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BACKGROUND: Health-state utility values (HSUVs) for post-transplant refractory cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (with or without resistance [R/R]) were determined using a time trade-off (TTO) survey completed by 1,020 members of the UK general public. METHODS: Existing literature and qualitative interviews with clinicians experienced in treating R/R CMV were used to develop initial draft vignettes of health states. The vignettes were refined to describe three clinical states of R/R CMV: clinically significant and symptomatic (CS-symptomatic CMV); clinically significant and asymptomatic (CS-asymptomatic CMV); and non-clinically significant (non-CS CMV). Each clinical state was valued independently and combined with three events of interest: graft-versus-host disease; kidney graft loss; and lung graft loss to generate twelve vignettes. The final vignettes were evaluated by a sample of the UK general public using an online TTO survey. Exclusion criteria were applied to the final data to ensure that responses included in the analysis met pre-defined quality control criteria. RESULTS: Overall, 738 participants met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. The sample was representative of the UK general population in terms of age and sex. Non-CS CMV had the highest mean HSUV (95% confidence interval) (0.815 [0.791, 0.839]), followed by CS-asymptomatic CMV (0.635 [0.602, 0.669]), and CS-symptomatic CMV (0.443 [0.404, 0.482]). CS-symptomatic CMV with lung graft loss had the lowest mean HSUV (0.289), with none of the health states considered on average worse than dead. CONCLUSIONS: Post transplant R/R CMV has substantial impact on the health-related quality of life of patients. The utility values obtained in this study may be used to support economic evaluations of therapies for R/R CMV infection.
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Infecciones por Citomegalovirus , Enfermedad Injerto contra Huésped , Humanos , Receptores de Trasplantes , Calidad de Vida , Análisis Costo-BeneficioRESUMEN
PURPOSE: Poor cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with increased all cause morbidity and mortality. In children with obesity, maximum oxygen uptake (VÌO2max) may not be achieved due to reduced motivation and peripheral fatigue. We aimed to identify a valid submaximal surrogate for VÌO2max in children with obesity. METHOD: Ninety-two children with obesity (7-16 years) completed a maximal exercise treadmill test and entered a three-month exercise and/or nutrition intervention after which the exercise test was repeated (n = 63). Participants were required to reach VÌO2max to be included in this analysis (n = 32 at baseline and n = 13 at both time-points). The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) was determined as the slope of the line when VÌO2 (L/min) was plotted against log VÌE. Associations between the maximal OUES, submaximal OUES (at 3, 4, 5 and 6 min of the exercise test) and VÌO2max were calculated. RESULTS: In the cross-sectional analysis, VÌO2max (L/min) was strongly correlated with 5-min OUES independent of Tanner puberty stage and sex (R2 = .80, p < .001). Longitudinal changes in VÌO2max were closely reflected by changes in 5-min OUES independent of change in percent body fat (R2 = .63, p < .05). CONCLUSION: The 5-min OUES is a viable alternative to VÌO2max when assessing children with obesity.
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Capacidad Cardiovascular , Consumo de Oxígeno , Obesidad Infantil/fisiopatología , Adolescente , Niño , Estudios Transversales , Prueba de Esfuerzo , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Obesidad Infantil/terapia , Valores de ReferenciaRESUMEN
Aging is the largest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Patients with Down syndrome (DS) develop symptoms consistent with early-onset AD, suggesting that overexpression of chromosome 21 genes such as Regulator of Calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) plays a role in AD pathogenesis. RCAN1 levels are increased in the brain of DS and AD patients but also in the human brain with normal aging. RCAN1 has been implicated in several neuronal functions, but whether its increased expression is correlative or causal in the aging-related progression of AD remains elusive. We show that brain-specific overexpression of the human RCAN1.1S isoform in mice promotes early age-dependent memory and synaptic plasticity deficits, tau pathology, and dysregulation of dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) activity associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, reproducing key AD features. Based on these findings, we propose that chronic RCAN1 overexpression during aging alters DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission and thus acts to promote AD-related progressive neurodegeneration.
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Envejecimiento/fisiología , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/fisiopatología , Encéfalo/fisiopatología , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intracelular/metabolismo , Mitocondrias/metabolismo , Proteínas Musculares/metabolismo , Degeneración Nerviosa/fisiopatología , Envejecimiento/patología , Envejecimiento/psicología , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/patología , Animales , Encéfalo/patología , Estudios de Cohortes , Proteínas de Unión al ADN , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Síndrome de Down/patología , Síndrome de Down/fisiopatología , Dinaminas/metabolismo , Humanos , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intracelular/genética , Potenciación a Largo Plazo/fisiología , Masculino , Trastornos de la Memoria/patología , Trastornos de la Memoria/fisiopatología , Ratones Transgénicos , Mitocondrias/patología , Proteínas Musculares/genética , Degeneración Nerviosa/patología , Estrés Oxidativo/fisiología , Proteínas tau/metabolismoRESUMEN
Regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) controls the activity of calcium/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase calcineurin (CaN), which has been implicated in human anxiety disorders. Previously, we reported that RCAN1 functioned as an inhibitor of CaN activity in the brain. However, we now find enhanced phosphorylation of a CaN substrate, cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), in the brains of Rcan1 knock-out (KO) mice. Consistent with enhanced CREB activation, we also observe enhanced expression of a CREB transcriptional target, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in Rcan1 KO mice. We also discovered that RCAN1 deletion or blockade of RCAN1-CaN interaction reduced CaN and protein phosphatase-1 localization to nuclear-enriched protein fractions and promoted CREB activation. Because of the potential links between CREB, BDNF, and anxiety, we examined the role of RCAN1 in the expression of innate anxiety. Rcan1 KO mice displayed reduced anxiety in several tests of unconditioned anxiety. Acute pharmacological inhibition of CaN rescued these deficits while transgenic overexpression of human RCAN1 increased anxiety. Finally, we found that Rcan1 KO mice lacked the early anxiogenic response to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine and had improved latency for its therapeutic anxiolytic effects. Together, our study suggests that RCAN1 plays an important role in the expression of anxiety-related and SSRI-related behaviors through CaN-dependent signaling pathways. These results identify RCAN1 as a mediator of innate emotional states and possible therapeutic target for anxiety.
