Efficacy of secukinumab in Takayasu arteritis with myocardial infarction complicated with generalized pustular psoriasis: A case report.

Rationale: Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation targeting the aortic wall. Since many patients are resistant to steroid treatment, multiple immunosuppressants or interleukin-6 (IL-6) suppression therapy have served as treatment alternatives. However, there are very few reports on the effectiveness of biologics against inflammatory cytokines upstream of IL-6.

Clinical and biochemical features of atherogenic hyperlipidemias with different genetic basis: A comprehensive comparative study.

Patients with genetically-based hyperlipidemias exhibit a wide phenotypic variability. Investigation of clinical and biochemical features is important for identifying genetically-based hyperlipidemias, determining disease prognosis, and initiating timely treatment. We analyzed genetic data from 3374 samples and compared clinical data, lipid levels (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipoprotein (a)), frequency, age at onset of coronary heart disease (CHD), and the severity of carotid and femoral atherosclerosis (plaque number, maximum stenosis, total stenosis, maximum plaque height, and plaque score) among patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), familial dysbetalipoproteinemia (FD), polygenic hypercholesterolemia (HCL), severe HCL, and those without lipid disorders (n = 324).

Multimodal monitoring of cerebral perfusion in carotid endarterectomy patients: a computational fluid dynamics study.

Objective: To evaluate postoperative cerebral perfusion changes and their influencing factors in carotid endarterectomy (CEA) patients by integrating multimodal monitoring methods, including cerebral regional oxygen saturation (rSO), carotid ultrasound (CU), computed tomographic angiography (CTA), and computed tomographic perfusion imaging (CTP), with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) assessment.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study on patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis undergoing CEA at our institution. Pre- and postoperative assessments included CU, CTA, CTP, and rSO monitoring.

Carotid artery intima-media thickness values in obese or overweight children: a meta-analysis.

Objective: Carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) is a non-invasive ultrasound marker of early atherosclerosis. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to report the published differences in IMT values in children living with overweight or obesity compared to controls with normal weight.

Methods: This review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, including only cohorts with normal controls.

Psychosocial Problems at Preschool Age and Cardiometabolic Health Profile at Preadolescence.

Objective: Evidence suggests that children with psychosocial problems face a higher risk of cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood. However, this may already be evident prior to adulthood. In this study, the associations between psychosocial problems at preschool age and cardiometabolic outcomes 6 years later were investigated.

Visual detection of pulselessness by carotid artery sonography - A prospective observational study among medical students.

Aim: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine whether medical students with little to no ultrasound experience could correctly distinguish between 'pulsation present' and 'no pulsation present' after a short introductory video on the subject using ultrasound videos of the common carotid artery (CCA).

Methods: Ultrasound videos (B-mode, M-mode, and Color Doppler) of pulsatile (systolic blood pressure 70-80 mmHg) and non-pulsatile (cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, clamped aorta) CCA were created. These were demonstrated to the medical students for a period of ten seconds - corresponding to the duration of the manual pulse palpation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Analysis of Quality Intima-Media Thickness and Quantitative Artery Stiffness technologies on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a study on carotid artery structure, elasticity, and influential factors in patients.

Background: In recent years, there have been numerous studies using Quality Intima-Media Thickness (QIMT) and Quantitative Arterial Stiffness (QAS) technology to evaluate various related factors and disease-induced changes in carotid artery (CA) elasticity. However, there is still a lack of research on the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and various indicators related to the CA. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of using QIMT and QAS techniques for comprehensive evaluation of CA intima-media thickness (IMT) and elasticity changes in NAFLD patients, and to analyze various factors influencing these variables.

Frequency of subclavian steal syndrome in a sample of non-Western population.

Background: Subclavian steal syndrome (SSS) is not rarely found during ultrasound examinations. Previous reports demonstrated a relation between ethnic factors and SSS. Data regarding SSS in non-Western population are still lacking.

