RETRACTED: Bosentan attenuates cardiac fibrosis in diabetic mice without affecting blood glucose.

At the request of the authors, 'Bosentan attenuates cardiac fibrosis in diabetic mice without affecting blood glucose' Journal of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, published ahead of print August 15, 2011 as doi: 10.1177/1470320311417274 has been retracted. This is due to mistakes in the published data at Figure 3. For clarification: this problem came to the attention of Bo Yang only after publication in the journal. Bo Yang immediately brought it to the attention of the Journal.

[Association between serum homocysteine and in-hospital death in patients with acute pulmonary embolism].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between serum homocysteine (Hcy) level and in-hospital death in patients with acute pulmonary embolism. METHODS: A total of 186 acute pulmonary embolism patients [ (66.8 ± 12.7) years, 89 male] hospitalized in our department between June 2008 and June 2011 were included in this prospective study. Patients were divided into high Hcy group (Hcy ≥ 15.2 µmol/L, n = 95) and low Hcy group (Hcy < 15.2 µmol/L, n = 91). Patients were followed-up for 1 year for the incidence rate of early death associated with acute pulmonary embolism. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the relationship between serum Hcy level and early death in acute pulmonary embolism patients. RESULTS: Patients were hospitalized for 1-37 days [(10 ± 6) days]. In-hospital death rate was 14.5% (27/186) and was significantly higher in high Hcy group than in low Hcy group [25.3% (24/95) vs. 3.3% (3/91) , P = 0.001]. Univariate Cox regression analysis indicated that admission heart rate, oxygen saturation, enlargement of right ventricle, Hcy ≥ 15.2 µmol/L, serum creatinine level, peak TnT level and deep venous thrombosis (P < 0.05) were independent risk factors for in-hospital death. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Hcy ≥ 15.2 µmol/L (HR = 4.10, 95%CI:3.00-4.98, P = 0.017), admission heart rate (HR = 1.10, 95%CI:1.01-1.20, P = 0.031) , deep venous thrombosis (HR = 1.65, 95%CI:1.45-1.76, P = 0.034) and age (HR = 1.10, 95%CI:1.02-1.19, P = 0.010) were independent predictors of in-hospital death for acute pulmonary embolism patients. One-year follow up was finished in 142 patients (89.3%). There were 19 deaths ( 5 due to repeat pulmonary embolism, 4 due to decompensated respiratory and /or cardiac diseases, 6 due to malignant tumors, 2 due to fatal bleeding and 2 due to pneumonia) . Death rate was similar between the two groups during follow up. CONCLUSION: Higher serum homocysteine is an independent for in-hospital death for patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Serum cystatin C concentration as an independent marker for hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy.

BACKGROUND: Serum cystatin C levels can be used to predict morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. However, the clinical relevance of serum cystatin C levels in patients with hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) has rarely been investigated. We designed the present study to investigate whether serum cystatin C levels are associated with cardiac structural and functional alterations in hypertensive patients. METHODS: We enrolled 823 hypertensive patients and classified them into two groups: those with LVH (n = 287) and those without LVH (n = 536). All patients underwent echocardiography and serum cystatin C testing. We analyzed the relationship between serum cystatin C levels and LVH. RESULTS: Serum cystatin C levels were higher in hypertensive patients with LVH than in those without LVH (P < 0.05). Using linear correlation analysis, we found a positive correlation between serum cystatin C levels and interventricular septal thickness (r = 0.247, P < 0.01), posterior wall thickness (r = 0.216, P < 0.01), and left ventricular weight index (r = 0.347, P < 0.01). When analyzed by multiple linear regression, the positive correlations remained between serum cystatin C and interventricular septal thickness (ß = 0.167, P < 0.05), posterior wall thickness (ß = 0.187, P < 0.05), and left ventricular weight index (ß = 0.245, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Serum cystatin C concentration is an independent marker for hypertensive LVH.