Selective Arterial Embolizations of Renal Angiomyolipomas Using 96% Ethanol: A Case Series of 5 Patients.

Angiomyolipomas are rare benign tumors of the kidneys, with a risk of spontaneous hemorrhage including severe retroperitoneal bleedings. In this study, we report clinical outcomes of 5 patients who underwent 8 embolization sessions using 96% ethanol, as there is scarce data using this embolic agent for this indication. The primary angiographic success could be achieved in all but 1 lesion, which was not accessible due to vasospasm of the supplying vessel.

Impact of EMpagliflozin on cardiac function and biomarkers of heart failure in patients with acute MYocardial infarction-The EMMY trial.

Background: Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are established antidiabetic drugs with proven cardiovascular benefit. Although growing evidence suggests beneficial effects on myocardial remodeling, fluid balance and cardiac function, the impact of empagliflozin initiated early after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has not been investigated yet. Therefore, the impact of EMpagliflozin on cardiac function and biomarkers of heart failure in patients with acute MYocardial infarction (EMMY) trial was designed to investigate the efficacy and safety of empagliflozin in diabetic and non-diabetic patients after severe AMI.

Data on the power of high betatrophin to predict cardiovascular deaths in coronary patients.

Betatrophin is a protein which is produced by the liver and by adipose tissue. There are no clear data about serum betatrophin's cardiovascular role and it is unknown, whether betatrophin is associated with the risk of cardiovascular death. This article provides additional data on the association of betatrophin with its power to predict cardiovascular death in coronary patients.

Adherence to statin therapy favours survival of patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease.

Aims: We hypothesized that adherence to statin therapy determines survival in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Methods And Results: Single-centre longitudinal observational study with 691 symptomatic PAD patients. Mortality was evaluated over a mean follow-up of 50 ± 26 months.

An expert opinion paper on statin adherence and implementation of new lipid-lowering medications by the ESC Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy: Barriers to be overcome.

Benefits and safety on statins have been well-established over 20 years of research. Despite this, the vast majority of patients are not adequately treated and do not achieve the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol target levels. This is mainly due to poor adherence, which is associated with dangerous and sometimes fatal outcomes.

High betatrophin in coronary patients protects from cardiovascular events.

Background And Aims: Betatrophin, also known as angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8) or lipasin, is a nutritionally-regulated mammalian-specific protein secreted by the liver and adipose tissue. Many conflicting data exist with respect to its association with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), insulin resistance, and lipid markers, but no data are available on its association with cardiovascular risk.

Methods: We measured betatrophin in 553 coronary patients undergoing coronary angiography for the evaluation of established or suspected stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and prospectively recorded cardiovascular events during a follow-up of up to 8 years.

Real-time PCR based HLA-B*27 screening directly in whole blood.

The linkage between the occurrence of human leucocyte antigen B*27 (HLA-B*27) and ankylosing spondylitis or other related spondyloarthritides is well documented. PCR based methods are widely used for HLA-B*27 screening. To refine HLA-B*27 testing we aimed at establishing a real-time PCR protocol to detect the HLA-B*27 allele directly in blood samples, without DNA extraction.

Comparison Between Interwoven Nitinol and Drug Eluting Stents for Endovascular Treatment of Femoropopliteal Artery Disease.

Objectives: Information on performance of different stent platforms in endovascular revascularisation of femoropopliteal lesions is controversial and scarce.

Methods: Interwoven nitinol (INS, Supera) were compared with drug eluting (DES, Zilver PTx) stents with primary intervention for femoropopliteal lesions. The primary endpoint was time to clinically driven target lesion revascularisation (CD-TLR) within 12 months.

Serotonin is elevated in risk-genotype carriers of TCF7L2 - rs7903146.

The transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) polymorphism rs7903146 is known to be tightly associated with an elevated risk for type 2 diabetes, whereas the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. We evaluated the metabolic profile of a total of 394 patients' serum samples with respect to their rs7903146 genotype using targeted metabolomics in a discovery (n = 154) and a validation (n = 240) study. We have identified serotonin as the top metabolite being increased in carriers of the risk allele.

Data on the association between CTRP1 and future major adverse cardiovascular events in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

This article provides additional data on the association of the new adipokine CTRP1 with the incidence of future major adverse cardiovascular events in a prospective cohort of patients undergoing coronary angiography. In this regard, multivariable Cox proportional hazards models taking into account cardiac risk markers are presented. Additionally, data on the impact of baseline variables including metabolic traits and co-morbidities on the incidence of future major adverse cardiovascular events are shown.

The age of randomized clinical trials: three important aspects of randomized clinical trials in cardiovascular pharmacotherapy with examples from lipid and diabetes trials.

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are important and the Gold Standard for drugs in modern cardiovascular (CV) therapy. The cornerstone of RCTs is the recording of hard clinical endpoints instead of surrogates. It is important to select an appropriate endpoint.

SGLT2 inhibitors in T2D and associated comorbidities - differentiating within the class.

Background: For patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the single most common cause of mortality. In 2008 and 2012, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) respectively mandated cardiovascular outcomes trials (CVOTs) on all new anti-diabetic agents, as prospective trials statistically powered to rule out excess cardiovascular risk in patients with T2D. Unexpectedly, some of these CVOTs have demonstrated not only cardiovascular safety, but also cardioprotective effects, as was first shown for the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin in EMPA-REG OUTCOME.

