PROGNOSTIC SIGNIFICANCE AND LIMITATION OF VISIT-TO-VISIT BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH REDUCED EJECTION FRACTION: A MINI-REVIEW.

Visit-to-visit variability (VVV) of blood pressure (BP) can facilitate in predicting future reduced ejection fractions cases. In the recent past, the prognostic significance of visitto-visit variability of BP has been examined widely in patients with a high risk of cardiovascular disease. The findings of numerous investigations have indicated that increased visit-to-visit variability of blood pressure can lead to better estimation or proper treatments that can minimize blood pressure variability and associated risks while enhancing clinical outcomes. However, inconsistent data of the visit-to-visit hypothesis in the post-hoc analysis have also been explored. Therefore, this review discusses recent analysis, background, and reports of the limitations of visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (VVV-BP) and the prognostic significance of visit-to-visit blood pressure variability in populations at high risk of reduced ejection fractions in predictions of future vascular diseases. The role of the antihypertensive drugs is highlighted while describing the clinical implications and future research directions.

Polymerase chain reaction combined with fluorescent lateral flow immunoassay based on magnetic purification for rapid detection of canine parvovirus 2.

BACKGROUND: Canine parvovirus 2 (CPV-2) is one of the most common etiological agents that cause severe gastroenteritis in puppies. Early accurate diagnosis is important for infected dogs. In recent years, magnetic separation has become an efficient and useful tool for bioassays. In this study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with fluorescent lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) based on magnetic purification assay was developed for the quantitative detection of CPV-2. RESULTS: The optimum working reaction volume and reaction time for LFIA was 100 µL and 2 min, respectively. The PCR-LFIA assay only detected CPV-2, and did not show cross-detection of non-CPV strains. Experiments showed analytical sensitivity of 3 × 101 copies/µL and demonstrated the PCR-LFIA has a diagnostic agreement of 100% with conventional PCR on detection of clinical samples (22.6% positive, 14/62). Cutoff value is 146. The results were further verified by sequencing and BLAST software. The entire process from PCR step only takes ~ 80 min. CONCLUSIONS: This approach provides an attractive platform for rapid and quantitative detection of CPV-2, indicating great promise as a convenient molecular detection tool to facilitate disease outbreak investigations and response timely.

Dietary sodium/potassium intake and cognitive impairment in older patients with hypertension: Data from NHANES 2011-2014.

This study aimed to assess the relationship between dietary sodium/potassium intake and cognition in elderly individuals with hypertension. We designed a cross-sectional study based on the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014. A multivariable-logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between sodium/potassium intake and cognitive impairment. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) based on regression analysis to assess the nonlinear dose-response relationship between dietary sodium intake and cognitive performance. Out of the 2276 participants included in this study, 1670 patients had hypertension. Compared with the lowest quartile of dietary sodium intake, the lowest weighted odds ratio of cognitive impairment in DSST was observed in Q4 (OR = 0.45, 0.29-0.70), and a similar trend was observed in AFT (OR = 0.34, 0.18-0.65). After adjusting the covariates, the lowest weighted multivariable-adjusted OR of cognitive impairment in DSST were also observed in Q4 (OR = 0.47, 0.26-0.84) compared with the lowest quartile of dietary sodium intake. The RCS results showed that dietary sodium intake was U-shaped and associated with the risk of cognitive impairment in the DSST (Pnon-linearity  = 0.0067). In addition, no significant association was observed between dietary potassium intake and different dimensions of cognitive performance. In conclusion, excessively high and low low dietary sodium were associated with impairment of specific processing speed, sustained attention, and working memory for elderly patients with hypertension in the United States. However, no association was observed between dietary potassium intake and cognition.

Effect of different treatments for obstructive sleep apnoea on blood pressure.

OBJECTIVE: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common cause of secondary hypertension. This network meta-analysis (NMA) assessed the effect of different OSA treatments on lowering blood pressure. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials. The search strategies included the concepts of OSA, blood pressure, hypertension, and blood pressure-reducing treatments without language or data restriction (from inception to 1 June 2021). The outcomes included office SBP, office DBP, daytime SBP (dSBP) and DBP (dDBP), and night-time SBP (nSBP) and DBP (nDBP). A Bayesian network meta-analysis was performed, and mean differences with 95% credibility intervals were calculated. RESULTS: We reviewed 49 randomized controlled trials involving 4893 patients and the following interventions: continuous positive-airway pressure (CPAP), mandibular advancement devices, nocturnal supplemental oxygen, surgery, ß-blocker, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), renal sympathetic denervation (RDN), mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), calcium channel blockers. MRAs were significantly associated with blood pressure reduction followed by ACEI/ARB. RDN could reduce office SBP, office DBP, 24-h SBP, 24-h DBP, dSBP, and dDBP. CPAP also demonstrated modest blood pressure lowering. CONCLUSION: MRAs and ACEIs/ARBs can reduce blood pressure effectively in patients with OSA. RDN is a novel hypertension treatment that lowered blood pressure in such patients. CPAP was associated with mild but stable blood pressure reduction, and it might be helpful as an adjunctive therapy in OSA patients with hypertension. REVIEW REGISTRATION: This systematic review and meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO: CRD42021240891.

Survey of basic medical researchers on the awareness of animal experimental designs and reporting standards in China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the awareness and use of the Systematic Review Center for Laboratory Animal Experimentation's (SYRCLE) risk-of-bias tool, the Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) reporting guidelines, and Gold Standard Publication Checklist (GSPC) in China in basic medical researchers of animal experimental studies. METHODS: A national questionnaire-based survey targeting basic medical researchers was carried in China to investigate the basic information and awareness of SYRCLE's risk of bias tool, ARRIVE guidelines, GSPC, and animal experimental bias risk control factors. The EpiData3.1 software was used for data entry, and Microsoft Excel 2013 was used for statistical analysis in this study. The number of cases (n) and percentage (%) of classified information were statistically described, and the comparison between groups (i.e., current students vs. research staff) was performed using chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 298 questionnaires were distributed, and 272 responses were received, which included 266 valid questionnaires (from 118 current students and 148 research staff). Among the 266 survey participants, only 15.8% was aware of the SYRCLE's risk of bias tool, with significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.003), and the awareness rates of ARRIVE guidelines and GSPC were only 9.4% and 9.0%, respectively; 58.6% survey participants believed that the reports of animal experimental studies in Chinese literature were inadequate, with significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.004). In addition, only approximately 1/3 of the survey participants had read systematic reviews and meta-analysis reports of animal experimental studies; only 16/266 (6.0%) had carried out/participated in and 11/266 (4.1%) had published systematic reviews/meta-analysis of animal experimental studies. CONCLUSIONS: The awareness and use rates of SYRCLE's risk-of-bias tool, the ARRIVE guidelines, and the GSPC were low among Chinese basic medical researchers. Therefore, specific measures are necessary to promote and popularize these standards and specifications and to introduce these standards into guidelines of Chinese domestic journals as soon as possible to raise awareness and increase use rates of researchers and journal editors, thereby improving the quality of animal experimental methods and reports.