Search

Background: Nail biting is a habit with potential health implications. Patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at increased risk of infections, with endocarditis being a particularly significant concern. Our aim was to establish the magnitude of this modifiable potential risk factor, namely nail biting, in a contemporary cohort of adult with CHD (ACHD)., Methods: Our prospective study included consecutive, unselected ACHD patients, categorised on nail-biting habits, analysing background demographics, health records, and behavioural factors., Results: Of the 310 patients enrolled, 101 (33 %) were found to be current nail biters. Univariate logistic analysis revealed that younger age (OR: 1.30/10 years, p = 0.002), male gender (OR: 1.73, p = 0.029), greater CHD complexity (OR: 2.15, p = 0.002) and learning disability (OR: 3.51, p = 0.031) were associated with a significantly higher risk of nail biting. Multivariable analysis confirmed that younger age (OR: 1.29, p = 0.010), greater CHD complexity (OR: 1.89, p = 0.016), obesity (OR: 1.75, p = 0.038) and learning disability (OR: 3,87, p = 0.030) were significant predictors for nail biting., Conclusion: A third of ACHD patients attending a tertiary centre engage in nail biting, which may have detrimental effects. Such behaviour was more prevalent among younger, obese, complex CHD patients and those with learning disability. Lifestyle education and/or modifications warrant further improvement in this growing patient population., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors report no relationships that could be construed as a conflict of interest. Two authors (GPD and MAG) are on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Cardiology., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a global health burden in the world. Although low-carbohydrate diets (LCDs) have beneficial effects on CVD risk, their preventive effects remain elusive. We investigated whether LCDs ameliorate heart failure (HF) using a murine model of pressure overload. LCD with plant-derived fat (LCD-P) ameliorated HF progression, whereas LCD with animal-derived fat (LCD-A) aggravated inflammation and cardiac dysfunction. In the hearts of LCD-P-fed mice but not LCD-A, fatty acid oxidation-related genes were highly expressed, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), which regulates lipid metabolism and inflammation, was activated. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments indicated the critical roles of PPARα in preventing HF progression. Stearic acid, which was more abundant in the serum and heart of LCD-P-fed mice, activated PPARα in cultured cardiomyocytes. We highlight the importance of fat sources substituted for reduced carbohydrates in LCDs and suggest that the LCD-P-stearic acid-PPARα pathway as a therapeutic target for HF., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Patients with heart failure (HF) often experience gastrointestinal problems such as constipation, diarrhea, and disturbances to drug absorption. In HF, hypoperfusion and congestion cause structural and functional changes in the gut, which, in turn, lead to impaired cardiac function. Euglena gracilis Z (hereafter "Euglena"), called Midorimushi in Japanese, is a microalga that is used as a food or nutritional supplement. It is unclear whether Euglena is beneficial for bowel habitus and cardiac function in subjects with HF. Methods and Results: We injected C57BL/6 male mice subcutaneously with isoproterenol (ISO) (20 mg/kg/day) for 7 days to examine bowel movement in HF. Euglena was orally administered to mice on an ad libitum -feeding to a normal chow containing 2% dietary mixture. ISO induced a decrease in bowel movement and an increase in fecal retention in the cecum, as well as a decrease in left ventricular (LV) contraction. Euglena accelerated intestinal transit, relieved fecal retention, and prevented the alterations in gut pathology in ISO-treated mice. Euglena also suppressed ISO-induced decreases in LV contraction, although it had no significant effect on LV hypertrophy. Conclusions: The results suggested that oral administration of Euglena alleviated constipation and cardiac dysfunction in a mouse model of ISO-induced HF, and highlight the potential clinical benefit of Euglena in patients with HF in preventing constipation and contractile deterioration., Competing Interests: A.N., K.Y., K.S. are salaried employees of Euglena Co. Ltd, which produced some of the Euglena used in this study. There are no patents, products in development, or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the Circulation Reports policies on sharing data and materials. H.A. has received research funding from euglena Co. Ltd and scholarship funding from Takeda Pharmaceutical, Daiichi Sankyo, Shionogi & Co. Ltd, Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., MSD K.K., Sanofi K.K., and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. H.A. , I.K. are members of Circulation Reports’ Editorial Team. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2022, THE JAPANESE CIRCULATION SOCIETY.)

Background: Axitinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling and is approved for second-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Although the occurrence of hypertension with axitinib use has been documented, it is unclear whether a first-line TKI regimen can significantly affect the development of hypertension when axitinib is used as second-line therapy. Methods and Results: In this single-center retrospective study, advanced RCC patients treated with axitinib after first-line chemotherapy were divided into 2 groups according to the use of TKIs as part of first-line treatment before the initiation of axitinib. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients who were treated with (TKI(+); n=11) or without (TKI(-); n=11) a TKI. Although 63.6% of all patients had hypertension at baseline, axitinib-induced hypertension developed in 81.8% of patients, and 36.4% of patients experienced Grade 3 hypertension. After initiation of axitinib, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures and the hypertension grade were significantly elevated both in the TKI(+) and TKI(-) groups, and the number of antihypertensive drugs was significantly increased among all patients. Conclusions: This study suggests the need for proper monitoring and management of blood pressure in RCC patients treated with axitinib, regardless of a prior regimen with or without TKIs., Competing Interests: H.A. has received lecture fees from Pfizer Japan Inc. H.A., I.K. are members of Circulation Reports’ Editorial Team. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021, THE JAPANESE CIRCULATION SOCIETY.)

Background: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been developed for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with NVAF who were newly treated with DOACs in a real-world clinical setting., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with NVAF newly treated with one of three DOACs-dabigatran, rivaroxaban, or apixaban-between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015., Results: A total of 670 patients with NVAF who were newly prescribed one of the three DOACs were analyzed; 74 patients (10.9%) received dabigatran, 290 (43.3%) received rivaroxaban, and 306 (45.8%) received apixaban. Fifteen patients had thromboembolic events, almost half of which were due to discontinuation of DOACs. Six patients had major bleeding, although almost all were discharged with good neurological prognoses. A total of 129 patients were treated with a suboptimal low-dose DOAC; none experienced a thromboembolic event as long as the DOAC was taken regularly, and none of the patients in any of the three DOAC groups had major bleeding events., Conclusions: With good adherence, the clinical course associated with DOACs is comparatively good. In the future, suboptimal low-dose DOAC therapy may serve as an appropriate choice for some patients with a high risk of stroke and bleeding.

Musashi (Msi) is an evolutionarily conserved gene family of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that is preferentially expressed in the nervous system. The first member of the Msi family was identified in Drosophila. Drosophila Msi plays an important role in regulating asymmetric cell division of the sensory organ precursor cells. The mammalian orthologs, including human and mouse Musashi1 (Msi1), are neural RBPs that are strongly expressed in fetal and adult neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs). Mammalian Msi1 contributes to self renewal of NS/PCs through translational regulation of several target mRNAs. In this study, the zebrafish Msi ortholog zMsi1 was identified and characterized. The normal spatial and temporal expression profiles for both protein and mRNA were determined. A series of splice variants were detected. Overall, zMsi1 was strongly expressed in neural tissue in early stages of development and exhibited similarity to mammalian Msi1 expression patterns. To reveal the in vivo function of zMsi1, morpholinos against Msi1 were introduced into one-cell stage zebrafish embryos. Knock down of zmsi1 frequently resulted in aberrant formation of the Central Nervous System (CNS). These results suggest that Msi1 plays roles in CNS development in vertebrates. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "RNA-Binding Proteins"., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)