Arch Med Sci
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Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Increased Lp(a) concentration > 30 mg/dl (75 nmol/l) and especially >50 mg/dl (125 nmol/l) may cause faster atherosclerosis, being an important and underdiagnosed residual cardiovascular risk factor. Thus, there is a need to characterize further the clinical phenotypes in patients at risk for ASCVD with high Lp(a) levels now and during follow-up, while also looking for the possible impact of geographical differences. ⋯ In Poland, the largest representative of Central and Eastern European countries, 27% of patients at very high cardiovascular risk with established ASCVD experience additional risk related to an elevated Lp(a) level, with every second patient having CCS. Interestingly, only two factors were significantly related to elevated Lp(a) levels: lower Hb values and higher platelet count. However, the clinical relevance of these results needs confirmation.
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The catheter-based left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) has evolved as an alternative to oral anticoagulation (OAC) among non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) patients in whom long-term OAC is contraindicated. In daily practice, however, a sizeable number of patients who have been referred for an LAAC do not receive this intervention. This study aimed primarily to investigate the factors deterring the practice of an LAAC in referred AF patients, and secondarily to compare the complication rates of intervened patients with those who had refused the intervention within 1 year. ⋯ The reasons why patients did not undergo the catheter-based LAAC were mainly reluctance for the procedure and multimorbidity. Furthermore, it could be assumed that the potential benefit of the LAAC may not be realised within the first year.
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In this study, we investigated the clinical value of using urothelial cancer-associated 1 (UCA1) and microRNA-16 (miR-16) as biomarkers for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia (PE). Also, we compared the diagnostic values of miR-16, UCA1 and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in PE. Furthermore, we investigated the interaction between miR-16 and UCA1/PAPP-A. ⋯ Taken together, the evidence suggests that UCA1 could be used as a more valuable biomarker in the diagnosis of PE. Meanwhile, the reduced expression of UCA1 could exert a positive effect by reducing the expression of PAPP-A in the pathogenesis of PE.
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microRNAs (miRs) have been reported as blood-based noninvasive indicators for the diagnosis of various diseases. However, the utility of whole blood-based miRs in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysm (IA) is still not clear. The present study aimed to examine miR expression profiling in the peripheral whole blood of IA patients and healthy controls. ⋯ miR-21 combined with miR-92 could be considered as a potential biomarker for IA screening.
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The ITGB6 gene encoding a protein that can regulate the integrin αvβ6 heterodimer protein expression in different status was shown to play an important role in multiple human cancers, such as brain cancer, colon cancer and oral cancer, and is related to clinical progression. This study aims to explore the function and the mechanism of the ITGB6 gene or protein in pancreatic cancer. ⋯ Our data suggest that ITGB6 is associated with pancreatic cancer malignant progression. Hence, ITGB6 may serve as a potential target of pancreatic cancer for future research, and further study is needed.