Calcium handling abnormalities increase arrhythmia susceptibility in DMSXL myotonic dystrophy type 1 mice.

Background: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multiorgan disorder with significant cardiac involvement. ECG abnormalities, including arrhythmias, occur in 80 % of DM1 patients and are the second-most common cause of death after respiratory complications; however, the mechanisms underlying the arrhythmogenesis remain unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the basis of the electrophysiological abnormalities in DM1 using the DMSXL mouse model.

Sex-specific effects of intensity and dose of physical activity on BOLD-fMRI cerebrovascular reactivity and cerebral pulsatility.

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and cerebral pulsatility (CP) are important indicators of cerebrovascular health and have been shown to be associated with physical activity (PA). Sex differences have been shown to influence the impact of PA on cerebrovascular health. However, the sex-specific effects of PA on CP and CVR, particularly in relation to intensity and dosage of PA, remains unknown.

Impact of overweight and obesity on radiation dose and outcome in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation by cryoballoon and pulsed field ablation.

Background: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using pulsed field ablation (PFA) or cryoballoon ablation (CBA) are commonly used single-shot techniques for the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The number of overweight (BMI 25-30 kg/m) and obese (BMI>30 kg/m) patients undergoing PVI is increasing, but data on this patient population is limited.

Methods: Consecutive AF patients with a BMI ≥25 kg/m undergoing PFA- or CBA-PVI were included in this retrospective analysis.

Sustained improvements in brain health and metabolic markers 24 months following bariatric surgery.

Obesity and its metabolic complications are associated with lower grey matter and white matter densities, whereas weight loss after bariatric surgery leads to an increase in both measures. These increases in grey and white matter density are significantly associated with post-operative weight loss and improvement of the metabolic/inflammatory profiles. While our recent studies demonstrated widespread increases in white matter density 4 and 12 months after bariatric surgery, it is not clear if these changes persist over time.

Initial cannulation strategy impacts perioperative outcomes of acute type A dissection in high-volume centers.

Objective: We performed an intention-to-treat analysis of initial cannulation strategy to assess the impact on perioperative outcomes in acute type A dissection using multicenter data.

Methods: All patients undergoing surgical repair of acute type A dissection from a multicenter national registry of 9 high-volume aortic centers were analyzed. Cannulation strategies included in the analysis were axillary, femoral, direct aortic, and innominate.

The burden of COVID-19 mortality among solid organ transplant recipients in the United States.

Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) have a heightened risk of adverse coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes because of immunosuppression and medical comorbidity. We quantified the burden of COVID-19 mortality in United States (US) SOTRs. A sample of deaths documented in the US solid organ transplant registry from June 2020 through December 2022 was linked to the National Death Index to identify COVID-19 deaths and weighted to represent all SOTR deaths during the study period.

Multimodal physiological correlates of dyspnea ratings during breath-holding in healthy humans.

Introduction And Objectives: Dyspnea is associated with fear and intense suffering and is often assessed using visual analog scales (VAS) or numerical rating scales (NRS). However, the physiological correlates of such ratings are not well known. Using the voluntary breath-holding model of induced dyspnea, we studied healthy volunteers to investigate the temporal relationship between dyspnea, the neural drive to breathe assessed in terms of involuntary thoracoabdominal movements (ITMs) and neurovegetative responses.

Sex and organ specific proteomic responses to vitamin C deficiency in the brain, heart, liver, and spleen of Gulo-/- mice.

Recent advances in mass spectrometry have indicated that the water-soluble antioxidant vitamin C differentially modulates the abundance of various proteins in the hepatic tissue of female and male mice. In this study, we performed LC-MS/MS to identify and quantify proteins that correlate with serum vitamin C concentrations in the whole brain, heart, liver, and spleen tissues in mice deficient for the enzyme L-Gulonolactone oxidase required for vitamin C synthesis in mammals. This work shows for the first time that various biological processes affected by a vitamin C deficiency are not only sex specific dependent but also tissue specific dependent even though many proteins have been identified and quantified in more than three organs.

Direct medical costs of cardiovascular diseases: Do cost components vary according to sex and age?

Background: The aim was to estimate direct medical costs of men and women patients by age group related to cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, strokes) in the province of Quebec, Canada from the economic perspective of the healthcare public system, encompassing five cost components: physician fees, hospitalization (hospital stay, intensive care stay), emergency visits and medication costs.

Methods: This matched case-control study involved secondary data from a longitudinal cohort study (1997-2018) of 4584 white-collar workers. Participants were followed for a four-year period.