The role of the osteoprotegerin/RANKL/RANK axis and osteopontin in acute coronary syndrome.

Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to ascertain the levels of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and osteopontin (OPN), alongside osteoprotegerin/RANKL ratio (ORR), and assess their association with the SYNTAX score and ascertain the potential of these molecules as predictive markers for risk, aiding in risk stratification. Eventually, they could potentially be employed even before angiography to gauge the severity of coronary lesions. Methods: Prospective study with 147 participants, 101 (69%) were men, with an average age of 60. We included three groups - (1) patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (ACS-PCI), (2) patients without ACS who underwent coronary angiography for an indication other than ischemia and did not undergo PCI (non-ACS without), and (3) one asymptomatic subject. OPG and OPN were measured. ORR and SYNTAX scores were calculated. The association between OPG and OPN levels and important clinical variables was investigated. Results: OPG levels in Group 1 were lower compared to Groups 2 and 3 (controls), Group 1 (490 pg/mL) versus Group 2 (829 pg/mL) versus Group 3 (845 pg/mL) (p = 0.001). OPG had lower levels in patients with coronary artery stenosis versus without stenosis. A decrease in ORR was shown in all groups and no association with the SYNTAX score. Conclusion: OPG and OPN (and ORR) levels are decreased in patients with ACS and show no correlation with the SYNTAX score. As an exploratory study, our work suggest that increased OPG and OPN levels in non-ACS patients may have, in fact, a protective effect. This study is one of the few with an appropriate control in ACS and reproducibility is necessary mainly with multicenter studies.

Objetivo: El objetivo principal de este estudio es conocer los niveles de OPG y OPN, junto con la ORR, y evaluar su asociación con la puntuación SYNTAX y conocer el potencial de estas moléculas como marcadores predictivos de riesgo, ayudando en la estratificación del riesgo. Con el tiempo, podrían emplearse incluso antes de la angiografía para medir la gravedad de las lesiones coronarias. Métodos: Estudio prospectivo con 147 participantes, 101 (69%) eran hombres, con una edad promedio de 60 años. Se incluyeron tres grupos (1) pacientes con SCA sometidos a ICP (SCA-ICP), (2); pacientes sin SCA sometidos a angiografía coronaria por una indicación distinta a la isquemia y no sometidos a ICP (sin SCA sin) (3) un sujeto asintomático. Se midieron OPG, OPN. Se calcularon las puntuaciones ORR y SYNTAX. Se investigó la asociación entre los niveles de OPG y OPN y variables clínicas importantes. Resultados: Los niveles de OPG en el Grupo 1 fueron más bajos en comparación con los Grupos 2 y 3 (controles). Grupo 1 (490 pg/mL) versus Grupo 2 (829 pg/mL) versus Grupo 3 (845 pg/mL) [p = 0.001]). La OPG tuvo niveles más bajos en pacientes con estenosis de la arteria coronaria versus sin estenosis. Se mostró una disminución en la ORR en todos los grupos y no hubo asociación con la puntuación SYNTAX. Conclusione: Los niveles de OPG OPN (y ORR) están disminuidos en pacientes con SCA y no muestran correlación con la puntuación SYNTAX. Como estudio exploratorio, nuestro trabajo sugiere que los niveles elevados de OPG y OPN en pacientes sin SCA pueden tener, de hecho, un efecto protector. Este estudio es uno de los pocos con un control adecuado en SCA y la reproducibilidad es necesaria principalmente con estudios multicéntricos.

Why did humans surpass all other primates? Are our brains so different? Part 1.

This review is based on a conference presented in June 2023. Its main objective is to explain the cognitive differences between humans and non-human primates (NHPs) focusing on characteristics of their brains. It is based on the opinion of a clinical neurologist and does not intend to go beyond an overview of this complex topic. As language is the main characteristic differentiating humans from NHPs, this review is targeted at their brain networks related to language. NHPs have rudimentary forms of language, including primitive lexical/semantic signs. Humans have a much broader lexical/semantic repertory, but syntax is the most important characteristic, which is probably unique to Homo sapiens. Angular gyrus, Broca's area, temporopolar areas, and arcuate fascicle, are much more developed in humans. These differences may explain why NHPs did not develop a similar language to ours. Language had a profound influence on all other higher nervous activities.

Esta revisão baseia-se numa conferência apresentada em junho de 2023. O seu principal objetivo é explicar as diferenças cognitivas entre humanos e primatas não humanos (PNH) com base nas características dos seus cérebros. Baseia se na opinião de um neurologista clínico e não pretende ir além de uma visão geral deste tema complexo. Como a linguagem é a principal característica que diferencia os humanos dos PNH, esta revisão concentra-se nas redes cerebrais relacionadas à linguagem. Os PNH têm formas rudimentares de linguagem, incluindo sinais lexicais/semânticos primitivos. Os humanos têm um repertório léxico/semântico muito mais amplo, mas a sintaxe é a característica mais importante e única do Homo sapiens. O giro angular, a área de Broca, as áreas temporopolares e o fascículo arqueado são muito mais desenvolvidos em humanos. Essas diferenças podem explicar por que os PNH não desenvolveram uma linguagem semelhante à nossa. A linguagem teve influência profunda em todas as outras atividades nervosas superiores.

