Abstract Background It has been well established that cilostazol has anti-proliferative effect against in-stent restenosis. However, it remains unclear whether cilostazol can prevent the progression ...of carotid atherosclerosis. Methods and results We performed a meta-analysis of all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effect of cilostazol on the progression of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Five RCTs with 698 patients 597 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were included in this study. Cilostazol was associated with a significant reduction in the progression of carotid IMT (WMD, −0.08 mm, 95% CI −0.13, −0.04; P = 0.00003). Subgroup analysis shows that cilostazol monotherapy or addition to dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin and clopidogrel) was superior to placebo (WMD, −0.04 mm, 95% CI −0.05, −0.03; P < 0.00001), no antiplatelet medication (WMD, −0.12 mm, 95% CI −0.21, −0.03; P = 0.008), aspirin monotherapy (WMD, −0.06 mm, 95% CI −0.12, 0.00; P = 0.04) or dual antiplatelet therapy (WMD, −0.16 mm, 95% CI −0.30, −0.02; P = 0.03) in preventing the progression of carotid IMT. Cilostazol resulted in a significant decrease in total cholesterol (WMD −8.47 mg/dl, 95% CI −14.18, −2.75; P = 0.004) and LDL-C (WMD −8.25 mg/dl, 95% CI −14.15, −2.36; P = 0.006) and favorable trends in reducing triglyceride (WMD −15.83 mg/dl, 95% CI −32.14, 0.48; P = 0.06). Conclusion It suggests that cilostazol may have beneficial effects in preventing the progression of carotid atherosclerosis and improving pro-atherogenic lipid profile, especially in patients with T2DM. Whether the anti-atherosclerotic effect of cilostazol is independent of improving pro-atherogenic dyslipidemia is worth further investigation.
The novel weapon hypothesis suggests that allelopathy is an important mechanism for exotic plants to successfully invade native plant communities. Allelochemicals from exotic plants affect both ...native plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in soil. To explore these effects, we conducted pot experiments using a native plant community comprising of
Chenopodium album
L.,
Vitex negundo
L.,
Rhus chinensis
Mill., and
Acer truncatum
Bunge. We incorporated AMF strains (
Funneliformis mosseae
,
Glomus versiforme
, and
Rhizophagus intraradices
in a 1:1:1 volume ratio) into a soil mixture comprising equal volumes of autoclaved field soil and grass ash at five concentrations (0 g L
–1
, CK; 10 g L
–1
, LRE; 20 g L
–1
, NRE; 30 g L
–1
, MRE; and 40 g L
–1
, HRE) to investigate the allelopathy of
Rhus typhina
L. root and its interactions with AMF on the native plant community. Our results indicated that low concentrations of allelochemicals promoted the relative growth rate and leaf nitrogen content in the native plant community, which was attributed to the increased environmental stress that improved the degree of leaf photosynthetic capacity and organic synthesis rate in the native communities. Moreover, allelochemicals with toxicity decreased the colonization rates of AMF. Meanwhile, the presence of allelopathic effects induced a decrease in leaf nitrogen, and allelopathy altered the effects of AMF on the native community. Specifically, the high concentration of allelochemicals altered the positive effect of AMF on the total aboveground biomass of the native plant community to a negative effect, likely by decreasing colonization rates or affecting soil physicochemical properties and the composition of the mycorrhizal communities. Consequently, it is necessary to consider the effects of AMF when testing the roles of allelopathy or the novel weapons hypothesis in biological invasions.
