Valentina Mitic, Dijana Stojanovic, Marina Deljanin-Ilic, Dejan Petrovic, Aleksandra Ignjatovic, Jelena Milenkovic
{"title":"Biomarker Phenotypes in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Using Hierarchical Clustering-A Pilot Study.","authors":"Valentina Mitic, Dijana Stojanovic, Marina Deljanin-Ilic, Dejan Petrovic, Aleksandra Ignjatovic, Jelena Milenkovic","doi":"10.1159/000534155","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000534155","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>We hypothesized the existence of distinct phenotype-based groups within the very heterogeneous population of patients of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and using an unsupervised hierarchical clustering applied to plasma concentration of various biomarkers. We sought to characterize them as \"biomarker phenotypes\" and to conclude differences in their overall characteristics.</p><p><strong>Subjects and methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was conducted on 75 patients with HFpEF. An agglomerative hierarchical clustering was performed using the concentrations of cardiac remodeling biomarkers, BNP and cystatin C.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>According to the obtained heat map of this analysis, we concluded two distinctive biomarker phenotypes within the HFpEF. The \"remodeled phenotype\" presented with significantly higher concentrations of cardiac remodeling biomarkers and cystatin C (p < 0.001), higher prevalence of myocardial infarction (p = 0.047), STEMI (p = 0.045), atrial fibrillation (p = 0.047) and anemia: lower erythrocytes count (p=0.037), hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.034) and hematocrit (p = 0.046), compared to \"non-remodeled phenotype\". Echocardiography showed that patients within \"remodeled phenotype\" had significantly increased parameters of left ventricular remodeling: left ventricular mass index (p < 0.001), left ventricular mass (p = 0.001), diameters of the interventricular septum (p = 0.027) and posterior wall (p = 0.003) and function alterations, intermediate pauses duration >2.0 seconds (p < 0.006).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Unsupervised hierarchical clustering applied to plasma concentration of various biomarkers in patients with HFpEF enables the identification of two biomarker phenotypes, significantly different in clinical characteristics and cardiac structure and function, whereas one phenotype particularly relates to patients with reduced ejection fraction. These findings imply distinct underlying pathophysiology within a unique cohort of HFpEF.</p>","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10659697/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41137693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marco Maestri, Francesco Castagnini, Federico Giardina, Giuseppe Tella, Enrico Tassinari, Francesco Traina
{"title":"Isolated Femoral or Tibial Component Revision in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Marco Maestri, Francesco Castagnini, Federico Giardina, Giuseppe Tella, Enrico Tassinari, Francesco Traina","doi":"10.1159/000534186","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000534186","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The purpose of this systematic review is to assess clinical and radiographic outcomes, complications rates, rates and reasons of re-revision of isolated femoral or tibial component revisions, comparing them with total knee revisions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A review of the published literature was performed using Medline, Embase and Cochrane libraries. The terms \"isolate\" and \"revision\" and \"knee arthroplasty\" or \"knee replacement\" were together used as MESH terms. Partial knee replacement, non-English literature, case reports and papers published before 2000 were excluded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Out of 911 papers, six papers met the inclusion criteria. Mean MINORS scores achieved quite low values (13.33 and 13.67). No study encompassed revisions for septic loosening or infection. Total revisions performed for instability and wear achieved better clinical outcomes: in the other cases, partial and total revisions showed no differences in clinical outcomes. Both the cohorts showed similar radiographic features. Lesser bleeding and shorter operative times were observed in partial revisions compared to total revisions. The re-revision rates were similar in most of comparative studies: only one study noticed a significant difference in the failure rate between partial (25% at 3 years) and full (7% at 3.5 years) revisions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The poor quality of the studies precluded sound conclusions. Isolated tibial or femoral component revision is an option when the other component is well-fixed and positioned and in absence of chronic periprosthetic infection; nevertheless, it should be carefully evaluated when the reasons for revision are wear or instability.