Five-Year Results of Spontaneous Isolated Superior Mesenteric Artery Dissection from Two Teaching Hospitals in China.

BACKGROUND: To present 5-year results of management on spontaneous isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection (SISMAD) from 2 teaching hospitals in China. METHODS: The clinical data of 41 patients with SISMAD were retrospectively collected from 2 teaching hospitals between December 2016 and December 2021. Therapeutic methods mainly included open surgery, endovascular management, and conservative therapy. Patients' demographics, total number of WBC (White blood cell, WBC), the percentage of NEUT (Neutrophil), the level of CRP (C-reactive protein, CRP), duration of abdominal pain on admission, YOO classification of SISMAD, angle of superior mesenteric artery to abdominal aorta (ASA), length of hospital stays, and vascular remodeling rate of SMA between endovascular and conservative groups were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients with SISMAD were finally included in this study. Their average age was 53.4 ± 7.1 years old, ranging from 35 to 68 years old. Among these patients, 1 patient suffered emergent open surgery because of the intestinal necrosis. The other 40 patients were treated conservatively at first, but 13 of them were transitioned into endovascular management due to persistent abdominal pain. Regarding the imaging analysis, IIS and IVS types of YOO classification were more in the endovascular group (13 patients) than the conservative group (27 patients). The length of hospital stays (P = 0.003) and the vascular remodeling rate of SMA were significantly different between 2 groups (P = 0.002), while the time of abdominal pain on admission, the infection markers (WBC, CRP, NEUT) and ASA were not significantly different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: In SISMAD, patients without any signs of peritonitis and intestinal necrosis may be treated conservatively firstly, and then transitioned into endovascular management if abdominal pain is not improved within 48 hr. IIS and IVS types of YOO classification should be alerted of this potential transition. But the optimal timing of transition required more clinical studies.

Hybrid surgery for a severe infectious innominate artery pseudoaneurysm compressing the main trachea.

Here, we report a case of an infectious pseudoaneurysm at the root of the innominate artery, compressing the trachea, that resulted in massive hemorrhage due to rupture of the innominate artery. The patient, a 31-year-old man, had complained of persistent fever for 40 days and severe dyspnea for 1 week. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography imaging of neck and thorax showed a pseudoaneurysm originating from the root of the innominate artery that was severely compressing the main trachea. A hybrid surgery strategy was applied. We first implanted a covered stent in the root of the innominate artery. Then, we performed a left-to-right carotid-carotid bypass with a great saphenous vein graft. Finally, we performed a median thoracotomy in which both the pseudoaneurysm and the previously implanted covered stent were successfully extracted. The patient lost strength in the right upper limb muscle on postoperative day 2 but recovered to baseline strength after 3 months. A hybrid surgical technique may represent a practical solution for such conditions.

Nerve Growth Factor Promotes Angiogenesis and Skeletal Muscle Fiber Remodeling in a Murine Model of Hindlimb Ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic angiogenesis has been shown to promote blood vessel growth and improve tissue perfusion. Nerve growth factor (NGF) has been reported to play an important role in both physiological and pathological angiogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the effects of NGF on angiogenesis and skeletal muscle fiber remodeling in a murine model of hindlimb ischemia and study the relationship between NGF and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in angiogenesis. METHODS: Twenty-four mice were randomly allocated to normal control group (n = 6), blank control group (n = 6), VEGF gene transfection group (n = 6), and NGF gene transfection group (n = 6). The model of left hindlimb ischemia model was established by ligating the femoral artery. VEGF165plasmid (125 µg) and NGF plasmid (125 µg) was injected into the ischemic gastrocnemius of mice from VEGF group and NGF group, respectively. Left hindlimb function and ischemic damage were assessed with terminal points at 21th day postischemia induction. The gastrocnemius of four groups was tested by hematoxylin-eosin staining, proliferating cell nuclear antigen and CD34 immunohistochemistry staining, and myosin ATPase staining. NGF and VEGF protein expression was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: On the 21th day after surgery, the functional assessment score and skeletal muscle atrophy degree of VEGF group and NGF group were significantly lower than those of normal control group and blank control group. The endothelial cell proliferation index and the capillary density of VEGF group and NGF group were significantly increased compared with normal control group and blank control group (P < 0.05). The NGF and VEGF protein expression of NGF group showed a significant rise when compared with blank control group (P < 0.05). Similarly, the VEGF protein expression of VEGF group was significantly higher than that of blank control group (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference of the NGF protein expression between VEGF group and blank control group (P > 0.05). The type I skeletal muscle fiber proportion in gastrocnemius of NGF group and VEGF group was significantly higher than that of blank control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: NGF transfection can promote NGF and VEGF protein expression which not only can induce angiogenesis but also induce type I muscle fiber expression in ischemic limbs.

