Prospective Evaluation of Neurocognition in Patients Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background: Data regarding change in neurocognitive function after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are conflicting. We sought to investigate the change in cognition up to 6 months post-TAVR in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: This is a prospective, observational, nonrandomized, cohort study of patients with MCI who underwent TAVR between February 2022 and June 2023 in a multicenter health care system.

Long-term survival after multidisciplinary heart team-guided management of complex coronary artery disease.

Objective: Guidelines recommend a multidisciplinary heart team approach for managing complex coronary artery disease (CAD), yet its impact on clinical outcomes and adherence to recommendations is rarely reported.

Methods: Between June 2021 and August 2022, 210 high-risk patients with isolated, complex CAD were evaluated at our institution's weekly heart team conference for consideration of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), hybrid PCI/CABG, or optimal medical therapy (OMT). Adherence to recommendations and clinical outcomes, including 30-day, 1-year, and 2-year mortality, were assessed.

Intracardiac versus transesophageal echocardiographic guidance for left atrial appendage occlusion: Design and rationale of the ICE-TEE trial.

Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has emerged as an alternative to long-term anticoagulation for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation deemed high risk for bleeding. LAAO is performed via a transseptal approach with the placement of an occlusion device in the left atrial appendage (LAA) to seal it. Intraoperative imaging with echocardiography is needed to guide and complete the procedure.

Prognostic value of the vasoactive-inotropic score in predicting outcomes following LVAD implantation.

Background: Vasoplegia frequently complicates left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, yet its impact on outcomes is not fully understood. The vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS), which quantifies vasoactive support, may predict outcomes in this population.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 146 patients undergoing HeartMate 3 LVAD implantation from 2017 to 2024 at a single institution was performed.

Surgeon Frequency of Aortic Root Enlargement and Long-Term Survival in Medicare Beneficiaries Undergoing Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement.

Aortic root enlargement (ARE) is a variably performed during surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) to minimize patient-prothesis mismatch (PPM), but its impact on survival remains under-evaluated. We retrospectively analyzed Medicare beneficiaries (1999-2019) undergoing isolated SAVR with or without non-Konno ARE. Procedural details were doubly-adjudicated by ICD and CPT codes.

Individual and Joint Associations Between Animal and Plant Protein Intakes with Impaired Fasting Glucose and Type 2 Diabetes in the Framingham Offspring Study.

Objectives: Given the considerable discrepancy in the literature regarding dietary protein and glucose homeostasis, we examined the prospective association between protein intake (total, animal, plant) and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus or impaired fasting glucose (IFG). We also examined whether these associations differed by sex, body weight, or other risk factors.

Methods: We included 1423 subjects, aged ≥ 30 years, in the Framingham Offspring Study cohort.

Hospital Volume and Long-Term Survival Among Medicare Beneficiaries Undergoing Surgical Repair of Acute Type A Aortic Dissection.

Despite guideline recommendations, transfer rates to high-volume aortic centers (high-VACs) for acute type A aortic dissections (TAAD) remain suboptimal. This may be because the benefit of undergoing surgical repair of TAAD at high-VACs remains poorly quantified. Medicare beneficiaries undergoing surgical repair of TAAD from 1999-2019 were identified.

Interaction of Vitamin D-BODIPY With Fat Cells and the Link to Obesity-associated Vitamin D Deficiency.

Background/aim: Obese individuals often exhibit vitamin D deficiency, potentially due to sequestration in fat cells. Little is known about how vitamin D enters adipocytes and associates with the intracellular lipid droplet.

Materials And Methods: Newly differentiated human and mouse (3T3-L1) adipocytes and primary mouse adipocytes were treated with vitamin D covalently linked to green fluorescent BODIPY (VitD-B) or Green BODIPY (GB) as control.

Acute mitral block: pulse field ablation plus radiofrequency ablation when compared to radiofrequency ablation plus ethanol injection of vein of Marshall.

This retrospective study evaluated two groups: patients receiving RFA for PVI, posterior wall isolation, mitral isthmus, and coronary sinus (CS) ablation with adjunctive VOM ethanol injection (VOM/RFA ALL (N = 53)), and patients receiving PVI with PFA using pentaspline catheter followed by mitral isthmus and CS ablation with RFA (PFA PV + PW/RFA MITRAL (N = 12)). We hypothesized that PFA for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) facilitates mitral block without adjunctive vein of Marshall (VOM) ethanol injection. Mitral block was achieved in 92.

Potato consumption is not associated with cardiometabolic health outcomes in Framingham Offspring Study adults.

