during bi-ventricular (BiV) pacing.

Methods: Patients implanted with a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device and quadripolar left ventricular (LV) lead underwent 12‑lead ECG recordings.

Impact of frailty, melphalan pharmacokinetics, and pharmacogenetics on outcomes post autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation for multiple myeloma.

Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (auto-HCT) using melphalan is the standard of care in the management of myeloma. Auto-HCT is a safe procedure with tolerable toxicity except in Asian-Indians. We hypothesized either one or a combination of factors: (1) frailty (assessed by IMWG frailty score), (2) generic melphalan pharmacokinetic area under the curve (AUC) assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography, and (3) pharmacogenetics of glutathione S-transferase (GSTP1) assessed by Sanger sequencing, to be associated with toxicity and survival outcomes post auto-HCT.

Scar burden is an independent and incremental predictor of cardiac resynchronisation therapy response.

Objective: Determine the prognostic impact of scar quantification (scar %) by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in predicting heart failure admission, death and left ventricular (LV) function improvement following cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT), after controlling for the presence of left bundle branch block (LBBB), QRS duration (QRSd) and LV lead tip location and polarity.

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent CMR between 2002 and 2014 followed by CRT were included. The primary endpoint was death or heart failure admission.

2019 HRS/EHRA/APHRS/LAHRS expert consensus statement on catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias.

Ventricular arrhythmias are an important cause of morbidity and mortality and come in a variety of forms, from single premature ventricular complexes to sustained ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation. Rapid developments have taken place over the past decade in our understanding of these arrhythmias and in our ability to diagnose and treat them. The field of catheter ablation has progressed with the development of new methods and tools, and with the publication of large clinical trials.

Aplastic anemia in children: How good is immunosuppressive therapy?

Aplastic anemia (AA) is an uncommon disorder in children, with hematopoietic stem cell transplant being the 1st line therapy; immunosuppressive therapy (IST) is the alternative therapy and is the most commonly used modality of treatment. There is paucity of data from the developing countries regarding treatment outcome with IST. We aimed to assess the outcome of IST in children with AA.

Crystal structure of jumping spider rhodopsin-1 as a light sensitive GPCR.

Light-sensitive G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)-rhodopsins-absorb photons to isomerize their covalently bound retinal, triggering conformational changes that result in downstream signaling cascades. Monostable rhodopsins release retinal upon isomerization as opposed to the retinal in bistable rhodopsins that "reisomerize" upon absorption of a second photon. Understanding the mechanistic differences between these light-sensitive GPCRs has been hindered by the scarcity of recombinant models of the latter.

Machine Learning Prediction of Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: Improvement Versus Current Guidelines.

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has significant nonresponse rates. We assessed whether machine learning (ML) could predict CRT response beyond current guidelines.

Methods: We analyzed CRT patients from Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins.

Long term outcomes in patients with chronic right ventricular pacing upgraded to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Introduction: In patients with chronic systolic heart failure and frequent right ventricular pacing (RVP), upgrade to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has become common practice despite a lack of randomized clinical trials. We aimed to evaluate long term outcomes in patients upgraded to CRT from chronic RVP compared with de novo CRT implants.

Methods And Results: We reviewed medical charts on consecutive patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 35% and a QRSd ≥ 120 ms undergoing CRT.