Why did humans surpass all other primates? Are our brains so different? Part 1 / Por que os seres humanos superaram todos os outros primatas? Nossos cérebros são tão diferentes? Parte 1

ABSTRACT. This review is based on a conference presented in June 2023. Its main objective is to explain the cognitive differences between humans and non-human primates (NHPs) focusing on characteristics of their brains. It is based on the opinion of a clinical neurologist and does not intend to go beyond an overview of this complex topic. As language is the main characteristic differentiating humans from NHPs, this review is targeted at their brain networks related to language. NHPs have rudimentary forms of language, including primitive lexical/semantic signs. Humans have a much broader lexical/semantic repertory, but syntax is the most important characteristic, which is probably unique to Homo sapiens. Angular gyrus, Broca's area, temporopolar areas, and arcuate fascicle, are much more developed in humans. These differences may explain why NHPs did not develop a similar language to ours. Language had a profound influence on all other higher nervous activities.

RESUMO Esta revisão baseia-se numa conferência apresentada em junho de 2023. O seu principal objetivo é explicar as diferenças cognitivas entre humanos e primatas não humanos (PNH) com base nas características dos seus cérebros. Baseia se na opinião de um neurologista clínico e não pretende ir além de uma visão geral deste tema complexo. Como a linguagem é a principal característica que diferencia os humanos dos PNH, esta revisão concentra-se nas redes cerebrais relacionadas à linguagem. Os PNH têm formas rudimentares de linguagem, incluindo sinais lexicais/semânticos primitivos. Os humanos têm um repertório léxico/semântico muito mais amplo, mas a sintaxe é a característica mais importante e única do Homo sapiens. O giro angular, a área de Broca, as áreas temporopolares e o fascículo arqueado são muito mais desenvolvidos em humanos. Essas diferenças podem explicar por que os PNH não desenvolveram uma linguagem semelhante à nossa. A linguagem teve influência profunda em todas as outras atividades nervosas superiores.

Correlation of RETINAL Artery Diameter with Coronary Artery Disease: The RETINA CAD Pilot Study-Are the Eyes the Windows to the Heart?

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine whether there was any correlation between coronary artery disease (CAD) and retinal artery diameter at an academic tertiary medical center in Trinidad and Tobago. METHODS: This prospective study evaluated patients (n = 77) with recent invasive coronary angiography (CAG) and the Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score who subsequently underwent optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A) at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) from January 2021 to March 2021. Routine medical history and cardiovascular medications were also recorded. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to compare correlations and medians between groups. RESULTS: The average patient age was 57.8 years old, with the majority being male [n = 55 (71.4%)] and of South Asian ethnicity [n = 53 (68.8%)]. Retinal artery diameter was negatively correlated with the SYNTAX score (-0.332 for the right eye, p = 0.003 and -0.237 for the left eye, p = 0.038). A statistically significant relationship was also demonstrated in females and diabetic patients. There were no serious adverse events (SAEs). CONCLUSION: A significantly negative correlation was observed between retinal artery diameter and SYNTAX score. This study alludes to the practical use of optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A) as a noninvasive diagnostic modality for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Further large-scale, multicentric studies are required to confirm these exploratory findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04233619.

Are prosodic effects on sentence comprehension dependent on age? / Os efeitos prosódicos na compreensão de frases variam de acordo com a idade?

ABSTRACT Purpose to investigate prosodic boundary effects on the comprehension of attachment ambiguities in Brazilian Portuguese and to test two hypotheses relying on the notion of boundary strength: the absolute boundary hypothesis (ABH) and the relative boundary hypothesis (RBH). Manipulations of prosodic structure influence how listeners interpret syntactically ambiguous sentences. However, the role of prosody in spoken language comprehension of sentences has received limited attention in languages other than English, particularly from a developmental perspective. Methods Twenty-three adults and 15 children participated in a computerized sentence comprehension task involving syntactically ambiguous sentences. Each sentence was recorded in eight different prosodic forms with acoustic manipulations of F0, duration and pause varying the boundary size to reflect predictions of the ABH and RBH. Results Children and adults differed in how prosody influenced their syntactic processing and children were significantly slower than adults. Results indicated that interpretation of sentences varied according to their prosodic forms. Conclusion Neither the ABH or the RBH explained how children and adults who speak Brazilian Portuguese use prosodic boundaries to disambiguate sentences. There is evidence that the way prosodic boundaries influence disambiguation varies cross-linguistically.

