Pulmonary artery hypertension-induced vascular structure analysis using label-free fluorescence lifetime imaging.

Pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) is a chronic condition characterized by pathological remodeling of the vascular structures and poor clinical prognosis. Therefore, early interventional treatment is essential to slow disease progression, improve survival rates, and enhance quality of life. In animal models of pulmonary hypertension, analyzing the remodeling of the pulmonary artery tissue and collagen deposition usually involves computed tomography and tissue staining.

Simplified computed tomography pulmonary angiography score predicts clinical deterioration in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Background: Currently, simplified methods based on computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) to predict clinical deterioration in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) are lacking. We developed a simplified imaging model with good clinical accessibility to predict this outcome.

Study Design And Methods: Patients with acute pulmonary embolism from 2008 to 2019 were retrospectively enrolled from two medical centers to form a study cohort and a validation cohort.

Magnolol facilitates mitochondrial-peroxisome dysfunction and induces oxeiptosis in lung cancer cells following transfer via tunneling nanotubes.

Recent therapeutic advances have improved survival rates for patients with lung cancer. However, drug resistance remains a significant challenge and is closely linked to mitochondrial alterations in lung cancer cells. Magnolol, a compound extracted from Magnolia officinalis, has anti-cancer properties.

2023 TSOC-TACVPR-TACPAH Consensus Statement of the Rehabilitation on Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension.

In the past, patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) were advised to avoid exercise due to concerns that it might strain cardiac function and exacerbate symptoms. However, recent evidence indicates that structured exercise programs can enhance outcomes and improve health-related quality of life for these patients. Consequently, exercise rehabilitation is now recommended in international guidelines as a key component of PH management.

Curcumin regulates pulmonary extracellular matrix remodeling and mitochondrial function to attenuate pulmonary fibrosis by regulating the miR-29a-3p/DNMT3A axis.

Epigenetic regulation and mitochondrial dysfunction are essential to the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Curcumin (CCM) in inhibits the progression of pulmonary fibrosis by regulating the expression of specific miRNAs and pulmonary fibroblast mitochondrial function; however, the underlying mechanism is unclear. C57BL/6 mice were intratracheally injected with bleomycin (5 mg/kg) and treated with CCM (25 mg/kg body weight/3 times per week, intraperitoneal injection) for 28 days.

Exercise capacity-hemodynamics mismatch in elderly patients with pulmonary hypertension: A nationwide multicenter study from Taiwan Society of Cardiology Pulmonary Hypertension Registry (TAIPANS).

Background: Demographics of pulmonary hypertension (PH) has changed a lot over the past forty years. Several recent registries noted an increase in mean age of PH but only a few of them investigated the characteristics of elderly patients. Thus, we aimed to analyze the characteristics of PH in such a population in this study.

The long-term outcome of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: Pulmonary endarterectomy and balloon pulmonary angioplasty.

Background: The long-term outcome on patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) has not been ideal after standard medical treatment. However, good outcome for patients with CTEPH after interventions such as pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) and balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has been reported recently. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of PEA or BPA on long-term outcomes for CTEPH patients in Han-Chinese population.

Prophylactic antibiotic treatment for preventing nosocomial infection in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation-resuscitated circulatory arrest patients.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the characteristics of nosocomial infections (NIs) and the impact of prophylactic antibiotic administration on NI outcomes in patients who underwent extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR).

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the rate, type, pathogens, outcomes, and risk factors of NIs that developed in adult patients who underwent ECPR at our institution between January 2002 and January 2022.

Results: Among 105 patients (median age, 58.

2023 Taiwan Society of Cardiology (TSOC) and Taiwan College of Rheumatology (TCR) Joint Consensus on Connective Tissue Disease-Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), defined as the presence of a mean pulmonary artery pressure > 20 mmHg, pulmonary artery wedge pressure ≤ 15 mmHg, and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) > 2 Wood units based on expert consensus, is characterized by a progressive and sustained increase in PVR, which may lead to right heart failure and death. PAH is a well-known complication of connective tissue diseases (CTDs), such as systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, and other autoimmune conditions. In the past few years, tremendous progress in the understanding of PAH pathogenesis has been made, with various novel diagnostic and screening methods for the early detection of PAH proposed worldwide.

