Models for calcific aortic valve disease in vivo and in vitro.

Calcific Aortic Valve Disease (CAVD) is prevalent among the elderly as the most common valvular heart disease. Currently, no pharmaceutical interventions can effectively reverse or prevent CAVD, making valve replacement the primary therapeutic recourse. Extensive research spanning decades has contributed to the establishment of animal and in vitro cell models, which facilitates a deeper understanding of the pathophysiological progression and underlying mechanisms of CAVD.

Dexmedetomidine attenuates acute paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity.

We evaluated the curative effect of dexmedetomidine on paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH) in a retrospective study of 72 PSH patients after neurosurgery. Our results showed that dexmedetomidine was superior to propofol for treatment of PSH with respect to: average time needed to reduce paroxysmal hypertension (PH) to <140/90 mmHg (29.03±8.