Cigarette Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and Heart Failure Subtypes: Insights From the Jackson Heart Study.

Background: Cigarette smoking has been associated with incident heart failure (HF). However, the association between cigarette smoking and smoking cessation with HF subtypes has not been well elucidated, particularly among Black people.

Methods And Results: We investigated 4189 (never smoker n=2934, former smoker n=761, current smoker n=464) Black participants (mean age 54 years, 64% women) without a history of HF or coronary heart disease at baseline in the Jackson Heart Study.

Ankle-Brachial Index and Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in the Community: The ARIC Study.

Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a significant global public health problem accounting for 15% to 20% of all deaths. A great majority of SCD is associated with coronary heart disease, which may first be detected at autopsy. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a simple, noninvasive measure of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Duodenal mucosal resurfacing for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Content available: Author Interview and Audio Recording.

Initiation of Dialysis Is Associated With Impaired Cardiovascular Functional Capacity.

Background The transition to dialysis period carries a substantial increased cardiovascular risk in patients with chronic kidney disease. Despite this, alterations in cardiovascular functional capacity during this transition are largely unknown. The present study therefore sought to assess ventilatory exercise response measures in patients within 1 year of initiating dialysis.

Unusual Cortical Phenotype After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in a Patient With Osteopetrosis.

The osteopetroses are a group of rare genetic diseases caused by osteoclast dysfunction or absence. The hallmark of osteopetrosis is generalized increased bone mineral density (BMD). However, the bone is fragile and fractures are common.

Non-Additive Effects of Combined NOX1/4 Inhibition and Calcimimetic Treatment on a Rat Model of Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral and Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD).

Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) increases cardiovascular calcification and skeletal fragility in part by increasing systemic oxidative stress and disrupting mineral homeostasis through secondary hyperparathyroidism. We hypothesized that treatments to reduce reactive oxygen species formation and reduce parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels would have additive beneficial effects to prevent cardiovascular calcification and deleterious bone architecture and mechanics before end-stage kidney disease. To test this hypothesis, we treated a naturally progressive model of CKD-MBD, the Cy/+ rat, beginning early in CKD with the NADPH oxidase (NOX1/4) inhibitor GKT-137831 (GKT), the preclinical analogue of the calcimimetic etelcalcetide, KP-2326 (KP), and their combination.

Depression as a Risk Factor for Incident Ischemic Stroke Among HIV-Positive Veterans in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study.

Background HIV infection and depression are each associated with increased ischemic stroke risk. Whether depression is a risk factor for stroke within the HIV population is unknown. Methods and Results We analyzed data on 106 333 (33 528 HIV-positive; 72 805 HIV-negative) people who were free of baseline cardiovascular disease from an observational cohort of HIV-positive people and matched uninfected veterans in care from April 1, 2003 through December 31, 2014.

The Effect of Single Versus Group μCT on the Detection of Trabecular and Cortical Disease Phenotypes in Mouse Bones.

Micro-computed tomography is a critical assessment tool for bone-related preclinical research, especially in murine models. To expedite the scanning process, researchers often image multiple bones simultaneously; however, it is unknown if this impacts scan quality and alters the ability to detect differences between experimental groups. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of multibone scanning on detecting disease-induced changes in bone microarchitecture and mineral density by group scanning two murine models with known skeletal defects: the model of osteogenesis imperfecta and an adenine-induced model of chronic kidney disease.

Exploratory Study of Autoantibody Profiling in Drug-Induced Liver Injury with an Autoimmune Phenotype.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) sometimes presents with an autoimmune hepatitis-like phenotype (AI-DILI), and it is challenging to distinguish it from autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). We conducted a study to identify autoantibodies unique to AI-DILI by profiling serum autoantibodies. Autoantibodies were quantified using an autoantigen array containing 94 autoantigens from four groups: AI-DILI (n = 65), DILI controls (n = 67), AIH (n = 17), and healthy controls (HCs; n = 30).

Immune Checkpoint Axes Are Dysregulated in Patients With Alcoholic Hepatitis.

Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a severe inflammatory liver disease that develops in some heavy drinkers. The immune system in patients with AH is hyperactive and yet dysfunctional. Here, we investigated whether this immune-dysregulated state is related to the alcoholic impact on immune checkpoints (ICPs).

Ex Vivo Organ Cultures as Models to Study Bone Biology.

The integrity of the skeleton is maintained by the coordinated and balanced activities of the bone cells. Osteoclasts resorb bone, osteoblasts form bone, and osteocytes orchestrate the activities of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. A variety of in vitro approaches has been used in an attempt to reproduce the complex in vivo interactions among bone cells under physiological as well as pathological conditions and to test new therapies.

Overexpression of WNT16 Does Not Prevent Cortical Bone Loss Due to Glucocorticoid Treatment in Mice.

Glucocorticoids (GC) are commonly used for the treatment of a wide variety of autoimmune, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and malignancy conditions. One of the devastating side effects of GC use is osteoporotic fractures, particularly in the spine and hip. Bisphosphonates (BP) are the most commonly prescribed pharmacological agents for the prevention and treatment of GC-induced osteoporosis (GIO).

Serum Metabolomic Profiling Identifies Key Metabolic Signatures Associated With Pathogenesis of Alcoholic Liver Disease in Humans.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) develops in a subset of heavy drinkers (HDs). The goals of our study were to (1) characterize the global serum metabolomic changes in well-characterized cohorts of controls (Cs), HDs, and those with alcoholic cirrhosis (AC); (2) identify metabolomic signatures as potential diagnostic markers, and (3) determine the trajectory of serum metabolites in response to alcohol abstinence. Serum metabolic profiling was performed in 22 Cs, 147 HDs, and 33 patients with AC using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

MicroRNA-26-5p functions as a new inhibitor of hepatoblastoma by repressing lin-28 homolog B and aurora kinase a expression.

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common liver tumor in children. Despite recent improvements in treatment strategies, the survival of children with hepatoblastoma remains poor. In this study, we identified a novel role of microRNA-26a-5p (miR-26a-5p), lin-28 homolog B (LIN28B), Ras-related nuclear protein (RAN), and aurora kinase A (AURKA) in HB.

Interaction between the patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 genotype and coffee drinking and the risk for acute alcoholic hepatitis.

Only a subset of subjects with excessive alcohol consumption develops alcoholic liver disease (ALD). One of the major risk factors for ALD is the genetic variant of the patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 () gene. Coffee is one of the most commonly consumed beverages, and coffee consumption has been associated with lower levels of serum alanine aminotransferase.