One- versus three-month dual antiplatelet therapy in high bleeding risk patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: A short dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) duration has been proposed for patients at high bleeding risk (HBR) undergoing drug-eluting coronary stent (DES) implantation. Whether this strategy is safe and effective after a non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) remains uncertain. AIMS: We aimed to compare the impact of 1-month versus 3-month DAPT on clinical outcomes after DES implantation among HBR patients with or without NSTE-ACS. METHODS: This is a prespecified analysis from the XIENCE Short DAPT programme involving three prospective, international, single-arm studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of 1-month (XIENCE 28 USA and Global) or 3-month (XIENCE 90) DAPT among HBR patients after implantation of a cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stent. Ischaemic and bleeding outcomes associated with 1- versus 3-month DAPT were assessed according to clinical presentation using propensity score stratification. RESULTS: Of 3,364 HBR patients (1,392 on 1-month DAPT and 1,972 on 3-month DAPT), 1,164 (34.6%) underwent DES implantation for NSTE-ACS. At 12 months, the risk of the primary endpoint of death or myocardial infarction was similar between 1- and 3-month DAPT in patients with (hazard ratio [HR] 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71-1.65) and without NSTE-ACS (HR 0.88, 95% CI: 0.63-1.23; p-interaction=0.34). The key secondary endpoint of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) Type 2-5 bleeding was consistently reduced in both NSTE-ACS (HR 0.57, 95% CI: 0.37-0.88) and stable patients (HR 0.84, 95% CI: 0.61-1.15; p-interaction=0.15) with 1-month DAPT. CONCLUSIONS: Among HBR patients undergoing implantation of an everolimus-eluting stent, 1-month, compared to 3-month DAPT, was associated with similar ischaemic risk and reduced bleeding at 1 year, irrespective of clinical presentation.

Outcomes Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With Multivessel Disease Who Were Recommended for But Declined Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Patients may prefer percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) over coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, despite heart team recommendations. The outcomes in such patients have not been examined. We sought to examine the results of PCI in patients who were recommended for but declined CABG. METHODS AND RESULTS: Consecutive patients with stable ischemic heart disease and unprotected left main or 3-vessel disease or Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery score >22 who underwent PCI after heart team review between 2013 and 2020 were included. Patients were categorized into 3 groups according to heart team recommendations on the basis of appropriate use criteria: (1) PCI-recommended; (2) CABG-eligible but refused CABG (CABG-refusal); and (3) CABG-ineligible. The primary end point was the composite of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke at 1 year. The study included 3687 patients undergoing PCI (PCI-recommended, n=1718 [46.6%]), CABG-refusal (n=1595 [43.3%]), and CABG-ineligible (n=374 [10.1%]). Clinical and procedural risk increased across the 3 groups, with the highest comorbidity burden in CABG-ineligible patients. Composite events within 1 year after PCI occurred in 55 (4.1%), 91 (7.0%), and 41 (14.8%) of patients in the PCI-recommended, CABG-refusal, and CABG-ineligible groups, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, the risk of the primary composite outcome was significantly higher in the CABG-refusal (hazard ratio [HR], 1.67 [95% CI, 1.08-3.56]; P=0.02) and CABG-ineligible patients (HR, 3.26 [95% CI, 1.28-3.65]; P=0.004) groups compared with the reference PCI-recommended group, driven by increased death and stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular event rates after PCI were significantly higher in patients with multivessel disease who declined or were ineligible for CABG. Our findings provide real-world data to inform shared decision-making discussions.

Excessive fatty acids activate PRMT5/MDM2/Drosha pathway to regulate miRNA biogenesis and lipid metabolism.

