Contemporary Insights into LMNA Cardiomyopathy.

Purpose Of Review: This review aims to explore how a diagnosis of LMNA-related cardiomyopathy (LMNA-CM) informs clinical management, focusing on the prevention and management of its complications, through practical clinical strategies.

Recent Findings: Longitudinal studies have enhanced our understanding of the natural history of LMNA-CM including its arrhythmic and non-arrhythmic complications. A LMNA specific ventricular arrhythmia risk prediction strategy has been integrated into clinical practice guidelines.

Severe bradycardia in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea and good early response to CPAP.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) may lead to heart rhythm abnormalities including bradycardia. Our aim was to ascertain clinical and echocardiographic parameters in patients with OSA in whom severe bradycardia was detected in an outpatient setting, as well as to evaluate the efficacy of CPAP therapy on heart rate normalization at the early stages of treatment.

Methods: Fifteen patients mild, moderate or severe OSA and concomitant bradycardia were enrolled.

Modeling the effects of thin filament near-neighbor cooperative interactions in mammalian myocardium.

The mechanisms underlying cooperative activation and inactivation of myocardial force extend from local, near-neighbor interactions involving troponin-tropomyosin regulatory units (RU) and crossbridges (XB) to more global interactions across the sarcomere. To better understand these mechanisms in the hearts of small and large mammals, we undertook a simplified mathematical approach to assess the contribution of three types of near-neighbor cooperative interactions, i.e.

Placental mitochondrial metabolic adaptation maintains cellular energy balance in pregnancy complicated by gestational hypoxia.

The mechanisms that drive placental dysfunction in pregnancies complicated by hypoxia and fetal growth restriction remain poorly understood. Changes to mitochondrial respiration contribute to cellular dysfunction in conditions of hypoxia and have been implicated in the pathoaetiology of pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia. We used bespoke isobaric hypoxic chambers and a combination of functional, molecular and imaging techniques to study cellular metabolism and mitochondrial dynamics in sheep undergoing hypoxic pregnancy.

Pregnancy-Induced Cardiomyopathy: What Case Managers Need to Know.

A new form of stethoscope with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities may make the difference between early detection of pregnancy-induced cardiomyopathy or end stage postpartum heart failure. The AI stethoscope is a tool that may make that difference.

The effect of exercise on GDF-15 levels in individuals with prediabetes: A randomized controlled trial.

Aims: Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is an inflammatory cytokine that increases in prediabetes and is known for its anorexigenic effects. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a 12-week exercise program on GDF-15 in individuals with prediabetes.

Materials And Methods: In this multicenter, parallel-group, randomized-controlled trial, 64 patients aged 18-60 diagnosed with prediabetes were randomized in a 1:1 ratio into the exercise group (E) and the control group (C).

Nanoencapsulated Optical Fiber-Based PEC Microelectrode: Highly Sensitive and Specific Detection of NT-proBNP and Its Implantable Performance.

Microelectrodes offer exceptional sensitivity, rapid response, and versatility, making them ideal for real-time detection and monitoring applications. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensors have shown great value in many fields due to their high sensitivity, fast response, and ease of operation. Nevertheless, conventional PEC sensing relies on cumbersome external light sources and bulky electrodes, hindering its miniaturization and implantation, thereby limiting its application in real-time disease monitoring.

Predictors of Arrhythmia Recurrence After Cryoballoon Ablation for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: A Sub-Analysis of the Cryo Global Registry.

Introduction: Freedom from recurrences of atrial tachyarrhythmia (ATA) is suboptimal after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (PsAF). This sub-analysis from the Cryo Global Registry sought to investigate predictors of ablation success after PVI using cryoballoon ablation (CBA) for PsAF.

Methods And Results: ATA recurrence was defined as ≥ 30 s recurrence of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or atrial tachycardia after a 90-day blanking period and through 12-months.

Associations between circulating amino acids and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in individuals living with severe obesity.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) describes liver diseases caused by the accumulation of triglycerides in hepatocytes (steatosis) as well as the resulting inflammation and fibrosis. Previous studies have demonstrated that accumulation of fat in visceral adipose tissue compartments and the liver is associated with alterations in the circulating levels of some amino acids, notably glutamate. This study aimed to investigate the associations between circulating amino acids, particularly glutamate, and MASLD.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and outcomes in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) commonly leads to heart failure but has traditionally been an exclusion criterion in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i); therefore, the effects of these drugs in this population remain undocumented. In light of recent studies, this meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of SGLT2i on the prognosis of patients with ATTR-CM.

Methods: A comprehensive search of Medline, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library was conducted up to November 17, 2024.