</p>","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10663531/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41179285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ocular Surface, Intraocular Pressure and Lens Condition in Bronchodilator and Steroid-Treated Patients with Chronic Pulmonary Disease.","authors":"Özge Aydın Güçlü, Ayna Sariyeva Ismayilov","doi":"10.1159/000534172","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000534172","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim of this study was to investigate ocular surface, intraocular pressure and lens condition in bronchodilator- and steroid-treated chronic pulmonary disease patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional clinical study, 101 patients with chronic pulmonary disease were treated with an inhaler and/or nebulized therapy for bronchodilatation. The patients were evaluated in 2 groups namely chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. We investigated the effects of patient demographic characteristics, smoking, and medications on the presence of dry eye disease (DED), intraocular pressure, and cataract.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Patients had a mean age of 66.4 ± 11.9 years, and 46.5% (n = 47) were female. A unit increase in the length of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long-acting beta-agonists (LABA) combination use was associated with a 1.02-fold increase in cataract risk (OR: 1.02, CI: 1.01-1.04, p = 0.016), and current smokers had 10.8 times as many cataracts (OR: 10.79, CI: 1.70-68.30, p = 0.011). Patients who used a nebulized corticosteroid had a 9.15 times higher risk of developing dry eyes than those who did not (OR: 9.15, CI: 2.34-35.75, p = 0.001). In patients using ICS-LABA, in comparison to formoterol beclomethasone, salmeterol fluticasone was found to increase the risk 7.49-fold for DED (OR: 7.49, CI: 1.48-35.75, p = 0.015).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Nebulizer delivery of steroids is associated with dry eye and cataracts. Smoking, ageing, and long-term inhaled steroid use have all been linked to an increased risk of cataracts. Longitudinal and larger sample size studies are needed to explore cause-effect relationships.</p>","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10659703/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41149983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of Serotonin Pathway Gene Polymorphisms and Serotonin Levels in Suicidal Behavior.","authors":"Sneha Sivaramakrishnan, Vettriselvi Venkatesan, Sampath Kumar Paranthaman, R Sathianathan, Swetha Raghavan, Priyadarshee Pradhan","doi":"10.1159/000534069","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000534069","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Suicide is a significant public health issue and a major cause of death in all ages worldwide. Previous studies have shown the involvement of genetics in suicidal behaviour. This study aimed to assess the role of the genetic variants of the serotonin transporter genes (5HTTLPR, SLC6A4 intron 2) and receptor gene (5HTR2AT102C) in individuals who died of suicide. The study compares the serum levels of serotonin between the cases and controls.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a case control study with 120 cases and 126 controls. Socio-economic details of the subjects were collected using a semi-structured proforma and psychological autopsy was used to collect details of medical and other clinical conditions. Blood was drawn after taking informed consent and serum levels of serotonin were estimated by ELISA. Genotyping was performed using appropriate primers followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mean age was 32.59 ± 12.58 for cases and 33.64 ± 9.78 for controls. The risk associated LL genotype of 5HTTLPR was higher among cases. The heterozygous 12/10 genotype of SLC6A4 intron 2 polymorphism was increased among controls. Serum levels of serotonin were lower among cases. Variant genotypes of all the 3 polymorphisms showed significant interaction (OR= 39.26) indicating that this model may increase suicidal tendency.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings of this study suggest that low serum levels of serotonin and two variants of the serotonin gene may influence suicide behaviour in a south Indian population.</p>","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10659705/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10285003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bioinformatics Analysis and Screening of Potential Target Genes Related to the Lung Cancer Prognosis.","authors":"Ping Huang, Yinfang Gu, Longhua Guo, Xiaofang Zou, Lilan Yi, Guowu Wu","doi":"10.1159/000533891","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000533891","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Several genes have been validated as molecular targets for gene therapy in lung cancer. We screened target genes that affect survival of patients with lung cancer.