BACKGROUND: Excessive fatty acids in the liver lead to the accumulation of lipotoxic lipids and then cellular stress to further evoke the related disease, like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). As reported, fatty acid stimulation can cause some specific miRNA dysregulation, which caused us to investigate the relationship between miRNA biogenesis and fatty acid overload. METHODS: Gene expression omnibus (GEO) dataset analysis, miRNA-seq, miRNA cleavage assay, RT-qPCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) were used to reveal the change of miRNAs under pathological status and explore the relevant mechanism. High fat, high fructose, high cholesterol (HFHFrHC) diet-fed mice transfected with AAV2/8-shDrosha or AAV2/8-shPRMT5 were established to investigate the in vivo effects of Drosha or PRMT5 on NAFLD phenotype. RESULTS: We discovered that the cleavage of miRNAs was inhibited by analysing miRNA contents and detecting some representative pri-miRNAs in multiple mouse and cell models, which was further verified by the reduction of the Microprocessor activity in the presence of palmitic acid (PA). In vitro, PA could induce Drosha, the core RNase III in the Microprocessor complex, degrading through the proteasome-mediated pathway, while in vivo, knockdown of Drosha significantly promoted NAFLD to develop to a more serious stage. Mechanistically, our results demonstrated that PA can increase the methyltransferase activity of PRMT5 to degrade Drosha through MDM2, a ubiquitin E3 ligase for Drosha. The above results indicated that PRMT5 may be a critical regulator in lipid metabolism during NAFLD, which was confirmed by the knocking down of PRMT5 improved aberrant lipid metabolism in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: We first demonstrated the relationship between miRNA dosage and NAFLD and proved that PA can activate the PRMT5-MDM2-Drosha signalling pathway to regulate miRNA biogenesis.

Impact of Bleeding Risk and Inflammation on Cardiovascular Outcomes After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Markers of systemic inflammation, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), have been associated with the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Whether this risk varies according to the presence of high bleeding risk (HBR) conditions is unclear. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of systemic inflammation, as measured by hsCRP levels and cardiovascular outcomes in patients stratified by HBR status following PCI. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing PCI between 2012 and 2019 with baseline hsCRP levels were included. High hsCRP was defined as >3 mg/L, and HBR was defined per the Academic Research Consortium HBR criteria. The primary outcome was MACCE, including all-cause death, myocardial infarction, or stroke at 1 year. All bleeding was assessed as a secondary outcome. RESULTS: A total of 15,150 patients were included, and 40.4% (n = 6,125) qualified as HBR. The adjusted risk for MACCE was consistently higher in patients with high hsCRP in both HBR (adjusted HR [aHR]: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.18-1.87) and non-HBR (aHR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.31-2.66) subgroups, with no interaction between HBR status and hsCRP level (Pinteraction = 0.26). Conversely, although bleeding risk was higher in the HBR cohort, hsCRP did not predict the occurrence of bleeding in either the HBR (aHR: 1.04; 95% CI: 0.82-1.31) or the non-HBR (aHR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.71-1.39) subgroup (Pinteraction = 0.539). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated hsCRP at the time of PCI is associated with a higher risk for ischemic but not bleeding events, irrespective of HBR status.

Impact of diabetes mellitus on clinical outcomes after first episode in-stent restenosis PCI: Results from a large registry.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with a high rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after de novo coronary artery percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Whether patients with DM undergoing PCI for in-stent restenosis (ISR) experience a similar heightened risk of MACE is not known. Hence, we sought to compare the clinical outcomes of patients with and without DM undergoing PCI for ISR. METHODS: Patients undergoing first episode ISR PCI between January 2015 and December 2021 were included. The primary outcome of interest was MACE (all-cause death, myocardial infarction [MI], and target lesion revascularization [TVR]) at 1-year. RESULTS: A total of 3156 patients (56.7% with DM) underwent PCI for ISR during the study period. Patients with DM were younger, more likely to be female, and had a higher prevalence of comorbidities. At 1-year follow-up, DM was associated with a higher rate of MACE (22.4% vs. 18.7%, unadjusted HR 2.03, 95%CI(1.27-3.25), p = 0.003). All-cause mortality and MI were significantly more frequent among people with DM at 1-year follow-up. The rate of TVR was similar in both groups (17.9% vs. 16.0%, unadjusted HR 1.14, 95%CI (0.94-1.37), p = 0.180). On adjusted analysis, there was no significant difference in the rate of MACE (AHR 1.07, 95%CI(0.90 - -1.29), p = 0.444), all-cause death (AHR 1.54, 95%CI(0.93-2.54), p = 0.095) or MI (AHR 1.10, 95%CI(0.74-1.63), p = 0.652). CONCLUSION: ISR PCI in patients with DM was associated with a higher rate of MACE at 1-year follow-up. However, this increased risk was no longer significant after adjusting for baseline characteristics.

