Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2016 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 7 Articles
Background: Isolation of bone marrow cells, including hematopoietic stem cells, is a commonly used technique in\nboth the research and clinical settings. A quantitative and qualitative assessment of cell populations isolated from\nmouse and human bone marrow was undertaken with a focus on the distribution of hematopoietic cells between\nthe central bone marrow (cBM) and endosteal bone marrow (eBM).\nMethods: Two approaches to cBM isolation from the hind legs were compared using the C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ\nstrains of laboratory mice. The content of hematopoietic stem cells in eBM was compared to cBM from mice and\nhuman fetal bone marrow using flow cytometry. Enzymatic digestion was used to isolate eBM and its effects on\nantigen expression was evaluated using flow cytometry. Humanized immunodeficient mice were used to evaluate\nthe engraftment of human precursors in the cBM and eBM and the effects of in vivo maturation on the fetal stem\ncell phenotype were determined.\nResults: The two methods of mouse cBM isolation yielded similar numbers of cells from the femur, but the faster\nsingle-cut method recovered more cells from the tibia. Isolation of eBM increased the yield of mouse and human\nstem cells. Enzymatic digestion used to isolate eBM did, however, have a detrimental effect on detecting the\nexpression of the human HSC-antigens CD4, CD90 and CD93, whereas CD34, CD38, CD133 and HLA-DR\nwere unaffected. Human fetal HSCs were capable of engrafting the eBM of immunodeficient mice and their\npattern of CD13, CD33 and HLA-DR expression partially changed to an adult pattern of expression about\n1 year after transplantation.\nConclusions: A simple, rapid and efficient method for the isolation of cBM from the femora and tibiae of\nmice is detailed. Harvest of tibial cBM yielded about half as many cells as from the femora, representing\n6.4 % and 13 %, respectively, of the total cBM of a mouse based on our analysis and a review of the\nliterature. HSC populations were enriched within the eBM and the yield of HSCs from the mouse and\nhuman long bones was increased notably by harvest of eBM....
Background: To explore the association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and serum uric acid (SUA) in a general\npopulation in rural China.\nMethods: From January 2013 to August 2013, we performed a cross-sectional study involving 11,956 permanent\nresidents ââ?°Â¥ 35 years old in the rural Liaoning province of China. All participants completed a questionnaire, had a\nphysical examination, and underwent an electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram. AF was diagnosed from\nECG findings and/or a history of physician-confirmed AF. Blood samples were drawn for laboratory analyses and\nhyperuricemia was defined as an SUA level > 7.0 mg/dL in men and > 5.7 mg/dL in women, based on the\nNHANES-III laboratory definition. Logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the crude and\nindependent associations between hyperuricemia and the prevalence of AF.\nResults: A total of 139 participants were diagnosed with AF, of which, 72 were self-reported, 45 were ECG-diagnosed,\nand 22 were both. There was a higher prevalence of AF in participants with hyperuricemia than those with normal\nSUA levels (2.4 vs. 1.0 %; P < 0.001). The odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were 2.37 (1.61ââ?¬â??3.49) when\ncompared to participants with normal SUA. After adjustment for other cardiovascular and AF risk factors, the\nindependent association remained (OR = 1.94, 95 % CI: 1.26ââ?¬â??3.00). Similar associations were observed between SUA as\na continuous variable and AF prevalence (adjusted OR = 1.20, 95 % CI: 1.06ââ?¬â??1.36). The independent associations were\nsignificant in men (Ps < 0.05) but not in women (Ps > 0.05), although the interaction logistic regression analyses\npresented these differences as not being statistically significant (Ps > 0.05).\nConclusions: SUA is positively associated with the prevalence of AF in rural China....