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Ansiedad/metabolismo , Fluoxetina/uso terapéutico , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intracelular/metabolismo , Proteínas Musculares/metabolismo , Inhibidores Selectivos de la Recaptación de Serotonina/uso terapéutico , Animales , Ansiedad/tratamiento farmacológico , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Factor Neurotrófico Derivado del Encéfalo/genética , Factor Neurotrófico Derivado del Encéfalo/metabolismo , Calcineurina/metabolismo , Proteínas de Unión al Calcio , Proteína de Unión a Elemento de Respuesta al AMP Cíclico/metabolismo , Proteínas de Unión al ADN , Eliminación de Gen , Humanos , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intracelular/genética , Ratones , Proteínas Musculares/genética , Fosforilación , Proteína Fosfatasa 1/metabolismo , Tiempo de ReacciónRESUMEN
A cpSRP [chloroplast SRP (signal recognition particle)] comprising cpSRP54 and cpSRP43 subunits mediates the insertion of light-harvesting proteins into the thylakoid membrane. We dissected its interaction with a full-length membrane protein substrate in aqueous solution by insertion of site-specific photo-activatable cross-linkers into in vitro-synthesized Lhcb1 (major light-harvesting chlorophyll-binding protein of photosystem II). We show that Lhcb1 residues 166-176 cross-link specifically to the cpSRP43 subunit. Some cross-link positions within Lhcb1 are in the 'L18' peptide required for targeting of cpSRP substrates, whereas other cross-linking positions define a new targeting signal in the third transmembrane span. Lhcb1 was not found to cross-link to cpSRP54 at any position, and cross-linking to cpSRP43 is unaffected by the absence of cpSRP54. cpSRP43 thus effectively binds substrates autonomously, and its ability to independently bind an extended 20+-residue substrate region highlights a major difference with other SRP types where the SRP54 subunit binds to hydrophobic target sequences. The results also show that cpSRP43 can bind to a hydrophobic, three-membrane span, substrate in aqueous solution, presumably reflecting a role for cpSRP in the chloroplast stroma. This mode of action, and the specificity of the cpSRP43-substrate interaction, may be associated with cpSRP's unique post-translational mode of action.
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Cloroplastos/metabolismo , Proteínas de la Membrana/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Partícula de Reconocimiento de Señal/química , Partícula de Reconocimiento de Señal/metabolismo , Tilacoides/metabolismo , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/química , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Sitios de Unión , Complejos de Proteína Captadores de Luz/química , Complejos de Proteína Captadores de Luz/metabolismo , Proteínas de la Membrana/química , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Proteínas de Plantas/química , Conformación Proteica , Estructura Terciaria de Proteína , Soluciones/metabolismoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Despite rapid technological advances and growth, quality in imaging has not received the focus seen elsewhere in cardiovascular medicine, resulting in significant gaps between guidelines and practice. Contemporary echocardiography practice requires comprehensive real-time data collection to allow dynamic auditing and benchmarking of key performance indices. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) proposed additional data standardisation, structured reporting identifying key data elements and imaging registries. In the absence of an Australian echocardiography registry, we developed a national clinical quality registry (GenesisCare Cardiovascular Outcomes Echo Registry). We hypothesised that measurement and local reporting of data would improve compliance of echo studies with quality guidelines and hence their clinical value. METHODS AND RESULTS: We prospectively collected data on 4 099 281 echocardiographic studies entered directly into a central electronic database from 63 laboratories across four Australian states between 2010 and 2021. Real-time auditing of key data elements and introduction of quality improvement pathways were performed to maximise completeness and uniformity of data acquisition and reporting. We compared completeness of key data element acquisition (AV peak velocity, left ventricular ejection fraction, E/e', LA area, rhythm, RVSP) by time and state using de-identified data. Key performance outcomes benchmarked against the aggregated study cohort and international standards were reported to individual sites to drive quality improvement. Between 2010 and 2014 there were significant improvements in data completeness (72.0%+/-26.8% vs 86.8%+/-13.5%, p=0.02), which were maintained to 2020. In addition, interstate variability fell for both EF and E/e' (p<0.002). CONCLUSIONS: This large-scale collaboration provides a platform for the development of major quality improvement initiatives in echocardiography. Introduction of local quality assurance programmes via a unified national data set significantly improved the completeness of reporting of key echo quality measures. This in turn significantly improved the quality of, and reduced the interstate variability of, echo data. Developing a centralised database allowed rapid adoption nationally of local quality improvements.