RESUMO Objetivo investigar os efeitos de fronteiras prosódicas na compreensão de ambiguidades sintáticas no português brasileiro além de testar duas hipóteses baseadas na noção de intensidade de fronteira: a hipótese de fronteira absoluta (ABH) e a hipótese de fronteira relativa (RBH). Manipulações da estrutura prosódica influenciam como os ouvintes interpretam frases sintaticamente ambíguas. No entanto, o papel da prosódia na compreensão da linguagem oral tem recebido atenção limitada em línguas além do inglês, particularmente do ponto de vista do desenvolvimento. Método Vinte e três adultos e 15 crianças participaram de uma tarefa computadorizada de compreensão de frases envolvendo frases sintaticamente ambíguas. Cada frase foi gravada em oito formas prosódicas diferentes com manipulações acústicas de F0, duração, e pausa, variando o tamanho da fronteira prosódica de modo a transparecer as previsões da ABH e RBH. Resultados Crianças e adultos diferiram em como a prosódia influenciou o processamento sintático; as crianças foram significativamente mais lentas que os adultos. Os resultados indicaram que a interpretação das frases variou de acordo com suas formas prosódicas. Conclusão Nenhuma das hipóteses (ABH ou RBH) explica como crianças e adultos falantes do Português brasileiro utilizam as fronteiras prosódicas para desambiguar frases. Há evidências de que a maneira com a qual os limites prosódicos influenciam a desambiguação de frases varia entre os idiomas.

The performance of SYNTAX score versus the coronary angiogram standard evaluation in the prediction of cardiovascular events in a cohort of patients with stable coronary heart disease.

Background: Scores for prediction of cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or medical-therapy (MT), such as the SYNTAX score (SXscore), have been proposed, but there is no comparative assessment of their performance with the coronary angiogram standard evaluation (CASE). This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the SXscore versus the CASE in the prediction of major cardiovascular outcomes (MACCE) in patients with chronic CAD who were treated with MT or additionally submitted to CABG or PCI. Methods: Prospective cohort study of 454 patients with CAD referred for elective diagnostic coronary angiography in Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, with 40 years of age or over, which were followed on average for 6±2.0 years. Patients with acute coronary syndromes, valvular heart disease, aortic diseases, previous coronary revascularization, heart failure, chronic renal disease, history of cancer, or severe psychiatric illness were excluded. Agreement between the scores was evaluated by Kappa statistics. The performance of the scores to predict MACCE was evaluated by Cox proportional hazard models. Areas under the ROC curves were compared by the DeLong test. Results: Patients with moderate to high SXscores or with left main or multivessel CAD (LMMCAD) in the CASE evaluation had higher rates of all-cause death and MACCE than those with low SXscore or without LMMCAD. After adjusting for confounding, only LMMCAD remained associated with the incidence of all-cause death in the total sample (HR =2.81;95% CI: 1.17-6.74) and for MACCE in patients undergoing MT (HR =8.72; 95% CI: 1.73-44.10). The ROC curves for all treatments were similar. Kappa statistics was not significant in patients submitted to MT, poor for patients treated by PCI and fair for the whole sample and patients treated with CABG. Conclusions: The severity of CAD defined by CASE or the SXscore provides similar prediction of the occurrence of cardiovascular events in patients submitted to clinical, PCI or CABG therapies. CASE is easier to do and may be the preferential method in the stratification of risk of patients with stable CAD.

Sentence Comprehension in Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Study of the Application of the Brazilian Version of the Test for the Reception of Grammar (TROG2-Br).

Sentence-comprehension deficits have been described in patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). However, most instruments to address this domain in more detail and in a clinical context have not been adapted and translated into several languages, posing limitations to clinical practice and cross-language research. Objectives: The study aimed to (1) test the applicability of the Brazilian version of the Test for Reception of Grammar (TROG2-Br) to detect morphosyntactic deficits in patients with PPA; (2) investigate the association between performance in the test and sociodemographic and clinical variables (age, years of formal education, and disease duration); (3) characterize the performance of individuals presenting with the three more common variants of PPA (non-fluent, semantic, and logopenic) and mixed PPA (PPA-Mx) and analyze whether TROG-2 may assist in the distinction of these clinical profiles. Methods: A total of 74 cognitively healthy participants and 34 individuals diagnosed with PPA were assessed with TROG2-Br. Overall scores (correct items, passed blocks), types, and categories of errors were analyzed. Results: In controls, block scores were significantly correlated with years of formal education (Spearman's r = 0.33, p = 004) but not with age. In PPA, age, education, and disease duration were not significantly associated with performance in the test. Controls presented a significantly higher performance on TROG2-Br compared to PPA individuals and their errors pattern pointed to mild general cognitive processing difficulties (attention, working memory). PPA error types pointed to processing and morphosyntactic deficits in nonfluent or agrammatic PPA, (PPA-NF/A), logopenic PPA (PPA-L), and PPA-Mx. The semantic PPA (PPA-S) subgroup was qualitatively more similar to controls (processing difficulties and lower percentage of morphosyntactic errors). TROG2-Br presented good internal consistency and concurrent validity. Discussion: Our results corroborate findings with TROG-2 in other populations. The performance of typical older adults with heterogeneous levels of education is discussed along with recommendations for clinical use of the test and future directions of research.

