Cardiac fibrotization is a well-known process characteristic of many cardiac pathological conditions. The key element is excessive activation of cardiac fibroblasts, their transdifferentiation into myofibroblasts, increased production, and accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins, resulting in cardiac stiffness. The exact cellular mechanisms and molecular components involved in the process are not fully elucidated, but the SOCE mechanism could play an important role. Its key molecules are the molecular sensor of calcium in ER/SR - STIM and the highly selective calcium channels Orai located in the plasma membrane. This study aims to evaluate selected SOCEassociated genes in the activation of HCF cell culture by several known substances (phenylephrine, isoprenaline) that represent cardiovascular overload. After cell cultivation, cell medium was collected to measure the soluble collagen content. From the harvested cells, qRT-PCR was performed to determine the mRNA levels of the corresponding genes. The activation of cells was based on changes in the relative expression of collagen genes as well as the collagen content in the medium of the cell culture. We detected an increase in the expression of the Orai2 isoform, a change in the Orai1/Orai3 ratio and also an increase in the expression of the STIM2 isoform. These results suggest an increased activation of the SOCE mechanism under stress conditions of fibroblasts, which supports the hypothesis of fibroblast activation in pathological processes by altering calcium homeostasis through the SOCE mechanism., Róbert Čendula, Nikola Chomaničová, Adriana Adamičková, Andrea Gažová, Ján Kyselovič, Marek Máťuš., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Anémie patří mezi nejčastější onemocnění vůbec. Celosvětově postihuje až 25 % populace. Anémie z nedostatku železa (Fe) pak patří mezi vedoucí. Není také překvapením, že sideropenická anémie postihuje především ženy. Anémie patří obecně mezi významné problémy na každém interním oddělení. Tento článek si nedělá ambici na podání komplexního přehledu o významu, diagnostice a léčbě anémie. Jeho cílem je upozornit na jedné straně na zdánlivě běžná (ale právě proto někdy opomíjená) fakta z každodenní praxe na interním oddělení, a na druhé straně poukázat na novinky v léčbě především parenterálním Fe. Význam anémie na interním oddělení. Už v úvodu je zmíněno, že anémie je na interně častá. Je to především anémie z nedostatku Fe a anémie chronických onemocnění. Anémií trpí především starší, polymorbidní nemocní (často s jedním dominujícím, někdy kryptogenním onemocněním). Jako určitý problém vidím fakt, že anémie je často vnímána především jako signál dalšího onemocnění sama o sobě, a pak tedy není cílem ani diagnostického ani léčebného snažení. Diagnostika a léčba. Nemocného má v péči obvykle kmenový lékař interního oddělení, pokud je ale anémie závažnější, vstupuje do procesu diagnostiky a léčby hematolog jako konziliář. Základní vyšetření představuje vyšetření Fe, ferritinu, transferinu, cirkulujících transferinových receptorů, případně dalších parametrů. Samozřejmě, že zejména u sideropenické anémie se soustředí pozornost na pátrání po příčině možných ztrát nebo v případě anémie chronických onemocnění po prvotní chorobě. Poznámky k léčbě Fe. Pokud je u nemocného prokázán deficit železa, je často (po zjištění příčiny) indikována terapie Fe. Železo se podává ve většině případů perorálně. Existuje však několik situací, v nichž je parenterální podání Fe nejen výhodnější, ale dokonce představuje jedinou možnost léčby. V současné době je nejvíce důkazů pro pozitivní účinky parenterálně podávaného Fe pro železitou karboxymaltózu, přípravek Ferinject. Parenterální podávání Fe v gastroenterologii. Gastroenterologie představuje v zásadě typickou oblast pro využití podávání Fe. Je to proto, že ztráty do GIT jsou časté, ale některá onemocnění GIT jsou navíc i příčinou poruchy vstřebávání Fe. Typickým příkladem mohou být nespecifické střevní záněty, zejména potom Crohnova choroba. Nejen kazuistická sdělení prokazují pozitivní působení železité karboxymaltózy u Crohnovy choroby. Parenterální podávání Fe v kardiologii. Nedávno publikovaná práce (kontrolovaná, dvojitě slepá, multicentrická, dostatečně statisticky silná) CONFIRM HF prokázala, že podání železité karboxymaltózy u