The American journal of the medical sciences
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Inflammatory responses play a central role in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Previous studies have demonstrated that the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) is involved in the pro-inflammatory process of myocardial I/R injury by binding to diverse ligands. Thus, the inhibitory effects of soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products (sRAGE), a decoy receptor for RAGE, on myocardial I/R injury may be associated with a reduced inflammatory state. ⋯ Our findings suggested that sRAGE protects the heart from myocardial I/R injury by inhibiting the infiltration of pro-inflammatory M1-macrophages, and subsequently decreasing IL-6 secretion.
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Data from pivotal randomized controlled trials established the four pillars of guideline-directed medical therapy in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. The randomized controlled trials enrolled stable patients with New York Heart Association functional class II-III and a low incidence of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure. ⋯ We review the observational studies that point to the fading benefit of neurohormonal modulation and cardiac afterload reduction in the late stages of cardiovascular or renal diseases. We then propose a pragmatic approach for collecting evidence-based data on sequential withdrawal of the four pillars in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction after years of guideline-directed medical therapy.
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Primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL) is a rare type of lymphoma, representing <1 % of all primary lung cancers. Mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, the most common type of PPL, has an indolent slow growing course over years leading to frequent misdiagnoses. ⋯ A transthoracic biopsy confirmed it as MALT lymphoma. This case highlights the unusual manifestation in MALT lymphoma (being in disguise for a decade prior to diagnosis), thus emphasizing the role of meticulous evaluation of prior medical records and biopsy.