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Ecocardiografía , Función Ventricular Izquierda , Australia , Humanos , Sistema de Registros , Volumen Sistólico , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
We describe a novel, typically prokaryotic, sensor kinase in chloroplasts of green plants. The gene for this chloroplast sensor kinase (CSK) is found in cyanobacteria, prokaryotes from which chloroplasts evolved. The CSK gene has moved, during evolution, from the ancestral chloroplast to the nuclear genomes of eukaryotic algae and green plants. The CSK protein is now synthesised in the cytosol of photosynthetic eukaryotes and imported into their chloroplasts as a protein precursor. In the model higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana, CSK is autophosphorylated and required for control of transcription of chloroplast genes by the redox state of an electron carrier connecting photosystems I and II. CSK therefore provides a redox regulatory mechanism that couples photosynthesis to gene expression. This mechanism is inherited directly from the cyanobacterial ancestor of chloroplasts, is intrinsic to chloroplasts, and is targeted to chloroplast genes.
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Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Cloroplastos/enzimología , Cloroplastos/genética , Histidina Quinasa/genética , Histidina Quinasa/metabolismo , Fotosíntesis/genética , Proteínas Quinasas/genética , Proteínas Quinasas/metabolismo , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Arabidopsis/enzimología , Arabidopsis/genética , Secuencia de Bases , Cianobacterias/enzimología , Cianobacterias/genética , Cartilla de ADN/genética , Evolución Molecular , Expresión Génica , Genes de Plantas , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Mutación , Oxidación-Reducción , Plantas Modificadas Genéticamente , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/metabolismo , Homología de Secuencia de Aminoácido , Transducción de Señal , Simbiosis , Nicotiana/enzimología , Nicotiana/genética , Transcripción GenéticaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The "sparkled" echocardiographic appearance of amyloid has become less visually obvious in the era of harmonic imaging. Significantly dilated atria in the setting of a normal sized ventricle may be another easy visual marker for cardiac amyloidosis. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of echocardiograms of patients with biopsy-proven cardiac amyloid compared with patients with hypertension was conducted. There were 36 patients in each group, and they were matched for left ventricular wall thickness, as well as age and sex. RESULTS: Patients with cardiac amyloid had significantly larger atria than the group with hypertension (left atrial areas 29 cm(2) versus 19 cm(2), p<0.001, AUC 0.84, volumes 100 cm(3) versus 55 cm(3), p<0.001, AUC 0.915). A volume of 69 cm(3) produced a specificity and sensitivity of 85% for amyloidosis. CONCLUSIONS: Atrial dilatation can be used as a visual marker for cardiac amyloidosis. This may be a simple visual method to differentiate this infiltrative cardiomyopathy from left ventricular hypertrophy.
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Amiloidosis/diagnóstico por imagen , Hipertrofia Ventricular Izquierda/diagnóstico por imagen , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Ecocardiografía/métodos , Femenino , Atrios Cardíacos/diagnóstico por imagen , Humanos , Masculino , Tamaño de los Órganos , Estudios RetrospectivosRESUMEN
Although a rare disease, neuroblastoma accounts for the highest proportion of childhood cancer deaths. There is a lack of recurrent somatic mutations in neuroblastoma embryonal tumours, suggesting a possible role for epigenetic alterations in driving this cancer. While an increasing number of reports suggest an association of MYCN with epigenetic machinery, the mechanisms of these interactions are poorly understood in the neuroblastoma setting. Utilising chemo-genomic approaches we revealed global MYCN-epigenetic interactions and identified numerous epigenetic proteins as MYCN targets. The epigenetic regulators HDAC2, CBX8 and CBP (CREBBP) were all MYCN target genes and also putative MYCN interactors. MYCN-related epigenetic genes included SMARCs, HDACs, SMYDs, BRDs and CREBBP. Expression levels of the majority of MYCN-related epigenetic genes showed predictive ability for neuroblastoma patient outcome. Furthermore, a compound library screen targeting epigenetic proteins revealed broad susceptibility of neuroblastoma cells to all classes of epigenetic regulators, belonging to families of bromodomains, HDACs, HATs, histone methyltransferases, DNA methyltransferases and lysin demethylases. Ninety-six percent of the compounds reduced MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell viability. We show that the C646 (CBP-bromodomain targeting compound) exhibits switch-like temporal and dose response behaviour and is effective at reducing neuroblastoma viability. Responsiveness correlates with MYCN expression, with MYCN-amplified cells being more susceptible to C646 treatment. Thus, exploiting the broad vulnerability of neuroblastoma cells to epigenetic targeting compounds represents an exciting strategy in neuroblastoma treatment, particularly for high-risk MYCN-amplified tumours.