Rotational atherectomy combined with cutting balloon to optimise stent expansion in calcified lesions: the ROTA-CUT randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of calcified lesions remains challenging for interventionalists. AIMS: We aimed to investigate whether combining rotational atherectomy (RA) with cutting balloon angioplasty (RA+CBA) results in more optimal stent expansion compared with RA followed by non-compliant balloon angioplasty (RA+NCBA). METHODS: ROTA-CUT is a prospective, multicentre, randomised trial of 60 patients with coronary artery disease undergoing PCI of moderately or severely calcified lesions with drug-eluting stent implantation. Patients were randomised 1:1 to either RA+CBA or RA+NCBA. The primary endpoint was the minimum stent area on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Secondary endpoints included minimum lumen area and stent expansion assessed by IVUS and acute lumen gain, final residual diameter stenosis and minimum lumen diameter assessed by angiography. Clinical endpoints were obtained at 30 days. RESULTS: The mean age was 71.1±9.4 years, and 22% were women. The procedural details of RA were similar between groups, as were procedure duration and contrast use. Minimum stent area was similar with RA+CBA versus RA+NCBA (6.7±1.7 mm2 vs 6.9±1.8 mm2; p=0.685). Furthermore, there were no significant differences regarding the other IVUS and angiographic endpoints. Procedural complications were rare, and 30-day clinical events included 2 myocardial infarctions and 1 target vessel revascularisation in the RA+CBA group and 1 myocardial infarction in the RA+NCBA group. CONCLUSIONS: Combining RA with CBA resulted in a similar minimum stent area compared with RA followed by NCBA in patients undergoing PCI of moderately or severely calcified lesions. RA followed by CBA was safe with rare procedural complications and few clinical adverse events at 30 days.

1- Versus 3-Month DAPT in Older Patients at a High Bleeding Risk Undergoing PCI: Insights from the XIENCE Short DAPT Global Program.

This analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of 1- versus 3-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in older patients. Data from 3 prospective, single-arm studies (XIENCE Short DAPT Program), including patients with high bleeding risk successfully treated with an everolimus-eluting stent (XIENCE, Abbott) were analyzed. DAPT was discontinued at 1 or at 3 months in patients free from ischemic events and adherent to DAPT. Patients were stratified according to age (≥75 and <75 years). The primary end point was all-cause death or myocardial infarction (MI). The key secondary end point was Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 2 to 5 bleeding. The outcomes were assessed from 1 to 12 months after index PCI. Of 3,364 patients, 2,241 (66.6%) were aged ≥75 years. The risk of death or MI was similar with 1- versus 3-month DAPT in patients aged ≥75 (8.5% vs 8.0%, adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69 to 1.30) and <75 years (6.9% vs 7.8%, adjusted HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.57, interaction p = 0.478). Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 2 to 5 bleeding was consistently lower with 1- than with 3-month DAPT in patients aged ≥75 years (7.2% vs 9.4%, adjusted HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.91) and <75 years (9.7% vs 11.9%, adjusted HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.29, interaction p = 0.737). In conclusion, in patients at high bleeding risk who underwent PCI, patients older and younger than 75 years derived a consistent benefit from 1- compared with 3-month DAPT in terms of bleeding reduction, with no increase in all-cause death or MI at 1 year.

Predictive value of the thrombotic risk criteria proposed in the 2023 ESC guidelines for the management of ACS: insights from a large PCI registry.

AIM: To assess the value of the thrombotic risk criteria proposed in the 2023 guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) for the management of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to predict the ischaemic risk after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS AND RESULTS: Consecutive patients with acute or chronic coronary syndrome undergoing PCI at a large tertiary-care center from 2014 to 2019 were included. Patients were stratified into low, moderate, or high thrombotic risk based on the ESC criteria. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) at 1 year, a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. Secondary endpoints included major bleeding. Among 11 787 patients, 2641 (22.4%) were at low-risk, 5286 (44.8%) at moderate risk, and 3860 (32.7%) at high-risk. There was an incremental risk of MACE at 1 year in patients at moderate (hazard ratios (HR) 2.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.78-3.58) and high-risk (HR 3.39, 95% CI 2.39-4.80) as compared to those at low-risk, due to higher rates of all-cause death and MI. Major bleeding rates were increased in high-risk patients (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.25-2.02), but similar between the moderate and low-risk group. The Harrell's C-index for MACE was 0.60. CONCLUSION: The thrombotic risk criteria of the 2023 ESC guidelines for ACS enable to stratify patients undergoing PCI in categories with an incremental 1 year risk of MACE; however, their overall predictive ability for MACE is modest. Future studies should confirm the value of these criteria to identify patients benefiting from an extended treatment with a second antithrombotic agent.