Carotid Web Management in Symptomatic Patients: A Case Report and Literature Review.

The carotid web is a rare fibromuscular dysplasia disease of the internal carotid artery wall. It is a cause of thromboembolic stroke in a demographic of patients generally younger than those with atherosclerotic carotid artery disease. It is easy to miss the diagnosis without a high index of suspicion.

[Structural and functional features of the main arteries of the brain and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in people with chronic non-infectious diseases].

Objective: To investigate the structural and functional characteristics of the carotid and vertebral arteries and their relationship with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in patients with chronic non-infectious diseases (CNIDs), considering sex differences.

Unlabelled: Material and Methods. A retrospective analysis of clinical and laboratory data of 760 patients with chronic non-communicable diseases (average age 52.

Predictors of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic healthy non-diabetic postmenopausal women.

Background And Aim: Cardiovascular disease progresses after menopause. Conventional risk factors, particularly diabetes, for atherosclerosis are well-established predictors of phenotypic arterial disease. The aim of this study is to assess the predictors of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic non-diabetic postmenopausal women.

Maternal Hypertension Aggravates Vascular Dysfunction After Injury in Male Adult Offspring Through Transgenerational Transmission of N-Methyladenosine.

Background: Whether maternal hypertension contributes to the enhanced susceptibility to vascular remodeling in adult offspring through epigenetic mechanisms remains unclear. We aimed to address this gap in the literature using a transgenerational mouse model.

Methods: Gestational hypertension was induced in pregnant mice using chronic angiotensin II infusion.

Involvement of Melatonin, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation in the Protective Mechanism of the Carotid Artery over the Torpor-Arousal Cycle of Ground Squirrels.

Hibernating mammals experience severe hemodynamic changes over the torpor-arousal cycle, with oxygen consumption reaching peaks during the early stage of torpor to re-enter arousal. Melatonin (MT) can improve mitochondrial function and reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. However, the regulatory mechanisms of MT action on the vascular protective function of hibernators are still unclear.

[Study on the association between different obesity metabolic phenotypes and carotid plaque].

To investigate the relationship between different obesity metabolic phenotypes and the incidence of new carotid artery plaque. The present study is a retrospective cohort study, collecting individuals from the Health Management Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University who had two or more cervical vascular color ultrasound examinations and met the inclusion criteria from 2014 to 2022, and collected their baseline clinical data. According to whether the subjects were obese and had metabolic syndrome, they were divided into metabolically healthy non-obese group, metabolically unhealthy non-obese group, metabolically healthy obese group, and metabolically unhealthy obese group.

[Association between short-term ambient air pollution exposure and arterial stiffness and effect modification of obesity].

To assess the association between short-term ambient air pollution exposure and arterial stiffness and whether obesity modifies these associations. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on Fangshan family cohort in Beijing. The 24 hours average air pollutant levels on the day cohort participants took baseline survey were calculated as short-term air pollution.

Different giant cell arteritis phenotypes may present distinct types of ischaemic complications.

Objectives: To determine if the subtype of vascular ultrasound (US) presentation is associated with different types of ischaemic complications (IC) in giant cell arteritis (GCA).

Methods: Retrospective observational analysis of GCA clinically confirmed patients referred to US fast-track clinics at two centres. All patients underwent baseline US of cranial and extracranial arteries (carotid, subclavian and axillary).

Case Report: Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery leading to cardiac arrest induced by sexual activity: a previously unreported pathogenetic condition.

Background: The Anomalous Origin of the Right Coronary Artery from the Left Coronary Sinus (ARCA-LCS) is a rare congenital cardiac condition where the right coronary artery emerges from the left sinus instead of the right coronary sinus of Valsalva. The clinical significance of ARCA-LCS lies in its potential to cause myocardial ischemia or sudden cardiac death, particularly under physical exertion. In this case, a patient experienced sudden cardiac arrest during sexual activity, which has not previously been reported.

Conicity index and sex differences in relation to carotid plaque instability in Chinese community residents: Conicity index and carotid plaque.