Dificultades en la comprensión lectora de niños con TDAH / Difficulties in Reading Comprehension in Children With ADHD

Resumen Los niños diagnosticados con trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH) experimentan múltiples dificultades durante el aprendizaje de la lectura, en especial con los componentes del lenguaje que permiten un buen desarrollo del proceso lector. En este sentido, el interés de este trabajo fue evaluar la sintaxis y la semántica como componentes del lenguaje fundamentales para la comprensión lectora. Se aplicó la batería PROLEC-R a 37 niños (entre 6 - 13 años) diagnosticados con TDAH y se analizaron los índices principales junto a los baremos para determinar en qué componente lingüístico se ubica la mayor complejidad. Los resultados sugieren que los niños tienen mayores dificultades en lo sintáctico, referido a estructurar oraciones y aplicar los signos de puntuación. Por lo tanto, si se refuerza el componente sintáctico los niños con TDAH, podrían mejorar en la comprensión lectora.

Abstract Children diagnosed with ADHD experience multiple difficulties in learning to read, especially with the language components that allow a good development of the reading process. In this sense, the interest of this work was to evaluate syntax and semantics as fundamental components of language for reading comprehension. The PROLEC-R battery was applied to 37 children between 6 and 13 years old diagnosed with ADHD, and the main indexes were analyzed together with the scales to determine in which linguistic component was the greater complexity located. The results suggest that children in the sample have greater difficulties in syntax, referring to sentence structure and punctuation. Therefore, if the syntactic component is reinforced, children with ADHD could probably improve their reading comprehension.

Semantic Feature Extraction Using SBERT for Dementia Detection.

Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to the development of cognitive deficits, such as aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia. It is currently considered one of the most significant major medical problems worldwide, primarily affecting the elderly. This condition gradually impairs the patient's cognition, eventually leading to the inability to perform everyday tasks without assistance. Since dementia is an incurable disease, early detection plays an important role in delaying its progression. Because of this, tools and methods have been developed to help accurately diagnose patients in their early stages. State-of-the-art methods have shown that the use of syntactic-type linguistic features provides a sensitive and noninvasive tool for detecting dementia in its early stages. However, these methods lack relevant semantic information. In this work, we propose a novel methodology, based on the semantic features approach, by using sentence embeddings computed by Siamese BERT networks (SBERT), along with support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), random forest, and an artificial neural network (ANN) as classifiers. Our methodology extracted 17 features that provide demographic, lexical, syntactic, and semantic information from 550 oral production samples of elderly controls and people with Alzheimer's disease, provided by the DementiaBank Pitt Corpus database. To quantify the relevance of the extracted features for the dementia classification task, we calculated the mutual information score, which demonstrates a dependence between our features and the MMSE score. The experimental classification performance metrics, such as the accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score (77, 80, 80, and 80%, respectively), validate that our methodology performs better than syntax-based methods and the BERT approach when only the linguistic features are used.

Níveis de Interleucina-35 em Pacientes com Doença Arterial Coronariana Estável / Interleukin-35 Levels in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease

Resumo Fundamento Foi demonstrado que as subunidades de interleucina-35 (IL-35) estão fortemente expressas nas placas ateroscleróticas em humanos. Assim, considera-se que elas têm um papel na aterosclerose. Objetivos Neste estudo, os níveis de IL-35 foram comparados com o grupo controle em pacientes com doença arterial coronariana (DAC) estável, e a associação entre os níveis de IL-35 e o tipo, gravidade e extensão da lesão foram investigadas com o escore Gensini (GS) e o escore Syntax (SS) no grupo de pacientes Métodos Sessenta pacientes (18 mulheres e 42 homens) com DAC, diagnosticados por meio da angiografia coronária, que apresentaram dor no peito típica e teste de esforço não invasivo positivo, e 46 pacientes (18 mulheres e 28 homens) com luminograma normal, foram incluídos no estudo. Tanto o GS quanto o SS foram calculados para o grupo de pacientes, e esses valores foram comparados com os níveis de IL-35. Variáveis com distribuição não normal foram avaliadas com o teste U de Mann-Whitney, enquanto os parâmetros com distribuição normal foram analisados com o teste t de Student. A diferença entre as variáveis categóricas foi avaliada pelo teste de qui-quadrado ou de Fisher. Os valores de p<0,05 foram considerados como estatisticamente sinificativos. Resultados Não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre pacientes e o grupo controle em termos de características demográficas e achados laboratoriais. Em comparação ao grupo controle, os níveis de IL-35 no grupo com DAC foram consideravalmente menores (36,9±63,9 ng/ml vs. 33,2±13,2 ng/ml, p<0,008). Embora não tenha sido estatisticamente significativo, os níveis de IL-35 foram maiores em pacientes com SS mais baixo do que nos com SS mais alto (33,2±13,7 vs. 31,8±8,9, p=0,51). Os valores de IL-35 em pacientes com GS alto foram significativamente mais baixos do que em pacientes com GS baixo (35±17,4 vs. 30,7±8,6, p=0,043). Conclusão Demonstrou-se que os níveis de IL-35 podem ser um novo biomarcador para a DAC estável, e que a IL-35 está associada à extensão da DAC.