Graphical abstract
Objective： It is revealed that circulating fibrocytes are elevated in patients/animals with cardiac fibrosis, and this review aims to provide an introduction to circulating fibrocytes and their role ...in cardiac fibrosis.Data Sources： This review is based on the data from 1994 to present obtained from PubMed.The search terms were ＆quot;circulating fibrocytes＆quot; and ＆quot;cardiac fibrosis＆quot;.Study Selection： Articles and critical reviews, which are related to circulating fibrocytes and cardiac fibrosis, were selected.Results： Circulating fibrocytes, which are derived from hematopoietic stem cells, represent a subset of peripheral blood mononuclear cells exhibiting mixed morphological and molecular characteristics ofhematopoietic and mesenchymal cells （CD34＋/CD45＋/collagen I＋）.They can produce extracellular matrix and many cytokines.It is shown that circulating fibrocytes participate in many fibrotic diseases, including cardiac fibrosis.Evidence accumulated in recent years shows that aging individuals and patients with hypertension, heart failure, coronary heart disease, and atrial fibrillation have more circulating fibrocytes in peripheral blood and/or heart tissue, and this elevation of circulating fibrocytes is correlated with the degree of fibrosis in the hearts.Conclusions： Circulating fibrocytes are effector cells in cardiac fibrosis.
Hierarchical porous carbon spheres are prepared by the carbonization of a D201 anion-exchange resin. These carbon spheres are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, nitrogen ...adsorption-desorption and electron microscopy. The lithium ion storage capacity of these carbon spheres is evaluated by galvanostatic measurements. The initial discharge-charge capacities of the material are 1213 and 798 mA h g super(-1) at a current density of 0.1 A g super(-1), respectively. A discharge capacity of 506 mA h g super(-1) is still retained when charge-discharged at 1.0 A g super(-1) for 50 cycles. The large reversible capacity, high rate performance and good cycleability are attributed to the unique hierarchical porous structure featured by large surface area, readily accessed porous channels and the highly graphitized carbon shells. The carbonization of a cheap anion-exchange resin can be easily scaled-up, making the hierarchical porous carbon spheres a promising low-cost anode material for high performance lithium ion batteries.
: Two sulfated triterpene glycosides, holothurin A1 (HA1) and 24‐dehydroechinoside A (DHEA), isolated from the sea cucumber Pearsonothuria graeffei, are of the holostane type with 18(20)‐lactone and ...identical carbohydrate chains. DHEA has a side chain 23 (24)‐double bond, while HA1 has a hydroxyl group at C‐21. In this study, we compared the effects of DHEA and HA1 on metastasis in vitro and in vivo. The results show that HA1 and DHEA treatment significantly suppressed adhesion of human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cells (HepG2) to both matrigel and human endothelial cells (ECV‐304) and inhibited HepG2 cell migration and invasion in a dose‐dependant manner. HA1 and DHEA reduced tube formation of ECV‐304 cells on the matrigel in vitro and attenuated neovascularization in the chick embryo using the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay in vivo. Immunocytochemistry analyses revealed that both HA1 and DHEA significantly decreased the expression of the matrix metallo‐proteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) and increased the expression level of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐1 (TIMP‐1), an important regulator of MMP‐9 activation. Western blot analyses demonstrated that HA1 and DHEA remarkably abolished the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The expression of nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) was significantly decreased by HA1, while DHEA treatment had no effect on the down regulation of NF‐κB expression. These data suggest that both DHEA and HA1 exert significant antimetastatic activities by inhibiting MMP‐9 and VEGF expression. DHEA‐induced antimetastasis was more potent than HA1. In addition, only HA1 treatment downregulated the expression level of NF‐κB, suggesting that the antimetastatic activity of triterpene glycosides derived from P. graeffei can be either NF‐κB‐dependent or ‐independent, depending on their structure.
Thyroid dysfunction is prevalent in patients with heart failure (HF) and hypothyroidism is related to the adverse prognosis of HF subjects receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). We aim to ...investigate whether low-normal free triiodothyronine (fT3) level is related to CRT response and the prognosis of euthyroid patients with HF after CRT implantation.One hundred and thirteen euthyroid patients who received CRT therapy without previous thyroid disease and any treatment affecting thyroid hormones were enrolled. All of patients were evaluated for cardiac function and thyroid hormones (serum levels of fT3, free thyroxine fT4 and thyroid-stimulating hormone TSH). The end points were overall mortality and hospitalization for HF worsening. During a follow-up period of 39 ± 3 weeks, 36 patients (31.9%) died and 45 patients (39.8%) had hospitalization for HF exacerbation. A higher rate of NYHA III/IV class and a lower fT3 level were both observed in death group and HF event group. Multivariate Cox regression analyses disclosed that a lower-normal fT3 level (HR = 0.648, P = 0.009) and CRT response (HR = 0.441, P = 0.001) were both independent predictors of overall mortality. In addition, they were also both related to HF re-hospitalization event (P < 0.01 for both). Patients with fT3 < 3.00 pmol/L had a significantly higher overall mortality than those with fT3 ≥ 3.00 pmol/L (P = 0.027). Meanwhile, a higher HF hospitalization event rate was also found in patients with fT3 < 3.00 pmol/L (P < 0.001).A lower-normal fT3 level is correlated with a worse cardiac function an adverse prognosis in euthyroid patients with HF after CRT implantation.