nemocných se srdečním selháním zlepšila jejich funkční zdatnost, změnila k lepšímu klasifikaci podle NYHA a ne na poledním míst zlepšila kvalitu života. Nebyla to přitom studie této indikaci první. Pilotní studie u srdečního selhání dopadla rovněž pozitivně CONFIRM HF jen potvrdila její výsledky. Kvalita života – opomíjený parametr. Již při popisu výsledků studie CONFIRM HF je uvedena, jako jeden z výsledků, zlepšená kvalita života. Je bohužel pravdou, že je to parametr (jistě subjektivní a obtížně objektivizovatelný), kterému není dáván zdaleka takový význam jako „tvrdým endpointům“, cílovým ukazatelům intervenčních studií. Přitom je prokázáno, že léčba anémie má významný vliv na kvalitu života u chronické únavy (především u žen). Zlepšení příznaků vyčerpanosti bylo prokázáno po podání 1 000 mg železité karboxymaltózy. Kvalitu života zlepšuje terapie Fe také anemickým nemocným s nádorovým onemocněním., Anaemia is one of the most common diseases. Worldwide affects up to 25% of the population. Anaemia with iron deficiency (Fe) is the leading one. It is not surprising that iron deficiency mainly affects women. Generally, anaemia is one of the major problems in every department of internal medicine. There is no ambition to provide a comprehensive review of the diagnosis and treatment of anaemia. The aim is to point out the common (but sometimes neglected) facts from daily practice in internal department and on the other hand, to highlight the news in the treatment focusing on parenteral Fe. The importance of anaemia at the department of internal medicine. Mentioned above, anaemia is very frequent in internal medicine. Especially, it is anaemia of Fe deficiency and anaemia of chronic disease. Mostly elderly and polymorbid patients (often with one dominant, sometimes cryptogenic disease) suffer from anaemia. I am concern about the fact that anaemia is often seen only as a sign of other disease and usually is not the target of diagnostic and therapeutic efforts. Diagnosis and treatment. The internal department physician is responsible for patient care, but cooperates with haematologist in case of severe anaemia in diagnostic and therapeutic process. Basic examination contains analysis of Fe, ferritin, transferrin, circulating serum transferrin receptors or other parameters. Of course, the focus in iron deficiency anaemia is on its possible loss or in case of chronic disease anaemia on primary disease. Notes to Fe treatment. If the patient has iron deficiency the Fe treatment is often indicated (after finding the cause). Iron is administered orally in most cases. There are several situations when parenteral Fe is not only preferable, but also represents the only therapeutic option. Currently, the best evidence for the positive effects is observed in parenterally administered Fe ferric carboxymaltose, Ferinject. Parenteral administration of Fe in gastroenterology. Gastorenterology is a common field for the use of Fe administration. The losses in the GIT are frequent as well as malabsorption of Fe in several gastrointestinal diseases. A typical example may be inflammatory bowel disease, especially Crohn´s disease. Not only case reports demonstrate the positive effect of ferric carboxymaltose in Crohn´s disease. Parenteral administration of Fe in cardiology. Recently published work (multicentric randomized controlled double-blinde trial) CONFIRM HF have proved that administration of ferric carboxymaltose in heart failure patients have improved their functional ability, NYHA stratification and quality of life. The pilot studies performed before resulted positively and CONFIRM HF only confirmed their conclusions. Quality of life – neglected parameter. Conclusions of CONFIRM HF introduce the improved quality of life as one of the main result. Unfortunately, it is a parameter (subjective, difficult to objectify) which doesn´t have such importance as endpoint – indicator of intervention trials. It is shown that treatment of anaemia is important in chronic fatigue (especially women) and affects quality of life. Improvement in symptoms of fatigue has been demonstrated after administration of 1000 mg of ferric carboxymaltose. Fe treatment improves quality of life in anaemic oncology patients as well., and Richard Češka
