Lipidomics in translational research and the clinical significance of lipid-based biomarkers.

Lipidomics is a rapidly developing field of study that focuses on the identification and quantitation of various lipid species in the lipidome. Lipidomics has now emerged in the forefront of scientific research due to the importance of lipids in metabolism, cancer, and disease. Using both targeted and untargeted mass spectrometry as a tool for analysis, progress in the field has rapidly progressed in the last decade.

Spasmogenic Effects of the Proteasome Inhibitor Carfilzomib on Coronary Resistance, Vascular Tone and Reactivity.

Background: Carfilzomib (CFZ) is a new proteasome inhibitor used for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Besides heart failure, angina and myocardial ischemia occurred following administration of CFZ, which is not contraindicated in patients with recent myocardial infarction/unstable angina excluded from the safety trials.

Aim Of Study: To test the effects of CFZ (10 to 10mol/L) on vascular tone and reactivity in the isolated rabbit heart and aorta.

Coexisting Sickle Cell Anemia and Sarcoidosis: A Management Conundrum!

Sickle cell disease and Sarcoidosis are conditions that are more common in the African American population. In this report we share an unfortunate patient who had hepatic sarcoidosis but could not receive steroids since that precipitated acute liver failure. We have discussed potential therapy options but we need more options that improve mortality.

Toxicity assessment of ash and dust from handmade gold jewelry manufacturing workshops in Bangladesh.

Traditionally, handmade gold jewelry played a very important role in the cultural heritage of Bangladesh. Goldsmiths still are partially using ancient manufacturing process with coal fire, candle flame blowing, and nitric and sulfuric acid treatments. Such process leads to the contamination of workplace with the dust of toxic metals, acidic vapors, and particles of different natures.

A preliminary longitudinal study of white matter alteration in cocaine use disorder subjects.

Background: Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have consistently shown that subjects with cocaine use disorder (CocUD) had altered white matter microstructure in the corpus callosum. It is believed that these alterations are due to preexisting factors, chronic cocaine use, or both. However, there is no published longitudinal DTI study on human cocaine users yet which could shed light on the relationship between cocaine use and DTI findings.

Inhibition of radiation-induced glioblastoma invasion by genetic and pharmacological targeting of MDA-9/Syntenin.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an intractable tumor despite therapeutic advances, principally because of its invasive properties. Radiation is a staple in therapeutic regimens, although cells surviving radiation can become more aggressive and invasive. Subtraction hybridization identified melanoma differentiation-associated gene 9 [MDA-9/Syntenin; syndecan-binding protein (SDCBP)] as a differentially regulated gene associated with aggressive cancer phenotypes in melanoma.

Unsupervised analysis of combined lipid and coagulation data reveals coagulopathy subtypes among dialysis patients.

Hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) are the primary means of managing end stage renal disease (ESRD). However, these treatment modalities are associated with the onset of coagulation abnormalities. Effective management of coagulation risk among these patients requires the identification of surrogate markers that provide an early indication of the coagulation abnormalities.

Tolerability and Biological Effects of Long-Acting Octreotide in Patients With Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

Patients with implanted continuous, nonpulsatile, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have increased the occurrence of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB). Although the pathophysiology is multifactorial, there are few treatments beyond supportive care. Octreotide acetate is a somatostatin analog that reduces GIB in various patient populations.

A Pharmacologic Review of Anaphylaxis.

Anaphylaxis occurs in the surgical population and may have devastating consequences. Anaphylaxis and anaphylactoid reactions are immediate hypersensitivity reactions that are most commonly precipitated by medications, insect stings, and foods. In the surgical population, 47.

Comparative analysis of INLIGHT™-labeled enzymatically depolymerized heparin by reverse-phase chromatography and high-performance mass spectrometry.

Structural characterization of the microheterogeneity of heparin, heparan sulfate, and other glycosaminoglycans is a major analytical challenge. We present the use of a stable isotope-labeled hydrazide tag (INLIGHT™) with high-resolution/accurate mass (HRAM) reverse-phase LC-MS/MS, which was recently introduced for detailed study of N-glycan heterogeneity, to characterize heparinase-digested heparin (digHep) products without the use of semi-volatile ion pairing reagents. Using both full scan LC-MS and data-dependent LC-MS/MS, we identified 116 unique digHep species, a feat possible because of INLIGHT™ labeling.

Long-Term Mortality Trends After Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasties: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Mortality after total hip and knee arthroplasty is lower than that in the general population, but it is unknown whether there are differences by surgery type, demographics, and calendar year. Our objective was to evaluate trends and determinants of long-term mortality among patients with total hip and knee arthroplasties.

