Search results for "Cardiac"
showing 10 items of 1495 documents
Myocardial maladaptation to pressure overload in CB2 receptor-deficient mice
2019
Abstract Background Adaptation to aortic valve stenosis leads to myocardial hypertrophy, which has been associated with inflammation, fibrosis and activation of the endocannabinoid system. Since the endocannabinoid system and the CB2 receptor provide cardioprotection and modulate immune response in experimental ischemia, we investigated the role of CB2 in a mouse model of cardiac pressure overload. Methods Transverse aortic constriction was performed in CB2 receptor-deficient (Cnr2−/−) mice and their wild-type littermates (Cnr2+/+). After echocardiography and Millar left heart catheter hemodynamic evaluation hearts were processed for histological, cellular and molecular analyses. Results Th…
Bigger is not better: cortisol-induced cardiac growth and dysfunction in salmonids
2015
This is a Published Manuscript of an article published by Company of Biologists in Journal of Experimental Biology, available online: http://www.biologists.com/ Stress and elevated cortisol levels are associated with pathological heart growth and cardiovascular disease in humans and other mammals. We recently established a link between heritable variation in post-stress cortisol production and cardiac growth also in salmonid fish. A conserved stimulatory effect of the otherwise catabolic steroid hormone cortisol is likely implied, but has to date not been established experimentally. Furthermore, whereas cardiac growth is associated with failure of the mammalian heart, pathological cardiac h…
Head-to-head comparison of plasma cTnI concentration values measured with three high-sensitivity methods in a large Italian population of healthy vol…
2019
Abstract Background The study aim is to compare cTnI values measured with three high-sensitivity (hs) methods in apparently healthy volunteers and patients admitted to emergency department (ED) with acute coronary syndrome enrolled in a large multicentre study. Methods Heparinized plasma samples were collected from 1511 apparently healthy subjects from 8 Italian clinical institutions (mean age: 51.5 years, SD: 14.1 years, range: 18–65 years, F/M ratio:0.95). All volunteers denied chronic or acute diseases and had normal values of routine laboratory tests. Moreover, 1322 heparinized plasma sample were also collected by 9 Italian clinical institutions from patients admitted to ED with clinica…
1.5 vs 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging
2021
ABSTRACT: The second part of this review deals with experiences in neuroradiological and pediatric examinations using modern magnetic resonance imaging systems with 1.5 T and 3 T, with special attention paid to experiences in pediatric cardiac imaging. In addition, whole-body examinations, which are widely used for diagnostic purposes in systemic diseases, are compared with respect to the image quality obtained in different body parts at both field strengths. A systematic overview of the technical differences at 1.5 T and 3 T has been presented in part 1 of this review, as well as several organ-based magnetic resonance imaging applications including musculoskeletal imaging, abdominal imagin…
Exome sequencing of a family with lone, autosomal dominant atrial flutter identifies a rare variation in ABCB4 significantly enriched in cases
2015
Background Lone atrial flutter (AFL) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are common and sometimes consequential cardiac conduction disorders with a strong heritability, as underlined by recent genome-wide association studies that identified genetic modifiers. Follow-up family-based genetic analysis also identified Mendelian transmission of disease alleles. Three affected members were exome-sequenced for the identification of potential causative mutations, which were subsequently validated by direct sequencing in the other 3 affected members. Taqman assay was then used to confirm the role of any mutation in an independent population of sporadic lone AFL/AF cases. Results The family cluster analysis…
Influence of image reconstruction parameters on cardiovascular risk reclassification by Computed Tomography Coronary Artery Calcium Score
2018
Objective: To investigate the influence of different CT reconstruction parameters on coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) values and reclassification of predicted cardiovascular (CV) risk. Methods: CACS was evaluated in 113 patients undergoing ECG-gated 64-slice CT. Reference CACS protocol included standard kernel filter (B35f) with slice thickness/increment of 3/1.5 mm, and field-of-view (FOV) of 150â180 mm. Influence of different image reconstruction algorithms (reconstructed slice thickness/increment 2.0/1.0â1.5/0.8â3.0/2.0â3.0/3.0 mm; slice kernel B30f-B45f; FOV 200â250 mm) on Agatston score was assessed by Bland-Altman plots and concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) ana…
Systemic blockade of ACVR2B ligands protects myocardium from acute ischemia-reperfusion injury
2019
Activin A and myostatin, members of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily of secreted factors, are potent negative regulators of muscle growth, but their contribution to myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate if activin 2B (ACVR2B) receptor ligands contribute to myocardial IR injury. Mice were treated with soluble ACVR2B decoy receptor (ACVR2B-Fc) and subjected to myocardial ischemia followed by reperfusion for 6 or 24 h. Systemic blockade of ACVR2B ligands by ACVR2B-Fc was protective against cardiac IR injury, as evidenced by reduced infarcted area, apoptosis, and autophagy and better preserved LV systolic function fo…
Short-term effects of Finnish sauna bathing on blood-based markers of cardiovascular function in non-naive sauna users
2018
Emerging evidence suggests that sauna bathing is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality events. However, the biochemical pathways by which sauna bathing might confer its effects on cardiovascular function are not certain. We aimed to study the acute effects of Finnish sauna bathing on various blood-based cardiovascular biomarkers. The study included 102 non-naive sauna users (54% male) with mean age of 51.9 years, who had at least one cardiovascular risk factor. Participants underwent a 30-min single sauna session (mean temperature, 73 °C). Biochemical profiling was conducted before, immediately after sauna and 30-min post-sauna. Overall median N-terminal pro…
Prevalence and prognostic impact of nonischemic late gadolinium enhancement in stress cardiac magnetic resonance
2020
Aim To assess the prevalence and prognostic significance of NI-LGE in patients undergoing stress-CMR. Methods Stress-CMR with either dipyridamole or adenosine was performed in 283 patients (228 men, 81%) including perfusion imaging, wall motion evaluation and LGE. Follow-up was completed in all enrolled patients (median time: 1850 days; interquartile range: 1225-2705 days). Composite endpoint included cardiac death, ventricular tachycardia, myocardial infarction, stroke, hospitalization for cardiac cause and coronary revascularization performed beyond 90 days from stress-CMR scans. Results One hundred and twelve patients (40%) had negative LGE (no-LGE), 140 patients (49%) I-LGE and 31 patie…
Aging-induced Up-regulation of Nuclear Binding Activities of Oxidative Stress Responsive NF-kB Transcription Factor in Mouse Cardiac Muscle
1996
The accumulation of lipofuscin to cardiomyocytes is a classical parameter of aging and is believed to reflect oxidative stress. NF-kB transcription factor complex is one of the cellular sensors which responds to oxidative stress and regulates gene expression. Our purpose was to study whether aging affects the level and distribution of DNA binding activities of NF-kB transcription factors both in cardiac sarcoplasm and nuclear extracts. We used electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) to characterize the DNA binding activities of NF-kB and two other transcription factors. AP-1 and Sp-1, in the myocardium of 4 months and 24 months old male and female NMRI-mice. The protein levels of p50, …