Assessment of left ventricular function in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients by speckle tracking layer-specific strain combined with myocardial work technique / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To assess the changes of left ventricular systolic function and global myocardial work in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients by speckle tracking layer-specific strain combined with myocardial work technique and explore the diagnostic value of each parameter for HFpEF.Methods:From December 2019 to December 2020, 38 HFpEF patients (HFpEF group) and 38 healthy individuals with age- and sex-matched (control group) were enrolled consecutively in the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University. Conventional ultrasound parameters were collected. Layer-specific strain and myocardial work techniques were used to obtain the global longitudinal strain (GLS) of the left ventricular endocardium, mid-myocardium, and epicardium (GLSendo, GLSmid, GLSepi), global myocardial work index (GWI), global myocardial work efficiency (GWE), global constructive work (GCW), and global wasted work (GWW). The absolute difference of GLS(ΔGLS) between endocardium and epicardium were calculate.All parameters were analyzed statistically. ROC curves were plotted to compare the effectiveness of layer-specific strain and myocardial work parameters in predicting left ventricular systolic function impairment in HFpEF patients.Results:①Left atrial diameter, interventricular septum at end-diastole, left ventricular posterior wall at end-diastole, relative wall thickness, left ventricular mass index, and average early diastolic peak velocity (E)/early diastolic tissue velocity (e′) in HFpEF group were significantly higher compared with control subjects, while late diastolic peak velocity (A), E/A, and e′ were significantly lower (all P<0.05); E, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left ventricular end-diastolic volume, left ventricular end-systolic volume, fraction shortening, and left ventricular ejection fraction were not different between HFpEF and control groups (all P>0.05). ②The global longitudinal strain of the left ventricule was highest in the endocardium and lowest in the epicardium. ③Compared with control subjects, HFpEF patients demonstrated significantly decreased GLSendo, GLSmid, GLSepi, ΔGLS, GWI, GWE, GCW and increased GWW (all P<0.01). ④The ROC results showed that the area under the curve of ΔGLS and GWE for predicting left ventricular contractile function impairment in HFpEF group, was 0.884 and 0.882, respectively; The cutoff values were -5.8% and 95%; The sensitivity were 84.2% and 71.1%, and the specificity was 84.2% and 89.5%, respectively. ⑤The ROC curve of combining the two technologies showed that the maximum area under the curve of the ΔGLS in tandem with GWE was 0.944, the sensitivity was 81.6%, and the specificity was 97.4%. Conclusions:Both speckle tracking layer-specific strain and myocardial work techniques can sensitively detect left ventricular myocardial function impairment in HFpEF patients at an early stage. ΔGLS and GWE are more reliable indexes for predicting left ventricular systolic function damage in HFpEF patients. Combining the two techniques can improve the diagnostic performance in HFpEF patients.

MicroRNA-497 suppresses renal cell carcinoma by targeting VEGFR-2 in ACHN cells.

Abnormal expression of miRNAs contributed to cancers through regulation of proliferation, apoptosis and drug resistance of cancer cells. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of miR-497 on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and its possible mechanism. Forty paired clear cell RCC (ccRCC) tissues and adjacent normal kidney tissues were obtained from patients, who were not treated by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. RT-PCR was performed to detect expression of miR-497 in the ccRCC tissues. Effects of miR-497 on cell viability, apoptosis, migration and invasion were detected in ACHN cells. Western blotting (WB) was employed to detect the downstream targets of miR-497 We found that miR-497 in ccRCC tissues was decreased. We treated ACHN cells with miR-497 mimics and inhibitors in vitro and found that miR-497 inhibited viability, migration and invasion of ACHN cells. miR-497 promoted ACHN cells' apoptosis. VEGFR-2 was predicted as a possible target of miR-497 Luciferase reporter assay proved that miR-497 suppressed VEGFR-2 directly by binding to its 3'-UTR. Further studies showed that miR-497 influenced the MEK/ERK and p38 MAPK signalling pathways. Our findings demonstrated that miR-497 could suppress RCC by targeting VEGFR-2.

Analysis of risk factors for preeclampsia in pregnancies complicated with chronic aplastic anemia / 中华妇产科杂志

Objective To investigate the risk factors for preeclampsia (PE) in pregnancies complicated with chronic aplastic anemia ( CAA ) by analyzing the obstetric management and pregnancy outcome.Methods Retrospectively review the clinical data including the obstetric management,the laboratory findings and the pregnancy outcome of 41 pregnant women complicated with CAA,all of whom were hospitalized in Peking University People's Hospital from May 2002 to February 2011.Multiple logistic regression was used to explore the risk factors associated with PE.Results ( 1 ) Twenty-eight patients were diagnosed before conception while 13 were diagnosed during gestation.Eleven patients including all the 7 who were categorized as severe CAA presented with mild bleeding in the third trimester.( 2 ) The medians of white blood cell counts,hemoglobin concentrations and platelet counts were 5.0 × 109/L,66.0 g/L and 12.0 × 109/L respectively.(3) The obstetric management consisted of strict assessment, intensive surveillance and follow-up,appropriate supportive measures,timely recognition of complications,and delivery when necessary.Twenty-one patients received supportive transfusions.Ten patients developed PE,all of whom were diagnosed as severe PE( SPE).Twelve patients suffered postpartum hemorrhage,and 3 of them had blood loss more than 1000 mL All were conservatively treated in success.(4) The median gestational age of delivery was 37 weeks.Sixteen cases delivered before 37 weeks and 5 delivered before 34 weeks.Two patients developed SPE at 29 weeks and 30 weeks respectively,and both of the neonates died for severe asphyxia.The birth weight of the live neonates ranged from 1500 to 3660 g.(5) The postpartum follow-up period ranged from 6 months to 7 years.Thirty-three patients got improvement without dependence on transfusions.Four achieved no remission and still needed intermittent transfusions.Four were lost in followup.(6) Significant differences were found in the bleeding tendency,the platelet counts and the delivery weeks when comparing the patients developing PE and those without PE.No differences were found with regard to the age,the gestational age of first visit,the percentage of patients diagnosed before conception,the percentage of severe CAA,the choice of treatment,the white blood cell counts and the hemoglobin level.The Multiple logistic regression showed that the platelet count less than 10 × 109/L was an independent risk factor for CAA patients developing PE (P =0.006).Conclusions Most pregnancies complicated with CAA could achieve good maternal and fetal outcome, when intensive prenatal care and supportive management are provided SPE is the most common complication.The platelet count less than 10 × 109/L is perhaps an independent risk factor for CAA patients developing PE.