The value of cardiac MRI in the risk stratification in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To explore the value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in the risk stratification of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Methods: HCM patients who underwent CMR examination in Fuwai Hospital between March 2012 and May 2013 were retrospectively enrolled. Baseline clinical and CMR data were collected and patient follow-up was performed using telephone contact and medical record. The primary composite endpoint was sudden cardiac death (SCD) or and equivalent event. The secondary composite endpoint was all-cause death and heart transplant. Patients were divided into SCD and non-SCD groups. Cox regression was used to explore risk factors of adverse events. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the performance and the optimal cut-off of late gadolinium enhancement percentage (LGE%) for the prediction of endpoints. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests were used to compare survival differences between groups. Results: A total of 442 patients were enrolled. Mean age was (48.5±12.4) years and 143(32.4%) were female. At (7.6±2.5) years of follow-up, 30 (6.8%) patients met the primary endpoint including 23 SCD and 7 SCD equivalent events, and 36 (8.1%) patients met the secondary endpoint including 33 all-cause death and 3 heart transplant. In multivariate Cox regression, syncope(HR=4.531, 95%CI 2.033-10.099, P<0.001), LGE% (HR=1.075, 95%CI 1.032-1.120, P=0.001) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HR=0.956, 95%CI 0.923-0.991, P=0.013) were independent risk factors for primary endpoint; Age (HR=1.032, 95%CI 1.001-1.064, P=0.046), atrial fibrillation (HR=2.977, 95%CI 1.446-6.131, P=0.003),LGE% (HR=1.075, 95%CI 1.035-1.116, P<0.001) and LVEF (HR=0.968, 95%CI 0.937-1.000, P=0.047) were independent risk factors for secondary endpoint. ROC curve showed the optimal LGE% cut-offs were 5.1% and 5.8% for the prediction of primary and secondary endpoint, respectively. Patients were further divided into LGE%=0, 0<LGE%<5%, 5%≤LGE%<15% and LGE%≥15% groups. There were significant survival differences between these 4 groups whether for primary endpoint or secondary endpoint (all P<0.001) and the accumulated incidence of primary endpoint was 1.2% (2/161), 2.2% (2/89), 10.5% (16/152) and 25.0% (10/40), respectively. Conclusion: LGE is an independent risk factor for SCD events as well as all-cause death and heart transplant. LGE is of important value in the risk stratification in patients with HCM.

Long non-coding RNAs in Oral squamous cell carcinoma: biologic function, mechanisms and clinical implications.

There is growing evidence that regions of the genome that cannot encode proteins play an important role in diseases. These regions are usually transcribed into long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). LncRNAs, little or no coding potential, are defined as capped transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides. New sequencing technologies have shown that a large number of aberrantly expressed lncRNAs are associated with multiple cancer types and indicated they have emerged as an important class of pervasive genes during the development and progression of cancer. However, the underlying mechanism in cancer is still unknown. Therefore, it is necessary to elucidate the lncRNA function. Notably, many lncRNAs dysregulation are associated with Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and affect various aspects of cellular homeostasis, including proliferation, survival, migration or genomic stability. This review expounds the up- or down-regulation of lncRNAs in OSCC and the molecular mechanisms by which lncRNAs perform their function in the malignant cell. Finally, the potential of lncRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for OSCC diagnosis are also described. LncRNAs hold promise as prospective novel therapeutic targets, but more research is needed to gain a better understanding of their biologic function.

Effects of 14 single herbs on the induction of caspase-3 in tumor cells: a brief review.

Chinese medicines (CMs) are increasingly being used for the treatment of tumors because of their unique advantages. The induction of tumor cell apoptosis is an important method of tumor treatment. Caspase-3 is a member of the caspase (cysteine aspartic proteinases) family of enzymes, which are the major inducers of apoptosis. Caspase-3 activity is often measured in the context of research into anti-tumor drugs that target apoptosis. Many studies have shown that CMs upregulate the expression of caspase-3 in tumor cells via extrinsic and/or intrinsic pathways, removing endogenous suppression of apoptosis and promoting tumor cell death. Therefore, several CMs fulfill the criteria for anti-tumor drugs. In this paper, we review the efficacy of 14 Chinese herbal medicines, across a wide range applications, and discuss their effects on caspase-3 activity in tumor cells.