Comparative survival of sleeve gastrectomy versus Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in adults with obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The difference in survival between sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) remains controversial.

Objective: To investigate the comparative survival difference between SG and RYGB in adults with morbid obesity.

Setting: A meta-analysis.

Late Survival Benefits of Concomitant Surgical Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation During Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The long-term survival benefits after surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) during cardiac surgery were not confirmed in previous randomized controlled trials or meta-analyses. This study aimed to investigate the long-term efficacy of surgical ablation in patients with AF. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were searched to identify studies comparing concomitant surgical AF ablation with no surgical ablation during cardiac surgery.

The impact of permanent pacemaker implantation on long-term survival after cardiac surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The long-term impact of permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation on survival after cardiac surgery remains ill defined. We aimed to investigate the effect of PPM on survival and explore factors driving outcomes using meta-regression according to the type of surgery.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched through October 2023 to identify studies reporting the long-term outcomes of PPM implantation.

Transcatheter versus surgical aortic valve replacement for stenotic bicuspid aortic valve: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Bicuspid aortic valves have been excluded from randomized trials comparing transcatheter aortic valve replacement with surgical aortic valve replacement. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement versus surgical aortic valve replacement in patients with severe bicuspid aortic valve stenosis using a meta-analysis.

Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through March 2022 to identify observational studies comparing transcatheter aortic valve replacement and surgical aortic valve replacement for severe bicuspid aortic valve stenosis.

Externally mounted versus internally mounted leaflet aortic bovine pericardial bioprosthesis: meta-analysis.

Background: Recent studies reported higher-than-expected rates of early structural valve degeneration (SVD) and/or reoperation of externally mounted leaflet aortic bioprosthesis compared with others. This meta-analysis aims to compare the outcomes of bioprostheses with externally versus internally mounted leaflet design in patients who underwent surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR).

Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through November 2021 to identify comparative studies investigating outcomes following SAVR with either externally or internally mounted leaflet aortic bioprosthesis.

Complete transcatheter versus surgical approach to aortic stenosis with coronary artery disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: The MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched through November 2021 to identify studies comparing TAVR + PCI and SAVR + CABG for severe aortic stenosis with concurrent coronary artery disease. Outcomes of interest were all-cause mortality, repeat coronary intervention, rehospitalization, myocardial infarction, and stroke during follow-up, and 30-day periprocedural outcomes.

Features on Computed Tomography That Correlate With Acute Appendicitis.

: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relevant findings in adult patients admitted to Cabell Huntington Hospital who were diagnosed with acute appendicitis. : Patients who had the postoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis and a preoperative computed tomography (CT) scan from January 2011 through December 2016 were included in this retrospective chart review. : There were 592 patients.

Positive Effects of Heme Oxygenase Upregulation on Adiposity and Vascular Dysfunction: Gene Targeting vs. Pharmacologic Therapy.

Objective: Heme oxygenase (HO-1) plays a critical role in adipogenesis and it is important to understand its function in obesity. Many studies have shown that upregulation of HO-1 can affect the biologic parameters in obesity-mediated diabetes, hypertension and vascular endothelial cell function. Thus, we aimed to explore the hypothesis that upregulation of HO-1, using a pharmacologic approach as well as gene targeting, would improve both adiposity and endothelial cell dysfunction by direct targeting of endothelial cells.

Adiponectin, Leptin, IGF-1, and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha As Potential Serum Biomarkers for Non-Invasive Diagnosis of Colorectal Adenoma in African Americans.

The potential role of adiponectin, leptin, IGF-1, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) as biomarkers in colorectal adenoma is not clear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the blood serum levels of these biomarkers in colorectal adenoma. The case-control study consisted of serum from 180 African American patients with colon adenoma (cases) and 198 healthy African Americans (controls) at Howard University Hospital.

Fluid balance concepts in medicine: Principles and practice.

The regulation of body fluid balance is a key concern in health and disease and comprises three concepts. The first concept pertains to the relationship between total body water (TBW) and total effective solute and is expressed in terms of the tonicity of the body fluids. Disturbances in tonicity are the main factor responsible for changes in cell volume, which can critically affect brain cell function and survival.

Acute Pancreatitis: Etiology, Pathology, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Acute pancreatitis is a fascinating disease. In the United States, the two most common etiologies of acute pancreatitis are gallstones and excessive alcohol consumption. The diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is made with a combination of history, physical examination, computed tomography scan, and laboratory evaluation.

Severe pelvic fracture with profound hypotension: a case report and treatment algorithm.

