Dynamic physical examination indicators of cardiovascular health: A single-center study in Shanghai, China.

Dynamic physical examination data can provide both cross-sectional and time-series characteristics of cardiovascular health. However, most physical examination databases containing health and disease information have not been fully utilized in China. Hence, this study aimed to analyze dynamic physical examination indicators for cardiovascular health to provide evidence for precise prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases in the primary prevention domain among healthy population with different demographic characteristics in Shanghai. Three-year continuous data were collected from the physical examination center of a hospital in Shanghai from 2018 to 2020, which included a total of 14,044 participants with an average age of 46.51±15.57 years. The cardiovascular status of overall healthy individuals may have a decreasing trend, which is manifested as a significant year-on-year decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; a significant year-on-year increase in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood glucose levels; and a possible increasing trend of diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, and triglycerides. Healthy population with different sex and age groups have various sensitives to cardiovascular physical examination indicators. To conduct more accurate cardiovascular health management and health promotion for key populations in primary prevention, focusing on the dynamic trends of blood pressure, blood lipids, blood glucose, and body mass index in men and changes in total cholesterol in women over time is especially important. The age group of 50-69 years is key for better prevention and control of cardiovascular health.

Effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine formula Gualou Xiebai Banxia (GLXBBX) decoction for the treatment of stable angina pectoris: Protocol for a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Stable angina pectoris (SAP) is one of the most common symptoms of coronary heart disease. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been used to treat SAP increasingly due to its less side effects. The subject of this study is to explore the effectiveness and safety of Gualou Xiebai Banxia (GLXBBX) decoction as a kind of CHM for SAP. METHODS: A systematic literature search for articles up to June 2018 will be performed in following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journals Database, Chinese Biomedical Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Service System (SinoMed), and Wanfang Database. Inclusion criteria are randomized controlled trials of modified GLXBBX decoction applied on patients with SAP. The primary outcome measures will be coronary heart disease-related clinical evaluation (frequency of acute attack angina, severity of angina pectoris, electrocardiographic changes, and amount of nitroglycerin) and adverse events. RevMan 5.3 software will be used for data synthesis, sensitivity analysis, metaregression, subgroup analysis, and risk of bias assessment. A funnel plot will be developed to evaluate reporting bias and Egger tests will be used to assess funnel plot symmetries. We will use the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system to assess the quality of evidence. RESULTS: This systematic review study will provide an evidence of GLXBBX decoction for SAP. CONCLUSION: The study will give an explicit evidence to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of GLXBBX decoction for SAP. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review does not require ethics approval and will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD 42018094538.

Hemoglobin A1c and risk of left atrial thrombus and spontaneous echo contrast in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and risk of left atrial thrombus/spontaneous echo contrast (LAT/SEC) in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 1158 consecutive non-valvular AF patients undergoing transesophageal echocardiography prior to radiofrequency catheter ablation or electric cardioversion were enrolled. Baseline characteristics were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: There were 87 (7.5%) patients with LAT/SEC. The HbA1c levels in the patients with LAT/SEC were significantly higher than that in patients without LAT/SEC (6.13 ± 0.41 vs. 5.89 ± 0.45 µmol/L, P < 0.001). The optimal cut-off point for HbA1c predicting LAT/SEC was 6.1% determined by receiver-operating characteristic curve. The area under the curve is 0.788 (95% confidence interval: 0.764-0.812). HbA1c ≥6.1% was an independent risk factor for LAT/SEC (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-2.98; P = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated HbA1c indicated a significantly increased risk for LAT/SEC in non-valvular AF patients. HbA1c might have significance in predicting the risk for prothrombotic state in non-valvular AF patients.

Sulforaphane prevents rat cardiomyocytes from hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in vitro via activating SIRT1 and subsequently inhibiting ER stress.

AIM: Sulforaphane (SFN), a natural dietary isothiocyanate, is found to exert beneficial effects for cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of SFN in a model of myocardial hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury in vitro. METHODS: Cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes pretreated with SFN were subjected to 3-h hypoxia followed by 3-h reoxygenation. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected. Caspase-3 activity and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) was measured. The expression of ER stress-related apoptotic proteins were analyzed with Western blot analyses. Silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) activity was determined with SIRT1 deacetylase fluorometric assay kit. RESULTS: SFN (0.1-5 µmol/L) dose-dependently improved the viability of cardiomyocytes, diminished apoptotic cells and suppressed caspase-3 activity. Meanwhile, SFN significantly alleviated the damage of ΔΨm and decreased the expression of ER stress-related apoptosis proteins (GRP78, CHOP and caspase-12), elevating the expression of SIRT1 and Bcl-2/Bax ratio in the cardiomyocytes. Co-treatment of the cardiomyocytes with the SIRT1-specific inhibitor Ex-527 (1 µmol/L) blocked the SFN-induced cardioprotective effects. CONCLUSION: SFN prevents cardiomyocytes from H/R injury in vitro most likely via activating SIRT1 pathway and subsequently inhibiting the ER stress-dependent apoptosis.

Study on improving the selectivity of compounds that inhibit two PI3Ks (gamma and delta).

A desirable characteristic of PI3K inhibitors is their selectivity. Up to now, there has been no report that describes the 3 D-structure differences between two PI3Ks (delta and gamma) and applies them to designing selective compounds. In the present study, we used an approach combining protein-structure modeling, GRID/PCA (Principal Component Analysis) and docking methods to investigate the detail interactions of the two PI3Ks with various chemical groups. At first, we constructed a 3 D-model of the PI3Kdelta catalytic subunit with the program Modeller7.0 based on the high resolution X-ray structure of the PI3Kgamma catalytic subunit, and then employed GRID and PCA to reveal the most relevant structural and physicochemical differences between the two PI3Ks related to their selectivity. As a result, the analysis unveiled the most important regions on the two PI3Ks that should be taken into account for the design of selective inhibitors. Finally, based on activity data of 10 PI3Kdelta-selective compounds, a docking study validated the results of the GRID/PCA method, which suggested that the approach could provide clear guidelines for selective drug design.