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data on gene expression in normal lung tissues/lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) samples were acquired from Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx)/The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases and merged to expand the sample size, followed by differential analysis of the merged expression data and acquisition of differentially expressed genes. Survival and simple Cox analyses were used to screen for genes affecting LUAD survival. Protein-protein interaction/multivariable Cox analyses were utilized, and a risk model was established. Candidate genes expression levels in cancer/paracancerous tissues of lung cancer patients, and BEAS-2B/A549/HCC95 cells were measured by RT-qPCR/Western blot. Survival analysis of candidate genes was conducted in LUAD samples collected from TCGA.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 947 genes differentially expressed in LUAD, 151 were correlated with patient survival, and 116 might act as risk factors for LUAD. The 7 identified candidate genes (TOP2A, TK1, KIF4A, ANLN, KIF2C, ASF1B, CCNB1) were high-risk genes playing possible roles in LUAD. These genes were differentially expressed in lung cancer and were associated with TNM stages (III - IV)/differentiation grade/lymph node metastasis/distant metastasis, which affected lung cancer patient survival.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>P2A, TK1, KIF4A, ANLN, KIF2C, ASF1B and CCNB1 were highly-expressed in LUAD/lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and correlated with LUAD patient survival. This study contributes to better understanding of the prognostic regulation mechanism in LUAD and the screening of target genes for clinical treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10242174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zahraa Akbar, Eman Al Azmi, Eelaf Husain, Mariam Aldarweesh, Khaled AlMuzayen, Fatemah Alhadhoud, Jehad Al Harmi
{"title":"The Effects and Outcomes of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnant Women in Kuwait.","authors":"Zahraa Akbar, Eman Al Azmi, Eelaf Husain, Mariam Aldarweesh, Khaled AlMuzayen, Fatemah Alhadhoud, Jehad Al Harmi","doi":"10.1159/000534125","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000534125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This retrospective study reports the effects of COVID-19 among hospitalized pregnant women infected with COVID-19 and compares them to a control group.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A multi-center retrospective cohort study, in which data of pregnant women with COVID-19, admitted to five different hospitals in Kuwait, were collected. Two groups were included, the first group were women with COVID-19 who were admitted between March 22, 2020 until December 31, December 2020. The second (control) group included pregnant women without COVID-19, who were admitted between March 1, 2019 and March 21, 2020. Data were collected using a standardized data collection survey, entered using Excel Software and analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We compared 764 patients, with confirmed COVID-19 with 765 uninfected control subjects. The majority of pregnant women were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection during the third trimester. Tachycardia was the most frequent sign at admission and dry cough and fever were the most common presenting symptoms. ICU admission and respiratory failure were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group. Cesarean section (CS) rate was higher in the COVID-19 group, with obstetric and maternal complications being the most common indications in comparison to fetal indications in the control group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study was conducted to identify the effects of COVID-19 in pregnancy. Most patients were asymptomatic. The rate of normal vaginal delivery was higher in the control group. The main indications for Cesarean section in the COVID-19 group were obstetrical and maternal complications compared to fetal complications in the control group. .</p>","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10659704/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10590641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ivana Malikova, Martina Husakova, Jana Bilkova, Radka Brzezkova, Tomas Kvasnicka
{"title":"Thrombin Decrease in Thrombin Generation after Heparin Administration in a Homozygous Type II Heparin Binding Site Antithrombin-Deficient Pregnant Woman.","authors":"Ivana Malikova, Martina Husakova, Jana Bilkova, Radka Brzezkova, Tomas Kvasnicka","doi":"10.1159/000533801","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000533801","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>There is a major problem in providing prophylactic treatment in antithrombin (AT)-deficient pregnant women with a homozygous mutation of the heparin binding site (HBS) and AT level of 17 %. The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of heparin by monitoring changes in thrombin generation (TG) in vitro so that pregnant women are not exposed to stress in vivo.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used the chromogenic method for determination of factor Xa (FXa) inhibition for enoxaparine, nadroparine, dalteparine, fondaparinux and unfractionated heparin (UFH) and the Thrombin Generation Assay (TGA).