Clinical practice update on heart failure 2019: pharmacotherapy, procedures, devices and patient management. An expert consensus meeting report of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has published a series of guidelines on heart failure (HF) over the last 25 years, most recently in 2016. Given the amount of new information that has become available since then, the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC recognized the need to review and summarise recent developments in a consensus document. Here we report from the HFA workshop that was held in January 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany.

The novel adipokine CTRP1 is significantly associated with the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events.

Background And Aims: The recently identified adiponectin paralogue C1q and tumor necrosis factor-related protein 1 (CTRP1) has been associated with obesity-linked disorders and coronary atherosclerosis. So far, the impact of circulating CTRP1 on the incidence of future cardiovascular events is unclear. Therefore, we aimed at investigating the association between CTRP1 and future cardiovascular risk.

Are SGLT2 polymorphisms linked to diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease? Prospective study and meta-analysis.

Inhibition of the sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) reduces cardiovascular morbidity, and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with atherosclerotic, cardiovascular disease. So far, a link between common genetic variations of the SGLT2 encoding gene SLC5A2 and glucose homeostasis as well as cardiovascular disease has not been established. The present study, therefore, aimed to investigate SLC5A2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in relation to type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) and prospectively the incidence of cardiovascular events.

[Antihyperglycemic treatment guidelines for diabetes mellitus type 2 (Update 2019)].

Hyperglycemia significantly contributes to complications in patients with diabetes mellitus. While lifestyle interventions remain cornerstones of disease prevention and treatment, most patients with type 2 diabetes will eventually require pharmacotherapy for glycemic control. The definition of individual targets regarding optimal therapeutic efficacy and safety as well as cardiovascular effects is of great importance.

[Insulin therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus (Update 2019)].

The present article is a recommendation of the Austrian Diabetes Association for the practical use of insulin in type 2 diabetes, including the various insulin regimens.

Subsequent Event Risk in Individuals With Established Coronary Heart Disease.

Background: The Genetics of Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease (GENIUS-CHD) consortium was established to facilitate discovery and validation of genetic variants and biomarkers for risk of subsequent CHD events, in individuals with established CHD.

Methods: The consortium currently includes 57 studies from 18 countries, recruiting 185 614 participants with either acute coronary syndrome, stable CHD, or a mixture of both at baseline. All studies collected biological samples and followed-up study participants prospectively for subsequent events.

Real-time PCR based detection of the lactase non-persistence associated genetic variant LCT-13910C>T directly from whole blood.

Primary hypolactasia is the main cause of lactose intolerance in adults. It is strongly associated with the single genetic variant LCT-13910C>T, located upstream of the lactase encoding gene. Consequently, analysis of LCT-13910C>T has been recommended as a direct genetic test for the trait.

In vitro profiling of volatile organic compounds released by Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome adipocytes.

Breath analysis offers a non-invasive and rapid diagnostic method for detecting various volatile organic compounds that could be indicators for different diseases, particularly metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes mellitus. The development of type 2 diabetes mellitus is closely linked to metabolic dysfunction of adipose tissue and adipocytes. However, the VOC profile of human adipocytes has not yet been investigated.

Data on the impact of peripheral artery disease and of type 2 diabetes mellitus on the risk of cardiovascular events.

Here, we provide additional data addressing the individual and combined associations of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and of peripheral artery disease (PAD) with future cardiovascular events in a prospective cohort study including 338 PAD patients and 711 patients who did not have PAD. Subgroup analyses regarding patient age as well as additional Cox regression models taking into account medications are presented. This data article is related to a research article titled "Single and combined effects of peripheral artery disease and of type 2 diabetes mellitus on the risk of cardiovascular events: a prospective cohort study" (Saely et al.

Direct blood PCR: TaqMan-probe based detection of the venous thromboembolism associated mutations factor V Leiden and prothrombin c.20210G>A without DNA extraction.

Background: Practically, the initial step of genetic analysis is the extraction of DNA from blood or other cells, which is often time consuming and cost-intensive. We aimed at establishing a real-time PCR protocol for the detection of the venous thromboembolism associated mutations factor V Leiden (F5 c.1691G>A; p.

Alprostadil treatment of critical limb ischemia in hemodialysis patients : A retrospective single-center analysis.

Background: Peripheral artery disease and critical limb ischemia are common in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis treatment and are associated with a high rate of amputation and mortality. The effect of treatment with prostanoids in this specific group of patients is unknown.

Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis of hemodialysis patients with critical limb ischemia was performed who were treated with the prostanoid analogue alprostadil as an infusion during hemodialysis in the period from 2000 to 2013.

Single and combined effects of peripheral artery disease and of type 2 diabetes mellitus on the risk of cardiovascular events: A prospective cohort study.

Background And Aims: The individual and combined effects of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and peripheral artery disease (PAD) on future cardiovascular events are unknown and are addressed in the present investigation.

Methods: Cardiovascular events were prospectively recorded in 1049 subjects, encompassing 4 groups: 558 with neither PAD nor diabetes, 153 with T2DM but without PAD, 192 with PAD but without T2DM and 146 with the combination of PAD and T2DM.

Results: Over a mean follow-up period of 7.