The inconsistency of data regarding intrauterine programming of cardiovascular risk factors may be largely caused by genetic predisposition and later lifestyle. We analyzed whether low birth weight and apolipoprotein E (Apo E) polymorphism participate in the onset of hypercholesterolemia in children. Our approach was based on hypothesis that genetically enhanced susceptibility of different individuals might influence the effects of intrauterine programming. Two groups were selected from 2000 children at the beginning of an ongoing study: high-cholesterol group (HCG, n=67) and low-cholesterol group as a control (LCG, n=72). Both groups were divided into tertilles according to birth weight and we compared birth weight and apo E gene polymorphism between and within groups. The birth weight in HCG was 0.3 kg lower than the controls (p<0. 001). The frequency of apoE4 was 31 % in HCG and only 10 % in LCG. The frequency of apoE4+ genotypes was not significantly different between tertilles based on birth weight in HCG. We suppose that intrauterine undernutrition, demonstrated by a lower birth weight, participates in the development of hypercholesterolemia already in childhood. The effects of low birth weight and the candidate gene - apoE, are synergic., P. Szitányi, H. Pistulková, J. A. Hubáček, H. Stuchlíková, R. Poledne., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Non-surgical management of aortic valve disease has been given considerable attention. Several recent publications have already reported its use in clinical practice. The main issue is to get an understanding of the pathophysiological processes and, most importantly, extensive experimental activity. In addition to testing various animal models, technical and material aspects are also being intensively investigated. It is not clear yet whether the durability and applicability of this promising development will be comparable with the standard of current cardiac surgery. Nonetheless, even the use of some models as a temporary approach helping to improve the circulatory status, not allowing safe surgery, is certainly justified. At any rate, a new stage of research and clinical application has been set off. However, experimental background continues to be simply indispensable. The paper is a short review of the issue., J. Šochman, J. H. Peregrin., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The present study proposed procedure for predicting an optimal left and right ventricular pacing interval delay (V-V interval). In 16 patients (heart failure, left bundle branch block, biventricular pacing) two methods (A and B) identifying optimal V-V interval were tested. Method A: predicted optimal V-V interval A (POVV-A) = electromechanical delay of the segment paced by left ventricle lead minus electromechanical delay of the segment paced by right ventricle lead. Method B: predicted optimal V-V interval B (POVV-B) = difference in the onset of aortic and pulmonary flows. Both methods were validated using echocardiography and right-sided heart catheterization. Cardiac output during POVV-A (4.6 l.min-1 ) was significantly better than that during POVV-A minus 20 ms (4.3 l.min-1, p<0.01) and POVV-A plus 20 ms (4.3 l.min-1 , p<0.01), and than that during POVV-B (4.4 l.min-1, p<0.05). LV dP/dt during POVV-A (818 mm Hg.s-1 ) exceeded that during POVV-A plus 20 ms (717 mm Hg.s-1 , p<0.05) and POVV-A minus 20 ms (681 mm Hg.s-1, p<0.05), and that during POVV-B (727 mm Hg.s-1 , p<0.01). The time difference in onsets of myocardial deformation of left ventricle segment paced by the left ventricle and right ventricle lead allows identifying the optimal V-V interval and improves left ventricle performance., M. Novák, J. Lipoldová, J. Meluzín, J. Krejčí, P. Hude, V. Feitová, L. Dušek, P. Kamarýt, J. Vítovec., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Přehledná prezentace popisuje hlavní indikace užití CT pro zobrazení srdce., Review article describes main indications for cardiac CT., Jiří Weichet, Hana Malíková, Jan Balák, and Literatura 6
