Comparison of Ticagrelor Monotherapy and Ticagrelor Plus Aspirin Among Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome Combined With High-Risk of Gastrointestinal Bleeding After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT: To date, no studies have specifically examined the efficacy of P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) exhibiting a high risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This was a retrospective cohort study of ACS exhibiting a high GI bleeding risk after PCI admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of the Jiangnan University from August 2016 to December 2019. Of the 308 enrolled patients, 269 were found eligible and were assigned to the ticagrelor monotherapy (TIC) arm (n = 128) and to ticagrelor plus aspirin (TIC + ASP) arm (n = 141) treatment for a 1-year period. The primary study outcome was a composite end point, including bleeding academic research consortium (BARC) type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding and adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events; 8 (6.3%) in the TIC group and 14 (9.9%) in the combination treatment group reached the primary ischemic end point within 1 year with no significant difference between these groups. BARC type 2, 3, and 5 bleeding events affected significantly more patients in the combination group relative to the TIC group (38 [27.0%] vs. 11 [8.6%], P < 0.001). As the follow-up interval was prolonged, the cumulative BARC type 2, 3, and 5 bleeding incidence in the TIC group remained significantly below than that in the combination treatment group ( P < 0.05). These results indicate that TIC is associated with a lower risk of clinically relevant bleeding events among ACS with a high risk of GI bleeding after PCI relative to combination TIC + ASP treatment, although ischemic outcomes in these 2 groups were similar.

A Functional Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in Pre-microRNA-196a2 is Associated with Atrial Fibrillation in Han Chinese.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are small, single-stranded, non-protein-coding RNAs of about 22 nucleotides. MicroRNA molecules have been identified to play key roles in a broad range of physiologic and pathologic processes. Polymorphisms in the corresponding sequence space are likely to make a significant contribution to phenotypic variation. A T/C genetic variant (rs11614913) in the pre-miR-196a2 sequence could alter mature miR-196a expression and target mRNA binding. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationship between this polymorphism and atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS: A total of 123 participants were enrolled, 65 AF patients were confirmed with electrocardiogram (ECG) or dynamic electrocardiography, 58 normal individuals were assigned to the control group. Genotypes of the premiR-196a2 were distinguished using the method of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. RESULTS: The distribution of the pre-miR-196a2 genotypes (TT, TC, and CC) was 15.38%, 46.15%, and 38.46% in the AF group and 39.66%, 46.55%, and 13.79% in the controls, respectively (p = 0.0011). Compared with the TT genotype, the C allele carriers (TC+CC genotypes) had a 3.968-fold increased risk of AF (adjusted OR = 3.968, 95% CI = 1.633 - 9.644, p = 0.002). AF patients with the TC+CC genotype had greater left atrial dimension than did patients with the TT genotype (42.10 ± 8.74 vs. 35.13 ± 8.16, p = 0.0224). CONCLUSIONS: Our data support that the pre-miR-196a2 polymorphism is associated with AF, and the C allele is a risk factor for AF.

Two-dimensional wavefront reconstruction from lateral multi-shear interferograms.

We propose and demonstrate multiple shearing interferometry for measuring two-dimensional phase object. Multi-shear interference can effectively eliminate the problem of spectral leakage that results from the single-shear interference. The Fourier coefficients of a two-dimensional wavefront are computed from phase differences obtained from multiple shearing interferograms, which are acquired by a shearing interferometer, and the desired phase is then reconstructed. Numerical and optical tests have confirmed that the multiple shearing interferometry has a higher recovery accuracy than single-shear interferometry and the reconstruction precision increases as the number of shear steps increases.

Interleukin-6 -634C>G polymorphism in hypertensive patients with and without left ventricular hypertrophy.

There is an accumulating body of evidence indicating that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine secreted by many cells of the immune system, cardiovascular components and adipose tissue, and functions as a mediator of inflammatory response with both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties. Circulating levels of IL-6 differ greatly between individuals due to both genetic and environmental factors. The IL-6 -634C>G polymorphism is common in eastern Asian populations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of this polymorphism with essential hypertension (EH) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in 440 subjects (246 EH patients and 194 controls) from a Han Chinese population. In this study, IL-6 -634C>G genotypes were identified by polymerase chain reaction and restriction digestion in all study participants, and left ventricular mass was assessed by 2-mode echocardiography in 178 untreated EH patients. There was no significant difference in either genotype distribution (p=0.9528) or allele frequency (p=0.7775) between the EH and control groups. In addition, the -634C>G polymorphism had no effect on blood pressure in either the controls or the untreated EH patients. No significant differences in genotype distribution (p=0.7998) or allele frequency distribution (p=0.5468) were found between EH patients with and without LVH. Moreover, the echocardiographic parameters were not statistically different between the CC and CG+GG genotypes. These findings suggest that there is no association of the IL-6 -634C>G polymorphism and EH with LVH in EH patients.