Results Plasma levels of six quantified oxylipins decreased with the number of diseased arteries; a panel of five oxylipins diagnosed three diseased arteries with 100% sensitivity and 70% specificity. Concentrations of five oxylipins were lower and one oxylipin was higher with survival; a panel of two oxylipins predicted survival during follow-up with 86% sensitivity and 91% specificity. Conclusions Quantification of plasma oxylipins may assist in CAD diagnosis and prognosis in combination with standard risk assessment tools.Background Carfilzomib improves the prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM) patients but significantly increases cardiovascular toxicity. The timing and effect of Carfilzomib therapy on the left ventricular function is still under investigation. We sought to assess the echocardiographic systo-diastolic changes, including global longitudinal strain (GLS), in patients treated with Carfilzomib and to identify predictors of increased risk of cardiovascular adverse events (CVAEs) during therapy. Methods Eighty-eight patients with MM performed a baseline cardiovascular evaluation comprehensive of transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) before the start of Carfilzomib therapy and after 6 months. All patients were clinically followed up to early identify the occurrence of CVAEs during the whole therapy duration. Results After Carfilzomib treatment, mean GLS slightly decreased (-22.2% ± 2.6 vs. -21.3% ± 2.5; p less then 0.001). Fifty-eight percent of patients experienced CVAEs during therapy 71% of them had uncontrolled hypertension, and 29% had major CVAEs or CV events not related to arterial hypertension. GLS variation during therapy was not related to an increased risk of CVAEs; however, patients with baseline GLS ≥ -21% and/or left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 60% had a greater risk of major CVAEs (OR = 6.2, p = 0.004; OR = 3.7, p = 0.04, respectively). Carfilzomib led to a higher risk of diastolic dysfunction (5.6 vs. 13.4%, p = 0.04) and to a rise in E/e' ratio (8.9 ± 2.7 vs. 9.7 ± 3.7; p = 0.006). Conclusion Carfilzomib leads to early LV function impairment early demonstrated by GLS changes and diastolic dysfunction.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/VX-770.html  Baseline echocardiographic parameters, especially GLS and LVEF, might improve cardiovascular risk stratification before treatment.The transverse aortic constriction (TAC) model surgery is a widely used disease model to study pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in mice. The severity of adverse cardiac remodeling of the TAC model is largely dependent on the degree of constriction around the aorta, and the phenotypes of TAC are also different in different mouse strains. Few studies focus on directly comparing phenotypes of the TAC model with different degrees of constriction around the aorta, and no study compares the difference in C57BL/6N mice. In the present study, C57BL/6N mice aged 10 weeks were subjected to sham, 25G TAC, 26G TAC, and 27G TAC surgery for 4 weeks. We then analyzed the different phenotypes induced by 25G TAC, 26G TAC, and 27G TAC in c57BL/6N mice in terms of pressure gradient, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac function, heart failure situation, survival condition, and cardiac fibrosis. All C57BL/6N mice subjected to TAC surgery developed significantly hypertrophy. Mice subjected to 27G TAC had severe cardiac dysfunction, severe cardiac fibrosis, and exhibited characteristics of heart failure at 4 weeks post-TAC. Compared with 27G TAC mice, 26G TAC mice showed a much milder response in cardiac dysfunction and cardiac fibrosis compared to 27G TAC, and a very small fraction of the 26G TAC group exhibited characteristics of heart failure. There was no obvious cardiac dysfunction, cardiac fibrosis, and characteristics of heart failure observed in 25G TAC mice. Based on our results, we conclude that the 25G TAC, 26G TAC, and 27G TAC induced distinct phenotypes in C57BL/6N mice.Arterial calcification refers to the abnormal deposition of calcium salts in the arterial wall, which results in vessel lumen stenosis and vascular remodeling. Studies increasingly show that arterial calcification is a cell mediated, reversible and active regulated process similar to physiological bone mineralization. The osteoblasts and chondrocytes-like cells are present in large numbers in the calcified lesions, and express osteogenic transcription factor and bone matrix proteins that are known to initiate and promote arterial calcification. In addition, osteoclast-like cells have also been detected in calcified arterial walls wherein they possibly inhibit vascular calcification, similar to the catabolic process of bone mineral resorption. Therefore, tilting the balance between osteoblast-like and osteoclast-like cells to the latter maybe a promising therapeutic strategy against vascular calcification. In this review, we have summarized the current findings on the origin and functions of osteoblast-like and osteoclast-like cells in the development and progression of vascular progression, and explored novel therapeutic possibilities.Background Pericardiocentesis is an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool for cancer-associated pericardial effusion. Limited safety and outcomes data exists regarding the management of malignancy-related pericardial effusion in patients with thrombocytopenia. Objectives Our study aimed to analyze prognostic factors and overall survival (OS) after pericardiocentesis in thrombocytopenic cancer patients. Methods and Results A retrospective review of 136 thrombocytopenic cancer patients who underwent primary percutaneous pericardiocentesis was performed. Degree of thrombocytopenia was classified by platelet count recorded on day of pericardiocentesis 75-149 × 103 cells/μL (41%); 50-74 × 103 cells/μL (10%); 25-49 × 103 cells/μL (24%); less then 25 × 103 cells/μL (25%). Median OS was 2.6 months and median follow-up was 37.4 months. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed significant OS differences among thrombocytopenia severity groups (p = 0.023), and worse OS with platelets less then 100 vs. ≥100 × 103 cells/μL (p = 0.031). By univariate analysis, thrombocytopenia severity was associated with increased risk of death (HR 0.993; 95% CI 0.989-0.997; p = 0.002). Poor prognostic factors for OS were advanced cancer, malignant effusion, elevated international normalized ratio (INR), quantity of platelet transfusions, and platelet transfusion resistance. However, thrombocytopenia severity became insignificant for OS (p = 0.802), after adjusting for advanced cancer and INR. Conclusions For patients with malignancy-related large pericardial effusion and thrombocytopenia, pericardiocentesis is a feasible intervention and should be considered due to low complication rates. There is no absolute contraindication to pericardiocentesis in case of hemodynamic instability, even with severe thrombocytopenia.