A network analysis to identify pathophysiological pathways distinguishing ischaemic from non-ischaemic heart failure.

Aims: Heart failure (HF) is frequently caused by an ischaemic event (e.g. myocardial infarction) but might also be caused by a primary disease of the myocardium (cardiomyopathy).

The influence of atrial fibrillation on the levels of NT-proBNP versus GDF-15 in patients with heart failure.

Background: In heart failure (HF), levels of NT-proBNP are influenced by the presence of concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF), making it difficult to distinguish between HF versus AF in patients with raised NT-proBNP. It is unknown whether levels of GDF-15 are also influenced by AF in patients with HF. In this study we compared the plasma levels of NT-proBNP versus GDF-15 in patients with HF in AF versus sinus rhythm (SR).

Right Heart Dysfunction in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: The Impact of Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently coexist in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The mechanisms underlying the association between AF and RV dysfunction are incompletely understood.

Methods And Results: We identified 102 patients.

Right heart dysfunction and failure in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: mechanisms and management. Position statement on behalf of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.

There is an unmet need for effective treatment strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Until recently, attention in patients with HFpEF was almost exclusively focused on the left side. However, it is now increasingly recognized that right heart dysfunction is common and contributes importantly to poor prognosis in HFpEF.

Right ventricular-vascular coupling in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and pre- vs. post-capillary pulmonary hypertension.

Aims: Many patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) develop post-capillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to increased left-sided filling pressures. However, a subset of patients develops combined post- and pre-capillary PH. We studied the value of echocardiographic right-sided characterization for the discrimination between pre- vs.

Understanding K : a simulation study based on a multiple-pathway model.

The transfer constant K is commonly employed in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI studies, but the utility and interpretation of K as a potential biomarker of tumor vasculature remains unclear. In this study, computer simulations based on a comprehensive tracer kinetic model with multiple pathways was used to provide clarification on the interpretation and application of K . Tissue concentration-time curves pertaining to a wide range of transport conditions were simulated using the multiple-pathway (MP) model and fitted using the generalized kinetic (GK) and extended GK models.

Influence of Ethnicity, Age, and Time on Sex Disparities in Long-Term Cause-Specific Mortality After Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: We examined the influence of sex, ethnicity, and time on competing cardiovascular and noncardiovascular causes of death following acute myocardial infarction in a multiethnic Asian cohort.

Methods And Results: For 12 years, we followed a prospective nationwide cohort of 15 151 patients (aged 22-101 years, median age 63 years; 72.3% male; 66.

Right ventricular dysfunction in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension (PH) are increasingly recognized in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The prevalence and prognostic value of RV dysfunction in HFpEF have been widely but variably reported. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.

Plasma fatty acids, oxylipins, and risk of myocardial infarction: the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

We aimed to examine the prospective association between plasma FAs, oxylipins, and risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a Singapore Chinese population. A nested case-control study with 744 incident AMI cases and 744 matched controls aged 47-83 years was conducted within the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Nineteen plasma FAs and 12 oxylipins were quantified using MS.

Frequency of Maternal Touch Predicts Resting Activity and Connectivity of the Developing Social Brain.

Previous behavioral research points to a positive relationship between maternal touch and early social development. Here, we explored the brain correlates of this relationship. The frequency of maternal touch was recorded for 43 five-year-old children during a 10 min standardized play session.

Effect of prior clopidogrel use on outcomes in medically managed acute coronary syndrome patients.

Objective: We investigated whether prior clopidogrel influenced long-term ischaemic and bleeding risks and modified the randomised treatment effect of clopidogrel versus prasugrel among medically managed patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) treated with dual antiplatelet therapy.

Methods: Medically managed patients with ACS in the Targeted Platelet Inhibition to Clarify the Optimal Strategy to Medically Manage Acute Coronary Syndromes (TRILOGY ACS) trial were randomised to clopidogrel versus prasugrel (plus aspirin), stratified by prior clopidogrel use. From the analysis population (n=8927), we compared two groups: 'clopidogrel in-hospital (n=6513)' (clopidogrel started ≤72 h of presentation for index ACS event) and 'prior-clopidogrel (n=2414)' (on clopidogrel ≥5 days before index hospitalisation).

Racial Differences in Electrocardiographic Characteristics and Prognostic Significance in Whites Versus Asians.

Background: Racial differences in electrocardiographic (ECG) characteristics and prognostic significance among Whites and Asians are not well described.

Methods And Results: We studied 2677 White Framingham Heart Study participants (57% women) and 2972 Asian (64% women) Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study participants (mean age 66 years in both) free of myocardial infarction or heart failure. Racial differences in ECG characteristics and effect on mortality were assessed.

Correlation between the radiation responses of fibroblasts cultured from individual patients and the risk of late reaction after breast radiotherapy.

Late normal tissue toxicity varies widely between patients and limits breast radiotherapy dose. Here we aimed to determine its relationship to DNA damage responses of fibroblast cultures from individual patients. Thirty-five breast cancer patients, with minimal or marked breast changes after breast-conserving therapy consented to receive a 4 Gy test irradiation to a small skin field of the left buttock and have punch biopsies taken from irradiated and unirradiated skin.

Induced pluripotent stem cells in Parkinson's disease: scientific and clinical challenges.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which greatly circumvent the ethical issue of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs), can be induced to differentiate to dopaminergic (DA) neurons, and hence be used as a human disease model for Parkinson's disease (PD). iPSCs can be also utilised to probe the mechanism, and serve as an 'in vivo' platform for drug screening and for cell-replacement therapies. However, any clinical trial approaches should be extensively supported by validated robust biological evidence (based on previous experience with fetal mesencephalic transplantation), in particular, the production and selection of the 'ideal' neurons (functional units with no oncological risk), together with the careful screening of appropriate candidates (such as genetic carriers), with inbuilt safeguards (safety studies) in the evaluation and monitoring (functional neuroimaging of both DA and non-DA system) of trial subjects.

Retinal Imaging Techniques for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening.

Due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, demand for diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening platforms is steeply increasing. Early detection and treatment of DR are key public health interventions that can greatly reduce the likelihood of vision loss. Current DR screening programs typically employ retinal fundus photography, which relies on skilled readers for manual DR assessment.

Development of Selective Lamellar Keratoplasty within an Asian Corneal Transplant Program: The Singapore Corneal Transplant Study (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis).

Purpose: To evaluate outcomes of anterior lamellar keratoplasty (ALK) and endothelial keratoplasty (EK) within the Singapore Corneal Transplant Study (SCTS), with the hypothesis that both ALK and EK are able to provide equivalent or improved clinical outcomes, compared to penetrating keratoplasty (PK), and to determine changing trends globally with other international databases.

Methods: Clinical data on all transplants performed was derived from our SCTS database, a prospective national keratoplasty registry, and clinical outcomes (graft survival, endothelial cell loss, complications, visual acuity) were compared between PK, ALK, and EK. Global trends on indications and forms of keratoplasty performed in 2011/2012 were obtained from national keratoplasty or eye banking registries, corneal/ophthalmological societies, national eye banks, and national ophthalmic institutions.