Cardiovascular magnetic resonance to differentiate veteran athlete’s heart with cavity dilatation and mild dilated cardiomyopathy

Aims This study aimed to investigate the distribution of myocardial fibrosis and patterns of tissue characteristics on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) between athletes with left ventricular (LV) dilatation and mild dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients. Methods and results We prospectively recruited male cyclists/triathletes aged ≥50 years who undertook ≥10 h/week of exercise for ≥15 years along with age-/sex-matched patients with non-ischaemic heart failure (HF). Participants underwent clinical assessment, 12-lead ECG, stress-perfusion CMR with fibrosis assessment, and parametric tissue mapping. Following CMR, included participants in both groups had left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) > 40% and left ventricular end-diastolic volume indexed to body surface area (LVEDVi) ≥ 110 mL/m² without ischaemic heart disease or significant cardiac pathology on CMR likely to cause HF. Of 113 participants (64 athletes and 49 mild DCM patients), athletes with fibrosis demonstrated a greater prevalence of inferolateral fibrosis (87.5% vs. 50.0%, P = 0.002), whereas inferoseptal fibrosis was more common in mild DCM patients (45.8% vs. 9.4%, P = 0.002). Native T1 (1249.0 ± 38.1 vs. 1308.3 ± 47.1 ms, P < 0.001) and extracellular volume (ECV) (22.0 ± 2.1 vs. 25.9 ± 3.5%, P < 0.001) were lower in athletes. Athletes had greater right ventricular end-diastolic volume indexed to body surface area (RVEDVi) (121.0 ± 14.3 vs. 97.6 ± 25.2%, P < 0.001), myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) (3.65 ± 1.30 vs. 2.76 ± 0.92, P < 0.001), and stress myocardial blood flow (MBF) (2.09 ± 0.70 vs. 1.62 ± 0.66, P < 0.001) than mild DCM patients. On receiver-operator curve analysis, native T1 [area under the curve (AUC) 0.89, P < 0.001], ECV (AUC 0.85, P < 0.001), RVEDVi (AUC 0.81, P < 0.001), and stress MBF (AUC 0.68, P = 0.002) were able to differentiate between groups. Conclusion Septal fibrosis is rare amongst veteran athletes with LV dilation in contrast to mild DCM patients. Native T1, ECV, and RVEDVi can also discriminate between these overlapping phenotypes, which may be clinically useful

Cognitive function in female patients with schizophrenia and metabolic syndrome

IntroductionThe metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cognitive impairments, both related with poor outcomes in schizophrenia, are common in patients with this disorder. MetS has been associated with cognitive impairments in schizophrenia, but there is no general consensus regarding the description of various domains of neurocognition in patients with schizophrenia related to MetS.ObjectivesThe goal of this study was to assess cognitive functions in female patients with schizophrenia complicated by metabolic syndrome compared to those with schizophrenia without metabolic syndrome.MethodsFifty-four female patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were divided into two groups: MetS group (MetS+) and non-MetS group (MetS−). Cognitive functioning were investigated using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS).ResultsTwenty-seven (52%) patients with schizophrenia met criteria for the MetS diagnosis. Mean age of patients was 40.80. Patients from MetS+ group performed significantly worse on verbal memory (P = 0.005), executive functions (P = 0.028) and motor speed (P = 0.035) as compared to MetS− group. Patients with schizophrenia who were hypertensive showed cognitive impairments in 2 domains of cognition: attention and speed of information processing (P = 0.004) and verbal fluency (P = 0.001). Patients with hypertriglyceridemia performed significantly worse on verbal memory (P = 0.005). Motor speed was associated with waist circumference (P = 0.02).ConclusionsAt a mean age of 40 years old, female patients with schizophrenia and metabolic syndrome show difficulties in more domains of cognitive function compared to female patients with schizophrenia without metabolic syndrome. Our findings suggest a link between cognition and metabolic syndrome in female patients with schizophrenia.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.</jats:sec

Paramagnetic defects in neutron-irradiated α-quartz: Novel Al-associated E’ centers

Two new paramagnetic defects ($E'_{14}$ and $E'_{16}$ ) have been revealed in neutron-irradiated natural ${\alpha}$ -quartz by using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The EPR spectra of the $E'_{16}$ center as well as a previously reported but incompletely characterized $E'_{11}$ center demonstrate that their super-hyperfine structures arise from interaction with 27Al, the first-ever examples of Al-associated $E'$ centers in crystalline quartz. The matrices g and $\textbf{A}(^{29}\text{Si})$ , $\textbf{A}(^{27}\text{Al})$ of $E'_{11,16}$ , g and $\textbf{A}(^{29}\text{Si})$ of the $E'_{14}$ center, have been determined