Abstract Background It has been shown that interleukin-35 (IL-35) subunits are strongly expressed in atherosclerotic plaques in humans. Therefore, it is considered to play a role in atherosclerosis. Objectives In this study, IL-35 levels were compared with the control group in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), and the association between IL-35 levels and the lesion type, lesion severity and extension was investigated with the Gensini score (GS) and the Syntax score (SS) in the patient group. Methods Sixty patients (18 female and 42 male) with CAD diagnosed by coronary angiography, who presented with typical chest pain and positive noninvasive cardiac stress test, and 46 patients (18 female and 28 male) with normal coronary lumenogram, were included in this study. Gensini and Syntax scores were calculated in the patient group, and these values were compared with IL-35 levels. Non-normally distributed variables were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U test, whereas normally distributed parameters were assessed by Student's t-test. The difference between categorical variables were evaluated by the Chi-square or Fisher test. P-values<0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results No significant differences were observed between patients and the control group in terms of demographic characteristics and laboratory findings. Compared to the control group, IL-35 levels of the CAD group were considerably lower (36.9±63.9 ng/ml vs. 33.2±13.2 ng/ml, p<0.008). Although not statistically significant, IL-35 levels were higher in patients with low SS than among those with high SS (33.2±13.7 vs. 31.8±8.9, p=0.51). The IL-35 values of the patients with high GS were significantly lower than in patients with low GS (35±17.4 vs. 30.7±8.6, p=0.043). Conclusion It has been shown that IL-35 levels can be a new biomarker for stable CAD, and IL-35 is associated with the extension of CAD.

Association between SYNTAX II Score and late saphenous vein graft failure in patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is a well-established treatment modality for patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD). Syntax II Score has been established as novel scoring system with better prediction of postprocedural outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of SYNTAX II Score for predicting late saphenous vein graft (SVG) failure in patients undergoing isolated CABG. METHODS: The records of 1,875 consecutive patients who underwent isolated CABG with at least one SVG were investigated. Those who underwent coronary angiography and SVGs angiography at least 1 year after the CABG were included. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of SVG failure. For each group, predictors of late SVG failure and subsequent clinical outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: According to this study, the presence of hypertension, higher rates of repeat revascularization, and higher SYNTAX II Scores were found to be independent predictors of late SVG failure. In addition, the prognostic value of SYNTAX II Score was found to be significantly higher than anatomical SYNTAX Score in terms of predicting late SVG failure and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular event. CONCLUSIONS: There was a strong association between SYNTAX II Score and late SVG failure in patients undergoing isolated CABG.

Effectiveness of Clinical, Surgical and Percutaneous Treatment to Prevent Cardiovascular Events in Patients Referred for Elective Coronary Angiography: An Observational Study.

PURPOSE: To ascertain the most appropriate treatment for chronic, stable, coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients submitted to elective coronary angiography. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 814 patients included in the prospective cohort study were referred for elective coronary angiography and were followed up on average for 6±1.9 years. Main outcomes were all-cause death, cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke and late revascularization and their combinations as major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (MACCE): MACCE-1 included cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, and stroke; MACCE-2 was MACCE-1 plus late revascularization. Survival curves and adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used to explore the association between the type of treatment and outcomes. RESULTS: All-cause death was lower in participants submitted to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (0.41, 0.16-1.03, P=0.057) compared to medical treatment (MT). Coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) had an overall trend for poorer outcomes: cardiovascular death 2.53 (0.42-15.10), combined cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, and stroke 2.15 (0.73-6.31) and these events plus late revascularization (2.17, 0.86-5.49). The corresponding numbers for PCI were 0.27 (0.05-1.43) for cardiovascular death, 0.77 (0.32-1.84) for combined cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, and stroke and 2.35 (1.16-4.77) with the addition of late revascularization. These trends were not influenced by baseline blood pressure, left ventricular ejection fraction and previous MI. Patients with diabetes mellitus had a significantly higher risk of recurrent revascularization when submitted to PCI than CABG. CONCLUSION: Patients with confirmed CAD in elective coronary angiography do not have a better prognosis when submitted to CABG comparatively to medical treatment. Patients treated with PCI had a trend for the lower incidence of combined cardiovascular events, at the expense of additional revascularization procedures. Patients without significant CAD had a similar prognosis than CAD patients treated with medical therapy.