Prognostic Impact of Prefrailty and Frailty in Women Undergoing TAVR: Insights From the WIN-TAVI Registry.

BACKGROUND: The risks of prefrail and frail women undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) have not been fully examined. The aim of the analysis was to assess the prognostic impact of prefrailty and frailty in women undergoing TAVR. METHODS: Women at intermediate or high surgical risk with severe aortic stenosis undergoing TAVR from the prospective multicentre WIN-TAVI (Women's International Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) registry were stratified based on the number of Fried frailty criteria (weight loss, exhaustion, low physical activity, slow gait, weakness) met: nonfrail (no criteria), prefrail (1 or 2 criteria), or frail (3 or more criteria). The primary outcome at 1 year was the Valve Academic Research Consortium 2 (VARC-2) efficacy end point, a composite of mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, hospitalisation for valve-related symptoms or heart failure, and valve-related dysfunction; secondary outcomes included the composite of VARC-2 life-threatening or major bleeding. RESULTS: Out of 1019 women, 297 (29.1%) met at least 1 frailty criterion: 264 (25.9%) had prefrailty and 33 (3.2%) frailty. The 1-year risk of the primary outcome was significantly higher in prefrail and frail (20.2%) than in nonfrail (14.9%) women (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-2.12). The risk of VARC-2 life-threatening or major bleeding was higher in prefrail or frail (19.9%) than in nonfrail (10.0%) women (aHR 2.06, 95% CI 1.42-2.97). These risks were consistently increased in the prefrail and frail groups assessed separately. CONCLUSIONS: In women undergoing TAVR, the presence of prefrailty or frailty conferred an increased risk of the VARC-2 efficacy end point and of VARC-2 life-threatening or major bleeding.

1- or 3-Month DAPT in Patients With HBR With or Without Oral Anticoagulant Therapy After PCI.

BACKGROUND: The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients on long-term oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy is still uncertain. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this analysis was to assess the effects of 1- vs 3-month DAPT in patients with and those without concomitant OAC included in the XIENCE Short DAPT program. METHODS: The XIENCE Short DAPT program enrolled patients with high bleeding risk who underwent successful PCI with a cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stent. DAPT was discontinued at 1 or 3 months in patients free from ischemic events and adherent to treatment. The effect of 1- vs 3-month DAPT was compared in patients with and those without OAC using propensity score stratification. The primary endpoint was all-cause death or any myocardial infarction (MI). The key secondary endpoint was Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) types 2 to 5 bleeding. Outcomes were assessed from 1 to 12 months after index PCI. RESULTS: Among 3,364 event-free patients, 1,462 (43%) were on OAC. Among OAC patients, the risk for death or MI was similar between 1- and 3-month DAPT (7.4% vs 8.8%; adjusted HR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.49-1.11; P = 0.139), whereas BARC types 2 to 5 bleeding was lower with 1-month DAPT (adjusted HR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.51-0.99; P = 0.046). These effects were consistent in patients with and those without OAC (P for interaction = NS). CONCLUSIONS: Between 1 and 12 months after PCI, 1-month compared with 3-month DAPT was associated with similar rates of all-cause death or MI and a reduced rate of BARC types 2 to 5 bleeding, irrespective of OAC treatment.

Gender-Based Differences in Outcomes After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Chronic Total Occlusions (Insights from a Large Single-Center Registry).

Patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of chronic total occlusions (CTO) are at a high risk for both periprocedural and post-procedural adverse events. Whether gender-differences in outcomes exist after PCI of CTO remain unclear. Therefore, we sought to investigate gender-based differences in outcomes after CTO-PCI. All patients who underwent elective CTO intervention from January 2012 to December 2017 at The Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, New York) were included. The primary end point of interest was major adverse cardiac events defined as the composite of death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization at 1 year of follow-up. A total 1,897 patients were included, of which 368 were women (19.4%). Mean follow-up time was 174 days. Women were older (66.8 ± 11.3 years vs 62.6 ± 10.9 years) and had a higher prevalence of co-morbidities including diabetes and chronic kidney disease. There were no significant differences in the rate of successful CTO-PCI between groups (73.5% vs 73.2%, p = 0.91). Women had higher rates of procedure-related complications including increased risk of post-procedural bleeding (4.1% vs 1.8%, p = 0.009) and acute vessel closure (1.36% vs 0.2%, p = 0.009). In multivariable-adjusted analysis, female gender was associated with higher risk of major adverse cardiac event and target vessel revascularization at 1 year. In conclusion, in this large single-center study, women who underwent percutaneous CTO revascularization experienced higher rates of periprocedural complications and worse clinical outcomes at 1 year compared with men. Further research is needed to address disparities in gender-specific outcomes of CTO-PCI.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Men, Women, and Minorities With a Previous Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (from the Pooled PLATINUM Diversity and PROMUS Element Plus Registries).

There is limited data on new-generation stent outcomes in patients with previous coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and the associated risk of gender and race/ethnicity is unclear. We investigated 1-year outcomes after platinum chromium everolimus-eluting stent implantation in a diverse population of men, women, and minorities with previous CABG pooled from the PLATINUM Diversity (NCT02240810) and PROMUS Element Plus (NCT01589978) registries. Our primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target vessel revascularization (TVR) at 1-year post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Secondary end points included all-cause death, MI, TVR, target vessel failure, and stent thrombosis. A total of 4,175 patients were included in the analysis, including 1,858 women (44.5%), 1,057 minorities (25.3%), and 662 (15.9%) with previous CABG. Patients with previous CABG were older, included more men and White patients, and had more co-morbidities compared with patients without previous CABG. At 1 year, patients with previous CABG had a higher risk of MACE (12.6% vs 7.5%, hazard ratio 1.70, 95% confidence interval 1.32 to 2.19, p <0.001) and end points, including death/MI, TVR, and target vessel failure. After multivariate adjustment, no differences were observed in MACE (adjusted hazard ratio 1.11, 95% confidence interval 0.82 to 1.49, p = 0.506) or any secondary end points. No interaction was observed between previous CABG and gender or minority status. In conclusion, in a contemporary PCI population, patients with previous CABG remain at high risk for PCI because of their elevated risk profile. Previous CABG status was however not independently associated with worse outcomes after adjustment, nor was any interaction observed with gender or race/ethnicity.

Fatal, ischemic and bleeding risk of patients meeting the selection criteria of the TWILIGHT trial: Insights from a large PCI registry.

BACKGROUND: The TWILIGHT trial (NCT02270242) demonstrated that in selected high-risk patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) ticagrelor monotherapy significantly reduced bleeding complications without ischemic harm as compared to ticagrelor plus aspirin after 3-month of dual antiplatelet therapy. The aim of this analysis was to assess the applicability of the findings TWILIGHT trial to a real-world population. METHODS: Patients undergoing PCI at a tertiary center between 2012 and 2019 and not meeting any TWILIGHT exclusion criterion (oral anticoagulation treatment, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction [MI], cardiogenic shock, dialysis, prior stroke, or thrombocytopenia) were included. Patients were stratified into 2 groups based on whether they fulfilled the TWILIGHT inclusion criteria (high-risk) or not (low-risk). The primary outcome was all-cause death; the key secondary outcomes were MI and major bleeding at 1 year after PCI. RESULTS: Out of 13,136 included patients, 11,018 (83%) were at high risk. At 1-year, these patients had an approximately 3 folds greater hazard of death (1.4% vs 0.4%, HR 3.63, 95% CI 1.70-7.77) and MI (1.8% vs 0.6%, HR 2.81, 95% CI 1.56-5.04) and a nearly 2 folds higher risk of major bleeding (3.3% vs 1.8%, HR 1.86, 95% CI 1.32-2.62) as compared to low-risk patients. CONCLUSION: Among patients not meeting the TWILIGHT exclusion criteria from a large PCI registry, the high-risk inclusion criteria of the TWILIGHT trial were met by the majority of patients and were associated with an increased risk of mortality and MI and a moderately elevated risk of bleeding.