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BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease is a lifelong condition that can affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Some people with Crohn's disease may be at higher risk of following a severe course of disease than others and being able to identify the level of risk a patient has could lead to personalised management. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prognostic test accuracy, clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of two tools for the stratification of people with a diagnosis of Crohn's disease by risk of following a severe course of disease. DATA SOURCES: The data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to inform the systematic reviews on prognostic accuracy, clinical impact of the prognostic tools, and economic evaluations. Additional data sources to inform the review of economic evaluations were NHS Economic Evaluation Database, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and the Health Technology Assessment Database. REVIEW METHODS: Systematic reviews of electronic databases were carried out from inception to June 2019 for studies assessing the prognostic accuracy and clinical impact of the IBDX® (Crohn's disease Prognosis Test; Glycominds Ltd, Lod, Israel) biomarker stratification tool and the PredictSURE-IBD™ (PredictImmune Ltd, Cambridge, UK) tool. Systematic reviews of studies reporting on the cost-effectiveness of treatments for Crohn's disease were run from inception to July 2019. Two reviewers independently agreed on studies for inclusion, assessed the quality of included studies and validated the data extracted from studies. Clinical and methodological heterogeneity across studies precluded the synthesis of data for prognostic accuracy. A de novo economic model was developed to compare the costs and consequences of two treatment approaches - the 'top-down' and 'step-up' strategies, with step-up considered standard care - in people at high risk of following a severe course of Crohn's disease. The model comprised a decision tree and a Markov cohort model. RESULTS: Sixteen publications, including eight original studies (n = 1478), were deemed relevant to the review of prognostic accuracy. Documents supplied by the companies marketing the prognostic tools were also reviewed. No study meeting the eligibility criteria reported on the sensitivity or specificity of the IBDX biomarker stratification tool, whereas one study provided estimates of sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value for the PredictSURE-IBD tool. All identified studies were observational and were considered to provide weak evidence on the effectiveness of the tools. Owing to the paucity of data on the two tools, in the base-case analysis the accuracy of PredictSURE-IBD was assumed to be 100%. Accuracy of IBDX was assumed to be 100% in a scenario analysis, with the cost of the tests being the only difference between the analyses. The incremental analysis of cost-effectiveness demonstrated that top-down (via the use of PredictSURE-IBD in the model) is more expensive and generates fewer quality-adjusted life-years than step-up (via the standard care arm of the model). LIMITATIONS: Despite extensive systematic searches of the literature, no robust evidence was identified of the prognostic accuracy of the biomarker stratification tools IBDX and PredictSURE-IBD. CONCLUSIONS: Although the model indicates that standard care dominates the tests, the lack of evidence of prognostic accuracy of the two tests and the uncertainty around the benefits of the top-down and step-up treatment approaches mean that the results should be interpreted as indicative rather than definitive. STUDY REGISTRATION: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42019138737. FUNDING: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Evidence Synthesis programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 25, No. 23. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.
Crohn's disease is a condition in which parts of the digestive system become inflamed (swollen). People of any age can develop Crohn's disease. It is a lifelong condition for which there is no cure. In the UK, Crohn's disease affects about 1 in every 650 people. Any part of the digestive system can be affected, and the severity of the disease can vary from person to person. Symptoms come and go, and there can be times when there are no symptoms at all. Common symptoms of Crohn's disease are diarrhoea, stomach-ache and blood in faeces. Treatment is given to reduce or control symptoms and to try to stop inflammation from coming back. Some people with Crohn's disease are more likely than others to have more relapses and to develop complications of Crohn's disease that might require surgery. This project looked at how well two tools worked at identifying people with Crohn's disease who might develop complications or need surgery. Identifying those who have a higher chance of experiencing complications of Crohn's disease could help them and their doctor to choose their treatment, with the goal of reducing the number of relapses and the risk of surgery in the longer term. In addition, the review assessed whether or not the tools offered value for money. We found limited evidence of how well the tools worked in identifying people who were more likely to develop complications of Crohn's disease. The lack of evidence on the tools meant that the cost-effectiveness analysis could only assess the value for money of the treatment that is given in clinical practice at this time or of more intensive treatments for people who are more likely to develop complications. The analysis found that current standard care offers more value for money than intensive treatments for people with a higher chance of developing complications of Crohn's disease.
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Enfermedad de Crohn , Análisis Costo-Beneficio , Enfermedad de Crohn/diagnóstico , Humanos , Pronóstico , Años de Vida Ajustados por Calidad de Vida , Evaluación de la Tecnología BiomédicaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The time course of regional functional recovery following revascularization with regards to the presence or absence of infarction is poorly known. We studied the effect of the presence of chronic non-transmural infarction on the time course of recovery of myocardial perfusion and function after elective revascularization. METHODS: Eighteen patients (mean age 69, range 52-84, 17 men) prospectively underwent cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), delayed contrast enhanced MRI and rest/stress 99m-Tc-tetrofosmin single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) before, one and six months after elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). RESULTS: Dysfunctional myocardial segments (n = 337/864, 39%) were classified according to the presence (n = 164) or absence (n = 173) of infarction. Infarct transmurality in dysfunctional segments was largely non-transmural (transmurality = 31 +/- 22%). Quantitative stress perfusion and wall thickening increased at one month in dysfunctional segments without infarction (p < 0.001), with no further improvement at six months. Despite improvements in stress perfusion at one month (p < 0.001), non-transmural infarction displayed a slower and lesser improvement in wall thickening at one (p < 0.05) and six months (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Dysfunctional segments without infarction represent repetitively stunned or hibernating myocardium, and these segments improved both perfusion and function within one month after revascularization with no improvement thereafter. Although dysfunctional segments with non-transmural infarction improved in perfusion at one month, functional recovery was mostly seen between one and six months, possibly reflecting a more severe ischemic burden. These findings may be of value in the clinical assessment of regional functional recovery in the time period after revascularization.