Some consider potatoes to be unhealthy vegetables that may contribute to adverse cardiometabolic health outcomes. We evaluated the association between potato consumption (including fried and non-fried types) and three key cardiometabolic outcomes among middle-aged and older adults in the Framingham Offspring Study. We included 2523 subjects ≥30 years of age with available dietary data from 3-d food records.

Higher Intakes of Potassium and Magnesium, but Not Lower Sodium, Reduce Cardiovascular Risk in the Framingham Offspring Study.

We explored the dose-response relations of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in the Framingham Offspring Study, as well as the combined effects of these minerals. Analyses included 2362 30-64 year-old men and women free of CVD at baseline. Cox proportional-hazards models were used estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mineral intakes and incident CVD.

Animal protein intake reduces risk of functional impairment and strength loss in older adults.

Background & Aims: Protein intake has been shown to lower risk of aging-related functional decline. The goal of this study was to assess long-term effects of weight-adjusted animal (AP) and plant protein (PP) intakes on aging-related change in functional status and grip strength.

Methods: Framingham Offspring Study participants (n = 1896, 891 men and 1005 women), ≥age 50, were followed for an average of 14.

Impaired Glucocorticoid Suppression of TGFβ Signaling in Human Omental Adipose Tissues Limits Adipogenesis and May Promote Fibrosis.

Visceral obesity is associated with insulin resistance and higher risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic diseases. A limited ability of adipose tissues to remodel through the recruitment and differentiation of adipose stem cells (ASCs) is associated with adipose tissue inflammation and fibrosis and the metabolic syndrome. We show that the lower adipogenesis of omental (Om) compared with abdominal subcutaneous (Abdsc) ASCs was associated with greater secretion of TGFβ ligands that acted in an autocrine/paracrine loop to activate SMAD2 and suppress adipogenesis.

Depot Dependent Effects of Dexamethasone on Gene Expression in Human Omental and Abdominal Subcutaneous Adipose Tissues from Obese Women.

Glucocorticoids promote fat accumulation in visceral compared to subcutaneous depots, but the molecular mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. To identify long-term changes in gene expression that are differentially sensitive or responsive to glucocorticoids in these depots, paired samples of human omental (Om) and abdominal subcutaneous (Abdsc) adipose tissues obtained from obese women during elective surgery were cultured with the glucocorticoid receptor agonist dexamethasone (Dex, 0, 1, 10, 25 and 1000 nM) for 7 days. Dex regulated 32% of the 19,741 genes on the array, while 53% differed by Depot and 2.

Fat-specific protein 27 inhibits lipolysis by facilitating the inhibitory effect of transcription factor Egr1 on transcription of adipose triglyceride lipase.

Lipolysis in fat tissue represents a major source of circulating fatty acids. Previously, we have found that lipolysis in adipocytes is controlled by early growth response transcription factor Egr1 that directly inhibits transcription of adipose triglyceride lipase, ATGL (Chakrabarti, P., Kim, J.

Prolonged efficiency of siRNA-mediated gene silencing in primary cultures of human preadipocytes and adipocytes.

Objective: Primary human preadipocytes and differentiated adipocytes in culture are valuable cell culture systems to study adipogenesis and adipose function in relation to human adipose biology. To use these systems for mechanistic studies, siRNA-mediated knockdown of genes for its effectiveness was studied.

Methods: Methods were developed to effectively deliver siRNA for gene silencing in primary preadipocytes isolated from human subcutaneous adipose tissue and newly differentiated adipocytes.

Sterculic Oil, a Natural SCD1 Inhibitor, Improves Glucose Tolerance in Obese ob/ob Mice.

Obesity and its metabolic complications are associated with increased expression/activity of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), a major regulator of lipid metabolism. Reduction or ablation of this enzyme is associated with an improved metabolic profile and has gained attention as a target for pharmaceutical development. Sterculic oil (SO) is a known inhibitor of SCD1 and may provide a natural approach for treating obesity and/or insulin resistance.

A comparison of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in adipose tissue from weight-matched obese male and female mice.

Expansion of intra-abdominal adipose tissue and the accompanying inflammatory response has been put forward as a unifying link between obesity and the development of chronic diseases. However, an apparent sexual dimorphism exists between obesity and chronic disease risk due to differences in the distribution and abundance of adipose tissue. A range of experimental protocols have been employed to demonstrate the role of estrogen in regulating health benefits; however, most studies are confounded by significant differences in body weight and adiposity.