Effect of Aging on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy in Ischemic Cardiomyopathy Patients

AbstractBackgroundThe role of patient age in the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) is controversial.ObjectivesThis study sought to determine whether the therapeutic effect of culture-expanded MSCs persists, even in older subjects.MethodsPatients with ICM who received MSCs via transendocardial stem cell injection (TESI) as part of the TAC-HFT (Transendocardial Autologous Cells in Ischemic Heart Failure) (n = 19) and POSEIDON (Percutaneous Stem Cell Injection Delivery Effects on Neomyogenesis) (n = 30) clinical trials were divided into 2 age groups: younger than 60 and 60 years of age and older. Functional capacity was measured by 6-min walk distance (6MWD) and quality of life using the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) score, measured at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year post-TESI. Various cardiac imaging parameters, including absolute scar size, were compared at baseline and 1 year post-TESI.ResultsThe mean 6MWD was similar at baseline and increased at 1 year post-TESI in both groups: 48.5 ± 14.6 m (p = 0.001) for the younger and 35.9 ± 18.3 m (p = 0.038) for the older participants (p = NS between groups). The older group exhibited a significant reduction in MLHFQ score (−7.04 ± 3.54; p = 0.022), whereas the younger than 60 age group had a borderline significant reduction (−11.22 ± 5.24; p = 0.058) from baseline (p = NS between groups). Although there were significant reductions in absolute scar size from baseline to 1 year post-TESI, the effect did not differ by age.ConclusionsMSC therapy with TESI in ICM patients improves 6MWD and MLHFQ score and reduces myocardial infarction size. Importantly, older individuals did not have an impaired response to MSC therapy

Left ventricular apical diseases

There are many disorders that may involve the left ventricular (LV) apex; however, they are sometimes difficult to differentiate. In this setting cardiac imaging methods can provide the clue to obtaining the diagnosis. The purpose of this review is to illustrate the spectrum of diseases that most frequently affect the apex of the LV including Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy, LV aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms, apical diverticula, apical ventricular remodelling, apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, LV non-compaction, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia with LV involvement and LV false tendons, with an emphasis on the diagnostic criteria and imaging features

Quick identification of acute chest pain patients study (QICS)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients with acute chest pain are often referred to the emergency ward and extensively investigated. Investigations are costly and could induce unnecessary complications, especially with invasive diagnostics. Nevertheless, chest pain patients have high mortalities. Fast identification of high-risk patients is crucial. Therefore several strategies have been developed including specific symptoms, signs, laboratory measurements, and imaging.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The Quick Identification of acute Chest pain Study (QICS) will investigate whether a combined use of specific symptoms and signs, electrocardiography, routine and new laboratory measures, adjunctive imaging including electron beam (EBT) computed tomography (CT) and contrast multislice CT (MSCT) will have a high diagnostic yield for patients with acute chest pain. All patients will be investigated according a standardized protocol in the Emergency Department. Serum and plasma will be frozen for future analysis for a wide range of biomarkers at a later time point. The primary endpoint is the safe recognition of low-risk chest pain patients directly at presentation. Secondary endpoint is the identification of a wide range of sensitive predictive clinical markers, chemical biomarkers and radiological markers in acute chest pain patients. Chemical biomarkers will be compared to quantitative CT measurements of coronary atherosclerosis as a surrogate endpoint. Chemical biomarkers will also be compared in head to head comparison and for their additional value.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This will be a very extensive investigation of a wide range of risk predictors in acute chest pain patients. New reliable fast and cheap diagnostic algorithm resulting from the test results might improve chest pain patients' prognosis, and reduce unnecessary costs and diagnostic complications.</p

Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula within a pulmonary cyst - evaluation with CT pulmonary angiography

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) are abnormal direct communications between pulmonary arteries and pulmonary veins. These abnormal communications result in an anatomical right-to-left shunt that reduces the arterial oxygen saturation and may cause hypoxaemia and dyspnoea. Although PAVMs frequently remain undiagnosed, they are associated with severe morbidity in the form of ischaemic strokes and brain abscesses. We report a case of incidental CT angiography depiction of a PAVM within a pulmonary cyst. To the best of our knowledge, no such case has been described previously. On the basis of its appearance and lack of typical clinical features of hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), we suggest that this PAVM actually represents an acquired fistula from a previously unrecognised focal pulmonary insult, such as trauma or infection, that simultaneously evolved into a pulmonary arteriovenous fistula (PAVF) within a traumatic pulmonary cyst or pneumatocele

Assessment of Diastolic Function in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy by Computed Tomography-Derived Analysis of Left Ventricular Filling

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by diastolic dysfunction, which is difficult to assess by noninvasive methods. We hypothesized that measurement of simultaneous left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) volume changes by cardiac computed tomography would be useful in the assessment of diastolic function in HCM. We studied 21 patients with HCM and 21 age-matched controls. The LA and LV volumes were calculated and early and late diastolic volume changes derived. The HCM patients had significantly larger LA volumes and reduced LA total emptying fraction (30 ± 7% vs 42 ± 6%; P < 0.0001). Conduit volume was increased (30 ± 6 vs 22 ± 4 mL/m; P < 0.0001) and contributed a significantly higher proportion of total LV diastolic filling, suggesting that passive filling of the LV compensates for LA dysfunction, but at the expense of increased pulmonary filling pressure. This study suggests that simultaneous depiction of computed tomography-derived LV and LA volume changes can characterize diastolic dysfunction in HCM

Multidetector computed tomography diagnosis and cine imaging of left main coronary arterial dissection

Coronary artery dissection (CD) is a rare cause of acute myocardial ischemia. It is often diagnosed by invasive coronary angiography, which is the principal diagnostic tool and gold standard in the diagnosis and triage of patients with CD. More recently, electrocardiogram-gated multidetector computerized tomography has emerged as a complementary imaging tool primarily for follow-up purposes. To our knowledge, this is the first published report of the primary diagnosis and dynamic cine interrogation of a left main CD using retrospective electrocardiogram-gated multidetector computerized tomography, which was not disclosed on invasive coronary angiography

Elongated eccentric soft coronary plaque: major diagnostic pitfall on quantitative coronary angiography overpowered by computed tomography coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound

We describe a significant left anterior descending coronary lesion in a patient with unstable angina pectoris. This lesion was erroneously underestimated using quantitative coronary angiography; however, CT coronary angiography correctly showed a significant, elongated, eccentric, soft plaque that was later confirmed by repeated quantitative coronary angiography with intravascular ultrasound. As showed, CT coronary angiography may offer a reliable non-invasive alternative to quantitative coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound by enabling a true 3-D coronary lumenogram combined with plaque detection and characterization

Comprehensive multidetector CT assessment of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

16-slice multidetector CT (MDCT) cardiac findings of a middle-aged man with known apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (AHC) and recent atypical chest pain are presented. MDCT enabled comprehensive evaluation of the coronary arteries, diagnosing myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending (LAD) and first diagonal arteries. It also enabled dynamic evaluation of myocardial thickness and left ventricular global and regional function. This case illustrates the full capabilities of MDCT in the evaluation of AHC