Cardiovascular tissue

SUMMARY: Thyroid-stimulating hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas (TSHomas) are rare, accounting for less than 1% of all pituitary adenomas. We present a case of hyperthyroidism secondary to a likely TSHoma and coexisting functional thyroid adenoma. Laboratory errors and familial abnormalities in thyroid function tests were ruled out, and a diagnosis of the toxic thyroid adenoma was confirmed on a thyroid uptake scan. However, the triiodothyronine suppression test was contraindicated due to the patient's cardiovascular disease, and the thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test, measurement of glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit, and genetic testing were unavailable...

BACKGROUND: Lactational mastitis is a common painful and debilitating inflammation of breast tissue, generally treated conservatively or with pus puncture in case of breast abscess. However, treating mastitis in patients with implantable surgical material located in the affected breast region can be extremely challenging. We present an unusual case of lactational mastitis complicated by pacemaker pocket infection in a breastfeeding mother. CASE PRESENTATION: A 35-year-old pacemaker-dependent female developed lactational mastitis seven weeks postpartum...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ferroptosis, a recently identified non-apoptotic form of cell death reliant on iron, is distinguished by an escalation in lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are iron-dependent. This phenomenon has a strong correlation with irregularities in iron metabolism and lipid peroxidation. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (DS), a medicinal herb frequently utilized in China, is highly esteemed for its therapeutic effectiveness in enhancing blood circulation and ameliorating blood stasis, particularly during the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)...

Calcium homeostasis imbalance is one of the important pathological mechanisms in heart failure. Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a), a calcium ATPase on the sarcoplasmic reticulum in cardiac myocytes, is a myocardial systolic-diastolic Ca2 + homeostasis regulating enzyme that is not only involved in cardiac diastole but also indirectly affects cardiac myocyte contraction. SERCA2a expression was found to be decreased in myocardial tissue in heart failure, however, there are few reports on serum SERCA2a expression in patients with heart failure, and this study was designed to investigate whether serum SERCA2a levels are associated with the occurrence of adverse events after discharge in patients hospitalized with heart failure...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) constitutes the most common genetic cardiac disorder. However, current pharmacotherapeutics are mainly symptomatic and only partially address underlying molecular mechanisms. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a recently discovered class of non-coding RNAs and emerged as specific and powerful regulators of cellular functions. By performing global circRNA-specific next generation sequencing in cardiac tissue of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy compared to healthy donors, we identified circZFPM2 (hsa_circ_0003380)...

BACKGROUND: Serum bone morphogenetic protein 10 (BMP10) blood levels are a marker for history of atrial fibrillation (AF) and for major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with AF, including stroke, AF recurrences after catheter ablations, and mortality. The predictive value of BMP10 in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and association with morphologic properties of atrial tissues are unknown. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to study the correlation between BMP10 levels and preoperative clinical traits, occurrence of early and late postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), and atrial fibrosis in patients undergoing cardiac surgery...

OBJECTIVE: Bebtelovimab (BEB), Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab (TIX/CIL), and Sotrovimab (SOT) are important agents against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-Omicron strain. However, due to their short duration of application, little is known about their safety profiles. This research aimed to explore the safety profile of these monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) via real-world evidence databases and data mining tools. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Safety reports were retrieved from the database of the U...

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency (ID) is a frequent comorbidity in patients with acute (AHF) and chronic heart failure (CHF) associated with morbidity and death. We aimed to better characterize iron homeostasis in patients with heart failure applying different biomarkers and to evaluate the accuracy of current ID definition by the European Society of Cardiology/American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association to indicate tissue iron availability and demand. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a retrospective cohort study investigating 277 patients with AHF and 476 patients with CHF between February 2021 and May 2022...

This comprehensive review explores the incidence, pathophysiology, and management of atrial fibrillation (AF) following percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO). Although AF is considered a common adverse event post PFO closure, its incidence, estimated at <5%, varies based on monitoring methods. The review delves into the challenging task of precisely estimating AF incidence, given subclinical AF and diverse diagnostic approaches. Notably, a temporal pattern emerges, with peak incidence around the 14th day after closure and a subsequent decline after the 45th day, mimicking general population AF trends...

BACKGROUND: The goal was to determine the feasibility of mapping the injured-but-not-infarcted myocardium using 99m Tc-duramycin in the postischemic heart, with spatial information for its characterization as a pathophysiologically intermediate tissue, which is neither normal nor infarcted. METHODS AND RESULTS: Coronary occlusion was conducted in Sprague Dawley rats with preconditioning and 30-minute ligation. In vivo single-photon emission computed tomography was acquired after 3 hours (n=6) using 99m Tc-duramycin, a phosphatidylethanolamine-specific radiopharmaceutical...

BACKGROUND: Cellular therapies have been investigated to improve blood flow and prevent amputation in peripheral artery disease with limited efficacy in clinical trials. Alginate-encapsulated mesenchymal stromal cells (eMSCs) demonstrated improved retention and survival and promoted vascular generation in murine hind limb ischemia through their secretome, but large animal evaluation is necessary for human applicability. We sought to determine the efficacy of eMSCs for peripheral artery disease-induced limb ischemia through assessment in our durable swine hind limb ischemia model...

BACKGROUND: While our understanding of the single-cell gene expression patterns underlying the transformation of vascular cell types during the progression of atherosclerosis is rapidly improving, the clinical and pathophysiological relevance of these changes remains poorly understood. METHODS: Single-cell RNA sequencing data generated with SmartSeq2 (≈8000 genes/cell) in nearly 19 000 single cells isolated during atherosclerosis progression in Ldlr -/- Apob 100/100 mice with human-like plasma lipoproteins and from humans with asymptomatic and symptomatic carotid plaques was clustered into multiple subtypes...

Phthalate esters (PE), a significant class of organic compounds used in industry, can contaminate humans and animals by entering water and food chains. Recent studies demonstrate the influence of PE on the development and progression of heart diseases, particularly in obese people. Di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP) was administered orally to normal and diet-induced obese mice in this research to assess cardiovascular risk. The modifications in the microbial composition and metabolites were examined using RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry analysis...

Obesity presents a significant global health challenge, increasing the susceptibility to chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. Within the context of obesity, lipid metabolism, adipose tissue formation, and inflammation are intricately linked to endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). ERS modulates metabolism, insulin signaling, inflammation, as well as cell proliferation and death through the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway. Serving as a crucial nexus, ERS bridges the functionality of adipose tissue and the inflammatory response...

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of transcripts that often are generated by back-splicing that covalently connects the 3'end of the exon to the 5'end. CircRNAs are more resistant to nuclease and more stable than their linear counterparts. One of the well-recognized roles of circRNAs is the miRNA sponging effects that potentially lead to the regulation of downstream proteins. Despite that circRNAs have been reported to be involved in a wide range of human diseases, including cancers, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases, they have not been studied in inflammatory lung responses...

OBJECTIVE: We compared hair cortisol (HC) with classic tests of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and assessed its association with kidney and cardiometabolic status. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 48 patients with CKD stages I-IV, matched by age, sex, and BMI with 24 healthy controls (CTR) was performed. Metabolic comorbidities, body composition, and HPA axis function were studied. RESULTS: A total of 72 subjects (age 52...

BACKGROUND: Low relative fat free mass (FFM) is associated with a greater risk of chronic diseases and mortality. Unfortunately, FFM is currently not being measured regularly to allow for individuals therapy. OBJECTIVE: One reason why FFM is not being used may be related to additional equipment and resources, thus we aimed to identify easily accessible anthropometric markers related with FFM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed data of 1,593 individuals (784 women; 49...

This study aims at identifying risk-related patterns of left ventricular contraction dynamics via novel volume transient characterization. A multicenter cohort of AMI survivors (n = 1021) who underwent Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) after infarction was considered for the study. The clinical endpoint was the 12-month rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE, n = 73), consisting of all-cause death, reinfarction, and new congestive heart failure. Cardiac function was characterized from CMR in 3 potential directions: by (1) volume temporal transients (i...

Despite the air quality has been generally improved in recent years, ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a major contributor to air pollution, remains one of the major threats to public health. Vascular calcification is a systematic pathology associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Although the epidemiological evidence has uncovered the association between PM2.5 exposure and vascular calcification, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept offers a comprehensive interpretation of all of the findings obtained by toxicological and epidemiological studies...

AIM: Aortic aneurysms (AA) frequently involve dysregulation of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)-signaling in the aorta. Here, FURIN was tested as aneurysm predisposition gene given its role as proprotein convertase in pro-TGF-β maturation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Rare FURIN variants were detected by whole-exome sequencing of 781 unrelated aortic aneurysm patients and affected relatives. Thirteen rare heterozygous FURIN variants occurred in 3.7% (29) unrelated index AA patients, of which 72% had multiple aneurysms or a dissection...