Effect of diabetes mellitus on young female patients with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most important risk factors of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). There have been many studies on the relationship between DM and ACS. However, the effect of DM on young females with ACS is still unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of DM on coronary arteries lesions in young females with ACS. METHODS: 1278 young females (age ≤ 44 years) undergoing coronary angiography were divided into DM group (n = 197) and control group (n = 1081) according to whether they had diabetes. Based on whether the patient has ACS, each group was further divided into DM-ACS subgroup and Non-DM-ACS subgroup to compare the characteristics and severity of coronary artery lesions and follow-up outcomes. RESULTS: The prevalence of diabetes was 15.41% (197/1278). Overweight (58.88%) and depression or anxiety (11.17%) in the DM group was significantly higher than those (32.22% and 6.20%) in the control group (P < 0.05). The prevalence of ACS (85.28%) in the DM group was significantly higher than that (25.35%) in the control group (P < 0.05). The proportion of type A lesions in the DM-ACS subgroup was lesser than that in the Non-DM-ACS subgroup (P < 0.05). The type C lesions in the DM-ACS subgroup were significantly higher than that in the Non-DM-ACS subgroup (P < 0.01). The number of stents implantation in the DM-ACS subgroup was no significant difference compared with the Non-DM-subgroup (P > 0.05). The length of stent implantation in the DM-ACS subgroup was significantly longer than that in the Non-DM-ACS subgroup (P < 0.05). The rate of MACE was not statistically significant between the two subgroups (P > 0.05), but the rate of all-cause death (2.98%) in the DM-ACS subgroup was significantly higher than that (0.36%) in the Non-DM-ACS subgroup (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: DM is an important risk factor in young females with ACS. Young women with diabetes are prone to coronary heart disease. The coronary artery lesions in DM patients were more severe than those in Non-DM patients, despite the protective effect of estrogen on the cardiovascular system. Therefore, young women with DM should be treated to prevent ACS and future events activelyandpurposefully.

Clinical and vascular lesion characteristics of the patients with takayasu arteritis manifested firstly as acute myocardial infarction at onset.

Objective: To explore clinical and vascular lesion characteristics of the patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA) manifested firstly as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at onset and to improve the diagnostic rate of TA. Methods: The clinical and angiographic data of six patients with TA manifested firstly as AMI at onset were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Of six patients (16-25 years old), 83.33% (five cases) was female, three patients had a history of hypertension and three patients did not have any medical history. One patient had intermittent effort chest tightness. On admission patients all presented with chest pain, dyspnea, hypotension, cardiogenic shock, abnormal electrocardiogram, and elevated cardiac troponin I. The vessel involvement was left coronary main trunk 83.33%, left anterior descending artery 33.33% and left circumflex branch 16.67%, right coronary artery 66.67%, subclavian artery 83.33%, and renal artery 50%. Five patients received the emergency PCI. One patient died of heart failure. During follow-up 3 patients received again PCI treatment. Conclusion: Clinical and vascular lesion characteristics of those patients were no discomfort before admission, and the suddenly typical manifestation of AMI. Severe stenosis or occlusion occurred in main coronary artery ostia and peripheral large artery. For the TA patients with hemodynamic instability the effectiveness of emergency PCI is positive.

Fabrication of BMP-2-peptide-Deferoxamine- and QK-peptide-functionalized nanoscaffolds and their application for bone defect treatment.

The microenvironment in the healing process of large bone defects requires suitable conditions to promote osteogenesis and angiogenesis. Coaxial electrospinning is a mature method in bone tissue engineering (BTE) and allows functional modification. Appropriate modification methods can be used to improve the bioactivity of scaffolds for BTE. In this study, coaxial electrospinning with QK peptide (a Vascular endothelial growth factor mimetic peptide) and BMP-2 peptide-DFO (BD) was performed to produce double-modified PQBD scaffolds with vascularizing and osteogenic features. The morphology of coaxially electrospun scaffolds was verified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy. Laser scanning confocal microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that BD covalently bound to the surface of the P and PQ scaffolds. In vitro, the PQBD scaffold promoted the adhesion and proliferation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). Both QK peptide and BD showed sustainable release and preservation of biological activity, enhancing the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs and the migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and promoting angiogenesis. The combined ability of these factors to promote osteogenesis and angiogenesis is superior to that of each alone. In vivo, the PQBD scaffold was implanted into the bone defect, and after 8 weeks, the defect area was almost completely covered by new bone tissue. Histology showed more mature bone tissue and more blood vessels. PQBD scaffolds promote both angiogenesis and osteogenesis, offering a promising approach to enhance bone regeneration in the treatment of large bone defects.

