Association of mild to moderate kidney dysfunction with coronary artery calcification in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVES: To report the association between kidney dysfunction and coronary artery calcification (CAC) score (CACS) among patients with clinically suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: We prospectively included 1,572 consecutive patients with clinically suspected CAD who underwent ECG-gated cardiac CT scans using 64-multidetector row computed tomography. CACS was quantified using a previously described method. Renal function was assessed by the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Ordinal logistic regression and Pearson correlation were used to analyze the association between eGFR and CACS. RESULTS: Patients with higher CACS were older, more had a history of hypertension, diabetes and tobacco use, and they were more likely to have an atherogenic lipid profile, higher systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, body mass index and C-reactive protein (CRP) and lower eGFR when compared with those patients without CAC or with lower CACS. The unadjusted correlation coefficient of eGFR and CACS was -0.259 (p < 0.001). This remained significant after adjustment for age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, tobacco use and CRP (R = -0.156, p < 0.001). Ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that age, hypertension, diabetes, CRP and eGFR exerted independent influences on CACS. CONCLUSIONS: Kidney dysfunction was an independent predictor of CACS in patients with clinically suspected CAD. Further prospective multicenter studies are needed to confirm this finding.

Validation of the G.LAB MD2680 digital automatic blood pressure monitor according to international protocols.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to validate the G.LAB MD2680 digital automatic blood pressure (BP) monitor according to major international protocols. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: The device was evaluated against auscultatory sphygmomanometry according to the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol (ESH-IP) revision 2010, the British Hypertension Society (BHS), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 81060-2:2013 protocols. Bland-Altman plots were completed for systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP), and the mean differences and SDs between the test device and the reference device were computed for all BP values. RESULTS: The G.LAB MD2680 passed the ESH-IP revision 2010 on 33 participants with a mean device-observer difference of 0.89±4.97 mmHg for SBP and 0.72±4.91 mmHg for DBP, respectively. The device achieved A/A grading for the BHS protocol among 85 participants with a device-observer difference of 0.70±6.35 mmHg for SBP and 0.62±6.41 mmHg for DBP, respectively. Furthermore, it also fulfilled the two criteria of the ISO 81060-2:2013 protocol. CONCLUSION: The G.LAB MD2680 digital automatic BP monitor fulfilled the accuracy requirements of the ESH-IP revision 2010 and the ISO 81060-2:2013 protocols, and achieved A/A grade of the BHS protocol, and it can be recommended for self-measurement in adults.

Anti-VEGF Therapy with Bevacizumab--limited cardiovascular toxicity.

PURPOSE: This analysis was conducted to evaluate cardiovascular toxicity of commonly used anti-VEGF therapeutic agent, bevacizumab, in treating patients with cancer. METHODS: Clinical studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab-based regimens on response and safety for patients with cancer were identified using a predefined search strategy, allowing cardiovascular toxicity and other side effects of treatment to be estimated. RESULTS: In bevacizumab based regimens, 4 clinical studies including 282 patients with advanced cancer (including gliomas, cervical, breast and ovarian cancer) were considered eligible for inclusion. These bevacizumab-based regimens included docetaxel, irinitecan and carboplatin. Systematic analysis suggested that, of 282 patients treated by bevacizumab based regimens, hypertension and thrombo-embolism occurred in 2.5% (7/282), while only 3 patients reported cardiovascular events (1.1%). No treatment related death occurred in bevacizumab based treatment. CONCLUSION: This systemic analysis suggests that bevacizumab based regimens are associated with reasonable and accepted cardiovascular toxicity when treating patients with gliomas, cervical, breast and ovarian cancer.

Effects of collagen-bioactive glass-polycaprolactone scaffold on proliferation, migration and differentiation of human dental pulp cells / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Collagen-bioglass-polycaprolacton (COL-BG-PCL) composites have good biocompatibility, mechanical properties and biodegradability that are beneficial to cell adhesion, proliferation and angiogenesis. OBJECTIVE:To study the effect of COL-BG-PCL bioactive scaffold on the proliferation, migration and differentiation of human dental pulp cells (hDPCs). METHODS:hDPCs were isolated and cultured on the COL-BG-PCL bioactive scaffold. MTT, cell scratch test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay were used to detect the proliferation, migration and differentiation abilities of hDPCs before and at 1, 3, 7, 14, 24 days after inoculation onto the COL-BG-PCL bioactive scaffold. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the cells without inoculation onto the COL-BG-PCL bioactive scaffold, (1) the proliferation ability of the cells cultured on the COL-BG-PCL scaffold was significantly enhanced (P<0.01), and with the prolongation of the inoculation time, the cell proliferation ability was gradually increased; (2) the cell migration ability of the cells cultured on the COL-BG-PCL scaffold was significantly enhanced (P<0.01), and with the prolongation of the inoculation time, the migration ability of the cells cultured on the COL-BG-PCL scaffold was gradually increased; (3) the level of alkaline phosphatase in the supernatant of the cells cultured on the COL-BG-PCL scaffold was significantly increased (P<0.01), and with the prolongation of the inoculation time, the level of alkaline phosphatase in the supernatant was gradually increased. In summary, the COL-BG-PCL scaffold can promote the proliferation, migration and differentiation of hDPCs.

The relationship between kidney function and angiographically-derived SYNTAX score.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is highly prevalent in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and is an independent risk factor for adverse cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality in patients with acute coronary syndromes. SYNTAX score (SXscore) can predict the outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. However, the association between kidney function and SXscore has not been previously reported. METHODS: The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and SXscore were retrospectively collected in 2262 patients with established CAD undergoing coronary angiography at Peking University Third Hospital from March 2005 to September 2010. Ordinal logistic regression and Pearson and partial correlation were used to analyze the association between eGFR and SXscore. RESULTS: Patients with renal dysfunction were older, more likely to be female, and have a history of hypertension and diabetes. The unadjusted correlation coefficient of eGFR and SXscore was -0.125 (P<0.001).This remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, or current smoking (r=-0.075, P=0.019). Ordinal logistic regression showed that age, gender, diabetes, and eGFR exerted independent influences on SXscore. CONCLUSIONS: Kidney function was an independent predictor of SXscore in patients with established CAD. This helps explain the increased risk of cardiovascular disease events and mortality in patients with renal dysfunction. Further prospective multicentre studies are needed to confirm this finding.