Comparison of procedural characteristics of percutaneous annuloplasty and edge-to-edge repair for the treatment of severe tricuspid regurgitation.

Background: In recent years, new interventional therapies for tricuspid regurgitation (TR) demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing TR severity and improving symptoms. Currently, tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (T-TEER) and percutaneous annuloplasty are the most widely used techniques in Europe. In this retrospective study, we compared procedural characteristics and learning curves of both TR devices in a real-world cohort. Material and methods: Eligible patients with severe to torrential TR underwent either percutaneous annuloplasty or T-TEER as recommended by the local heart team. Patients with combined mitral and tricuspid interventions were excluded from the analysis. The study focused on procedural characteristics, TR reduction and learning curves. Results: A total of 122 patients underwent either percutaneous annuloplasty (n = 64) or T-TEER (n = 58) with a technical and device success rate of 98% and 97%, respectively. Reasons for technical failure included right coronary artery (RCA) dissection prior to percutaneous annuloplasty, and two single leaflet device attachments (SLDA) during T-TEER implantation. The mean improvement of TR severity was 2.4 ± 0.8 degrees after T-TEER and 2.5 ± 0.8 after percutaneous annuloplasty. T-TEER procedures were shorter in terms of both procedure time and radiation exposure, while percutaneous annuloplasty, although taking longer, showed a significant reduction in procedure time over the course of the analysed period. Conclusion: In summary, both interventional therapies reduce TR severity by approximately two degrees when used in the appropriate anatomy. The learning curve for annuloplasty group showed a significant decrease of procedure times.

13 C NMR quantification of polyamine syntheses in rat prostate.

Currently, many prostate cancer patients, detected through the prostate specific antigen test, harbor organ-confined indolent disease that cannot be differentiated from aggressive cancer according to clinically and pathologically known measures. Spermine has been considered as an endogenous inhibitor for prostate-confined cancer growth and its expression has shown correlation with prostate cancer growth rates. If established clinically, measurements of spermine bio-synthesis rates in prostates may predict prostate cancer growth and patient outcomes. Using rat models, we tested the feasibility of quantifying spermine bio-synthesis rates with 13 C NMR. Male Copenhagen rats (10 weeks, n = 6) were injected with uniformly 13 C-labeled L-ornithine HCl, and were sacrificed in pairs at 10, 30, and 60 min after injection. Another two rats were injected with saline and sacrificed at 30 min as controls. Prostates were harvested and extracted with perchloric acid and the neutralized solutions were examined by 13 C NMR at 600 MHz. 13 C NMR revealed measurable ornithine, as well as putrescine-spermidine-spermine syntheses in rat prostates, allowing polyamine bio-synthetic and ornithine bio-catabolic rates to be calculated. Our study demonstrated the feasibility of 13 C NMR for measuring bio-synthesis rates of ornithine to spermine enzymatic reactions in rat prostates. The current study established a foundation upon which future investigations of protocols that differentiate prostate cancer growth rates according to the measure of ornithine to spermine bio-synthetic rates may be developed.

Teleproctoring for Training in Structural Heart Interventions: Initial Real-World Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background Proctoring represents a cornerstone in the acquisition of state-of-the-art cardiovascular interventions. Yet, travel restrictions and containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic limited on-site proctoring for training and expert support in interventional cardiology. Methods and Results We established a teleproctoring setup for training in a novel patent foramen ovale closure device system (NobleStitch EL, HeartStitch Inc, Fountain Valley, CA) at our institution using web-based real-time bidirectional audiovisual communication. A total of 6 patients with prior paradoxical embolic stroke and a right-to-left shunt of grade 2 or 3 were treated under remote proctorship after 3 cases were performed successfully under on-site proctorship. No major device/procedure-related adverse events occurred, and none of the patients had a residual right-to-left shunt of grade 1 or higher after the procedure. Additionally, we sought to provide an overview of current evidence available for teleproctoring in interventional cardiology. Literature review was performed identifying 6 previous reports on teleproctoring for cardiovascular interventions, most of which were related to the current COVID-19 pandemic. In all reports, teleproctoring was carried out in similar settings with comparable setups; no major adverse events were reported. Conclusions Teleproctoring may represent a feasible and safe tool for location-independent and cost-effective training in a novel patent foramen ovale closure device system. Future prospective trials comparing teleproctoring with traditional on-site proctoring are warranted.

Non-invasive CMR-Based Quantification of Myocardial Power and Efficiency Under Stress and Ischemic Conditions in Landrace Pigs.

Background: Myocardial efficiency should be maintained stable under light-to-moderate stress conditions, but ischemia puts the myocardium at risk for impaired functionality. Additionally, the measurement of such efficiency typically requires invasive heart catheterization and exposure to ionizing radiation. In this work, we aimed to non-invasively assess myocardial power and the resulting efficiency during pharmacological stress testing and ischemia induction. Methods: In a cohort of n = 10 healthy Landrace pigs, dobutamine stress testing was performed, followed by verapamil-induced ischemia alongside cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. External myocardial power, internal myocardial power, and myocardial efficiency were assessed non-invasively using geometrical and functional parameters from CMR volumetric as well as blood flow and pressure measurements. Results: External myocardial power significantly increased under dobutamine stress [2.3 (1.6-3.1) W/m2 vs. 1.3 (1.1-1.6) W/m2, p = 0.005] and significantly decreased under verapamil-induced ischemia [0.8 (0.5-0.9) W/m2, p = 0.005]. Internal myocardial power [baseline: 5.9 (4.6-8.5) W/m2] was not affected by dobutamine [7.5 (6.9-9.0) W/m2, p = 0.241] nor verapamil [5.8 (4.7-8.8) W/m2, p = 0.878]. Myocardial efficiency did not change from baseline to dobutamine [21% (15-27) vs. 31% (20-44), p = 0.059] but decreased significantly during verapamil-induced ischemia [10% (8-13), p = 0.005]. Conclusion: In healthy Landrace pigs, dobutamine stress increased external myocardial power, whereas myocardial efficiency was maintained stable. On the contrary, verapamil-induced ischemia substantially decreased external myocardial power and myocardial efficiency. Non-invasive CMR was able to quantify these efficiency losses and might be useful for future clinical studies evaluating the effects of therapeutic interventions on myocardial energetics.