Ticagrelor or prasugrel versus clopidogrel in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Potent P2Y12 inhibitors such as ticagrelor and prasugrel are superior to clopidogrel in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Whether this benefit extends to a patient population with chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) is unclear. AIMS: We sought to compare the safety and efficacy of prasugrel and ticagrelor versus clopidogrel in patients undergoing PCI for CCS. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing PCI for CCS at a tertiary centre between 2014 and 2019 who were discharged on prasugrel or ticagrelor were compared with those on clopidogrel. The primary endpoint was the composite of death and myocardial infarction (MI), with secondary outcomes including rates of bleeding, stroke, and target vessel revascularisation at 1 year. RESULTS: Overall, 11,508 patients were included in the study (ticagrelor/prasugrel n=2,860 [24.9%], clopidogrel n=8,648 [75.1%]) with an increasing frequency of potent P2Y12 inhibitor use over the study period (ptrend<0.001). Clopidogrel was used more frequently in patients with multimorbid risk factors, whereas anatomical or procedural complexity was associated with ticagrelor/prasugrel use (left main PCI, bifurcation PCI, number of lesions, rotational atherectomy). No difference in the incidence of death or MI was noted across the groups (ticagrelor/prasugrel vs clopidogrel: 2.7% vs 3.1%, adjusted hazard ratio [adjHR] 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.62-1.17; p=0.33) or secondary outcomes including bleeding (adjHR 0.75, 95% CI: 0.46-1.21; p=0.23) on propensity score stratification analysis. Additionally, no difference in the primary outcome was observed across subgroups, including those undergoing complex PCI. CONCLUSIONS: Ticagrelor and prasugrel are increasingly used in patients with CCS undergoing PCI with similar 1-year efficacy and safety when compared to clopidogrel. Whether use of these agents can be beneficial in patients undergoing PCI for CCS with a high thrombotic and low bleeding risk warrants further study.

Crystallinity Effect of NiFe LDH on the Growth of Pt Nanoparticles and Hydrogen Evolution Performance.

NiFe layered double hydroxides (LDHs) usually exhibit high water-dissociation ability in the alkaline media and also provide an ideal substrate for anchoring noble metals, such as platinum (Pt), due to the 2D microstructure. Appropriate regulation of the interaction between Pt and substrate could enhance the intrinsic activity of composite catalysts toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the alkaline media. Herein, we electrodeposit Pt nanoparticles on amorphous NiFe LDH (Pt/NiFe-ED) or crystalline NiFe LDH (Pt/NiFe-HD) to regulate the interaction between Pt and NiFe LDH. Experimental results reveal that Pt nanoparticles on NiFe-ED are smaller than those on NiFe-HD and possess a narrower size distribution. Thus, Pt/NiFe-ED (300 µM) exhibits a much lower overpotential of 81 mV at 100 mA cm-2 than Pt/NiFe-HD. In contrast, Pt/NiFe-HD exhibits a higher intrinsic activity than Pt/NiFe-ED, which could be caused by the easily elongated Pt-O bond. These findings provide new opportunities to understand the relationship between activity and crystallinity of substrates in the composite electrocatalyst.

A pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics study of single-dose total glucosides of paeony capsule on reducing serum total bile acid in hepatic injury rats.