Objectives: The conicity index (CI), an anthropometric parameter of visceral obesity, has exhibited a strong correlation with the incidence of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. This study aimed to explore the relationship between CI and carotid plaque instability, as well as the potential differences between sexes in this context.

Methods: Our cross-sectional study included a total of 44,248 participants from the China Stroke High-risk Population Screening and Intervention Program (CSHPSIP), all of whom underwent carotid ultrasound for the evaluation of carotid plaque.

Long-term changes in carotid intima-media thickness according to baseline blood pressure level: J-STARS Echo study.

Background And Aims: We aimed to investigate long-term changes in carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) based on baseline blood pressure (BP) levels in non-cardioembolic stroke patients.

Methods: Patients aged 45-80 years with dyslipidemia who were not on statins before enrollment and had experienced a non-cardioembolic stroke were assigned to either the pravastatin group or the control group in a randomized trial. Patients were classified into three groups according to BP levels: normal BP (N-group: systolic BP [sBP] <140 mmHg and diastolic BP [dBP] <90 mmHg), highly elevated BP (G2 group: sBP ≥160 mmHg or dBP ≥100 mmHg), and mildly elevated BP (G1 group: the remaining patients).

Integrating carotid doppler, grey scale ultrasound, and aortic oscillometry to evaluate macroangiopathy in myositides: the MYOCARD cohort.

Objectives: To evaluate the combination of novel colour Doppler ultrasound (CDUS), greyscale ultrasound (GSUS), and oscillometric indices of macroangiopathy in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). Second, to explore the associations between these imaging markers and both patient-related and disease-related characteristics, as well as traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors.

Methods: We conducted CDUS to evaluate arterial compliance markers, specifically the resistance (RI) and pulsatility (PI) indices, both in the common (CCA) and internal carotid arteries (ICA) of patients with IIM and healthy controls.

SCORE2 is superior to SCORE in predicting the presence of carotid plaques and intima-media thickness in rheumatoid arthritis patients: a cross-sectional study using carotid ultrasound.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) increases the risk of premature mortality, primarily due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). While Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) and its updated version SCORE2 are used to estimate CVD risk, these tools may not adequately capture the full cardiovascular risk profile in RA patients.

Objectives: This study aims to compare the effectiveness of SCORE2 versus SCORE in predicting the presence of carotid plaques or increased intima-media thickness (IMT), as detected by ultrasound, in RA patients.

Exercise combined with artificial gravity and exercise only countermeasures prevent organ and blood vessel morpholgical changes induced by 55 days HDT bedrest.

Background: Changes in blood vessel properties have been identified with confinement, spaceflight, bedrest, and dry immersion. Subsequently, it was suspected that other organs may also be affected in these extreme environments. The purposes of the current study were to determine the effects of head-down bedrest (HDT) on cardiovascular and organ measurements made using ultrasound imaging similar to that currently available on the International Space Station, and to evaluate the efficacy of two different countermeasure protocols in preventing any observed changes in the ultrasound measurements with HDT.

Pre-operative transcranial Doppler ultrasound assessment of cerebral collateral circulation in children undergoing veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or cardiac surgery.

Children requiring veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) or cardiac surgery often undergo cervical cannulation or carotid artery clamping, which can interrupt cerebral circulation. Inadequate collateral flow through the circle of Willis (CoW) may lead to cerebral ischaemia within the vascular territory and/or watershed regions. Pre-cannulation survey of the CoW using transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound may be performed to predict and plan neuroprotection.

N-Terminal Proteomics Reveals Distinct Protein Degradation Patterns in Different Types of Human Atherosclerotic Plaques.

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture is a major cause of cardiovascular events. Plaque destabilization is associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) modification involving proteases which generate protein fragments with new N-termini. We hypothesized that rupture-prone plaques would contain elevated fragment levels, and their sequences would allow identification of active proteases and target proteins.