Right ventricle pierced by a traditional sharp hair straightener: a case report.

The case presents a traumatic ventricular perforation of a girl, accidentally felt on a sharp instrument. The uniqueness of the case presented is due to the very high infrequency of injuries with this type of sharp object. The 7-year-old girl was transported to the hospital after accidentally falling on a sharp instrument. The child had no signs of heart failure. On opening the chest, it was found that the metal object was lodged in the right ventricle. Quickly proceeded to remove the object and suture the entry hole. After a short hospitalization, the child was discharged completely cured.

Preferential myofibroblast differentiation of cardiac mesenchymal progenitor cells in the presence of atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is characterized by electrical, contractile, and structural remodeling mediated by interstitial fibrosis. It has been shown that human cardiac mesenchymal progenitor cells (CMPCs) can be differentiated into endothelial, smooth muscle, and fibroblast cells. Here, we have investigated, for the first time, the contribution of CMPCs in the fibrotic process occurring in AF. As expected, right auricolae samples displayed significantly higher fibrosis in AF vs control (CTR) patients. In tissue samples of AF patients only, double staining for c-kit and the myofibroblast marker α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was detected. The number of c-kit-positive CMPC was higher in atrial subepicardial regions of CTR than AF cells. AF-derived CMPC (AF-CMPC) and CTR-derived CMPC (Ctr-CMPC) were phenotypically similar, except for CD90 and c-kit, which were significantly more present in AF and CTR cells, respectively. Moreover, AF showed a lower rate of population doubling and fold enrichment vs Ctr-CMPC. When exogenously challenged with the profibrotic transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1), AF-CMPC showed a significantly higher nuclear translocation of SMAD2 than Ctr-CMPC. In addition, TGF-ß1 treatment induced the upregulation of COL1A1 and COL1A2 in AF-CMPC only. Further, both a marked production of soluble collagen and α-SMA upregulation have been observed in AF-CMPC only. Finally, electrophysiological studies showed that the inwardly rectifying potassium current (IK1) was evenly present in AF- and Ctr-CMPC in basal conditions and similarly disappeared after TGF-ß1 exposure. All together, these data suggest that AF steers the resident atrial CMPC compartment toward an electrically inert profibrotic phenotype.

Molecular pathways activation in coronary artery bypass surgery: which role for pump avoidance?

In this study, we review current knowledge regarding molecular pathways activation and their possible mechanisms in the perioperative period of coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). We also highlight the role of off-pump CABG as a possible way to better understand these biological changes.We show that, after both on-pump and off-pump CABG, there is a marked and protracted activation of several molecular pathways indicating increased inflammatory status, haemostasis activation, as well as increased oxidative stress and unfavourable endothelial milieu. These changes persist for days and even weeks after surgery. Interestingly, a relatively limited number of these pathways show a more pronounced activation in case of cardiopulmonary bypass use, and these markers are mainly associated with oxidative stress activation; on the contrary, the vast majority of the pathways has a similar course both in on and off-pump procedures. Surgical stress accounts for more protracted and marked molecular pathway perturbations overall, being the effect of cardiopulmonary, if any, limited to the very early hours after surgery. The near future of the translational research in coronary bypass surgery is to develop therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing this response, that is largely unrelated to cardiopulmonary bypass use, in order to reduce perioperative complications and to speed up patients' recovery.

Biomarkers in Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: Ready for Prime Time and Outcome Prediction?

Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) is still one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures all over the world. The results of this procedure have been constantly improved over the years with low perioperative mortality rates, with relatively low complication rates. To further improve these outstanding results, the clinicians focused their attention at biomarkers as outcome predictors. Although biological testing for disease prediction has already been discussed many times, the role of biomarkers in outcome prediction after CABG is still controversial. In this article, we reviewed the current knowledge regarding the role of genetic and dynamic biomarkers and their possible association with the occurrence of adverse clinical outcomes after CABG. We also took into consideration that the molecular pathway activation and the possible imbalance may affect hard outcomes and graft patency. We analyzed biomarkers classified in two different categories depending on their possibility to change over time: genetic markers and dynamic markers. Moreover, we evaluated these markers by dividing them, into sub-categories, such as inflammation, hemostasis, renin-angiotensin, endothelial function, and other pathways. We showed that biomarkers might be associated with unfavorable outcomes after surgery, and in some cases improved outcome prediction. However, the identification of a specific panel of biomarkers or of some algorithms including biomarkers is still in an early developmental phase. Finally, larger studies are needed to analyze broad panel of biomarkers with the specific aim to evaluate the prediction of hard outcomes and graft patency.

Ring or suture annuloplasty for tricuspid regurgitation? A meta-analysis review.

We performed a meta-analysis of early and long-term outcomes after tricuspid repair to compare the results of suture-based and prosthetic ring annuloplasty with the employment of an algorithm that derives the original patient time-to-event data. There was an advantage in early but not in long-term survival with the use of the annuloplasty ring. The freedom from moderate tricuspid regurgitation was significantly better in patients with ring annuloplasty (78.9% ± 5.0% at 15 years vs 60.0% ± 4.2%, log-rank p = 0.0107). The ring annuloplasty is associated to better outcomes, being a protective factor for early mortality and long-term recurrence of tricuspid regurgitation after surgery.

Biological features of thoracic aortic diseases. Where are we now, where are we heading to: established and emerging biomarkers and molecular pathways.

Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs) and aortic dissections (ADs) are among the main causes of mortality and morbidity in Western countries. For this reason, the diagnosis, prevention and prediction of TAAs and ADs have become a very active area of research; in fact, it is important to monitor and predict the evolution of these diseases over time. It is also critical, in cases of doubtful diagnosis, to receive some guidance from biochemical assays, particularly in the case of ADs. Although biological testing for disease prediction has already been discussed several times, the role of biomarkers in TAAs and ADs is still under discussion for routine patient screening, periodical follow-up or for prompt diagnosis in emergency conditions. In this review, we update the current knowledge and new trends regarding the role of biomarkers in thoracic aortic diseases, focusing on established and emerging biomarkers in the fields of genetics, inflammation, haemostasis and matrix remodelling as well as on substances released upon cell damage. Other than D-dimer, a sensitive but not a specific marker for the diagnosis of AD that has been widely tested by several authors and currently seems a viable option in ambiguous cases, the remaining markers have been most frequently assessed in limited or mixed patient populations. This currently precludes their widespread adoption as diagnostic or prognostic tools, even if many of these markers are conceptually promising. In years to come, we expect that future studies will further clarify the diagnostic and prognostic features of several established and emerging biomarkers that, to date, are still in the translational limbo separating biological discovery from a practical clinical role.