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Infarto del Miocardio/fisiopatología , Infarto del Miocardio/terapia , Revascularización Miocárdica , Recuperación de la Función/fisiología , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Angioplastia Coronaria con Balón/métodos , Enfermedad Crónica , Puente de Arteria Coronaria/métodos , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Revascularización Miocárdica/métodos , Estudios Prospectivos , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Cryptogenic stroke is a stroke for which no cause is identified after standard diagnostic tests. Long-term implantable cardiac monitors may be better at diagnosing atrial fibrillation and provide an opportunity to reduce the risk of stroke recurrence with anticoagulants. OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to assess the diagnostic test accuracy, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three implantable monitors [BioMonitor 2-AF™ (Biotronik SE & Co. KG, Berlin, Germany), Confirm Rx™ (Abbott Laboratories, Lake Bluff, IL, USA) and Reveal LINQ™ (Medtronic plc, Minneapolis, MN, USA)] in patients who have had a cryptogenic stroke and for whom no atrial fibrillation is detected after 24 hours of external electrocardiographic monitoring. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and Health Technology Assessment databases were searched from inception until September 2018. REVIEW METHODS: A systematic review was undertaken. Two reviewers agreed on studies for inclusion and performed quality assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. Results were discussed narratively because there were insufficient data for synthesis. A two-stage de novo economic model was developed: (1) a short-term patient flow model to identify cryptogenic stroke patients who have had atrial fibrillation detected and been prescribed anticoagulation treatment (rather than remaining on antiplatelet treatment) and (2) a long-term Markov model that captured the lifetime costs and benefits of patients on either anticoagulation or antiplatelet treatment. RESULTS: One randomised controlled trial, Cryptogenic Stroke and underlying Atrial Fibrillation (CRYSTAL-AF) (Sanna T, Diener HC, Passman RS, Di Lazzaro V, Bernstein RA, Morillo CA, et al. Cryptogenic stroke and underlying atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2014;370:2478-86), was identified, and no diagnostic test accuracy study was identified. The CRYSTAL-AF trial compared the Reveal™ XT (a Reveal LINQ predecessor) (Medtronic plc) monitor with standard of care monitoring. Twenty-six single-arm observational studies for the Reveal devices were also identified. The only data for BioMonitor 2-AF or Confirm Rx were from mixed population studies supplied by the companies. Atrial fibrillation detection in the CRYSTAL-AF trial was higher with the Reveal XT than with standard monitoring at all time points. By 36 months, atrial fibrillation was detected in 19% of patients with an implantable cardiac monitor and in 2.3% of patients receiving conventional follow-up. The 26 observational studies demonstrated that, even in a cryptogenic stroke population, atrial fibrillation detection rates are highly variable and most cases are asymptomatic; therefore, they probably would not have been picked up without an implantable cardiac monitor. Device-related adverse events, such as pain and infection, were low in all studies. The de novo economic model produced incremental cost effectiveness ratios comparing implantable cardiac monitors with standard of care monitoring to detect atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke patients based on data for the Reveal XT device, which can be related to Reveal LINQ. The BioMonitor 2-AF and Confirm RX were included in the analysis by making a strong assumption of equivalence with Reveal LINQ. The results indicate that implantable cardiac monitors could be considered cost-effective at a £20,000-30,000 threshold. When each device is compared incrementally, BioMonitor 2-AF dominates Reveal LINQ and Confirm RX. LIMITATIONS: The cost-effectiveness analysis for implantable cardiac monitors is based on a strong assumption of clinical equivalence and should be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSIONS: All three implantable cardiac monitors could be considered cost-effective at a £20,000-30,000 threshold, compared with standard of care monitoring, for cryptogenic stroke patients with no atrial fibrillation detected after 24 hours of external electrocardiographic monitoring; however, further clinical studies are required to confirm their efficacy in cryptogenic stroke patients. STUDY REGISTRATION: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42018109216. FUNDING: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 24, No. 5. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.
An abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) is an important cause of stroke. Clots form in the heart, break off, pass into blood vessels in the head and block the blood supply to parts of the brain. This is important to diagnose because atrial fibrillation can be treated with blood-thinning drugs, which can prevent further stroke. For this reason, all patients with stroke are tested for atrial fibrillation. Unfortunately, the standard tests, which include 24 hours of outpatient external heart monitoring, may miss the condition. Implantable cardiac monitors, which are small devices placed beneath the skin of the chest that can monitor the heart for up to 4 years, may be better than the standard tests. This study compared three different implantable cardiac monitors [BioMonitor 2-AF™ (Biotronik SE & Co. KG, Berlin, Germany), Confirm Rx™ (Abbott Laboratories, Lake Bluff, IL, USA) and Reveal LINQ™ (Medtronic plc, Minneapolis, MN, USA)] to determine how effective they are at detecting atrial fibrillation in people who have had a cryptogenic stroke (a stroke for which no cause is identified), whether or not they are better than standard monitoring and whether or not they offer good value for money. No evidence was found that directly compared the three implantable monitors in cryptogenic stroke patients. The limited evidence found suggested that all three monitors had few side effects; only one monitor (Reveal LINQ) had evidence that it was better than standard monitoring. By 36 months, 19% of patients had atrial fibrillation detected by Reveal LINQ compared with only 2.3% with conventional monitoring. There was insufficient information for the other monitors. Overall, implantable monitors offer value for money when compared with standard monitoring for people who have had a cryptogenic stroke and for whom atrial fibrillation has not been detected with standard tests.