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found that the degree of inhibition is very different when different heparins are compared. Nadroparin reduces TG the most compared to low molecular weight heparins (LMWH).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Routine monitoring of anti FXa activity should be supplemented with TG monitoring, where the effect of LMWH does not manifest itself as this could help in estimating thrombophilic risk during pregnancy.</p>","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10659590/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10232810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In Vitro Investigation of Platelet Dysfunction Induced by Osmotic Pressure Variations.","authors":"Despoina Pantazi, Athina Stratou, Evangelia Dounousi, Anastasios Petrou, Alexandros D Tselepis","doi":"10.1159/000533852","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000533852","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Severe variations in osmotic pressure are significant contributors to critical patient morbidity and mortality and might also affect platelet volume. We aimed to investigate possible osmotic-induced changes in mean platelet volume (MPV) and their possible effects on platelet aggregation activity (PLAG). Methods: We induced experimental variations of serum osmolality in blood samples from healthy volunteers (heparinized whole blood [WB]) and isolated platelets (platelet-rich plasma [PRP]) by adding isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic solutions of saline/water (pH = 7.2–7.4). PLAG was tested in WB samples with impedance aggregometry (IA) and in PRP samples with light transmission aggregometry (LTA) using three agonists: adenosine diphosphate (ADP, 10 μm), thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP-6, 10 μm), and arachidonic acid (500 μm). Osmolality was either calculated using a formula or measured directly. Results: We found almost identical osmolalities in WB and PRP preparations. Osmotic stress did not produce significant changes in MPV. In IA testing, the hypotonic challenge of WB preparations produced significant reductions at 50% (p = 0.056) (95% CI: 11.2–2.4, in Ohms) of ADP and at 31% (p = 0.017) (95% CI: 13.4–8.6, in Ohms) of TRAP-6-induced PLAG, respectively. In PRP, we did not observe any variations in PLAG with LTA. Conclusions: We conclude that in vitro hypotonic stress of WB samples has an inhibitory effect on the PAR-1 (TRAP-6-induced) pathway and on the P2Y12 (ADP-induced) pathway and reflects a distinct in vivo effect of hypoosmotic stress on WB human platelet preparations.","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10659701/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10285689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chemical and Biological Characterization of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis-Specific ESAT6-Like Proteins and their Potentials in the Prevention of Tuberculosis and Asthma.","authors":"Abu Salim Mustafa","doi":"10.1159/000534002","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000534002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Early Secreted Antigenic Target 6 kDa (ESAT6) is a potent immunogenic protein secreted by the bacteria causing tuberculosis, i.e., Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Another highly immunogenic culture filtrate protein whose gene is linked to ESAT6/ESXA is known as CFP10/ESXB. Because of their high immunogenicity and specificity to M. tuberculosis, these proteins have been proposed as a vaccine to prevent tuberculosis and diagnose the active/latent disease. However, the same proteins cannot be used for prevention and diagnosis because immunized but healthy people will also show a positive response and be falsely reported as diseased. Therefore, in this review article, the search was made to identify if any other ESAT6-like proteins exist in the M. tuberculosis genome. The search identified 21 additional ESAT-like proteins, i.e., ESXC to ESXW. Immunological characterization has shown that some of them (especially ESXV) were able to induce immune responses in vitro with cells obtained from tuberculosis patients and healthy donors. When the protein ESXV was tested in different recombinant forms (expressed in Escherichia coli, mycobacterial vectors, and DNA plasmids) and injected in mice, immune responses were induced to multiple epitopes of the protein. Furthermore, immunization of mice with ESXV protected them from infection with M. tuberculosis. The same protein was also able to protect mice against the induction of asthma. These results suggest that ESXV has the potential to protect against two major diseases of the world, i.e., tuberculosis and asthma, and hence may be used as a common vaccine for both diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":18455,"journal":{"name":"Medical Principles and Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10659698/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10232809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}