Cannabidiol promotes apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo by activating the SP1-CBX2 axis.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor that often occurs in children, adolescents, and young adults. Cannabidiol plays an essential role in cancer treatment. However, its effects on osteosarcoma have not yet been addressed. In the present study, we investigated the pharmacological effects of cannabidiol on osteosarcoma. We found that cannabidiol effectively suppressed the proliferation and colony formation of osteosarcoma cells. Further studies showed that cannabidiol significantly promoted cell apoptosis and changes in cell apoptosis-related gene proteins in vitro. In addition, cannabidiol administration inhibited tumor growth and promoted the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in a mouse xenograft model. The in vitro study also demonstrated that SP1 contributes to chromobox protein homolog 2 (CBX2) reduction in cannabidiol-treated MG63 and HOS cells, and that cannabidiol may recruit SP1 into the CBX2 promoter regions to downregulate CBX2 expression at the transcriptional level and promote osteosarcoma cell apoptosis. Further, the result showed that cannabidiol suppressed osteosarcoma cell migration. In summary, cannabidiol effectively promoted the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo and suppressed tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model by regulating the SP1-CBX2 axis. This finding provides novel therapeutic strategies for osteosarcoma in the clinic.

Comprehensive analysis of a glycolysis and cholesterol synthesis-related genes signature for predicting prognosis and immune landscape in osteosarcoma.

Background: Glycolysis and cholesterol synthesis are crucial in cancer metabolic reprogramming. The aim of this study was to identify a glycolysis and cholesterol synthesis-related genes (GCSRGs) signature for effective prognostic assessments of osteosarcoma patients. Methods: Gene expression data and clinical information were obtained from GSE21257 and TARGET-OS datasets. Consistent clustering method was used to identify the GCSRGs-related subtypes. Univariate Cox regression and LASSO Cox regression analyses were used to construct the GCSRGs signature. The ssGSEA method was used to analyze the differences in immune cells infiltration. The pRRophetic R package was utilized to assess the drug sensitivity of different groups. Western blotting, cell viability assay, scratch assay and Transwell assay were used to perform cytological validation. Results: Through bioinformatics analysis, patients diagnosed with osteosarcoma were classified into one of 4 subtypes (quiescent, glycolysis, cholesterol, and mixed subtypes), which differed significantly in terms of prognosis and tumor microenvironment. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed that the modules strongly correlated with glycolysis and cholesterol synthesis were the midnight blue and the yellow modules, respectively. Both univariate and LASSO Cox regression analyses were conducted on screened module genes to identify 5 GCSRGs (RPS28, MCAM, EN1, TRAM2, and VEGFA) constituting a prognostic signature for osteosarcoma patients. The signature was an effective prognostic predictor, independent of clinical characteristics, as verified further via Kaplan-Meier analysis, ROC curve analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Additionally, GCSRGs signature had strong correlation with drug sensitivity, immune checkpoints and immune cells infiltration. In cytological experiments, we selected TRAM2 as a representative gene to validate the validity of GCSRGs signature, which found that TRAM2 promoted the progression of osteosarcoma cells. Finally, at the pan-cancer level, TRAM2 had been correlated with overall survival, progression free survival, disease specific survival, tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability, immune checkpoints and immune cells infiltration. Conclusion: Therefore, we constructed a GCSRGs signature that efficiently predicted osteosarcoma patient prognosis and guided therapy.

C-Reactive Protein Level Predicts Cardiovascular Risk in Chinese Young Female Population.