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Fibrilación Atrial/diagnóstico , Análisis Costo-Beneficio/economía , Electrocardiografía Ambulatoria/instrumentación , Accidente Cerebrovascular/etiología , Evaluación de la Tecnología Biomédica , Anticoagulantes/uso terapéutico , Alemania , Humanos , Inhibidores de Agregación Plaquetaria/administración & dosificación , Inhibidores de Agregación Plaquetaria/uso terapéutico , Accidente Cerebrovascular/tratamiento farmacológicoRESUMEN
The emergence of ambient ionization techniques and their combination with smaller, cheaper mass spectrometers is beginning to make real the possibility of mass spectrometry measurements being made routinely outside of traditional laboratory settings. Here, we describe the development of an atmospheric solids analysis probe (ASAP) source for a commercially available miniaturized, single-quadrupole mass spectrometer and subsequent modification of the instrument to allow it to run as a deployable system; we further go on to describe the application of this instrument to the identification of the contents of drug seizures. For the drug seizure analysis, a small quantity of the material (powder, tablet, resin, etc.) was dissolved in ethanol and shaken to extract the analytes, the resulting solutions were then sampled by dipping a sealed glass capillary into the solution prior to analysis by ASAP-MS. Identification of the contents of the seizures was carried out using a NIST searching approach utilizing a bespoke spectral library containing 46 compounds representative of those most commonly encountered in UK forensic laboratories. In order to increase confidence in identification the library sample and subsequent analyses were carried out using a four-channel acquisition method; each channel in this method used a different cone voltage (15, 30, 50, and 70 V) inducing differing levels of in-source fragmentation in each channel; the match score across each channel was then used for identification. Using this developed method, a set of 50 real-life drug samples was analyzed with each of these being identified correctly using the library searching method.
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Thioredoxins play key regulatory roles in chloroplasts by linking photosynthetic light reactions to a series of plastid functions. In addition to the established groups of thioredoxins, f, m, x, and y, novel plant thioredoxins were also considered to include WCRKC motif proteins, CDSP32, the APR proteins, the lilium proteins and HCF164. Despite their important roles, the subcellular locations of many novel thioredoxins has remained unknown. Here, we report a study of their subcellular location using the cDNA clone resources of TAIR. In addition to filling all gaps in the subcellular map of the established chloroplast thioredoxins f, m, x and y, we show that the members of the WCRKC family are targeted to the stroma and provide evidence for a stromal location of the lilium proteins. The combined data from this and related studies indicate a consistent stromal location of the known Arabidopsis chloroplast thioredoxins except for thylakoid-bound HCF164.
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Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Arabidopsis/genética , Tiorredoxinas en Cloroplasto/metabolismo , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Tiorredoxinas en Cloroplasto/genética , ADN Complementario/genética , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Alineación de Secuencia , Homología de Secuencia de AminoácidoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Knowledge about age-specific normal values for left ventricular mass (LVM), end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV) and ejection fraction (EF) by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is of importance to differentiate between health and disease and to assess the severity of disease. The aims of the study were to determine age and gender specific normal reference values and to explore the normal physiological variation of these parameters from adolescence to late adulthood, in a cross sectional study. METHODS: Gradient echo CMR was performed at 1.5 T in 96 healthy volunteers (11-81 years, 50 male). Gender-specific analysis of parameters was undertaken in both absolute values and adjusted for body surface area (BSA). RESULTS: Age and gender specific normal ranges for LV volumes, mass and function are presented from the second through the eighth decade of life. LVM, ESV and EDV rose during adolescence and declined in adulthood. SV and EF decreased with age. Compared to adult females, adult males had higher BSA-adjusted values of EDV (p = 0.006) and ESV (p < 0.001), similar SV (p = 0.51) and lower EF (p = 0.014). No gender differences were seen in the youngest, 11-15 year, age range. CONCLUSION: LV volumes, mass and function vary over a broad age range in healthy individuals. LV volumes and mass both rise in adolescence and decline with age. EF showed a rapid decline in adolescence compared to changes throughout adulthood. These findings demonstrate the need for age and gender specific normal ranges for clinical use.
Asunto(s)
Imagen Eco-Planar/estadística & datos numéricos , Ventrículos Cardíacos/anatomía & histología , Volumen Sistólico/fisiología , Función Ventricular Izquierda/fisiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Distribución por Edad , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Niño , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Tamaño de los Órganos/fisiología , Valores de Referencia , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Distribución por Sexo , Suecia/epidemiología , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Background: Increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is strongly associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. Accurate quantification of VAT is available through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which incurs a significant financial and time burden. We aimed to assess the accuracy of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry- (DXA-) derived VAT (DXA-VAT) against a gold standard MRI protocol (MRI-VAT) in children with normal weight and obesity cross-sectionally, and over the course of a lifestyle intervention. Methodology: MRI-VAT and DXA-VAT were quantified in 61 children (30 normal weight and 31 with obesity) at baseline. Children with obesity entered a three-month exercise and/or nutrition intervention after which VAT was reassessed. MRI- and DXA-VAT cross-sectional area, volume, and mass were quantified, and associations were calculated at baseline (n = 61) and pre-post intervention (n = 28, 3 participants dropped out). Method agreement was assessed through Bland-Altman analysis, linear regression, and Passing-Bablok regression. Results: At baseline, all DXA- and MRI-VAT outcomes were strongly associated (r = 0.90, P < 0.001). However, there were no significant associations between absolute or relative change in DXA- and MRI-VAT outcomes (r = 0.25-0.36, P > 0.05). DXA significantly overestimated VAT CSA (cross-sectional area), volume, and mass when compared with MRI (P < 0.001) at baseline. Significant proportional bias was observed for all DXA-VAT outcomes at baseline and for relative longitudinal changes in DXA-VAT. Conclusions: Although DXA-VAT outcomes were strongly associated with MRI-VAT outcomes at baseline, estimates were subject to proportional bias in children with obesity and normal weight. DXA lacks validity for detecting changes in VAT among children with obesity. This trial is registered with NCT01991106.
