Understanding the potential in vitro modes of action of bis(β‐diketonato) oxovanadium(IV) complexes

To understand the potential in vitro modes of action of bis(β-diketonato) oxovanadium(IV) complexes, nine compounds of varying functionality have been screened using a range of biological techniques. The antiproliferative activity against a range of cancerous and normal cell lines has been determined, and show these complexes are particularly sensitive against the lung carcinoma cell line, A549. Annexin V (apoptosis) and Caspase-3/7 assays were studied to confirm these complexes induce programmed cell death. While gel electrophoresis was used to determine DNA cleavage activity and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the Comet assay was used to determine induced genomic DNA damage. Additionally, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based DNA melting and fluorescent intercalation displacement assays have been used to determine the interaction of the complexes with double strand (DS) DNA and to establish preferential DNA base-pair binding (AT versus GC)

Female sex and outcomes after endovascular aneurysm repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm: A propensity score matched cohort analysis

Objective: Previous studies have showed a potential disadvantage of female patients who underwent abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. The current study aims to determine sex-specific perioperative and long-term outcomes using propensity score matched unselected nationwide health insurance claims data. Methods: Insurance claims from a large German fund were used, covering around 8% of the insured German population. Patients who underwent endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) for intact AAA from 1 January 2011 to 30 April 2017 were included in the cohort. A 1:2 female to male propensity score matching was applied to adjust for confounding variables. Perioperative and long-term outcomes after 5 years were determined using matching and regression methods. Results: Among a total of 3736 patients (19.3% females, mean 75 years) undergoing EVAR for intact AAA, we identified 1863 matched patients. Before matching, females were more likely to be previously diagnosed with hypothyroidism, electrolyte disorders, rheumatoid disorders, and depression, while males were more often diabetics. In the matched sample, 23.4% of the females and 25.8% of the males died during a median follow-up of 776 and 792 days, respectively. Perioperatively, females were more likely to exhibit acute limb ischemia (5.3% vs. 3.2%, p = 0.031) and major bleeding (22.0% vs. 15.9%, p = 0.001) before they were discharged to rehabilitation (5.5% vs. 1.5%, p < 0.001) when compared to males. No statistically significant difference in perioperative (odds ratio 1.12, 95% CI 0.54–2.16) or long-term mortality (hazard ratio 0.91, 95% CI 0.76–1.08) was observed between sexes. This was also true regarding aortic reintervention rates after 1 year (2.0% vs. 2.9%) and 5 years (10.9% vs. 8.1%). Conclusion: The current retrospective matched analysis of insurance claims revealed high early access-related morbidity in females when compared to their male counterparts. Short-term or long-term survival and reintervention outcomes were similar between sexes. © 2021 by the authors. Li-censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland