Comparison of rivaroxaban with warfarin for intracardiac thrombosis in the pediatric population at different cardiac sites: Early experience of anticoagulation approach and treatment outcomes.

Aims: To compare the rivaroxaban treatment with warfarin for intracardiac thrombi resolution in pediatric patients diagnosed with intracardiac thrombosis (ICT).

Methods: In 2020-24, we enrolled 18 [0.7 (0.

Predictors of Five-Year Outcomes in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Background: Residual risk after acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) continues to affect prognosis. We investigated the impact of female sex, non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), diabetes mellitus (DM), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) on coronary atherosclerosis extent, culprit stenosis location, and bio-humoral data. The rate of both major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and non-fatal recurrent coronary events (RCE) was additionally evaluated.

Advances in Cardiovascular Multimodality Imaging in Patients with Marfan Syndrome.

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a genetic disorder affecting connective tissue, often leading to cardiovascular complications such as aortic aneurysms and mitral valve prolapse. Cardiovascular multimodality imaging plays a crucial role in the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of MFS patients. This review explores the advancements in echocardiography, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), cardiac computed tomography (CCT), and nuclear medicine techniques in MFS.

Serial cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for guidance of therapy management in patients treated with anakinra due to recurrent pericarditis.

Aims: To determine the utility of serial cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging for guidance of therapy management in patients treated with anakinra due to recurrent pericarditis (RP), compared with C-reactive protein (CRP) assay alone.

Methods And Results: In 2018-21, we enrolled 18 (14.5 ± 1.

Effects of synthetic cannabinoids on psychomotor, sensory and cognitive functions relevant for safe driving.

Recreational use of Synthetic Cannabinoids (SCs), one of the largest groups of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), has increased globally over the past few years. Driving is a structured process requiring the cooperation of several cognitive and psychomotor functions, organized in different levels of complexity. Each of these functions can be affected when Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of SCs.

Follicular helper T cell signature of replicative exhaustion, apoptosis, and senescence in common variable immunodeficiency.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most frequent primary antibody deficiency whereby follicular helper T (Tfh) cells fail to establish productive responses with B cells in germinal centers. Here, we analyzed the frequency, phenotype, transcriptome, and function of circulating Tfh (cTfh) cells in CVID patients displaying autoimmunity as an additional phenotype. A group of patients showed a high frequency of cTfh1 cells and a prominent expression of PD-1 and ICOS as well as a cTfh mRNA signature consistent with highly activated, but exhausted, senescent, and apoptotic cells.

Substance abuse in times of COVID-19 pandemic: a "perfect storm" for substance use disorder and mental health?

Our lives and communities have been besieged by COVID-19 for almost two years, and society and its functioning have been turned upside down and upset, through limitations and restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Severe levels of anxiety, distress and uncertainty have taken a huge toll on our daily lives from the social, professional and emotional perspectives, but it is still rather unclear how serious an impact the emergency has had on a class of particularly vulnerable individuals: those with substance abuse issues. Particularly, we would like to draw attention to a uniquely troublesome development: forced isolation resulting from pandemic-related restrictions and how it has impacted drug users and their efforts to achieve recovery.

Does the EU COVID Digital Certificate Strike a Reasonable Balance between Mobility Needs and Public Health?

The need to fight a highly aggressive virus such as SARS-CoV-2 has compelled governments to put in place measures, which, in the name of health protection, have constrained many freedoms we all enjoy, including freedom of movement, both nationally and within the European Union. In order to encourage and facilitate the return to free movement, the European Parliament has launched a "COVID-19 digital certificate". A spirited debate centered around the use of this certificate is still ongoing among scholars, many of whom have pointed out the uncertainties relative to COVID-19 immunity, privacy issues and the risk of discriminatory effects.

Designer Benzodiazepines: A Review of Toxicology and Public Health Risks.

The rising use of designer benzodiazepines (DBZD) is a cat-and-mouse game between organized crime and law enforcement. Non-prohibited benzodiazepines are introduced onto the global drug market and scheduled as rapidly as possible by international authorities. In response, DBZD are continuously modified to avoid legal sanctions and drug seizures and generally to increase the abuse potential of the DBZD.

Effect of Systemic Hypertension With Versus Without Left Ventricular Hypertrophy on the Progression of Atrial Fibrillation (from the Euro Heart Survey).

Hypertension is a risk factor for both progression of atrial fibrillation (AF) and development of AF-related complications, that is major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). It is unknown whether left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as a consequence of hypertension is also a risk factor for both these end points. We aimed to assess this in low-risk AF patients, also assessing gender-related differences.

The influence of progression of atrial fibrillation on quality of life: a report from the Euro Heart Survey.

Aims: Progression of atrial fibrillation (AF) from paroxysmal to persistent forms is an active field of research. The influence of AF progression on health related quality of life (HRQoL) is currently unknown. We aimed to assess the influence of AF progression on HRQoL, and whether this association is mediated through symptoms, treatment, and major adverse events.