Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Paradoxical Embolism Entrapped In A Patent Foramen Ovale, Mohammad Malik, Macy Rowan, Lucas Seibolt, Barney Beaver

Research Day

Background: According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), venous thromboembolisms affect 900,000 people and cause up to 100,000 deaths yearly. A less common subset of these cases includes those of which the emboli, though originating in venous vasculature, are able to pass through intracardiac defects, including a patent foramen ovale (PFO). PFOs are relatively common in the general population, with an incidence of approximately 20-30%. Though oftentimes asymptomatic, PFOs may present an opportunity for an embolism to bypass the lungs and utilize a more direct route to the systemic circulation, otherwise known as paradoxical embolism. One feared complication of …

A Unique Case Of Atrial Fibrillation Secondary To Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma, Mohammad J. Malik, Emily K. Wilson, Vijay Bandhakavi

Research Day

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is widely considered to be the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia with an incidence of roughly 1-2% in the United States alone. The incidence of AF has been known to increase with advancing age and thus presents a significant burden on healthcare systems across the globe. AF arises as a result of several mechanisms including structural changes that occur to the heart overtime. Here we present a case in which a 63-year-old male with no past medical history except heavy tobacco use presented to the emergency department complaining of shortness of breath. He also endorsed having palpitations and …

Atypical Presentation Of Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease In A Diabetic Female, Alexis Rodriguez, Zhi Kuat, Humaira Bibi, Lawrence Ukpong

Research Day

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) account for 17.9 million deaths yearly and are the leading cause of mortality in the United States. CVDs are heart and blood vessel disorders, including coronary artery disease (CAD), coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease, cardiomyopathy, and more. In 2018, diabetic adults accounted for 1.87 million hospitalizations for major cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a global epidemic affecting about 422 million people worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported more than 37 million people in the United States are diagnosed with DM, and 1 in …

Assessment Of The Impact Of Race And Proxies Of Socioeconomic Status On The Prevalence And Health Outcome Of Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (Ppcm) Using The “All Of Us” Databank, Nicole Blatt, Brian J. Balin Phd, Ahmad B. Cader, C. Scott Little, Eleonora Savio-Galimberti

Research Day

Background: Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a form of cardiomyopathy occurring during the last month of pregnancy or within months after giving birth in women with previously normal hearts. PPCM is an idiopathic systolic dysfunction that causes a reduced left ventricle ejection fraction. The estimated incidence of PPCM worldwide is 1 diagnosis out of 2,000 live births, and the causes of PPCM remain unknown. A retrospective cohort study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania Health System by Getz et al. showed that black race and socioeconomic proxies (like neighborhood disadvantage index (NDI)) were independently associated with sustained cardiac dysfunction (Getz et …

Cardioprotective Effects Of Naltrindole In Rat Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Are Concentration-Dependent, Logan Clair, Tanoh Boakye, James Ramsarran, Zinya Talukder, Nikola Maricic, Ukoha Kalu, Juliet Melnik, Tameka Dean, Qian Chen, Robert J. Barsotti, Lindon H. Young

Research Day

Myocardial infarction remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity globally and infarct size is a major determinant of prognosis. Early and successful restoration of myocardial reperfusion is effective to reduce final infarct size and improve clinical outcomes. However, reperfusion induces further damage to the myocardium, hence the need for adjunctive therapy. Cardioprotective therapies to limit myocardial hypercontracture that occurs during prolonged ischemia and is associated with ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury are an important clinical goal. Previously, naltrindole (NTI, 5µM), when given prior to ischemia, exerted cardioprotective effects in ex-vivo, rat myocardial I/R, in part, by attenuating ischemic hypercontracture that occurred …

The Effects Of Mitoquinone Pretreatment On Doxorubicin-Induced Acute Cardiac Dysfunction, Kimberly Dawes, Juliet Melnik, Meagan Lyons, Jonathan Amora, Lindon H. Young, Robert J. Barsotti, Qian Chen

Research Day

Introduction:

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used anti-cancer drug notorious for its irreversible cardiac toxicity. Currently, Dexrazoxane is the only FDA-approved treatment for this toxicity. However, Dexrazoxane still bears some serious adverse events, and developing new strategies to mitigate DOX-induced heart damage is critical. Our lab has shown that pretreatment of the H9c2 myoblast cells with mitoquinone (MitoQ), a mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant, and significantly improved cells’ resiliency to DOX. This study aimed to determine if MitoQ pretreatment can preserve cardiac function against DOX-induced damage in isolated rat hearts.

Objectives:

The effects of DOX and MitoQ on cardiac function were evaluated in …

Gp91ds-Tat, A Selective Nadph Oxidase Peptide Inhibitor, Increases Blood Nitric Oxide (No) Bioavailability In Bind Limb Ischemia And Reperfusion (I/R), Sydney Walker, Tyler Galbreath, Qian Chen, Robert J. Barsotti, H. Patel, William Chau, Lindon H. Young

Research Day

I/R injury induces cell death and organ dysfunction in part due to a burst of reactive oxygen species that occurs upon the reintroduction of oxygen into the ischemic area, leading to endothelial dysfunction: decreased blood NO and increased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 ) levels. We’ve previously shown in isolated rat hearts subjected to I/R injury, gp91ds-tat attenuated cardiac contractile dysfunction and reduced infarct size compared to controls presumably by the inhibition of NADPH oxidase induced superoxide release. Superoxide can quench NO via the formation of peroxynitrite and also be converted to H2O2 in blood. We attempted to confirm this hypothesis using …

Mitoquinone (Mitoq) Exerts Antioxidant Effects Independent Of Mitochondrial Targeted Effects In Phorbol-12-Myristate-13-Acetate (Pma) Or N-Formyl-L-Methiony-L-Leucyl-L-Phenylalanine (Fmlp) Stimulated Polymorphonuclear Leukocyte (Pmn) Superoxide (So) Release, Matthew Lepera, D. Pesikan, J. Voeun, Kerry-Anne Perkins, Qian Chen, Robert J. Barsotti, Lindon H. Young

Research Day

MitoQ is a mitochondrial-targeted coenzyme Q antioxidant analog that dose-dependently restored cardiac function and reduced infarct size in isolated perfused rat hearts subjected to ischemia reperfusion (I/R). Moreover, mitoQ also dose-dependently attenuated PMA stimulated PMN superoxide (SO) release at the same concentration (10uM) as the cardioprotective dose. NADPH oxidase is the principle source of PMN SO release. We speculate that mitoQ may exert antioxidant effects independent of the mitochondria. Therefore, we hypothesized that inhibition of mitoQ on PMN-SO release will be similar as other coenzyme Q analogs: coenzyme Q1 and decylubiquinone without affecting cell viability. SO release was measured spectrophotometrically …