The global cardiovascular magnetic resonance registry (GCMR) of the society for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (SCMR): its goals, rationale, data infrastructure, and current developments

GCMR received seed funding from SCMR (SCMR_GRANT_001) for the development and maintenance of GCMR websites and database infrastructure

Fibroblasts from patients with major depressive disorder show distinct transcriptional response to metabolic stressors

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is increasingly viewed as interplay of environmental stressors and genetic predisposition, and recent data suggest that the disease affects not only the brain, but the entire body. As a result, we aimed at determining whether patients with major depression have aberrant molecular responses to stress in peripheral tissues. We examined the effects of two metabolic stressors, galactose (GAL) or reduced lipids (RL), on the transcriptome and miRNome of human fibroblasts from 16 pairs of patients with MDD and matched healthy controls (CNTR). Our results demonstrate that both MDD and CNTR fibroblasts had a robust molecular response to GAL and RL challenges. Most importantly, a significant part (messenger RNAs (mRNAs): 26-33%; microRNAs (miRNAs): 81-90%) of the molecular response was only observed in MDD, but not in CNTR fibroblasts. The applied metabolic challenges uncovered mRNA and miRNA signatures, identifying responses to each stressor characteristic for the MDD fibroblasts. The distinct responses of MDD fibroblasts to GAL and RL revealed an aberrant engagement of molecular pathways, such as apoptosis, regulation of cell cycle, cell migration, metabolic control and energy production. In conclusion, the metabolic challenges evoked by GAL or RL in dermal fibroblasts exposed adaptive dysfunctions on mRNA and miRNA levels that are characteristic for MDD. This finding underscores the need to challenge biological systems to bring out disease-specific deficits, which otherwise might remain hidden under resting conditions

Effect of intra-articular steroids on deep infections following total knee arthroplasty

Intra-articular steroids have been commonly used for the treatment of arthritis. The aim of our study was to discover any relation between deep infections following total knee arthroplasty and intra-articular steroid use before the arthroplasty. We undertook a retrospective matched cohort study. In the study group there were 32 patients with confirmed deep infection following total knee replacement. The control group consisted of 32 patients with no evidence of infection in the knee. There was no significant difference between the numbers of patients who received intra-articular steroid injection between the groups (P=1). We believe that infection following total knee replacement is due to multiple factors and that the use of intra-articular steroids does not alter the incidence of deep infections following total knee arthroplasty

Hypoxia-Regulated MicroRNAs in the Retina

The retina is one of the tissues with the highest metabolic activity in the body, and the energy-demanding photoreceptors require appropriate oxygen levels for photo- and neurotransduction. Accumulating evidence suggests that age-related changes in the retina may reduce oxygen supply to the photoreceptors and trigger a chronic hypoxic response. A detailed understanding of the molecular response to hypoxia is crucial, as hindered oxygen delivery may contribute to the development and progression of retinal pathologies such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Important factors in the cellular response to hypoxia are microRNAs (miRNAs), which are small, noncoding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression by binding to mRNA transcripts. Here, we discuss the potential role of hypoxia-regulated miRNAs in connection to retinal pathologies