CONTEXT: Total Glucosides of Paeony (TGP) capsule possesses various hepatoprotective activities. No study is available concerning TGP's concentration-effect relationship on hepatoprotection. OBJECTIVE: To establish a pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics (PK-PD) modelling on TGP capsule's hepatoprotection after a single oral administration in hepatic injury rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n = 6): control, model (hepatic injury), treated-H (2.82 g/kg), treated-M (1.41 g/kg), and treated-L (0.705 g/kg) groups. All treated groups rats were intragastrically administered a single dose. An LC-MS/MS method was applied to determine paeoniflorin (Pae) and albiflorin (Alb) in rat serum. The effects of single-dose TGP on serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and total bile acid (TBA) were evaluated in hepatic injury rats. RESULTS: Single dose (2.82, 1.41, or 0.705 g/kg) TGP capsule could real-time down-regulate serum TBA but not ALT and AST in hepatic injury rats within 20 h. An inhibitory effect Sigmoid Emax of PK-PD modelling was established using Pae and Alb as PK markers and serum TBA as effect index. Pharmacodynamic parameters were calculated. For treated-H, treated-M and treated-L group, respectively, E0 were 158.1, 226.9 and 245.4 µmol/L for Pae, 146.1, 92.9 and 138.4 µmol/L for Alb, Emax were 53.0, 66.0, and 97.1 µmol/L for Pae, 117.4, 249.7 and 60.0 µmol/L for Alb, and EC50 were 9.3, 5.2 and 2.7 µg/mL for Pae, 2.3, 0.8, and 0.8 µg/mL for Alb. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Serum TBA is a sensitive effect index for TGP's single dose PK-PD modelling, and it is potential for further multi-dose studies of TGP' effect on hepatic injury. The study provides valuable information for TGP's mechanistic research and rational clinical application.

[Advance on pharmacokinetics study of traditional Chinese medicine injections in recent ten years].

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) injections boast a definite efficacy and have been widely used in clinic. However, the problems in medication safety have been attracted increasing attention. Pharmacokinetics is of significance to guiding TCM injection administration regimen design and improving safety and effectiveness in clinical use. In recent years, with the improvement of ideas, technology and methods of TCM studies, the pharmacokinetic studies of TCM injections have been broadly performed, with a notable progress. This paper reviewed the advance in pharmacokinetics studies of TCM injections in recent ten years, which mainly focused on pre-clinical concentration-time course, distribution, metabolism and excretion in vivo based on analysis techniques, pharmacokinetic interactions of constitutes, impact of pathological state, pharmacokinetic interactions between TCM injection and chemical drugs, and clinical pharmacokinetics studies of TCM injections, in the expectation of providing reference for studies on quality control, product development and rational clinical use of TCM injections.

Investigation of Productivity Prediction Method for Horizontal Wells in Gas Reservoirs with Closed Bottom and Top Boundaries.

This study aims to predict the productivity of an open-hole horizontal gas well (OHHGW) in a gas reservoir with closed bottom and top boundaries (GRCBTBs). First, according to the theory of mirror imaging, an OHHGW in GRCBTBs is transformed into an infinite well array in infinite formation. Second, based on conformal transformation principle, the infinite well array is transformed into two production and two injection wells in the complex plane. Finally, according to the superposition principle of potential, a new productivity prediction method, which is suitable for the horizontal well in GRCBTBs, was developed. The field measured data of Jingbian gas field of Ordos Basin demonstrate the ability of the method to accurately predict the productivity of the OHHGW in GRCBTBs, and the prediction relative error of absolute open flow of well Longping 1 is only 1.03%, that is to say that the method proposed in this study has a certain guiding significance for the development of horizontal wells in GRCBTBs.

[Quantitative determination and optimun extraction technique of nine compounds of Paeoniae Radix Alba].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the optimum extraction technique and high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method to simultaneously quantify nine compounds of gallic acid, hydroxy-paeoniflorin, catechin, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, pentagalloylglucose, benzoic acid, benzoylpaeoniflorin and paeonol in Paeoniae Radix Alba. METHODS: Linear gradient elution was applied using water containing 0.1%phosphoric acid and acetonitrile as the mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min, column temperature of 30℃ and wavelength of 230 nm. The method of ultrasound extraction was used. Methanol and ethanol were used as extraction solvents, and three factors and three levels of orthogonal experiments was designed using L 9(3 4) table to investigate the effects of solvent concentration, ratio of liquid to material and extraction time on the total content of nine components of Paeoniae Radix Alba. RESULTS: HPLC method was verified to have high specificity, sensitivity and accuracy through methodological validation, and it could be used for simultaneous quantitative analysis of nine components of Paeoniae Radix Alba. The results showed that the optimum extraction technology of nine components of Paeoniae Radix Alba was using 70%ethanol as extraction solvent, ratio of liquid to material was 200 mL/g and ultrasound extraction time was 30 min. CONCLUSIONS: HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of nine components of Paeoniae Radix Alba is established, and the optimum extraction technology is confirmed.