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Absorciometría de Fotón , Grasa Intraabdominal/diagnóstico por imagen , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Obesidad Infantil/diagnóstico por imagen , Adolescente , Composición Corporal , Índice de Masa Corporal , Niño , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Grasa Intraabdominal/fisiopatología , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Obesidad Infantil/fisiopatología , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Conducta de Reducción del RiesgoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Several therapies have recently been approved for use in the NHS for pretreated advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (amRCC), but there is a lack of comparative evidence to guide decisions between them. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of axitinib (Inlyta®, Pfizer Inc., NY, USA), cabozantinib (Cabometyx®, Ipsen, Slough, UK), everolimus (Afinitor®, Novartis, Basel, Switzerland), nivolumab (Opdivo®, Bristol-Myers Squibb, NY, USA), sunitinib (Sutent®, Pfizer, Inc., NY, USA) and best supportive care (BSC) for people with amRCC who were previously treated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review and mixed-treatment comparison (MTC) of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs. Primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary outcomes were objective response rates (ORRs), adverse events (AEs) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). MEDLINE, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library were searched from inception to January and June 2016 for RCTs and non-RCTs, respectively. Two reviewers abstracted data and performed critical appraisals. REVIEW METHODS: A fixed-effects MTC was conducted for OS, PFS [hazard ratios (HRs)] and ORR (odds ratios), and all were presented with 95% credible intervals (CrIs). The RCT data formed the primary analyses, with non-RCTs and studies rated as being at a high risk of bias included in sensitivity analyses (SAs). HRQoL and AE data were summarised narratively. A partitioned survival model with health states for pre progression, post progression and death was developed to perform a cost-utility analysis. Survival curves were fitted to the PFS and OS results from the MTC. A systematic review of HRQoL was undertaken to identify sources of health state utility values. RESULTS: Four RCTs (n = 2618) and eight non-RCTs (n = 1526) were included. The results show that cabozantinib has longer PFS than everolimus (HR 0.51, 95% CrI 0.41 to 0.63) and both treatments are better than BSC. Both cabozantinib (HR 0.66, 95% CrI 0.53 to 0.82) and nivolumab (HR 0.73, 95% CrI 0.60 to 0.89) have longer OS than everolimus. SAs were consistent with the primary analyses. The economic analysis, using drug list prices, shows that everolimus may be more cost-effective than BSC with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £45,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY), as it is likely to be considered an end-of-life treatment. Cabozantinib has an ICER of £126,000 per QALY compared with everolimus and is unlikely to be cost-effective. Nivolumab was dominated by cabozantinib (i.e. more costly and less effective) and axitinib was dominated by everolimus. LIMITATIONS: Treatment comparisons were limited by the small number of RCTs. However, the key limitation of the analysis is the absence of the drug prices paid by the NHS, which was a limitation that could not be avoided owing to the confidentiality of discounts given to the NHS. CONCLUSIONS: The RCT evidence suggests that cabozantinib is likely to be the most effective for PFS and OS, closely followed by nivolumab. All treatments appear to delay disease progression and prolong survival compared with BSC, although the results are heterogeneous. The economic analysis shows that at list price everolimus could be recommended as the other drugs are much more expensive with insufficient incremental benefit. The applicability of these findings to the NHS is somewhat limited because existing confidential patient access schemes could not be used in the analysis. Future work using the discounted prices at which these drugs are provided to the NHS would better inform estimates of their relative cost-effectiveness. STUDY REGISTRATION: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42016042384. FUNDING: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.
Asunto(s)
Antineoplásicos/economía , Antineoplásicos/uso terapéutico , Carcinoma de Células Renales/tratamiento farmacológico , Neoplasias Renales/tratamiento farmacológico , Anilidas/uso terapéutico , Antineoplásicos/administración & dosificación , Antineoplásicos/efectos adversos , Axitinib/uso terapéutico , Ensayos Clínicos como Asunto , Análisis Costo-Beneficio , Everolimus/uso terapéutico , Humanos , Modelos Econométricos , Nivolumab/uso terapéutico , Piridinas/uso terapéutico , Años de Vida Ajustados por Calidad de Vida , Sunitinib/uso terapéutico , Evaluación de la Tecnología Biomédica , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/antagonistas & inhibidoresRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: High intensity interval training (HIIT) confers superior cardiovascular health benefits to moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) in adults and may be efficacious for improving diminished cardiac function in obese children. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of HIIT, MICT and nutrition advice interventions on resting left ventricular (LV) peak systolic tissue velocity (S') in obese children. METHODS: Ninety-nine obese children were randomised into one of three 12-week interventions, 1) HIIT [nâ¯=â¯33, 4â¯×â¯4â¯min bouts at 85-95% maximum heart rate (HRmax), 3 times/week] and nutrition advice, 2) MICT [nâ¯=â¯32, 44 min at 60-70% HRmax, 3 times/week] and nutrition advice, and 3) nutrition advice only (nutrition) [nâ¯=â¯34]. RESULTS: Twelve weeks of HIIT and MICT were equally efficacious, but superior to nutrition, for normalising resting LV S' in children with obesity (estimated mean difference 1.0â¯cm/s, 95% confidence interval 0.5 to 1.6â¯cm/s, Pâ¯<â¯0.001; estimated mean difference 0.7â¯cm/s, 95% confidence interval 0.2 to 1.3â¯cm/s, Pâ¯=â¯0.010, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Twelve weeks of HIIT and MICT were superior to nutrition advice only for improving resting LV systolic function in obese children.