Trends in age and antithrombotic therapy in patients who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor and perioperative complications.

Introduction: We investigated the subsequent trends in age and antithrombotic therapy in patients who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) and examined the rate of perioperative complications.

Methods: Medical records of patients who underwent TURBT were retrospectively analyzed. We arbitrarily divided the observation years into three periods (I: 2007-2013, II: 2014-2018, and III: 2019-2023) to compare the trends in age and frequency of perioperative complications after TURBT between patients taking and those not taking antithrombotic drugs.

APOBEC-1 cofactors regulate APOBEC3-induced mutations in hepatitis B virus.

Unlabelled: APOBEC3 proteins (A3s) play an important role in host innate immunity against viruses and DNA mutations in cancer. A3s-induced mutations in both viral and human DNA genomes vary significantly from non-lethal mutations in viruses to localized hypermutations, such as kataegis in cancer. How A3s are regulated remains largely unknown.

Comorbidities and Healthcare Utilization Among Young Adults With Congenital Heart Defects by Down Syndrome Status-Congenital Heart Survey to Recognize Outcomes, Needs, and wellbeinG, 2016-2019.

Background: Almost half of individuals born with Down syndrome (DS) have congenital heart defects (CHDs). Yet, little is known about the health and healthcare needs of adults with CHDs and DS. Therefore, we examined comorbidities and healthcare utilization of this population.

Knock-out mouse models and single particle ICP-MS reveal that SP-D and SP-A deficiency reduces agglomeration of inhaled gold nanoparticles in vivo without significant changes to overall lung clearance.

The role of surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A and SP-D) in lung clearance and translocation to secondary organs of inhaled nanoparticles was investigated by exposing SP-A and SP-D knockout (AKO and DKO) and wild type (WT) mice nose-only for 3 hours to an aerosol of 20 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Animals were euthanised at 0-, 1-, 7- and 28-days post-exposure. Analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) of the liver and kidneys showed that extrapulmonary translocation was below the limits of detection.

Erector Spinae Muscle to Epicardial Visceral Fat Ratio on Chest CT Predicts the Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Background: Chest computed tomography (CT) is a valuable tool for diagnosing and predicting the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and assessing extrapulmonary organs. Reduced muscle mass and visceral fat accumulation are important features of a body composition phenotype in which obesity and muscle loss coexist, but their relationship with COVID-19 outcomes remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between the erector spinae muscle (ESM) to epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) ratio (ESM/EAT) on chest CT and disease severity in patients with COVID-19.

A Novel Technique of "Drag-Drill" for Retrograde Chronic Total Occlusion Revascularization in Heavily Calcified Tortuous Lesions: A Case Report.

We report the case of a 73-year-old male with a history of recurrent coronary interventions who presented with progressive angina and was diagnosed with a chronic total occlusion (CTO) of a heavily calcified and tortuous right coronary artery (RCA). Standard antegrade and retrograde techniques were attempted but failed due to the complexity of the lesion. A novel "Drag-Drill" technique was employed, utilizing a retrogradely externalized RG3 guidewire as a rotational atherectomy wire, enabling successful rotational atherectomy and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Using an Oral Sugar Test to Biologically Validate the Use of a Commercial Enzyme Immunoassay to Measure Salivary Insulin in Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

Noninvasive evaluations of hormones can contribute to the assessment of health and welfare of animals. Variations in insulin levels and sensitivity, for example, have been linked to health concerns in non-human and human primates including insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease, the leading cause of death in zoo-housed gorillas. Few published studies have assessed insulin concentrations in western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and all did so using serum.

Distinct single cell transcriptional profile in CD4+ T-lymphocytes among obese children with asthma.

Obesity is a risk factor for asthma morbidity, associated with less responsiveness to inhaled corticosteroids. CD4+ T-cells are central to the immunology of asthma and may contribute to the unique obese asthma phenotype. We sought to characterize the single cell CD4+ Transcriptional profile differences in obese children with asthma compared to normal weight children with asthma.

Alendronate for the primary and secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women.

Rationale: Osteoporosis is an abnormal reduction in bone mass and bone deterioration, leading to increased fracture risk. Alendronate belongs to the bisphosphonate class of drugs, which inhibit bone resorption by interfering with the activity of osteoclasts (bone cells that break down bone tissue). This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2008.

Insights Into Causal Effects of Genetically Proxied Lipids and Lipid-Modifying Drug Targets on Cardiometabolic Diseases.

Background: The differential impact of serum lipids and their targets for lipid modification on cardiometabolic disease risk is debated. This study used Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal relationships and underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Genetic variants related to lipid profiles and targets for lipid modification were sourced from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium.