0000000000237675
AUTHOR
Fabio Bertoldo
Biomechanical properties and histomorphometric features of aortic tissue in patients with or without bicuspid aortic valve
Background We sought to investigate and compare biomechanical properties and histomorphometric findings of thoracic ascending aorta aneurysm (TAA) tissue from patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) in order to clarify mechanisms underlying differences in the clinical course. Methods Circumferential sections of TAA tissue in patients with BAV (BAV-TAA) and TAV (TAV-TAA) were obtained during surgery and used for biomechanical tests and histomorphometrical analysis. Results In BAV-TAA, we observed biomechanical higher peak stress and lower Young modulus values compared with TAV-TAA wall. The right lateral longitudinal region seemed to be the most fragile zon…
Red Blood Cell Distribution Width, Vascular Aging Biomarkers, and Endothelial Progenitor Cells for Predicting Vascular Aging and Diagnosing/Prognosing Age-Related Degenerative Arterial Diseases.
The emerging evidence emphasizes Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) as optimal prognostic biomarker for cardiovascular diseases. However, several clinical biases impede its clinical application. Recent recommendations suggest combining RDW with other biomarkers. Accordingly, we propose evaluating the well-recognized biomarkers of vascular aging (i.e., the leukocyte telomere length and telomerase activity, and reduced levels of endothelial progenitor cells [EPCs]) with RDW, for predicting the risk for vascular aging and onset and prognosis of age-related degenerative arterial diseases, such as sporadic ascending aorta aneurysm (AAA), characterized to have an increased incidence in old p…
Role of Cachexia and Fragility in the Patient Candidate for Cardiac Surgery
Frailty is the major expression of accelerated aging and describes a decreased resistance to stressors, and consequently an increased vulnerability to additional diseases in elderly people. The vascular aging related to frail phenotype reflects the high susceptibility for cardiovascular diseases and negative postoperative outcomes after cardiac surgery. Sarcopenia can be considered a biological substrate of physical frailty. Malnutrition and physical inactivity play a key role in the pathogenesis of sarcopenia. We searched on Medline (PubMed) and Scopus for relevant literature published over the last 10 years and analyzed the strong correlation between frailty, sarcopenia and cardiovascular…
Stem cells and new intervention measures as emerging therapy in cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) presents a great burden for elderly patients, their caregivers, and health systems. Structural and functional alterations of vessels accumulate throughout life, culminating in increased risk of developing CVD. Several inflammatory pathway are involved in vascular ageing. The growing elderly population worldwide highlights the need to understand how aging promotes CVD in order to develop new strategies to confront this challenge. In this review we analyzed the role of stem cells and new intervention measures as emerging drugs for vascular aging.Choroby układu krążenia (CVD) są ogromnym obciążeniem dla osób w podeszłym wieku i ich opiekunów, a także systemów opiek…
Risk of aortic dissection in patients with ascending aorta aneurysm: a new biological, morphological, and biomechanical network behind the aortic diameter
Thoracic aortic aneurysm represents a deadly condition, particularly when it evolves into rupture and dissection. Proper surgical timing is the key to positively influencing the survival of patients with this pathology. According to the most recent guidelines, ascending aorta size ≥ 55 mm and a rate of growth ≥ 0.5 cm per year are the most important factors for surgical indication. Nevertheless, a lot of evidence show that aortic ruptures and dissections might occur also in small size ascending aorta. In this review, we sought to analyze a new biological and morphological network behind the aortic diameter that need to be considered in order to identify the portion of patients with thoracic…