Approximately 9% of all blunt trauma patients suffer pelvic fractures. These fractures can range from insignificant and requiring almost no therapy to massive destruction of the pelvic ring with associated with multisystem injury and life-threatening hypotension which mandates the attention of the trauma surgeon, the orthopedic surgeon, the interventional radiologists and possibly other subspecialists. We present a case of a patient who presented to the emergency room in extremis from massive bleeding from a complex pelvic fracture.

Blunt aortic trauma in a patient with the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type VI.

A 24-year-old male with the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) type VI (ocular scoliotic) who was kicked in the abdomen presented to the emergency room (ER) with abdominal pain. He was found to have a blunt traumatic aortic injury. The patient was treated nonoperatively.

Omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid decreases CD133 colon cancer stem-like cell marker expression while increasing sensitivity to chemotherapy.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the western world. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) can attenuate the proliferation of cancer cells, including colon cancer, and increase the efficacy of various anticancer drugs. However, these studies address the effects of n-3 PUFAs on the bulk of the tumor cells and not on the undifferentiated colon cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) that are responsible for tumor formation and maintenance.

Fructose: a key factor in the development of metabolic syndrome and hypertension.

Diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome are becoming leading causes of death in the world. Identifying the etiology of diabetes is key to prevention. Despite the similarity in their structures, fructose and glucose are metabolized in different ways.

Differential actin isoform reorganization in the contracting A7r5 cell.

In the present study, we investigated the reorganization of alpha- and beta-actin in the contracting A7r5 smooth muscle cell. The remodeling of these actin variants was markedly different in response to increasing concentrations of phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate (PDBu). At the lowest concentrations (< or =10(-7) mol/L), cells showed an approximately 70% loss in alpha-actin stress fibers with robust transport of this isoform to podosomes.

Effect of experimental hyperhomocysteinemia on cardiac structure and function in the rat.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected for 2 weeks to daily injections of homocysteine (Hcy), which increased plasma Hcy approximately 2-fold. Echocardiography indicated significant increases in left ventricular diastolic (13%) and systolic (31%) dimensions and decreases in posterior wall thickness (diastolic, -17%; systolic, -20%) in Hcy-treated animals. Slight changes were noted in the ejection fraction, systolic fractional shortening, and maximal aortic valvular blood flow velocity, but they were not statistically significant or were similar to those in vehicle controls.

Effect of fasting on vascular contractility in lean and obese Zucker rats.

We compared the effects of fasting (36 h) on blood pressure and aortic contractile responsiveness in lean and obese Zucker rats. Fasting of lean animals resulted in a significant loss in body weight (-9.1 +/- 0.

Microtubule-dependent PKC-alpha localization in A7r5 smooth muscle cells.

Using laser scanning confocal, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), and atomic force (AFM) microscopy, we investigated association of protein kinase C (PKC)-alpha with microtubules during stimulus-induced relocalization in A7r5 smooth muscle cells. Confocal microscopy with standard immunostaining techniques confirmed earlier observations that colchicine disruption of microtubules blocked PKC-alpha localization in the perinuclear region of the cell caused by phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu; 10-6M). Dual immunostaining suggested colocalization of PKC-alpha and beta-tubulin in both unstimulated and PDBu-treated cells.

Myosin remodelling in the contracting A7r5 smooth muscle cell.

Aim: Using confocal microscopy and standard immunohistochemical techniques, changes in the structure of alpha-actin and beta-actin as well as the distribution of myosin II were studied in the contracting A7r5 smooth muscle cell.

Results: Prior to stimulation, each of the three proteins were incorporated into filamentous structures extending the length of the cell body. At 30 min after stimulation by phorbol 12, 13 dibutyrate (PDBu), the system of densely packed beta-actin fibres was retained.

Ca2+-dependent actin remodeling in the contracting A7r5 cell.

Previous work has shown that stimulation of contraction in A7r5 smooth muscle cells with phorbol ester (PDBu) results in the disassembly and remodeling of the alpha-actin component of the cytoskeleton (Fultz et al., 2000, J Mus Res Cell Motil 21: 775-781). In the present study, we evaluated the effect of increasing intracellular calcium ion concentration [Ca2+]i by A23187 and thapsigargin on alpha- and beta-actin remodeling.

PKC-alpha shows variable patterns of translocation in response to different stimulatory agents.

Reports from numerous laboratories suggest that protein kinase C (PKC) translocation to substrate target sites may vary depending on cell type and experimental conditions. We have proposed that acutely variable targeting of PKC to different substrate sites could greatly expand the functional properties of individual isoforms in individual cell types (Li et al., 2001).