Moderate Secondary Mitral Regurgitation: Evolving Evidence and Management Strategies.

Secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) is common in patients with heart failure (HF). Although randomized clinical trials have been focused on the treatment of severe SMR, the prognostic role and potential for treatment of moderate SMR cannot be overlooked. The randomized RESHAPE-HF2 trial included patients with moderate and severe SMR with consistent findings in both groups, raising the hypothesis that transcatheter correction of moderate SMR could have beneficial effects, although this needs further investigation.

Effect of ECMO Flow Variations on Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure in Patients With Cardiogenic Shock.

Background: The hemodynamic effects of femoro-femoral venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) on pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) remain poorly defined. High ECMO flow is believed to increase PCWP and the risk of pulmonary edema; yet, supporting in vivo physiological data are lacking.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of incremental femoro-femoral VA-ECMO flow variations on PCWP, hemodynamic, and echocardiographic parameters in patients with cardiogenic shock during the early phase of VA-ECMO support, after stabilization.

Distal Radial Access for Radial Artery Recanalization: Multicenter Outcomes and Stepwise Strategies to Maximize Patency.

Background: Radial artery occlusion complicates transradial access, limiting future access and precluding bypass grafting and dialysis. Distal radial access offers a promising solution by allowing retrograde recanalization of occluded radial arteries.

Objectives: The authors sought to evaluate multicenter outcomes of radial artery recanalization though distal radial access (DRA), focusing on its safety, efficacy, and reproducibility, while identifying procedural strategies to optimize patency.

Are we closing the gender gap in academic oncology? An observational study of gender disparities in participant engagement at the ASCO 2024 annual meeting.

Objective: Despite global efforts, gender disparities in oncology may persist. Understanding these disparities within the context of major conferences can inform strategies to promote gender inclusiveness in the field. This study evaluates the participation of women and men at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2024 congress, focusing on chairs, speakers and audience questioners.

What you listen to makes a difference: The impact of music on attention and well-being.

Sounds constantly surround us, serving as sensory cues that help humans interpret the world and navigate the flood of stimuli they encounter. Research has shown that sounds and music can influence attentional performance; however, evidence on whether auditory stimuli can improve attention is limited. This study employed the attention network test to investigate how four types of sound-slow beat music, brown noise, fast beat music, and no sound-modulate visual attention.

THE IMPACT OF NOACS VS. VKAS ON ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION DECLINE OVER TIME: A MACHINE LEARNING APPROACH.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in adults, with incidence increasing with age. Cognitive impairment (CoI) and dementia share risk factors with AF. Meta-analyses indicate that AF increases the risk of CoI by 2.

A FLOATING ENDOMETRIAL ORGANOID MODEL RECAPITULATES EPITHELIAL-STROMAL CELL INTERACTIONS IN VITRO.

Organoids are 3D structures in which stem, progenitor and differentiated cells spontaneously assemble into structures resembling the original tissue. Endometrial organoids, developed from tissue fragments, are genetically stable and responsive to hormone stimulation acquiring a hallow lumen, secretory activity and apico-basal polarity. However, they show some limitations in mimicking the midluteal endometrium since they lack endothelial, immune, and stromal cells, thus providing limited information about epithelial-stromal interactions.

Excitatory cortical neurons from CDKL5 deficiency disorder patient-derived organoids show early hyperexcitability not identified in neurogenin2 induced neurons.

CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy resulting from variants in cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) that lead to impaired kinase activity or loss of function. CDD is one of the most common genetic etiologies identified in epilepsy cohorts. To study how CDKL5 variants impact human neuronal activity, gene expression and morphology, CDD patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells and their isogenic controls were differentiated into excitatory neurons using either an NGN2 induction protocol or a guided cortical organoid differentiation.

Defective mitochondrial quality control in the ageing of skeletal muscle.

Age-related skeletal muscle decline is a major contributor to frailty, functional impairment, and loss of independence in advanced age. This process is characterized by selective atrophy of type II fibers, impaired excitation-contraction coupling, and reduced regenerative capacity. Emerging evidence implicates mitochondrial dysfunction as a central mechanism in the disruption of muscle homeostasis with age.

Growth performance, lipid metabolism, gut histoarchitecture and immune and antioxidant related gene expression in juvenile Asian sea bass, Lates calcarifer fed peroxidized lipids with or without dietary selenium nanoparticles.

This study evaluated the effects of dietary recovered frying soybean oil (RFSBO) and selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) on growth performance, hepatic metabolism, intestinal morphology, and the expression of antioxidant, immune, and growth-related genes in juvenile Asian sea bass (Lates calcarifer, 41.5 ± 0.1 g) reared under high temperature (32-33 °C) and high salinity (38-40 ppt).

International Multicentre Study on the Treatment of Infrarenal Penetrating Aortic Ulcers.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate treatment indications, compare therapeutic approaches, and assess outcomes in patients with infrarenal penetrating aortic ulcers (iPAUs).

Methods: This was a retrospective, multicentre, observational study of patients with iPAUs treated between January 2018 and December 2022 across 12 European centres. Treatment strategies included open surgical repair (OSR) and endovascular techniques, including balloon expandable stent grafts (BESGs), covered endovascular reconstruction of the aortic bifurcation (CERAB), and endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) using bifurcated or tube grafts.

Oral anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart valve prosthesis: a substudy from the LAAOS III Trial.

Objective: Societal guidelines recommend vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) for atrial fibrillation patients with recent biological valve implantation, but the safety and efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in this setting remain uncertain, especially in the early postoperative period. This substudy of the Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Study (LAAOS) III trial aimed to compare thromboembolic and bleeding outcomes in patients discharged on VKAs versus DOACs after bioprosthesis implantation or mitral valve repair.

Methods: A total of 2,645 patients were included, with 461 discharged on DOACs and 2184 on VKAs.

The role of the insula in the Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: a scoping review.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (TC) is a transient cardiomyopathy secondary to emotional and/or physical stress. While its precise aetiology remains unclear, some evidence suggests a possible role for the insular cortex (IC), which modulates cardiovascular responses to stress. The IC is a key viscerosensory and visceromotor hub with widespread connections, and is implicated in interoceptive processing, emotional regulation, and autonomic control.

Effect of 3-hydroxisobutyrate in vivo administration on cardiometabolic disease in ApoE-/- mouse model.

The valine catabolite 3-hydroxyisobutyrate (3-HIB) is suggested to mediate the uptake of extracellular fatty acids into the cells, thus regulating intracellular lipid metabolism, although the direct mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we assessed the effects of long-term 3-HIB treatment on the development and progression of complex atherosclerotic lesions, lipid metabolism and liver injury in vivo in ApoE-/- mouse model fed Western Diet (WD). Results show that 3-HIB treatment is associated with a significant reduction in weight and serum lipid content, reduced aortic mean plaque area and improvement of liver functions.

Liver disease in people with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA): A cross-sectional study using magnetic resonance elastography.

Aims: To investigate liver disease and its risk factors in LADA compared to type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes.

Methods: Liver magnetic resonance (MR) and MR elastography were used to measure proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and stiffness in 31 people with LADA matched for gender, body mass index (BMI) and disease duration with 31 people with T2D, and for gender, BMI and age with 31 people with T1D. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was quantified by DXA.

Modelling challenges to unlock the power of phototrophic systems for wastewater valorization.

Phototrophic microorganisms are gaining prominence for their dual role in wastewater treatment and resource recovery, converting wastewater into valuable bioproducts. However, their effective deployment needs robust modelling frameworks capable of predicting performance across complex, real-world scenarios. Despite significant advances, key challenges hinder the development and application of such models.

Supplementary Material for Projected Global Clinical, Humanistic, and Economic Impact of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH): The Cost of Inaction Based on Data from Nine Countries.

Background And Aim: Although the clinical burden of MASH is well known, its economic burden is less well described. We estimated MASH's economic burden in several regions of the world including the US, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and United Kingdom (UK), Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil over the next two decades.

Methods: A one-year cycle Markov model projected MASH progression from 2021 to 2040, incorporating 2020 prevalent cases and annual incident cases (2021-2040).

Effectiveness and Safety of Orodispersible Budesonide for Eosinophilic Esophagitis: A Multicenter Real-World Study.

Background And Aims: Topical corticosteroids represent one of the effective first-line treatment options for EoE, and therapy with budesonide orodispersible tablets (BOTs) has been recently approved for the treatment of EoE and showed great efficacy in randomized-controlled clinical trials, however real-life data is lacking. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment with BOTs in adult EoE patients in a real-life setting.

Methods: In this prospective study, clinical, histologic, endoscopic, and safety measures were assessed.

Real-world use of terlipressin in cirrhosis and acute kidney injury: frequent use beyond hepatorenal syndrome.

Background & Aims: Terlipressin is indicated to treat hepatorenal syndrome (HRS)-acute kidney injury (AKI), but is likely used outside this primary indication in clinical practice. We aimed to investigate real-world practice patterns on the use of terlipressin in AKI in cirrhosis.

Methods: International prospective study including patients hospitalized for decompensated cirrhosis.

Blood transcriptomic analysis reveals a distinct molecular subtype of treatment resistant depression compared to non-treatment resistant depression.

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a severe condition characterized by chronic and recurrent depressive symptoms, leading to significant morbidity and a considerable socio-economic impact. Genetic and biological studies suggest that TRD is associated with distinct biological characteristics. In this study, we analysed whole-transcriptome differences in 293 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) to compare TRD (N = 150) vs non-TRD (N = 143) cases.

Machine learning in allergy research: A bibliometric review.

The emergence of big data and analytic approaches initiated research efforts to characterise different subtypes of allergic diseases, including tracking disease progression and identifying patterns that may offer insight into their development and progression. Triangulation from different data sources and study types may help to elucidate the directionality of relationships between variables at a very individual level by modelling the complex interdependencies between multiple dimensions (e.g.