Background: Ruxolitinib, a novel inhibitor of Janus kinases 1 and 2, was recently approved for the treatment of\nmyelofibrosis but, recently, attention has been drawn to potential side effects and especially opportunistic infections\nand virus reactivations. EBV reactivation has not previously been reported to occur in association with Ruxolitinib.\nCase presentation: We report a case of a 57 year old female with post-polycythemic myelofibrosis who was treated\nwith Ruxolitinib. Approximately 9 weeks later she presented with a rapidly fatal, suspected EBV driven lymphoproliferative\ndisorder in the CNS.\nConclusions: Our report further underlines that patients treated with Ruxolitinib should be monitored closely for\nreactivations of opportunistic pathogens and viral infections...
Background: Colchicine has unique anti-inflammatory properties that may be beneficial in various\ncardiovascular conditions. This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs)\nexamines this issue.\nMethods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database from inception to June 2014 for RCTs\nusing colchicine in adult patients with cardiac diseases. Results were pooled using random effects.\nResults: 15 RCTs (n = 3431 patients, median treatment 3 and follow-up 15 months) were included. All but 2\nused colchicine 1 mg/day. In 5 trials, n = 1301) at risk for cardiovascular disease (coronary artery disease,\nacute coronary syndrome or stroke, post-angioplasty [2 RCTs], or congestive heart failure), colchicine\nreduced composite cardiovascular outcomes by ~60 % (risk ratio [RR] 0.44, 95 % confidence interval [CI]\n0.28-0.69, p = 0.0004; I2 = 0 %) and showed a trend towards lower all-cause mortality (RR 0.50, 95 % CI\n0.23-1.08, p = 0.08; I2 = 0 %). In pericarditis or post-cardiotomy, colchicine decreased recurrent pericarditis\nor post-pericardiotomy syndrome (RR 0.50, 95 % CI 0.41-0.60, p < 0.0001; I2 = 0 %; 8 RCTs, n = 1635), and\npost-pericardiotomy or ablation induced atrial fibrillation (RR 0.65, 95 % CI 0.51-0.82, p = 0.0003; I2 = 31 %;\n4 RCTs, n = 1118). The most common adverse event was diarrhea. Treatment discontinuation overall and\ndue to adverse events (RR 4.34, 95 % CI 1.70-11.07, p = 0.002; I2 = 29 %; 7 RCTs, 83/790 [10.5 %] vs. 11/697\n[1.6 %]) was higher in colchicine-assigned patients.\nConclusions: Current RCT data suggests that colchicine may reduce the composite rate of cardiovascular\nadverse outcomes in a range of patients with established cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, colchicine\nreduces rates of recurrent pericarditis, post-pericardiotomy syndrome, and peri-procedural atrial fibrillation\nfollowing cardiac surgery. Further RCTs evaluating the potential of colchicine for secondary prevention of\ncardiovascular events would be of interest....
Background: Each year in the UK, ââ?°Ë?3000 children undergo major cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass.\nApproximately 40 % of these experience excessive bleeding necessitating red cell transfusion or treatment with other\nblood components. A further 40 % receive blood components because of the perception by clinicians that the risk of\nbleeding is high. Excessive bleeding and treatment with red cell transfusion or blood components are associated with\npost-operative complications such as infection and renal injury and are independently associated with increased\nmorbidity and mortality.\nAbnormalities in blood coagulation are a major cause of excessive bleeding after cardiac surgery in children.\nHowever, the extent of these abnormalities varies between children and their characteristics may change rapidly\nduring surgery. In adults undergoing cardiac surgery, rapid testing of blood coagulation using techniques such as\nthromboelastometry may assist the selection of appropriate blood component treatments. In some sub-groups of\nadults, this improves clinical outcomes. Rapid testing of blood coagulation in children undergoing cardiac\nsurgery has not been evaluated fully.\nMethods/Design: The DECISION study is a prospective, single-centre, observational study that aims to assess the\nutility of rapid testing of blood coagulation in children undergoing cardiac surgery. This will be achieved by testing blood\nsamples from 200 children obtained immediately before, and after cardiac surgery. The blood samples will be analysed in\nparallel using thromboelastometry and reference laboratory tests of blood coagulation. The primary clinical outcome will\nbe clinical concern about bleeding, defined as a composite of either excessive blood loss or the use of a pro-haemostatic\ntreatment outside of standard treatment protocols because of perceived high risk of excessive bleeding. The reference\nlaboratory test results will be used to describe the patterns of abnormalities in blood coagulation in children and will be\ncompared to the thromboelastometry test results to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the thromboelastometry tests.\nWe will estimate how well the reference and thromboelastometry test results predict clinical concern about bleeding.\nDiscussion: The DECISION study will identify the most useful thromboeastometry tests of blood coagulation for the\nprediction of excessive bleeding in children after cardiac surgery and will inform the design of future randomised\ncontrolled trials....
