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Cardiac tissue engineering could be useful for replacement and/or repair of diseased or malformed cardiac tissue. The creation of functional, biocompatible contractile tissues, however, remains challenging. These investigators report a novel method of engineering a highly effective collagen-cell scaffold based on arginine–glycine–aspartic acid–serine peptides cross-linked to a clinically approved collagen matrix.
Apoptosis contributes notably to the pathogenesis of heart failure, but these investigators found that upregulation of endogenous antiapoptotic mechanisms counterbalance the death-receptor and mitochondrial apoptotic pathways. Concurrent activation of antiapoptotic factors can interrupt the apoptotic cascade, prevent cell loss despite the presence of multiple proapoptotic factors, and could offer an opportunity for therapeutic intervention.
Elevated lipoprotein (a) concentrations are associated with atherothrombotic complications of coronary artery disease. In this study, combined lipid apheresis and lipid-lowering medication was efficacious in reducing extremely high levels of lipoprotein (a), and thus in preventing major adverse coronary events, in patients in whom maximally tolerated doses of medication alone had failed to control events associated with coronary artery disease.
Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are associated with thromboembolic events. Aspirin hyporesponsiveness has been associated with an increased risk of future vascular atherothrombotic events, such as acute coronary syndromes and cerebrovascular accidents, but whether this disorder can predict future clinical thromboembolic events in patients with VADs remains unclear. In this article, the prevalence and clinical relevance of aspirin hyporesponsiveness before and after VAD implantation and the role of markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis were assessed.
Early detection of atherosclerosis is beneficial but the reliability of imaging techniques is unclear. This study assesses reproducibility for black-blood MRI measurement of atherosclerotic burden in the left and right carotid arteries and the thoracic descending aorta. The results suggest that measurement of some MRI parameters is reliable, and the researchers recommend further investigation of their value for predicting cardiovascular disease.