Increased incidence of serious late adverse events with drug-eluting stents when compared with coronary artery bypass surgery: a cause of concern.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in pre-drug-eluting stents (DESs) era, randomized trials and meta-analysis showed that the extension of coronary artery disease was not associated with a better survival with CABG, and only diabetic patients had an inferior survival with PCI. After the introduction of DES, we would expect a substantial improvement in PCI results compared with CABG, narrowing the gap between both revascularization strategies, However, on the contrary, most randomized studies between DES and CABG showed that rate of recurrences remained and there is an unexpected increased of late serious adverse events including spontaneous myocardial infarction and death. In this review, we try to described each of these problems and find out explanations for these new findings searching for potential solutions.

Doença Arterial Coronariana Anatômica Associada à Quimioterapia em Pacientes com Câncer de Pulmão Avaliada pelo Escore Angiográfico SYNTAX / Chemotherapy-Related Anatomical Coronary-Artery Disease in Lung Cancer Patients Evaluated by Coronary-Angiography SYNTAX Score

Resumo Fundamento A doença arterial coronariana (DAC) associada à quimioterapia está se tornando um tema emergente na prática clínica. Contudo, o mecanismo subjacente da quimioterapia associada à DAC permanence incerto. Objetivos O estudo investigou a associação entre a quimioterapia e as anomalias anatômicas ateroscleróticas das artérias coronárias dentre pacientes com cancer de pulmão. Métodos Foram incluídos pacientes submetidos à angiografia coronária (AGC), entre 2010 e 2017, com câncer de pulmão prévio. Os fatores de risco associados à DAC e os dados sobre o câncer de pulmão foram avaliados. Avaliamos as anomalias das artérias coronárias de acordo com o escore SYNTAX (SXescore) calculado à AGC. Na análise de regressão logística, o escore SYNTAX foi classificado como alto (SXescoreALTO) se ≥22. Os dados foram analisados através de estatística descritiva e análise de regressão. Resultados Ao todo, 94 pacientes foram incluídos no estudo. O SXescore foi mais alto no grupo com quimioterapia quando comparado com o grupo sem quimioterapia (25,25, IIQ [4,50-30,00] versus 16,50, IIQ [5,00-22,00]; p = 0,0195). A taxa do SXescoreALTO foi maior no grupo com quimioterapia do que no no grupo sem quimioterapia (58,33% versus 25,86; p = 0,0016). Tanto a análise de regressão logística univariada (OR: 4,013; 95% IC:1,655-9,731) quanto a multivariada (OR: 5,868; 95% IC:1,778-19,367) revelaram que a quimioterapia aumentou o risco de uma maior taxa do SXescoreALTO. A análise multivariada de regressão logística Stepwise mostrou que o risco para DAC anatômica mais grave aumenta com a quimioterapia como um todo em 5.323 vezes (95% IC: 2,002-14,152), e com o regime à base de platina em 5,850 vezes (95% IC: 2,027-16,879). Conclusões A quimioterapia está associada com a complexidade e gravidade anatômica da DAC, o que pode explicar, em parte, o maior risco de DAC associada à quimioterapia dentre pacientes com câncer de pulmão. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

Abstract Background Chemotherapy-related coronary artery disease (CAD) is becoming an emerging issue in clinic. However, the underlying mechanism of chemotherapy-related CAD remains unclear. Objective The study investigated the association between chemotherapy and atherosclerotic anatomical abnormalities of coronary arteries among lung cancer patients. Methods Patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) between 2010 and 2017, who previously had lung cancer, were examined. Risk factors associated with CAD and information about lung cancer were evaluated. We assessed coronary-artery abnormalities by SYNTAX score (SXscore) based on CAG. In logistic-regression analysis, we defined high SXscore (SXhigh) grade as positive if ≥22. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Results A total of 94 patients were included in the study. The SXscore was higher in the chemotherapy group than in the non-chemotherapy group (25.25, IQR [4.50-30.00] vs. 16.50, IQR [ 5.00-22.00], p = 0.0195). The SXhigh rate was greater in the chemotherapy group than in the non-chemotherapy group (58.33% vs. 25.86; p = 0.0016). Both univariate (OR:4.013; 95% CI:1.655-9.731) and multivariate (OR:5.868; 95% CI:1.778-19.367) logistic-regression analysis revealed that chemotherapy increased the risk of greater SXhigh rates. Multivariate stepwise logistic-regression analysis showed the risk of more severe anatomical CAD is increased by chemotherapy as a whole by 5.323 times (95% CI: 2.002-14.152), and by platinum-based regimens by 5.850 times (95% CI: 2.027-16.879). Conclusions Chemotherapy is associated with anatomical complexity and severity of CAD, which might partly account for the higher risk of chemotherapy-related CAD among lung cancer patients. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

Inter-observer variation of Syntax score among cardiac surgeons, clinical and interventional cardiologists.

