Exploring the Influence of Oral and Gut Microbiota on Ulcerative Mucositis: A Pilot Cohort Study.

Aim: Comparing oral and gut microbiome profiles between patients with and without ulcerative mucositis during allogeneic stem cell transplantation (aSCT).

Materials And Methods: Specimens from oral mucosa, saliva, and stool were collected pre-(T0) and post- (T0 +28d ± 14d) aSCT (T1). Microbiome structure differences were analyzed by 16S-rRNA-gene sequencing, and associations to patients' clinical characteristics were investigated.

Right ventricular strain impairment due to hypoxia in patients with COPD: a post hoc analysis of two randomised controlled trials.

Background: Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction leads to an increase in pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) and potentially right heart failure in healthy individuals and patients with respiratory diseases. Previous studies in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exposed to hypobaric hypoxia have shown an increase in PAP, while traditional echocardiographic parameters revealed only minimal changes at high altitude. Speckle-tracking-derived analysis is potentially more sensitive to assess right ventricular (RV) function and we used this method to investigate the impact on RV function of patients with COPD ascending to high altitude and compared the results with the traditional echocardiographic parameters.

A virtual patient authoring tool for transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Purpose: Computer-based medical training scenarios, derived from patient's records, often lack variability, modifiability, and availability. Furthermore, generating image datasets and creating scenarios is resource-intensive. Therefore, patient authoring tools for rapid dataset-independent creation of virtual patients (VPs) is a pressing need.

Two rare cases of Brucella-induced endocarditis and myopericarditis: challenges in diagnosis.

Introduction: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections in the world. Cardiac complications of the disease are usually in the form of endocarditis, and, to a lesser extent, in the form of myopericarditis.

Case: We report the case of a 34-year-old female admitted with signs of fever, nausea, and headache.

Impairment of Left Ventricular Function in Hyperthyroidism Caused by Graves' Disease: An Echocardiographic Study.

The thyroid gland has an important influence on the heart. Long-term exposure to high levels of thyroid hormones may lead to cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction. The aim of the study was to evaluate the morphological and functional changes in the left ventricle in patients with hyperthyroidism caused by Graves' disease (GD) in comparison with healthy individuals, as well as to investigate potential differences in these parameters in GD patients in relation to the presence of orbitopathy.

Specificities of Myocardial Infarction and Heart Failure in Women.

Substantial evidence from previous clinical studies, randomized trials, and patient registries confirms the existence of significant differences in cardiac morphology, pathophysiology, prevalence of specific coronary artery disease (CAD), and clinical course of myocardial infarction (MI) between men and women. The aim of this review is to investigate the impact of sex or gender on the development and clinical course of MI, the mechanisms and features of left ventricular (LV) remodeling, and heart failure (HF). The main sex-related difference in post-MI LV remodeling is adverse LV dilatation in males versus concentric LV remodeling or concentric LV hypertrophy in females.

Esophageal Cancer-Related Gene-4 Contributes to Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Ion Channel Dysfunction in hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes.

Background And Purpose: Esophageal cancer-related gene-4 (ECRG4) participate in inflammation process and can interact with the innate immunity complex TLR4-MD2-CD14 on human granulocytes. In addition, ECRG4 participate in modulation of ion channel function and electrical activity of cardiomyocytes. However, the exact mechanism is unknown.

Impact of diabetes on epicardial reperfusion and mortality in a contemporary STEMI population undergoing mechanical reperfusion: Insights from the ISACS STEMI COVID 19 registry.

Background And Aim: Diabetes has been shown in last decades to be associated with a significantly higher mortality among patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary PCI (PPCI). Therefore, the aim of current study was to evaluate the impact of diabetes on times delays, reperfusion and mortality in a contemporary STEMI population undergoing PPCI, including treatment during the COVID pandemic.

Methods And Results: The ISACS-STEMI COVID-19 is a large-scale retrospective multicenter registry involving PPCI centers from Europe, Latin America, South-East Asia and North-Africa, including patients treated from 1st of March until June 30, 2019 and 2020.

Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Very High Risk for Stroke and Adverse Events-Insights from the Observational ARENA Study.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause of stroke. An individual risk estimation remains challenging, as AF patients with and without cerebrovascular event (CVE) may differ in yet unknown factors beyond those covered by the CHADS-VASc score. We aimed to identify differences between AF patients with and without CVE with regard to AF characteristics and treatment, vascular risk factors and comorbidities, prognosis and outcome.

Multimodality Imaging in Chronic Constrictive Pericarditis.