SIRT1-mediated epigenetic downregulation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 prevents vascular endothelial replicative senescence.

The inactivation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) has been shown to exert beneficial effects in age-related vascular diseases. Limited information is available on the molecular mechanisms regarding the negatively regulated expression of PAI-1 in the vascular system. In this study, we observed an inverse correlation between SIRT1, a class III histone deacetylase, and PAI-1 expression in human atherosclerotic plaques and the aortas of old mice, suggesting that internal negative regulation exists between SIRT1 and PAI-1. SIRT1 overexpression reversed the increased PAI-1 expression in senescent human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and aortas of old mice, accompanied by decreased SA-ß-gal activity in vitro and improved endothelial function and reduced arterial stiffness in vivo. Moreover, the SIRT1-mediated inhibition of PAI-1 expression exerted an antisenescence effect in HUVECs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that SIRT1 is able to bind to the PAI-1 promoter, resulting in a decrease in the acetylation of histone H4 lysine 16 (H4K16) on the PAI-1 promoter region. Thus, our findings suggest that the SIRT1-mediated epigenetic inhibition of PAI-1 expression exerts a protective effect in vascular endothelial senescence.

[Efficacy analysis of two surgical procedures of carotid endarterectomy in the treatment of carotid artery stenosis].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the efficacy and safety of eversion carotid endarterectomy (eCEA) and carotid endarterectomy with patch angioplasty (pCEA) in the treatment of carotid artery stenosis. METHODS: The clinical data were collected and analyzed for the patients with carotid artery stenosis undergoing carotid endarterectomy at Department of Vascular Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital from October 2009 to October 2012. According to two different surgical procedures, they were divided into 2 groups of eCEA and pCEA. RESULTS: A total of 248 patients received a follow-up. Among 274 cases of endarterectomy, 101 cases of eCEA and 173 cases of pCEA were performed. No significant difference (P > 0.05) existed between two groups in gender, age, risk factors, stenotic degree of carotid artery or ratio of bilateral lesions. The ratio of shunt (15.8%) and antibiotics (26.7%) application, the duration of operation (88 ± 20) min, intraoperative blood loss (45 ± 16) ml and the length of stay (16 ± 4) days in the group eCEA were significantly lower than those of group pCEA (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between two groups in the ratio of complications, surgery-related mortality, restenosis and ipsilateral stroke. CONCLUSION: Both surgical procedures are both safe and effective in the treatment of carotid artery stenosis. However eCEA offers potential advantages. The choice of a particular surgical procedure depends on the surgeon experience and specific circumstances of carotid artery lesions.

Zinc finger protein-activating transcription factor up-regulates vascular endothelial growth factor-a expression in vitro / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To construct the zinc finger protein-activating transcription factor (ZFP-ATF) plasmid and evaluate its efficacy in inducing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in EY.HY926 endothelial cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Firstly, we constructed the ZFP-ATF plasmid, then testified the quantity of VEGF protein in EY.HY926 endothelial cells after transfected with ZFP-ATP plasmid by Western blot, finally, we used the RT-PCR to testify whether the ZFP-ATF can stimulate expression of VEGF splice variants.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The ZFP-ATF DNA sequences were located the multiclone sites of PVAX1 vector between the site of BamH1and Xhol.Western blot result showed VEGF expression in EY.HY926 endothelial cells transfected with ZFP-ATF plasmid was significantly higher than that in cells transfected with VEGF165 (19.95±3.95 vs.12.15±1.55 μg÷μL, P<0.01).RT-PCR result showed VEGF-A mRNA expression level induced by ZFP-ATF was high than that induced by VEGF165.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ZFP-ATF can up-regulate the VEGF-A expression in comparison with VEGF165, which might have beneficial effects in angiogenesis process.</p>

Efficacy of surgical therapy for carotid body tumors / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy of surgical therapy for carotid body tumors.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis was conducted, covering the diagnosis, surgical procedure, postoperative complications, and prognosis of 120 cases of carotid body tumors in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 1949 to May, 2011.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Surgical excision was successfully performed in 111 cases with 117 tumors. In all those cases, 50 underwent simple tumor resection, 42 underwent resection of tumors and ligation of the external carotid arteries, 7 underwent co-resection of tumors and common carotid arteries, internal carotid arteries, as well as external arteries without vascular reconstruction, and the other 12 cases experienced tumor resection and vascular reconstruction as internal carotid arteries were involved. After operation, 3 cases developed cerebral infarction, 30 cases showed cranial nerve palsy, including 15 cases of hypoglossal nerve damage, 10 cases of vagus paralysis, and 5 cases of Horner's syndrome.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It is essential to make a proper surgical strategy, which can reduce postoperative complications.</p>