BACKGROUND: Despite the complexity of SYNTAX score (SS), guidelines recommend this tool to help choosing between coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with left main of three-vessel coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to compare the inter-observer variation in SS performed by clinical cardiologists (CC), interventional cardiologists (IC), and cardiac surgeons (CS). METHODS: Seven coronary angiographies from patients with left main and/or three-vessel disease chosen by a heart team were analyzed by 10 CC, 10 IC and 10 CS. SS was calculated via SYNTAX website. RESULTS: Kappa concordance was very low between CC and CS (k = 0.176), moderate between CS and IC (k = 0.563), and moderate between CC and IC (0.553). There was a statistically significant difference between CC, who classified more cases as low complexity (70%), and CS, who classified more cases as moderate complexity (80%) (p = 0.041). CONCLUSION: Concordance between SS analyzed by CC, CS and IC is low. The usefulness of SS in decision-making of revascularization strategy is undeniable and evidence supports its use. However, this study highlights the importance of well-trained professionals on calculating the SS. It could avoid misclassification of borderline cases.

One-Year Follow-Up Results From the Observational, Multicenter, Prospective, and Controlled Registry: The WALTZ All-Comers Study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate 1-year follow-up results in an all "comers" population treated with a new cobalt chromium bare-metal stent (BMS) design. Since August 2016 to March 2017, 201 (9.7% of screening population) consecutive patients undergoing coronary stent implantation in 11 centers in Argentina were prospectively included in our registry. The inclusion criteria were multiple-vessel disease and/or unprotected left main disease, acute coronary syndromes (ACS) with at least one severe (⩾70%) stenosis in any of major epicardial vessel. In-stent restenosis, protected left main stenosis, or impossibility to receive dual-antiplatelet therapy was an exclusion criterion. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were the primary endpoint and included cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularization (TLR); also, all components of the primary endpoint were separately analyzed. Completeness of revascularization was analyzed as post hoc data using residual SYNTAX or ERACI risk scores. Demographic characteristics showed that 6.5% of patients were very elderly, 22.5% have diabetes, 47% have multiple-vessel disease, 67% have ACS, and 32% have ST elevation MI. At a mean of 376 ± 18.1 days of follow-up, MACE was observed in 10.4% of patients: death + MI + cardiovascular accident (CVA) in 3% (6 of 201) and cardiac death + MI + CVA in 1.5% (3 of 201). Residual ERACI score ⩽5 was associated with 98% of event-free survival (P < .04). In conclusion, this prospective, multicenter, and observational all-comers registry with this novel BMS design showed a low incidence of adverse events at 1 year mainly due to coronary restenosis.

Invasive coronary angiography findings across the CAD-RADS classification spectrum.

The recently introduced coronary artery disease reporting and data system (CAD-RADS) evaluated by computed tomography and based on stenosis severity, might not adequately reflect the complexity of CAD. We explored the relationship between CAD-RADS and the spatial distribution, burden, and complexity of lesions by invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Stable patients who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and ICA comprised the study population. Patients were classified according to the CAD-RADS: 0, No plaque; 1, 1-24% stenosis; 2, 25-49%; 3, 50-69%; 4A, 70-99%; 4B, left main stenosis or 3-vessel obstructive disease; and 5, total occlusion. Based on ICA findings, we calculated the SYNTAX score and the CAD extension index. Ninety-one patients were included, with a mean age of 61.4 ± 10.5 years (74% male). We found significant relationships between CAD-RADS and both the SYNTAX score (p < 0.0001) and the CAD extension index (p < 0.0001), although the complexity of coronary anatomy differed among patients with CAD-RADS ≥ 4A. Among patients with CAD-RADS < 4, the mean segment involvement score (SIS) was 8.4 ± 4.0, 52% of them with a SIS > 5. Of the 30 patients with CAD-RADS 5, 9 (30%) affected distal segments or secondary branches, and 9 (30%) had concomitant severe non-extensive disease at ICA. Regarding the spatial distribution of the non-occluded most severe lesions, 27 (44%) comprised distal segments or secondary branches. In the present study including a high-risk population, we identified diverse coronary anatomy complexity scenarios and relevant differences in spatial distribution sharing the same CAD-RADS classification.