The effect of increased coronary flow on transmural ventricular repolarization was investigated in six pentobabital-anesthetized sheep. Fresh blood at 10 ml/min was injected into the left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) in addition to the normal coronary flow. Unipolar electrocardiograms were simultaneously registered from epicardium, mid-myocardium and endocardium with fine plunge needles. Activation-recovery interval (ARI) was measured from the unipolar electrocardiograms and was used for estimating the ventricular repolarization duration. It was found that intracoronary blood injection (n=3) prolonged ARI in the epicardium, mid-myocardium and endocardium by an average of 34 ± 16, 28 ± 18 and 25 ± 13 ms, respectively (p<0.01). Pretreatment with nitro-L-arginine (n=3), a nitric synthase inhibitor, diminished the flow-induced ARI prolongation across the ventricular wall. In conclusion, an increase in coronary flow lengthens the duration of transmural ventricular repolarization. These effects appear to be mediated by nitric oxide from the coronary endothelium., Y.-Z. Zhang, B. He, L.-X. Wang., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Heart remodeling occurs as a compensation mechanism for the massive loss of tissue during initial heart failure and the consequent inflammation process. During heart remodeling fibroblasts differentiate to myofibroblasts activate their secretion functions and produce elevated amounts, of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, mostly collagen, that form scar tissue and alter the normal degradation of ECM. Scar formation does replace the damaged tissue structurally; however, it impedes the normal contractive function of cardiomyocytes (CMs) and results in longlasting effects after heart failure. Besides CMs and cardiac fibroblasts, endothelial cells (ECs) and circulating endothelial progenitor cells (cEPCs) contribute to heart repair. This review summarizes the current knowledge of EC-CM crosstalk in cardiac fibrosis (CF), the role of cEPCs in heart regeneration and the contribution of Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT)., Barbara Šalingová, Zdenko Červenák, Andriana Adamičková, Nikola Chromanicová, Simona Valášková, Andrea Gažová, Ján Kyselovič., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Both, severe hypo- or hyperthyroidism may alter hemodynamic parameters. The aim of our study was to ascertain, whether also distinct changes within normal range of free thyroxine (fT4) would be associated with an impairment of left ventricle function in patients with chronic heart failure. Hundred-forty-eight patients (m121, f27, mean age 63.8±1.14 years) with chronic heart failure, fT4 levels within the normal range (9-22 pmol/l) and without thyrostatics or substitution treatment. Degree of heart failure was quantified by plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP). Patients with fT4 in the range 11.9-14.6 pmol/l [optimal, 2nd-3th quintile] had significantly lower NT-proBNP (718±70.4 pg/ml), than those with fT4<11.8 [low-normal, bottom quintile](1236±223.6 pg/ml; p<0.03) and those with fT4 over 14.6 pmol/l [high-normal, top two quintiles] (1192±114.9 pg/ml; p<0.0002). These differences remain significant, also if adjusted for age, gender and other confounders; adjusted odds ratio was 1.30 (1.05-1.59) for optimal vs. low-normal and 1.27 (1.04-1.55) for optimal vs. high-normal. Similar statistical differences were also found in BNP, but only when optimal and high-normal fT4 ranges were compared. In conclusion, the severity of heart failure seems to be also influenced by only mild deviations of fT4 concentrations from optimal levels., O. Mayer Jr, J. Šimon, J. Čech, H. Rosolová, J. Hrbková, R. Pikner, L. Trefil., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické údaje
Reliable diagnosis of congenital heart defects and arrhythmias in utero has been possible since the introduction of fetal echocardiography. The nation-wide prenatal ultrasound screening program in the Czech Republic enabled detection of cardiac abnormities in 1/3 of patients born with any congenital heart disease and up to 83 % of those with critical forms. Prenatal frequency of individual heart anomalies significantly differed from the postnatal frequency. Fetal isolated complete atrioventricular block and supraventricular tachycardia may lead to heart failure and are important causes of fetal mortality. The regression of heart failure was achieved by a conversion to the sinus rhythm in the supraventricular tachycardia and by increase of ventricular rate in the complete atrioventricular block., V. Tomek ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury