A polymorphism in the visfatin gene promoter is related to decreased plasma levels of inflammatory markers in patients with coronary artery disease.

Visfatin, a newly identified proinflammatory adipokine, has been linked to coronary artery disease (CAD). The -1535C>T polymorphism (rs61330082) located in the visfatin gene promoter is reportedly associated with proinflammatory status. However, it is unclear whether this polymorphism correlates with plasma levels of inflammatory markers including visfatin, hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α in CAD patients. The present study was to investigate the potential association of the -1535C>T polymorphism with plasma levels of visfatin, IL-6, C reactive protein (hs-CRP) and TNF-α in patients with CAD. We conducted a hospital based study with 171 CAD patients to examine the association between the -1535C>T polymorphism and plasma levels of visfatin, hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α. Plasma visfatin levels were markedly different between patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP, 11.91 ± 0.70 ng/l) and those with unstable angina pectoris (UAP, 17.49 ± 0.20 ng/l) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI, 16.63 ± 0.22 ng/l; SAP versus UAP or AMI, P < 0.05). Compared with the CC genotype, variant genotypes CT and TT correlated with significantly lower levels of visfatin, hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α in the SAP group (P < 0.05), with lower levels of hs-CRP and IL-6 in the UAP group (P < 0.05), and with lower levels of visfatin in the AMI group (P < 0.05) after adjustment for age, gender, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and medication. Our results suggest that the -1535C>T polymorphism is associated with decreased plasma levels of inflammatory markers in CAD patients, reflecting that this polymorphism might provide a useful marker for predicting the development of CAD events.

[Clinical value of intracoronary ST-segment shift in diagnosis of early myocardial injury during percutaneous coronary intervention].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of intracoronary electrocardiogram (IcECG) in examining early myocardial injury during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: Eight-six patients who had undergone elective PCI for their coronary heart disease were enrolled in the study. The IcECG both at baseline and after procedure were recorded with an incoronary guidewire and the serum levels of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and creatine kinase-myoglobin were measured at baseline and 8 and 24 hours after intervention. Myocardial damage was defined as serum levels of cTnT increase above the upper normal value after intervention. Cardiac events after intervention was followed up. RESULTS: Of all these 86 patients with normal serum levels of cardiac markers before the procedure, significant shift at ST-segment in IcECG during PCI was observed in 30 patients (35%, abnormal group) and no shift in the remaining 56 patients (65%, control group). All the procedures were successful. Serum levels of cTnT and creatine kinase-myoglobin were significantly higher in abnormal group than in control group after intervention (P < 0.01). The intracoronary ST-segment shift had a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 94% in predicting myocardial injury, with positive and negative predictive values of 90% and 86%, respectively. More cardiac events were observed in abnormal group than those in control group at a 4-week follow-up after intervention (P < 0.05) and major coronary event-free survival was significantly lower in those with post-procedural ST-segment shift in the IcECG (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: IcECG may be a useful method for predicting myocardial injuries during PCI.

[A genetic algorithm approach to qualitative analysis in inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy].

Genetic algorithm (GA) is used in automatic qualitative analysis by a sequential inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ICP-AES) and a computer program is developed in this paper. No any standard samples are needed, and spectroscopic interferences can be eliminated. All elements and their concentration ranges of an unknown sample can be reported. The replication rate Pr, crossover rate Pc, and mutation rate of the genetic algorithm were adjusted to be 0.6, 0.4 and 0 respectively. The analytical results of GA are in good agreement with the reference values. It indicates that, combined with the intensity information, the GA can be applied to spectroscopic qualitative analysis and expected to become an effective method in qualitative analysis in ICP-AES after further work.