Nowe markery biologiczne w kardiologii — czy właściwy trop?

There are many markers for the risk assessment of cardiovascular diseases. New sensitive and specific biomarkers that could help stratify risk, in both healthy and cardiovascular populations, are still being sought. Galectin 3 and ST-2 seem to be very promising molecules. However, further research is needed to establish their full diagnostic and prog- nostic value. We present a review of the literature showing the possibility of comprehensive use of both biomarkers, especially in coronary artery disease. Galectin-3 and ST-2, through their association with fibrotic processes, may prove to be beneficial in patients with coronary disease and following myocardial infarction. Istnieje wiele markerów oceny ryzyka chorób sercowo-naczyniowych. Wciąż poszukuje się nowych czułych i specyficznych biomarkerów, które mogłyby pomóc w stratyfikacji ryzyka zarówno wśród populacji zdrowej, jak i obciążonej chorobami sercowo-naczyniowymi. Galektyna 3 oraz białko ST-2 wydają się być niezwykle obiecującym wskaźnikami, niemniej jednak potrzeba dalszych badań nad tymi cząsteczkami do poznania ich pełnej wartości diagnostyczno-prognostycznej. W pracy prezentujemy badania i publikacje przedstawiające możliwość wszechstronnego wykorzystania obu biomarkerów, zwłaszcza w chorobie wieńcowej. Galektyna 3 oraz białko ST-2, poprzez swój związek z procesami włóknienia, mogą okazać się kluczowymi markerami u pacjentów z chorobą wieńcową oraz po zawale serca.

Effect of coenzyme Q10 in Europeans with chronic heart failure: A sub-group analysis of the Q-SYMBIO randomized double-blind trial

Background: Geographical differences in patient characteristics, management and outcomes in heart failure (HF) trials are well recognized. The aim of this study was to assess the consistency of the treat- ment effect of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in the European sub-population of Q-SYMBIO, a randomized double-blind multinational trial of treatment with CoQ10, in addition to standard therapy in chronic HF.  Methods: Patients with moderate to severe HF were randomized to CoQ10 300 mg daily or placebo in addition to standard therapy. At 3 months the primary short-term endpoints were changes in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification, 6-min walk test, and levels of N-terminal pro–B type natriuretic peptide. At 2 years the primary long-term endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Results: There were no significant changes in short-term endpoints. The primary long-term endpoint of MACE was reached by significantly fewer patients in the CoQ10 group (n = 10, 9%) compared to the placebo group (n = 33, 27%, p = 0.001). The following secondary endpoints were significantly improved in the CoQ10 group compared with the placebo group: all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, NYHA classification and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). In the European sub-population, when compared to the whole group, there was greater adherence to guideline directed therapy and similar results for short- and long-term endpoints. A new finding revealed a significant improvement in LVEF. Conclusions: The therapeutic efficacy of CoQ10 demonstrated in the Q-SYMBIO study was confirmed in the European sub-population in terms of safely reducing MACE, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, hospitalization and improvement of symptoms

A statistical model for sea surface diurnal warming driven by numercial weather predictions fluxes and winds

A statistical model is derived relating the diurnal variation of sea surface temperature (SST) to the net surface heat flux and surface wind speed from a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. The model is derived using fluxes and winds from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) NWP model and SSTs from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI). In the model, diurnal warming has a linear dependence on the net surface heat flux integrated since (approximately) dawn and an inverse quadratic dependence on the maximum of the surface wind speed in the same period. The model coefficients are found by matching, for a given integrated heat flux, the frequency distributions of the maximum wind speed and the observed warming. Diurnal cooling, where it occurs, is modelled as proportional to the integrated heat flux divided by the heat capacity of the seasonal mixed layer. The model reproduces the statistics (mean, standard deviation, and 95-percentile) of the diurnal variation of SST seen by SEVIRI and reproduces the geographical pattern of mean warming seen by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E). We use the functional dependencies in the statistical model to test the behaviour of two physical model of diurnal warming that display contrasting systematic errors