Asunto(s)
Entrenamiento de Intervalos de Alta Intensidad , Contracción Miocárdica , Obesidad Infantil/terapia , Disfunción Ventricular Izquierda/terapia , Función Ventricular Izquierda , Adolescente , Factores de Edad , Capacidad Cardiovascular , Niño , Consejo , Dieta Saludable , Ecocardiografía Doppler , Ecocardiografía de Estrés , Femenino , Estado de Salud , Humanos , Masculino , Noruega , Obesidad Infantil/complicaciones , Obesidad Infantil/diagnóstico , Obesidad Infantil/fisiopatología , Queensland , Recuperación de la Función , Factores de Riesgo , Factores de Tiempo , Resultado del Tratamiento , Disfunción Ventricular Izquierda/diagnóstico , Disfunción Ventricular Izquierda/etiología , Disfunción Ventricular Izquierda/fisiopatologíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Paediatric obesity significantly increases the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases across the lifespan. Increasing cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) could mitigate this risk. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) improves CRF in clinical adult populations but the evidence in paediatric obesity is inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of a 12-week, HIIT intervention for increasing CRF and reducing adiposity in children with obesity. METHODS: Children with obesity (n = 99, 7-16 years old) were randomised into a 12-week intervention as follows: (1) HIIT [n = 33, 4 × 4-min bouts at 85-95% maximum heart rate (HRmax), interspersed with 3 min of active recovery at 50-70% HRmax, 3 times/week] and nutrition advice; (2) moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) [n = 32, 44 min at 60-70% HRmax, 3 times/week] and nutrition advice; and (3) nutrition advice only (nutrition) [n = 34]. CRF was quantified through a maximal exercise test ([Formula: see text]) while adiposity was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and air-displacement plethysmography. RESULTS: HIIT stimulated significant increases in relative [Formula: see text] compared with MICT (+3.6 mL/kg/min, 95% CI 1.1-6.0, P = 0.004) and the nutrition intervention (+5.4 mL/kg/min, 95% CI 2.9-7.9, P = 0.001). However, the intervention had no significant effect on visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, whole body composition or cardiometabolic biomarkers (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: A 12-week, HIIT intervention was highly effective in increasing cardiorespiratory fitness when compared with MICT and nutrition interventions. While there were no concomitant reductions in adiposity or blood biomarkers, the cardiometabolic health benefit conferred through increased CRF should be noted. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NUMBER: Clinicaltrials.gov; NCT01991106.
Asunto(s)
Biomarcadores/sangre , Capacidad Cardiovascular , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/prevención & control , Terapia por Ejercicio/métodos , Entrenamiento de Intervalos de Alta Intensidad , Síndrome Metabólico/prevención & control , Obesidad Infantil/terapia , Adiposidad , Adolescente , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/fisiopatología , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Síndrome Metabólico/fisiopatología , Consumo de Oxígeno , Obesidad Infantil/complicaciones , Maduración Sexual , Factores de Tiempo , Resultado del Tratamiento , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The physiological determinants of left ventricular mass (LVM) measured by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging are not well defined as prior investigators have studied either adults or adolescents in isolation or have not strictly excluded hypertension or accounted for the effects of exercise habits, haemodynamic, demographic, or body shape characteristics. METHODS: Ninety-seven healthy volunteers (11-81 years, 51 males) underwent CMR. All parameters [unstandardized and adjusted for body surface area (BSA)] were analysed according to gender and by adolescence versus adulthood (adolescents<20 years, adults>or=20 years). The influence of haemodynamic factors, exercise and demographic factors on LVM were determined with multivariate linear regression. RESULTS: Left ventricular mass rose during adolescence and declined in adulthood. LVM and LVMBSA were higher in males both in adults (LVM: 188+/-22 versus 140+/-21 g, P<0.001; LVMBSA: 94+/-11 versus 80+/-11 g m(-2), P<0.001) and in adolescents when adjusted for BSA (LVM: 128+/-29 versus 107+/-20 g, P=0.063; LVMBSA: 82+/-8 versus 71+/-10 g m(-2), P=0.025). In adults, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and self-reported physical activity increased while meridional and circumferential wall stress were constant with age. Multivariate regression analysis revealed age, gender and BSA as the major determinants of LVM (global R2=0.68). CONCLUSIONS: Normal LVM shows variation over a broad age range in both genders with a rise in adolescence and subsequent decline with increasing age in adulthood despite an increase in SBP and physical activity. BSA, age and gender were found to be major contributors to the variation in LVM in healthy adults, while haemodynamic factors, exercise and wall stress were not.