Pulmonary hypertension

INTRODUCTION: Cell therapy has emerged as an alternative option for chronic lung diseases with the highest rates of morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. AREAS COVERED: This review addresses the definition of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), their properties, mechanisms of action, as well as preclinical and clinical studies that have used cell therapy in chronic lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and silicosis...

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a devastating disease characterized by vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling, leading to right ventricular failure and death. PH is a common complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Accumulating evidence demonstrate that microRNAs participate in the pathobiology of PH in COPD patients. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression and function of microRNA-4640-5p (miR-4640-5p) in PH. METHODS: The mRNA and protein levels were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot, separately...

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Glycometabolism is well known for its roles as the main source of energy, which mainly includes three metabolic pathways: oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway. The orderly progress of glycometabolism is the basis for the maintenance of cardiovascular function. However, upon exposure to harmful stimuli, the intracellular glycometabolism changes or tends to shift toward another glycometabolism pathway more suitable for its own development and adaptation. This shift away from the normal glycometabolism is also known as glycometabolism reprogramming, which is commonly related to the occurrence and aggravation of cardiovascular diseases...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a rescue therapy for cardiovascular collapse during and after liver transplantation (LT). According to the most recent guidelines, patients with severe cardiomyopathy are excluded from LT because of high-mortality risk during surgery. Intraoperative ECMO support could give these patients the opportunity to undergo LT by reducing the risk of heart failure and reperfusion syndrome. In this case report, we present a case of veno-arterial ECMO (VA-ECMO) support started before LT surgery in a patient with severe pulmonary hypertension, mitral valve steno-insufficiency, and right heart dysfunction...

Right ventricular (RV) failure is the major determinant of outcome in pulmonary hypertension (PH). Calves exposed to 2-wks hypoxia develop severe PH and unlike rodents, hypoxia-induced PH in this species can lead to right heart failure. We therefore sought to examine the molecular and structural changes in the RV in calves with hypoxia-induced PH, hypothesizing that we could identify mechanisms underlying compensated physiological function in the face of developing severe PH. Calves were exposed to 14d of hypobaric hypoxia (PB =430 mm Hg, equivalent to 4570m elevation, n=29) or ambient normoxia (1525m, n=25)...

BACKGROUND: Chronic low-grade inflammation associated with a dysregulated adipose tissue might contribute to amplifying the inflammatory response in severe COVID-19. The aim of this study was to examine the association between levels of circulating leptin and adiponectin and the severity and mortality of COVID-19. METHODS: Serum levels of leptin and adiponectin were determined at admission in 123 individuals with confirmed COVID-19 and their association with 90-day mortality and respiratory failure was analyzed by logistic regression analysis and expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs)...

Hyperbilirubinemia is a common gastrointestinal complication seen post-cardiac surgery. Here, we describe a case of a 72-year-old male with a past medical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease (CKD), pulmonary hypertension, and valvular heart disease with severe aortic stenosis, severe mitral and tricuspid regurgitations who underwent elective aortic valve replacement (AVR), mitral valve replacement (MVR), and tricuspid valve (TV) repair; in addition, he required left thoracotomy for the repair of pulmonary artery perforation from a Swan-Ganz catheter that resulted in a large left pleural bleed...

Introduction During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, private hospitals in Mandalay started to manage COVID-19 infections according to national treatment guidelines since February 2021. Variations of clinical characteristics and their outcomes in different surges could be evaluated in the private hospital. This study aimed to assess the clinical profile and outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted at a private hospital during three surges in Mandalay. Methods This study is a retrospective record review of the case series of COVID-19 patients admitted at City Hospital, Mandalay...

AIMS: Estimation of prognosis in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been influenced by that various risk stratification models use different numbers of prognostic parameters, as well as the lack of a comprehensive and time-saving risk assessment calculator. We therefore evaluated the various European Society of Cardiology (ESC)-/European Respiratory Society (ERS)-based three- and four-strata risk stratification models and established a comprehensive internet-based calculator to facilitate risk assessment...

INTRODUCTION: Patients with connective tissue disorders (CTD) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have a poorer prognosis than those with other PAH etiologies. This study assessed the impact of CTD on healthcare outcomes among PAH patients with and without CTD comorbidities that were treated with oral selexipag. METHODS: The study utilized Optum's de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database (2007-2021) from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2019, and identified patients with PAH without CTD and PAH with CTD treated with oral selexipag...

The aim of this study was to compare conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography parameters between transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) and healthy control infants. This cross sectional pilot observational study was conducted in a level 3 neonatal care unit of India. Consecutively born late preterm and term infants (LPTI) with TTN were eligible for enrollment. Control group was selected from healthy LPTI. Conventional and tissue Doppler (myocardial velocities, myocardial performance index (MPI)) echocardiography was done within first 12 h (D1) and 48-72 h (D3) of life...

Herbal medicine was used since the old time in the treatment of different types of diseases in Sefrou province, Morocco. However, few studies have been carried out to identify local medicinal flora and to scientifically document the knowledge of the traditional use of these medicinal plants by the population. This study aims to investigate the medicinal plants in Sefrou province, record their usage in folk medicine by the population and evaluate the hypotensive effect of selected plants using in vitro vascular activity...

INTRODUCTION: Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is a rare, under-recognised, hereditary condition that leads to chronic haemolytic anaemia and potentially serious secondary complications, such as iron overload, cholecystitis, pulmonary hypertension and extramedullary haematopoiesis. It is an autosomal recessive disease caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the PKLR gene. Due to its rarity and clinical heterogeneity, information on the natural history and long-term clinical course of PK deficiency is limited, presenting major challenges to patient management, the development of new therapies and establishing disease-specific treatment recommendations...

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Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a currently incurable pulmonary vascular disease. Since current research on PAH is mainly aimed at the middle and late stages of disease progression, no satisfactory results have been achieved. This has led researchers to focus on the early stages of PAH. This review highlights for the first time a key event in the early stages of PAH progression, namely, the occurrence of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (PASMC) phenotypic switching. Summarizing the related reports of performance conversion provides new perspectives and directions for the early pathological progression and treatment strategies for PAH...

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary hypertension due to left heart failure (PH-LHF) is a disease with high prevalence and 3-year mortality rates. Consequently, timely identification of patients with high mortality risk is critical. This study aimed to build a nomogram for predicting 3-year mortality and screening high-risk PH-LHF patients. METHODS: This nomogram was developed on a training cohort of 175 patients with PH-LHF diagnosed by right heart catheterization (RHC). Multivariate Cox regression was used to identify independent predictors and develop this nomogram...

Palliative procedures are performed for congenital heart diseases that are not amenable for definitive surgical procedures or as a component of hybrid procedures along with transcatheter interventions. Multimodality imaging plays an important role in the follow-up of these palliative procedures, mainly for the timely detection of complications and for planning any subsequent palliative or definitive procedure. Echocardiography is the first-line imaging modality, with CT and MRI used as complementary techniques in indeterminate cases...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.