SYNTAX Score in Patients With Diabetes Undergoing Coronary Revascularization in the FREEDOM Trial.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with complex coronary artery disease (CAD), which in turn results in increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate the utility of SYNTAX score (SS) for predicting future cardiovascular events in patients with DM and complex CAD undergoing either coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: The FREEDOM (Future REvascularization Evaluation in patients with Diabetes mellitus: Optimal management of Multivessel disease) trial randomized patients with DM and multivessel CAD to undergo either PCI with drug-eluting stents or CABG. The SS was calculated retrospectively by a core laboratory. The endpoint of hard cardiovascular events (HCE) was a composite of death from any cause, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal stroke, while the endpoint of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) was a composite of HCE and repeat revascularization. RESULTS: A total of 1,900 patients were randomized to PCI (n = 953) or CABG (n = 947). The SS was considered an independent predictor of 5-year MACCE (hazard ratio per unit of SS: 1.02; 95% confidence interval: 1.00 to 1.03; p = 0.014) and HCE (hazard ratio per unit of SS: 1.03; 95% confidence interval: 1.01 to 1.04; p = 0.002) in the PCI cohort, but not in the CABG group. There was a higher incidence of MACCE in PCI patients with low, intermediate, and high SS compared with those who underwent CABG (36.6% vs. 25.9%, p = 0.02; 43.9% vs. 26.8%, p < 0.001; 48.7% vs. 29.7%, p = 0.003, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In DM patients with multivessel CAD, the complexity of CAD evaluated by the SS is an independent risk factor for MACCE and HCE only in patients undergoing PCI. The SS should not be utilized to guide the choice of coronary revascularization in patients with DM and multivessel CAD. (Comparison of Two Treatments for Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease in Individuals With Diabetes [FREEDOM]; NCT00086450).

Echocardiographic measurements of epicardial adipose tissue and comparative ability to predict adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease.

The present study aimed to compare echocardiography measurements of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness and other risk factors regarding their ability to predict adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Outcomes of 107 patients (86 males, 21 females, mean age 63.6 years old) submitted to diagnostic echocardiography and coronary angiography were prospectively analyzed. EAT (measures over the right ventricle, interventricular groove and complete bulk of EAT) and left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) were performed by echocardiography. Coronary complexity was evaluated by Syntax score. Primary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE's), composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, intra-stent re-stenosis and episodes of decompensate heart failure requiring hospital attention during a mean follow up of 15.94 ± 3.6 months. Mean EAT thickness was 4.6 ± 1.9 mm; and correlated with Syntax score and body mass index; negatively correlated with LVEF. Twenty-three cases of MACE's were recorded during follow up, who showed higher EAT. Diagnostic ability of EAT to discriminate MACE's was comparable to LVEF (AUROC > 0.5); but higher than Syntax score. Quartile comparison of EAT revealed that measurement of the complete bulk of EAT provided a better discrimination range for MACE's, and higher, more significant adjusted risk (cutoff 4.6 mm, RR = 3.91; 95% CI 1.01-15.08; p = 0.04) than the other risk factors. We concluded that echocardiographic measurement of EAT showed higher predicting ability for MACE's than the other markers tested, in patients with CAD. Whether location for echocardiographic measurement of EAT impacts the diagnostic performance of this method deserves further study.

Risk factors for three-vessel coronary artery disease in patients of Northwest Mexico.

INTRODUCTION: Three-vessel coronary artery disease is an advanced manifestation of atherosclerosis, with high prevalence in Mexico. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe coronary risk factors in a group of patients with three-vessel coronary artery disease in Northwest Mexico. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted on a population with three-vessel coronary artery disease from May 2015 to February 2016. The disease was defined when ≥70% stenosis was present in each major epicardial coronary artery. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were measured in each patient. Ankle-Brachial Index was measured with vascular ultrasound, and Syntax score calculation with an on-line application. Statistical analysis for qualitative differences was performed using Pearson X2 test, with p<0.05 being considered as significant. RESULTS: The study included 100 patients, of whom 75 were male (mean age 63±9 years) and 25 female (mean age 69±9 years). The coronary risk factors observed were diabetes (58%), hypertension (86%), smoking (68%), dyslipidaemia (100%), metabolic syndrome (71%), and obesity/overweight (75%). Diabetes and metabolic syndrome prevalence was higher in women (p=0.03), but smoking was higher in men (76%, p=0.003). Ankle-Brachial Index was abnormal in 58% of patients, the mean Syntax score was in 36.9±11.5, and the prevalence of left main coronary heart disease was 36%. CONCLUSIONS: This group of patients with complex coronary lesions has a high prevalence of coronary risk factors, which could represent a worse prognosis.