The role of epicardial adipose tissue dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases: an overview of pathophysiology, evaluation, and management

In recent decades, the epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been at the forefront of scientific research because of its diverse role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). EAT lies between the myocardium and the visceral pericardium. The same microcirculation exists both in the epicardial fat and the myocardium. Under physiological circumstances, EAT serves as cushion and protects coronary arteries and myocardium from violent distortion and impact. In addition, EAT acts as an energy lipid source, thermoregulator, and endocrine organ. Under pathological conditions, EAT dysfunction promotes various CVDs progression in several ways. It seems that various secretions of the epicardial fat are responsible for myocardial metabolic disturbances and, finally, leads to CVDs. Therefore, EAT might be an early predictor of CVDs. Furthermore, different non-invasive imaging techniques have been proposed to identify and assess EAT as an important parameter to stratify the CVD risk. We also present the potential therapeutic possibilities aiming at modifying the function of EAT. This paper aims to provide overview of the potential role of EAT in CVDs, discuss different imaging techniques to assess EAT, and provide potential therapeutic options for EAT. Hence, EAT may represent as a potential predictor and a novel therapeutic target for management of CVDs in the future

Segmentation performance of different models in terms of Se, Sp, Acc and Auc.

<p>Segmentation performance of different models in terms of Se, Sp, Acc and Auc.</p

The performance of different methods in terms of in terms of Se, Sp, Acc and Auc.

<p>The performance of different methods in terms of in terms of Se, Sp, Acc and Auc.</p

The segmentation results by the proposed model in contrast to the manual segmentations.

<p>The first row corresponds to the segmentation results by the proposed model based on three randomly chosen retinal image regions; and the second row shows the differences between these segmentation results and their corresponding manual segmentations.</p

Accurate Monitoring of Renal Injury State through in Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Ferric Coordination Polymer Nanodots

It is highly challenging to detect the pathophysiology of the diseased kidneys and achieve precise diagnosis because there are few in vivo noninvasive imaging techniques to quantitatively assess kidney dysfunction. This longstanding challenge is normally attributed to the limited molecular contrast agents which can be addressed with renal clearable nanoprobes. In this report, we demonstrate the use of magnetic resonance imaging along with renal clearable ferric coordination polymer nanodots (Fe-CPNDs) for in vivo monitoring the kidney dysfunction effects following drug (daunomycin)-induced kidney injury. After intravenous injection of Fe-CPNDs, the change of the MR signal in the kidney can be precisely correlated with local pathological lesion which is demonstrated by renal anatomic details and biochemical examinations of urine and blood. This finding opens the door to the possibility of noninvasively assessing kidney dysfunction and local injuries

Lectin-Conjugated Fe₂O₃@Au Core@Shell Nanoparticles as Dual Mode Contrast Agents for <i>in Vivo</i> Detection of Tumor

Here, we report the covalent conjugation of lectin on Fe₂O₃@Au core@shell nanoparticle (lectin–Fe₂O₃@Au NP) for <i>T</i>₂-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) dual-modality imaging. The lectin–Fe₂O₃@Au NPs are prepared by coupling lectins to the Fe₂O₃@Au NP surfaces through bifunctional PEG NHS ester disulfide (NHS-PEG-S-S-PEG-NHS) linkers. After the nonspecific adsorption sites on the nanoparticle surface are blocked by thiolated PEG (PEG-SH), the lectin–Fe₂O₃@Au NPs exhibit excellent stability in biological medium and inappreciable cytotoxicity. A series of <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> experiments were then carried out for evaluating the capabilities of three selected lectin (ConA, RCA and WGA)-Fe₂O₃@Au NPs. The results revealed that the lectin–Fe₂O₃@Au NPs had a capacity not only for dual mode MR and CT imaging <i>in vitro</i> but also for MR and CT imaging of colorectal cancer <i>in vivo</i>. The experimental results also suggest that lectin could be used as tumor targeting ligand for synthesizing nanoparticle-based contrast agents