Cardiovascular metabolism

Brigitte Sondermeijer richtte zich op onontgonnen gebieden van de stofwisseling die van invloed kunnen zijn op hart- en vaatziekten (HVZ), ofwel het cardiovasculaire metabolisme. Ze presenteert resultaten die direct klinisch toepasbaar zijn en resultaten die een basis leggen voor verder stofwisselingsonderzoek om HVZ terug te dringen

A new 5′-non-coding region for human placental insulin-like growth factor II mRNA expression

AbstractA human placenta cDNA library was screened for insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II). Four clones were selected, which exhibited an IGF-II cDNA coding sequence identical to those previously described for human adult liver IGF-II cDNA. Extensive sequence diversity was observed in the 5′-non-coding region, probably resulting from differential intron splicing

A single-step sizing and radiofrequency ablation catheter for circumferential ablation of Barrett's esophagus: Results of a pilot study

Background: The 360 Express balloon catheter (360 Express) has the ability to self-adjust to the esophageal lumen, ensuring optimal tissue contact. Objective: The objective of this article is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the 360 Express for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment of Barrett's esophagus (BE). Methods: BE patients with low-grade dysplasia (LGD), high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or early cancer (EC) were included. Visible lesions were removed by endoscopic resection (ER) prior to RFA. RFA was performed with the 360 Express using the standard ablation regimen (12J/cm2–clean–12J/cm2). Primary outcome: BE regression percentage at three months. Secondary outcomes: procedure time, adverse events, complete eradication of dysplasia (CE-D) and intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM). Results: Thirty patients (median BE C4M6) were included. Eight patients underwent ER prior to RFA. Median BE regression: 90%. Median procedure time: 31 minutes. Adverse events (13%): laceration (n = 1); atrial fibrillation (n = 1); vomiting and dysphagia (n = 1); dysregulated diabetes (n = 1). After subsequent treatment CE-D and CE-IM was achieved in 97% and 87%, respectively. In 10% a stenosis developed during additional treatment requiring a median of one dilation. Conclusion: This study shows that circumferential RFA using the 360 Express may shorten procedure time, while maintaining efficacy compared to standard circumferential RFA

Platelets in Patients with Premature Coronary Artery Disease Exhibit Upregulation of miRNA340* and miRNA624*

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of human morbidity and mortality worldwide, underscoring the need to improve diagnostic strategies. Platelets play a major role, not only in the process of acute thrombosis during plaque rupture, but also in the formation of atherosclerosis itself. MicroRNAs are endogenous small non-coding RNAs that control gene expression and are expressed in a tissue and disease-specific manner. Therefore they have been proposed to be useful biomarkers. It remains unknown whether differences in miRNA expression levels in platelets can be found between patients with premature CAD and healthy controls. In this case-control study we measured relative expression levels of platelet miRNAs using microarrays from 12 patients with premature CAD and 12 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Six platelet microRNAs were significantly upregulated (miR340*, miR451, miR454*, miR545:9.1. miR615-5p and miR624*) and one miRNA (miR1280) was significantly downregulated in patients with CAD as compared to healthy controls. To validate these results, we measured the expression levels of these candidate miRNAs by qRT-PCR in platelets of individuals from two independent cohorts; validation cohort I consisted of 40 patients with premature CAD and 40 healthy controls and validation cohort II consisted of 27 patients with artery disease and 40 healthy relatives. MiR340* and miR624* were confirmed to be upregulated in patients with CAD as compared to healthy controls in both validation cohorts. Two miRNAs in platelets are significantly upregulated in patients with CAD as compared to healthy controls. Whether the two identified miRNAs can be used as biomarkers and whether they are cause or consequence of the disease remains to be elucidated in a larger prospective stud