Methods: Using a historical cohort study design, we passively followed up population-based cohorts of total hip and total knee arthroplasty patients with degenerative arthritis who underwent surgery between January 1, 1969 and December 31, 2008.

Body Mass Index at Diagnosis and Breast Cancer Survival Prognosis in Clinical Trial Populations from NRG Oncology/NSABP B-30, B-31, B-34, and B-38.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) has been associated with breast cancer outcomes. However, few studies used clinical trial settings where treatments and outcomes are consistently evaluated and documented. There are also limited data assessing how patient/disease characteristics and treatment may alter the BMI-breast cancer association.

Effect of cocaine dependence on brain connections: clinical implications.

Cocaine dependence (CD) is associated with several cognitive deficits. Accumulating evidence, based on human and animal studies, has led to models for interpreting the neural basis of cognitive functions as interactions between functionally related brain regions. In this review, we focus on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies using brain connectivity techniques as related to CD.

Prevalence of Total Hip and Knee Replacement in the United States.

Background: Descriptive epidemiology of total joint replacement procedures is limited to annual procedure volumes (incidence). The prevalence of the growing number of individuals living with a total hip or total knee replacement is currently unknown. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of total hip and total knee replacement in the United States.

Inhibitory behavioral control: A stochastic dynamic causal modeling study comparing cocaine dependent subjects and controls.

Cocaine dependence is associated with increased impulsivity in humans. Both cocaine dependence and impulsive behavior are under the regulatory control of cortico-striatal networks. One behavioral laboratory measure of impulsivity is response inhibition (ability to withhold a prepotent response) in which altered patterns of regional brain activation during executive tasks in service of normal performance are frequently found in cocaine dependent (CD) subjects studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy in the pre- and post-liver transplantation phase.

Patients with advanced liver cirrhosis may develop a clinical syndrome characterized by a blunted contractile responsiveness to stress and/or altered diastolic relaxation, called "cirrhotic cardiomyopathy." This syndrome, which is initially asymptomatic, is often misdiagnosed due to the presence of symptoms that characterize other disorders present in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis, such as exercise intolerance, fatigue, and dyspnea. Stress and other conditions such as liver transplantation and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) may unmask this syndrome.

MRI evaluation of lumbar disc degenerative disease.

Introduction: Lower back pain secondary to degenerative disc disease is a condition that affects young to middle-aged persons with peak incidence at approximately 40 y. MRI is the standard imaging modality for detecting disc pathology due to its advantage of lack of radiation, multiplanar imaging capability, excellent spinal soft-tissue contrast and precise localization of intervertebral discs changes.

Aims And Objective: To evaluate the characterization, extent, and changes associated with the degenerative lumbar disc disease by Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Genomic sequencing and the impact of molecular diagnosis on patient care.

Evolving sequencing technologies allow more accurate, efficient and affordable genomic analysis. As a result, these technologies are increasingly available, especially to provide molecular diagnoses for patients with suspected genetic disorders. However, there are many challenges to using genomic sequencing to benefit patients, including concerns that there is insufficient evidence that identifying an underlying molecular explanation may positively impact a patient's healthcare.

Altered white matter in cocaine-dependent subjects with traumatic brain injury: A diffusion tensor imaging study.

Background: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a useful technique for non-invasively investigating the microstructural organization of white matter (WM), and the most consistent DTI finding regarding cocaine-related WM alterations is in the corpus callosum (CC). WM injury has also been observed in subjects with traumatic brain injury (TBI), including in the CC.

Methods: We used DTI to test if the WM microstructure is relatively more impaired in cocaine-dependent subjects who had suffered a mild TBI (mTBI).

Role of Interleukin-1 in Radiation-Induced Cardiomyopathy.

Thoracic X-ray therapy (XRT), used in cancer treatment, is associated with increased risk of heart failure. XRT-mediated injury to the heart induces an inflammatory response leading to cardiomyopathy. The aim of this study was to determine the role of interleukin (IL)-1 in response to XRT injury to the heart and on the cardiomyopathy development in the mouse.

Peptide library approach to uncover phosphomimetic inhibitors of the BRCA1 C-terminal domain.

Many intracellular protein-protein interactions are mediated by the phosphorylation of serine, and phosphoserine-containing peptides can inhibit these interactions. However, hydrolysis of the phosphate by phosphatases, and the poor cell permeability associated with phosphorylated peptides has limited their utility in cellular and in vivo contexts. Compounding the problem, strategies to replace phosphoserine in peptide inhibitors with easily accessible mimetics (such as Glu or Asp) routinely fail.