BACKGROUND: C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of the most common oxidative indexes affected by many diseases. In recent years, there have been many studies on CRP, but the relationship between CRP levels and the cardiovascular risk in the Chinese young female population is still unclear. The purpose of this work is to explore the predictive value of CRP for the cardiovascular risk in the Chinese young female population. METHODS: The study is conducted by 1 : 1 case-control to retrospectively analyze 420 young women with acute coronary syndrome (ACS group) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and 420 young women (control group) who underwent coronary angiography (CAG) to exclude coronary heart disease from January 2007 to December 2016. All patients are divided into three subgroups according to CRP values: subgroup 1: CRP < 1.0 mg/L (n = 402); subgroup 2: 1.0 mg/L ≤ CRP ≤ 3.0 mg/L (n = 303); subgroup 3: CRP > 3.0 mg/L (n = 135). The levels of CRP were observed in the two groups and three subgroups. RESULTS: A total of 840 patients were analyzed. The mean duration of follow-up was 66.37 ± 30.06 months. The results showed that the level of CRP in the ACS group was significantly higher than that in the control group (1.30 ± 1.70 vs. 3.33 ± 5.92, respectively, p < 0.001), and patients with higher CRP levels were associated with a significantly increased rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (7.0% vs. 8.9% vs. 19.30%, respectively, p < 0.05). After adjustment for baseline covariates, CRP level was still an independent predictor for the incidence of MACE, either as a continuous variable or as a categorical variable. There was a significantly higher rate of all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction in patients with higher CRP values during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The research results show that high CRP is associated with increased risk of ACS in the Chinese young female population. Risk stratification with CRP as an adjunct to predict clinical risk factors might be useful in the Chinese young female population.

The characteristics of risk factors in Chinese young women with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the prevalence rate of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Chinese young women has been increasing significantly, becoming one of the main causes of death in young females. A matter of constant concern is what is the characteristics and differences in risk factors between young women with ACS and without ACS. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and difference of risk factors in Chinese young women with ACS and to provide references for ACS prevention and treatment. METHODS: A 1:1 case-control study was conducted to evaluate risk factors of 415 young females with ACS (ACS group) who underwent PCI treatment and 415 young females without ACS (control group) who were hospitalized and confirmed by coronary angiography to exclude coronary heart disease from January 2010 to August 2016. The average age of the cases in groups was respectively (40.77 ± 4.02) and (40.57 ± 4.01) years-old (P > 0.05). RESULTS: The risk factors in ACS group were overweight (64.10%), hypertension (49.88%), hyperlipidemia (40.72%), diabetes (23.37%), depression or anxiety (16.63%), gynecological diseases (16.39%), Hyperuricemia (14.94%), family history of early-onset CHD (14.94%), hyperhomocysteinemia (11.33%), hypothyroidism (9.64%), hypercholesterolemia (8.43%) and high C-reactive protein (7.47%), and were significant difference (P < 0.01) compared with that of the control group. The average number of risk factors per case in ACS group was significantly more than that of control groups (P < 0.01). Regression analysis showed that hyperlipidemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, overweight (obesity), high CRP, hypertension, hypothyroidism, gynecological diseases, depression or anxiety, cardiac insufficiency, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, oral contraceptives, family history of early-onset CHD, and autoimmune diseases were independent risk factors (P < 0.01). The bivariate correlation analysis between CRP level and age was r = - 0.158 (P < 0.01). The result showed the younger ACS patient is the higher serum CRP. CONCLUSION: The independent risk factors of ACS in young women are hyperlipidemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, overweight, high CRP, hypertension, hypothyroidism, gynecological diseases, depression or anxiety, cardiac insufficiency, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, oral contraceptives, family history of early-onset CHD, and autoimmune diseases. The co-existence of multiple risk factors is the main cause suffering from ACS in young women.

Novel "crowbar effect'' approach to improve success rate of recanalization of coronary chronic total occlusions.

