Efficacy of Computed Tomography-Based Evaluation of Myocardial Extracellular Volume Combined With Red Flags for Early Screening of Concealed Cardiac Amyloidosis in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients remains unclear. We explored the efficacy of computed tomography-based myocardial extracellular volume (CT-ECV) combined with red flags for the early screening of concealed ATTR-CM in AF patients undergoing catheter ablation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients referred for AF ablation at Oita University Hospital were prescreened using the red-flag signs defined by echocardiographic or electrocardiographic findings, medical history, symptoms, and blood biochemical findings. Myocardial CT-ECV was quantified in red flag-positive patients using routine pre-AF ablation planning cardiac CT with the addition of delayed-phase cardiac CT scans. Patients with high (>35%) ECV were evaluated using technetium pyrophosphate (99 mTc-PYP) scintigraphy. A cardiac biopsy was performed during the planned AF ablation procedure if 99 mTc-PYP scintigraphy was positive. Between June 2022 and June 2023, 342 patients were referred for AF ablation. Sixty-seven (19.6%) patients had at least one of the red-flag signs. Myocardial CT-ECV was evaluated in 57 patients because of contraindications to contrast media, revealing that 16 patients had high CT-ECV. Of these, 6 patients showed a positive 99 mTc-PYP study, and 6 patients were subsequently diagnosed with wild-type ATTR-CM via cardiac biopsy and genetic testing. CONCLUSIONS: CT-ECV combined with red flags could contribute to the systematic early screening of concealed ATTR-CM in AF patients undergoing catheter ablation.

Association between serum level of uric acid in Japanese young patients with coronary spastic angina receiving coronary angiography.

Endothelial dysfunction may trigger coronary spastic angina (CSA). However, the risk factors for CSA in young patients remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the age-dependent role of serum uric acid levels in patients with CSA. We enrolled 423 patients who underwent an ergonovine tolerance test during coronary angiography for the CSA evaluation. We categorized the patients as (1) young (age ≤ 65 years) CSA-positive (n = 33), (2) young CSA-negative (n = 138), (3) elderly (age > 66 years) CSA-positive (n = 42), and (4) elderly CSA-negative (n = 210) groups. In the young groups, the smoker proportion (57.6 vs. 38.4%, p = 0.04) and serum uric acid levels (6.3 ± 1.4 vs. 5.4 ± 1.5 mg/dl, p = 0.006) were significantly higher in the CSA-positive compared with the CSA-negative group. Conversely, in the elderly group, the male proportion (66.6 vs. 47.1%, p = 0.02) and alcohol consumption level (40.5 vs. 21.0%, p = 0.01) were significantly higher in the CSA-positive compared with the CSA-negative group. The multivariate analysis in young groups revealed the independent association between the serum uric acid level (p = 0.02) and the presence of CSA. Our results indicate that elevated serum uric acid levels may affect CSA development in young patients.

A highly sensitive and rapid enzymatic method using a biochemical automated analyzer to detect inorganic pyrophosphate generated by nucleic acid sequence-based amplification.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Polymerase chain reaction-based techniques require expensive equipment for fluorescence detection of the products. However, the measurement of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) released during DNA synthesis can be used to quantify target genes without such equipment. Here, we devised a high-sensitivity enzymatic assay for detection of PPi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In our assay method, PPi was converted to hypoxanthine by hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase. Xanthine dehydrogenase converted the hypoxanthine to uric acid and yielded two molecules of NADH, which in turn reduced Fe3+ to Fe2+ (mediated by 1-methoxy-5-ethylphenazinium ethylsulfate). 2-Nitroso-5-(N-propyl-N-sulfopropylamino) phenol chelated the Fe2+, which resulted in an intensely colored product that could be measured using a biochemical automated analyzer. RESULTS: The assay was able to detect PPi within 10 min. It was linear between 0 and 10 µmol/L PPi, and intra-run and inter-run coefficients of variation were 1%-2%. Other validation tests with a biochemical automated analyzer were satisfactory. The assay could potentially be used to directly quantify samples after isothermal nucleic acid sequence-based amplification of a target gene. CONCLUSION: The method developed here for detection of PPi can be used to measure nucleic acid biomarkers in biological samples in clinical practice using a high-throughput biochemical automated analyzer.