Current Issue : April-June Volume : 2023 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
Background: Vascular calcification (VC) is suggested to be associated with serum klotho levels in patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), whereas there is a lack of reports on the associations of VC status in whole arteries with serum klotho contents. Methods: One hundred forty eligible patients with MHD and a total of age-and gender-matched normal controls (NCs) were recruited. We analyzed the VC statuses of large arteries and peripheral muscular arteries by calculating the sum of scores from each artery. The levels of serum klotho were determined by ELISA. In addition, the relationship between serum klotho and VC status was evaluated using correlation analysis and regression analysis. Results: The VC severity in MHD patients tended to be worse in comparison with NCs. Serum klotho level in patients with MHD was lower than that in the NC subjects ( P < 0.0001), which was correlated with VC scores as reflected by correlation analysis and regression analysis. Serum klotho concentrations exhibited a dynamic decline along with increased VC status stages. Subjects with higher levels of serum klotho had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular events. Conclusion: Our study indicates serum klotho is strongly associated with VC status in a stage-dependent manner....
A single-center study was conducted on 120 patients with inherited disorders of primary hemostasis followed at our hematological center. These patients presented a variety of bleeding symptoms; however, they had no definitive diagnosis. Establishing a diagnosis has consequences for the investigation of probands in families and for treatment management; therefore, we aimed to improve the diagnosis rate in these patients by implementing advanced diagnostic methods. According to the accepted international guidelines at the time of study, we investigated platelet morphology, platelet function assay, light-transmission aggregometry, and flow cytometry. Using only these methods, we were unable to make a definitive diagnosis for most of our patients. However, nextgeneration sequencing (NGS), which was applied in 31 patients, allowed us to establish definitive diagnoses in six cases (variants in ANKRD26, ITGA2B, and F8) and helped us to identify suspected variants (NBEAL2, F2, BLOC1S6, AP3D1, GP1BB, ANO6, CD36, and ITGB3) and new suspected variants (GFI1B, FGA, GP1BA, and ITGA2B) in 11 patients. The role of NGS in patients with suspicious bleeding symptoms is growing and it changes the diagnostic algorithm. The greatest disadvantage of NGS, aside from the cost, is the occurrence of gene variants of uncertain significance....
Introduction: Myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries disease (MINOCA) encompasses a heterogeneous group of disorders. Multimodality imaging is crucial to figure out the underlying mechanism. Coronary artery spasm is a common cause of MINOCA and might be difficult to identify. Case Presentation: A 43-year-old male with no cardiovascular risk factor presented with prolonged acute chest pain at 5 am that resolved spontaneously. On admission, he was asymptomatic and clinical findings were unremarkable. The electrocardiogram showed an anterolateral negative T wave. The troponin was positive. Coronary angiography (CA) revealed a moderate lesion of the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. He was treated with dual antiplatelet therapy, statin, and beta-blocker with a favourable hospital course. One week later, he presented chest pain recurrences with anterior ST-segment elevation. CA, without intra-radial nitrate, owing to a vasospasm suspicion, showed a sub-occlusion of the proximal LAD which resolved after intracoronary nitrates. Chest pain and ST-segment elevation then disappeared. He remained asymptomatic and was discharged on CCB (calcium channel blocker), long-acting nitrates dual antiplatelet and statin. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) demonstrated an ejection fraction (EF) of 45% with anterior ischemia. Conclusion: Our case is about a common cause of MINOCA, namely coronary spasm, diagnosed by coronary angiogram without provocative test....
Background: The uncontrolled production of MPO promotes inflammation, oxidative stress and atherosclerosis. Serum MPO levels are increased in patients with diabetes compared with patients without diabetes. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the serum levels and activities of MPO are related to coronary plaque progression in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Material and methods: Serum MPO levels and activities were measured in 161 patients with diabetes with plaque progression (plaque progression group) and 87 patients with diabetes with no plaque progression (no plaque progression group). These patients were eligible based on the inclusion criteria and received quantitative coronary angiography at baseline and after approximately 1 year of follow-up. The characteristics and parameters of the participants at baseline were documented. Results: Serum MPO levels and activities were significantly higher in plaque progression group than in no plaque progression group (P < 0.001). We categorized these patients with diabetes into MPO level or activity tertile subgroups. Significant differences in the plaque progression ratio and prominent changes in the minimal lumen diameter, stenosis diameter and coronary artery stenosis score were observed across the tertile subgroups of MPO levels and activities (all P < 0.01). Moreover, serum MPO levels and activities correlated significantly with these indices of coronary artery disease severity after adjustment for other risk factors. Multivariable regression analyses revealed that serum MPO levels and activities remained independently associated with plaque progression, in addition to smoking, hypertension and CRP levels (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: Serum MPO levels and activities are significantly associated with coronary atherosclerotic plaque progression in patients with type 2 diabetes....
Carcinoid heart disease is a rare presentation of the carcinoid syndrome, which is caused by excessive tumoral hormone production and the abundant release of vasoactive substances with systemic expressions. A 62-year-old woman presented with flushing, diarrhea, weight loss, and right-sided heart failure symptoms. Specific carcinoid heart disease features were identified using transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography at the tricuspid and pulmonic valves. Biomarkers, 99mTc-Tektrotyd scintigraphy, SPECT-CT, and a biopsy later confirmed the diagnosis, and the patient began treatment for the underlying condition....
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