Background: We aimed to identify the miRNA expression profiles in left atrial appendage, with the intention of\nidentifying miRNAs that were significantly associated with non-valvular paroxysmal AF.\nMethods: The RNA samples were isolated from healthy controls (n = 5) and patients with atrial fibrillation (n = 8). To\nconfirm the findings obtained by analyzing the miRNA profile, we measured the expression of selected miRNAs in\nthe entire cohort by quantitative PCR.\nResults: Ten specific miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed between atrial fibrillation and healthy controls\nwith more than a 2-fold change (P < 0.05). Consistent with the data obtained for the profile, expression levels of\nmiRNA-155, miRNA-146b-5p and miRNA-19b were significantly increased in patients with atrial fibrillation. Interestingly,\nlevels of miRNA-146b-5p and miRNA-155, which are known to be associated with inflammation, were independently\nand positively associated with left atrium dimension, atrial fibrillation duration and high sensitivity C-reactive protein\nlevels. By using four Databases (TargetScan, miRanda, Starbase Clip-seq and miRDB) to perform target gene prediction,\nthere were four genes were related to the inflammatory response and fibrosis, and three others encoding cardiac ion\nchannel proteins. As a result of TaqMan qPCR and Western analysis, the relative mRNA and protein expression level of\nthree target genes (DIER-1, TIMP-4 and CACNA1C) were significantly lower in the atrial fibrillation group than that in\nthe healthy control group.\nConclusions: Expression of inflammation-associated miRNAs is significantly up-regulated in the left atrial appendage of\npatients with non-valvular paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, which may play a significant role in electrical and structural\nremodeling....
Background: The aim of this study was to examine the Tpeak-Tend (Tpe/corrected Tpe) interval, which is an\nindicator of transmural myocardial repolarization, measured non-invasively via electrocardiogram in patients with acute\npulmonary embolism (PE), and to investigate the relationship with 30-day mortality and morbidity.\nMethods: The study included 272 patients diagnosed with acute PE, comprising 154 females and 118 males,\nwith a mean age of 63.1 Ã?± 16.8 years. Tpe/cTpe intervals were calculated from the electrocardiograms with a computer\nprogram after using a ruler or vernier caliper manual measuring tool to obtain highly sensitive measurements.\nThe relationship between the electrocardiogram values and 30-days mortality and morbidity were measured.\nResults: The study group was divided into three groups according to cTpe intervals: Group 1, < 113 ms; Group 2,\n113ââ?¬â??133 ms; and Group 3, > 133 ms. White blood cell count and troponin T levels, corrected QT intervals with QRS\ncomplex durations, percentage of right ventricle dilatation with right/left-ventricular ratio, 30-day death, and\ncombinations of these values were seen at a higher rate in Group 3 patients compared to the other groups.\nKaplanââ?¬â??Meier analysis showed that the cTpe interval measured at > 126 ms could be used as a cut-off value\nin the prediction of mortality and morbidity. The cTpe cut-off values of 126 ms had sensivity, specificity, negative\npredictive value, and positive predictive value of 80.56 %, 59.32 %, 95.2 %, and 23.2 %, respectively.\nConclusions: cTpe interval could be a useful method in early risk stratification in patients with acute PE....
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