Telemedicine interventions may be associated with reductions in hospital admission rate and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF). The present study is an updated analysis (as of June 30, ...2016) of randomized controlled trials, where patients with HF underwent telemedicine care or the usual standard care. Data were extracted from 39 eligible studies for all-cause and HF-related hospital admission rate, length of stay, and mortality. The overall all-cause mortality (pooled OR=0.80, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.91, p<0.001), HF-related admission rate (pooled OR=0.63, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.76, p<0.001), and HF-related length of stay (pooled standardized difference in means=-0.37, 95% CI -0.72 to -0.02, p=0.041) were significantly lower in the telemedicine group (teletransmission and telephone-supported care), as compared with the control group. In subgroup analysis, all-cause mortality (pooled OR=0.69, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.86, p=0.001), HF-related admission rate (OR=0.61, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.88, p=0.008), HF-related length of stay (pooled standardized difference in means=-0.96, 95% CI -1.88 to -0.05, p=0.039) and HF-related mortality (OR=0.68, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.85, p=0.001) were significantly lower in the teletransmission group, as opposed to the standard care group, whereas only HF-related admission rate (OR=0.64, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.79, p<0.001) was lower in the telephone-supported care group. Overall, telemedicine was shown to be beneficial, with home-based teletransmission effectively reducing all-cause mortality and HF-related hospital admission, length of stay and mortality in patients with HF.
Highlights • Multisite biventricular pacing is superior to biventricular pacing in reducing dyssynchrony. • Multisite biventricular pacing is superior to biventricular pacing in improving ...hemodynamics. • The pacing site-combination has a potential effect on multisite biventricular pacing response.
Background: The impact of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) on survival outcomes in patients with acute heart failure (HF) is unclear, and the relationship between intensity of glycemic control of FPG in ...diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and HF prognosis remains uncertain. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of FPG in patients with acute HF.
Methods: A total of 624 patients hospitalized with acute HF from October 2000 to April 2014 were enrolled in this study. All patients were stratified by three groups according to their admission FPG levels (i.e., DM, impaired fasting glucose IFG, and non-DM). All-cause and cardiovascular mortality was the primary end point, and HF re-hospitalization was the secondary end point during follow-up period.
Results: A total of 587 patients were included in final analysis. The all-cause mortality rates of patients with DM, IFG, and non-DM were 55.5%, 40.3%, and 39.2%, with significant difference (P = 0.001). Moreover, compared with those with IFG (34.3%) and non-DM (32.6%), patients with DM had significantly higher rate of cardiovascular mortality (45.1%). Multiple Cox regression analysis showed that DM as well as IFG was related to all-cause mortality (DM: hazard ratio HR = 1.936, P < 0.001; IFG: HR = 1.672, P = 0.019) and cardiovascular mortality (DM: HR = 1.739, P < 0.001; IFG: HR = 1.817, P = 0.013). However, they were both unrelated to HF re-hospitalization. DM patients with strictly controlled blood glucose (FPG <3.9 mmol/L) had higher all-cause mortality than patients with non-DM, IFG, and DM patients with moderately controlled glucose (3.9 mmol/L≤ FPG <7.0 mmol/L). Likewise, both the primary end point and secondary end point were found to be worse in DM patients with poorly controlled blood glucose (FPG ≥7.0 mmol/L).
Conclusions: IFG and DM were associated with higher all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in patients with acute HF. The association between mortality and admission FPG in DM patients with acute HF appeared U-shaped.
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