BACKGROUND: Coronary chronic total occlusions (CTO) are the most challenging lesions to treat percutaneously. Thus, consistent efforts are made to develop new approaches to treat CTO. OBJECTIVE: To explore the key points of a novel ``crowbar effect'' approach to improve the success rate of recanalization of CTOs. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-seven patients with CTO were treated with PCI using the regular antegrade guide wire approach. Of them, 36 patients (22.9%) showed that while the first guide wire was inserted into the CTO lesions, a small balloon had difficulty passing through the CTO lesions. For those patients, the new crowbar effect technique was used to allow the balloon to pass through the lesions. RESULTS: The coronary CTO vessels in 35 patients (97.2%) were completely opened. Coronary perforation occurred in 5 patients (13.8%). This perforation was properly treated and did not lead to serious complications. CONCLUSION: The crowbar effect technique proved successful as an alternative antegrade method for opening CTO. The procedure of this novel method is easy to accomplish and success rates are high.

Practical non-Poissonian light source for passive decoy state quantum key distribution.

Passive decoy state quantum key distribution (QKD) has enormous potential in high-speed applications. In this Letter, an intrinsic-stable non-Poissonian light source was implemented with Faraday mirrors and could be a crucial element in realizing passive decoy state QKD. The stable g((2))(0) was obtained through a Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment, and the results fit well with the theoretical value according to Curty et al.'s theory [Opt. Lett.34, 3238 (2009)].

Field test of wavelength-saving quantum key distribution network.

We propose a wavelength-saving topology of a quantum key distribution (QKD) network based on passive optical elements, and we report on the field test of this network on commercial telecom optical fiber at the frequency of 20 MHz. In this network, five nodes are supported with two wavelengths, and every two nodes can share secure keys directly at the same time. We also characterized the insertion loss and cross talk effects on the point-to-point QKD system after introducing this QKD network.

[Effectiveness of ezetimibe in improving lipid goal attainment in patients with coronary heart diseases treated with statin].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of ezetimibe on uncontrolled LDL-C when added to ongoing statin therapy in patients with coronary heart diseases (CHD) and diabetes mellitus (DM). METHODS: 61 patients with LDL-C level exceeding target goal (<2.07 mmol/L) after 12 weeks' treatment with statins, received ezetimibe in addition to their ongoing statin therapy for 8 weeks. Lipid parameters, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartic aminotransferase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK) were compared before and after the adding of ezetimibe. RESULTS: LDL-C before and after the adding of ezetimibe was (2.74+/-0.43) mmol/L and (2.19+/-0.32) mmol/L, respectively (P=0.03) in 61 patients. Ezetimibe added to statin therapy significantly reduced the LDL-C level and TC level by additional 20.1% and 19.1%, respectively (P<0.05). 74% (45/61) patients treated with ezetimibe added to statin reached their target LDL-C goal. No change of TG and HDL-C was observed and no change of AST, ALT and CK was found either. CONCLUSION: Ezetimibe added to statin therapy lowered LDL-C level further and improved the goal attainment in patients with CHD and DM.

[Correlativity between the polymorphisms of aldosterone synthase gene, Hind III restriction site on Y chromosome and essential hypertension].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of associating the polymorphisms of CYP11B2 -344C/T and Hind III restriction site on Y chromosome with essential hypertension. METHODS: This study enrolled 654 patients with essential hypertension and 386 healthy subjects as control group. The genomic DNA was extracted from blood leukocytes. The DNA segments of CYP11B2 and Y chromosome were amplified from genomic DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were digested with Hae III or Hind III at 37 degrees centigrade respectively. The digested products were subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis and stain with ethidium bromide. RESULTS: (1)The Hind III (-) genotype was found at 42.0% for patients with essential hypertension and 32.9% for control. The Hind III (-) genotype frequency of hypertension patient was significantly higher than that of the control (P was 0.03). The Hind III (+) genotype had a lower SBP and DBP than the Hind III (-) genotype (P was 0.01, P was 0.03). (2)With combining CC or CT genotype with Hind III (-) genotype, the relative risk suffering from hypertension was 1.998 fold high (P was 0.01). CONCLUSION: The polymorphism of Hind III restriction site on Y chromosome is associated with essential hypertension, and when combined with polymorphism of CYP11B2 -344C/T, may have a united role to increase the risk of suffering from hypertension disease.