The Effects of Post-Acute Care in Patients with Heart Failure in Taiwan: A Single Center Experience.

Background: The National Health Insurance Administration in Taiwan has promoted the heart failure post-acute care (HF-PAC) program as a means to provide proactive integrated care within the optimal treatment timeframe to enhance functional recovery after acute decompensated heart failure (HF).

Objectives: The aim of this program was to reduce HF readmission rates, improved medication prescription rates, and improve the quality of life in HF patients.

Methods: Patients who had a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≤ 40% were included and followed up for 6 months after discharge.

Long-term administration of Western diet induced metabolic syndrome in mice and causes cardiac microvascular dysfunction, cardiomyocyte mitochondrial damage, and cardiac remodeling involving caveolae and caveolin-1 expression.

Background: Long-term consumption of an excessive fat and sucrose diet (Western diet, WD) has been considered a risk factor for metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiovascular disease. Caveolae and caveolin-1 (CAV-1) proteins are involved in lipid transport and metabolism. However, studies investigating CAV-1 expression, cardiac remodeling, and dysfunction caused by MS, are limited.

Identifying Risk Factors for Prolonged Length of Stay in Hospital and Developing Prediction Models for Patients with Cardiac Arrest Receiving Targeted Temperature Management.

Background: Prolonged length of stay (LOS) following targeted temperature management (TTM) administered after cardiac arrest may affect healthcare plans and expenditures. This study identified risk factors for prolonged LOS in patients with cardiac arrest receiving TTM and explored the association between LOS and neurological outcomes after TTM.

Methods: The retrospective cohort consisted of 571 non-traumatic cardiac arrest patients aged 18 years or older, treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), had a Glasgow Coma Scale score 8, or were unable to comply with commands after the restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and received TTM less than 12 hours after ROSC.

TIMECARD score: An easily operated prediction model of unfavorable neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with targeted temperature management.

Background: Targeted temperature management (TTM) is recommended for comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors. Several prediction models have been proposed; however, most of these tools require data conversion and complex calculations. Early and easy predictive model of neurological prognosis in OHCA survivors with TTM warrant investigation.

Influence of confirmed viral infection on adult acute fulminant myocarditis supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Background: The impact of etiologies of acute fulminant myocarditis (AFM), which requires extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), on clinical outcomes remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for ECMO weaning and mortality among patients with AFM due to viral etiologies in a tertiary referral medical center.

Methods: We included 33 adults with AFM who received ECMO and were admitted between January 2002 and January 2021.

Case Report: A novel desmoplakin mutation in a taiwanese woman with familial dilated cardiomyopathy that necessitated heart transplantation.

Around one-third of patients diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) turn out to be familial cases, in only a few of which the identification of a pathogenic/likely pathogenic variant could be achieved. Cardiomyopathy caused by desmoplakin gene mutations represents a distinct form with a high prevalence of left ventricle involvement. We report a novel desmoplakin mutation carried by two individuals in a Taiwanese family, in which the proband recovered well after heart transplantation and under medical control, while her son had received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and has been under guideline-directed medical therapy.

The Impact of Sildenafil on Ischemic Outcomes in Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension - A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, has been approved for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH). It improves exercise capacity, symptoms and hemodynamics in patients with PH by lowering pulmonary pressures. Preclinical studies have indicated a possible protective effect of sildenafil on ischemia/reperfusion injury.

ISHLT consensus statement: Perioperative management of patients with pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure undergoing surgery.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing surgery and anesthesia. This document represents the first international consensus statement for the perioperative management of patients with pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure. It includes recommendations for managing patients with PH being considered for surgery, including preoperative risk assessment, planning, intra- and postoperative monitoring and management strategies that can improve outcomes in this vulnerable population.

Evolutionary changes in thrombus features on computed tomography: An effective approach for identifying subacute pulmonary embolism.

Objective: Thrombus features on computed tomography (CT) play a key role in distinguishing between acute and chronic pulmonary embolisms (PEs). However, the thrombus features of subacute PE are largely unknown.

Methods: This retrospective study included 358 patients (age, 65 ± 16 years; percentage of men, 38%) diagnosed with PE from 2008 to 2019.