This case highlights the use of multimodality imaging in the diagnosis and management of chronic constrictive pericarditis (CP) in a 37-year-old male with a history of T-wave inversions on electrocardiogram (ECG). The patient underwent adenosine stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) due to suspicion of coronary artery disease (CAD). CMR revealed findings suggestive of chronic CP, including pericardial thickening and septal shudder, with computed tomography (CT) confirming the presence of pericardial calcification.

CardioMEA: comprehensive data analysis platform for studying cardiac diseases and drug responses.

Introduction: In recent years, high-density microelectrode arrays (HD-MEAs) have emerged as a valuable tool in preclinical research for characterizing the electrophysiology of human induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs). HD-MEAs enable the capturing of both extracellular and intracellular signals on a large scale, while minimizing potential damage to the cell. However, despite technological advancements of HD-MEAs, there is a lack of effective data-analysis platforms that are capable of processing and analyzing the data, particularly in the context of cardiac arrhythmias and drug testing.

Dynamic Morphology of Dilated Ascending Aorta and its Implications for Proximal Landing During Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair.

Introduction: To improve the outcomes of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), we investigated the dynamic morphology of dilated and nondilated ascending aortas (AAs) to determine whether an appropriate proximal landing zone for TEVAR exists if the middle AA is dilated.

Materials And Methods: Patients with dilated (diameter 40-50 mm) and nondilated (<40 mm) AAs underwent electrocardiogram-gated computed tomography angiography of the entire AA in the systolic and diastolic phases. For each plane of each AA segment, the maximal and minimal diameters in systole and diastole were recorded.

Association of uremic toxins and systemic inflammation with depression and anxiety among hemodialysis patients in Montenegro.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between uremic toxins, inflammation, depression and anxiety among hemodialysis patients in Montenegro.

Method: The cross-sectional study included 88 patients undergoing hemodialysis. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed by Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).

Effects of cannabis use on the heart.

Cannabis and the marijuana derived from it, which mainly contains the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is increasingly being used both for medicinal purposes and as a narcotic. While many emphasize the positive aspects and uses of cannabis, it is equally important to examine the potential negative effects on health. Here, we pay special attention to undesired cardiovascular effects, as the cardiovascular system is known to react strongly to psychoactive substances.

Expression and prongostic impact of galectin-7 in human lung cancer.

Malignant tumors of the lung are the leading cancers worldwide. Prognostic biomarkers continue to be investigated for the detection and stratification of lung cancer for clinical use. In breast cancer cells and in lymphomas, the overexpression of galectin-7 led to increased metastasis.

Physiologists as medical scientists: An early warning from the German academic system.

"Medical scientists" are postgraduate investigators who are engaged in biomedical research, and either hold a biomedical PhD or are qualified in medicine but do not participate in patient care. Medical scientists constitute ~40% of staff at medical faculties and >90% at nonuniversity medical research institutions in Germany. However, medical scientists in Germany face limited long-term career prospects and a lack of dedicated training and support programmes.

Pembrolizumab-Associated Cardiotoxicity: A Retrospective Analysis of the FDA Adverse Events Reporting System.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been successfully used in the previous decade for the treatment of a variety of malignancies. Adverse events (AEs) can cause many symptoms, most notably cardiac. We analyzed the frequency of these adverse events, comparing pembrolizumab and other ICIs.

Impact of hypertension on mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty: insights from the international multicenter ISACS-STEMI registry.

Background: Hypertension is the most prevalent cardiovascular risk factor, with several detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system. Contrasting results have been reported so far on its prognostic role in patients admitted for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Therefore, we investigated the impact of hypertension on short-term mortality in a large multicenter contemporary registry of STEMI patients, including patients treated during COVID-19 pandemic.

The ventilatory efficiency parameters outperform peak oxygen consumption in monitoring the therapy effects in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Aim: We sought the cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameter that most accurately reflected therapeutic efficacy in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Methods: Well-being questionnaire, N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide measurements, echocardiography, and CPET were performed in patients with symptomatic non-obstructive HCM during phase II, randomized, open-label multicentre study, before and after 16 weeks of traditional or sacubitril/valsartan treatment. Patients were followed 36 months after the initial CPET.

Interdisciplinary Management of Traumatic Injuries to the Kidneys and Urinary Tract Caused by Blunt Abdominopelvic Trauma.

Blunt abdominopelvic trauma frequently results in injuries to the urinary organs, especially in polytrauma. The urotrauma is rarely an acute life-threatening event; however, it may lead to severe complications. This review addresses the under-representation of urological trauma management in interdisciplinary medical training and its impact on patient outcomes.