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Objectives: This study sought to prospectively evaluate the relationship between plasma osteoprotegerin (OPG), inflammatory biomarkers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6], coronary artery calcification (CAC), and cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Background: Arterial calcification is a prominent feature of atherosclerosis and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Osteoprotegerin is a cytokine that has recently been implicated in the regulation of vascular calcification.
Methods: A total of 510 type 2 diabetic patients (53 +/- 8 years; 61% male) free of symptoms of cardiovascular disease were evaluated by CAC imaging. Risk factors, hs-CRP, IL-6, and OPG levels were measured. Patients were followed up for cardiovascular events (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, late revascularization, and nonhemorrhagic stroke).
Results: Significant CAC (>10 Agatston units) was seen in 236 patients (46.3%); OPG was significantly elevated in patients with increased CAC. In multivariable analyses, OPG retained a strong association with elevated CAC scores after adjustment for age, gender, and other risk factors (odds ratio = 2.84, 95% confidence interval 2.2 to 3.67; p < 0.01). Sixteen cardiovascular events occurred during a mean follow-up of 18 +/- 5 months. The waist-to-hip ratio, United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) risk score, OPG level, and CAC score were significant predictors of time to cardiovascular events in a univariate Cox proportional hazards model. In the multivariate model, the CAC score was the only independent predictor of adverse events. Levels of hs-CRP and IL-6 were related to neither the extent of CAC nor short-term events.
Conclusions: A high proportion of asymptomatic diabetic patients have significant subclinical atherosclerosis. Of the biomarkers studied, only OPG predicted both subclinical disease and near-term cardiovascular events. Therefore, measurement of OPG merits further investigation as a simple test for identifying high-risk type 2 diabetic patients.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2005.12.054 | DOI Listing |
Ann Am Thorac Soc
September 2025
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Rationale: There are insufficient data to inform the management of central sleep apnea (CSA) in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Nocturnal oxygen therapy (NOT) has been postulated to benefit CSA patients with HFrEF, but has not been rigorously studied. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHum Reprod
September 2025
Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Study Question: Does weight loss from a hypocaloric dietary intervention improve antral follicle dynamics in women with PCOS?
Summary Answer: During a 3-month hypocaloric dietary intervention, women with PCOS who experienced clinically meaningful weight loss showed more organized antral follicle development including fewer recruitment events, but no change in the overall frequency of selection, dominance, or ovulation.
What Is Known Already: There is a spectrum of disordered antral follicle development in women with PCOS including excessive follicle recruitment and turnover, decreased frequency of selection and dominance, and failure of ovulation. Lifestyle intervention aimed at weight loss is recommended to improve metabolic health in women with PCOS yet benefits on ovarian follicle development and ovulation are unclear.
Physiology (Bethesda)
September 2025
Departments of Ophthalmology and Medicine, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
Canonical activation of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) by hormone binding occurs at the plasma membrane, resulting in the diffusion of second messengers to intracellular effector sites throughout the cell. In contrast, recent evidence suggests that functional GPCRs can induce signaling from distinct intracellular domains, contributing to specificity in signaling. Functional adrenergic receptors have been identified at intracellular sites in the cardiac myocyte such as endosomes, the sarcoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi and the inner nuclear membrane.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
September 2025
School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia.
Background: Grip strength and gait speed are key markers of physical functional capacity and general health in older people. This study aimed to examine the effect of low-dose aspirin on hand-grip strength and habitual gait speed in relatively healthy older people.
Methods: The ASPREE (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) trial randomized 19,114 community-dwelling Australians and U.
Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg
September 2025
Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Universitá degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Objectives: We aimed to assess the long-term survival following surgical repair because of type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) and the correlation with the preoperative GERAADA-score value.
Methods: We enrolled patients who underwent emergent aortic surgery because of ATAAD from 2010 to 2022 from 9 hospitals. Follow-up information was obtained by matching the clinical patient data with a national administrative database.