Cardiology Commons^™

Metabolic Foundations Of Exercise-Induced Cardiac Growth., Kyle Fulghum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Regular aerobic exercise promotes physiological cardiac growth, which is an adaptive response thought to enable the heart to meet higher physical demands. Cardiac growth involves coordination of catabolic and anabolic activities to support ATP generation, macromolecule biosynthesis, and myocyte hypertrophy. Although previous studies suggest that exercise-induced reductions in cardiac glycolysis are critical for physiological myocyte hypertrophy, it remains unclear how exercise influences the many interlinked pathways of metabolism that support adaptive remodeling of the heart. In this thesis project, we tested the general hypothesis that aerobic exercise promotes physiological cardiac growth by coordinating myocardial metabolism to promote glucose-supported anabolic pathway …

Primary Cilia Of The Cardiac Neural Crest & Hedgehog-Mediated Mechanisms Of Congenital Heart Disease, Lindsey A. Fitzsimons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Elimination of primary cilia in cardiac neural crest cell (CNCC) progenitors is hypothesized to cause a variety of congenital heart defects (CHDs), including atrioventricular septal defects, and malformations of the developing cardiac outflow tract. We present an in vivo model of CHD resulting from the conditional elimination of primary cilia from CNCC using multiple, Wnt1:Cre-loxP, neural crest-specific systems, targeting two distinctive, but critical, primary cilia structural genes: Intraflagellar transport protein 88 (Ift88) or kinesin family member 3A (Kif3a). CNCC loss of primary cilia leads to widespread CHD, where homozygous mutant embryos (MUT) display a variety of outflow tract malformations, septation …

Mental Health Or Cardiac Health. Is There A Reason To Choose? Cardiac Arrhythmias Induced By Atomoxetine And Methylphenidate, Gabriel Cismaru, Viorel Lupu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

The current treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity consists mainly in the administration of Straterra (Atomoxetine) Concerta and Ritalin (Methylphenidate). The FDA warned that the products might increase systolic, diastolic blood pressure, and lead to ventricular arrhythmias. Arrhythmic events and sudden cardiac death were described in adults with preexistent heart disease. However, studies on children have failed to demonstrate a clear association between the arrhythmic events and these drugs, as demonstrated in adults. What should the attitude of the pediatric psychiatrist be towards the administration of these products? What examination should be made by the psychiatrist …

Effects Of The Na-Cl Co-Transporter (Ncc) In Western Diet Induced Metabolic And Cardiac Dysfunction, Zachary S. Cutter

Theses and Dissertations

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine known to be involved in maintaining metabolic homeostasis; however, also capable of inducing cardiac dysfunction. Additionally, IL-18, has been shown to bind to a novel receptor, the Na-Cl Co-transporter (NCC). We hypothesized that NCC mediates IL-18 metabolic and cardiac signaling in mice. Using male C57BL/6J mice, we compared the metabolic and cardiac function changes after at least 8 weeks of high-saturated fat high sugar diet (Western Diet) in NCC knockout (NCCKO), IL-18 knockout (IL-18KO), and wild-type mice. We show that NCCKO mice have significantly increased body weight gain from baseline, no difference in fasting …

Patient Fall Prevention, R9 West Cardiovascular, Cathy Palleschi, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Stephen Tyzik

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center

PATIENT FALL PREVENTION STRATEGIES IN AN ACUTE HOSPITAL

Every year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of patients fall resulting in injury. Injured patients often require prolonged hospital stays and a resultant increase in medical costs.

The purpose of this study was to identify the current state of fall prevention strategies on a hospital inpatient acute care cardiac unit. Through a root cause analysis, some deficiencies were identified and a process improvement plan was implemented.

Several positive outcomes were attained as a result of the countermeasures initiated. Patient falls per month and total waste in dollars saw a decline …

Mast Cell Stabilization Decreases Cardiomyocyte And Lv Function In Dogs With Isolated Mitral Regurgitation., Betty Pat, Cheryl Killingsworth, Yuanwen Chen, James D Gladden, Greg Walcott, Pamela C Powell, Thomas Denney, Himanshu Gupta, Ravi Desai, Michael Tillson, A Ray Dillon, Louis J Dell'italia

Ravi V Desai MD

BACKGROUND: Mast cells are increased in isolated mitral regurgitation (MR) in the dog and may mediate extracellular matrix loss and left ventricular (LV) dilatation. We tested the hypothesis that mast cell stabilization would attenuate LV remodeling and improve function in the MR dog.

METHODS AND RESULTS: MR was induced in adult dogs randomized to no treatment (MR, n = 5) or to the mast cell stabilizer, ketotifen (MR + MCS, n = 4) for 4 months. LV hemodynamics were obtained at baseline and after 4 months of MR and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at sacrifice. MRI-derived, serial, short-axis …

Chymase Inhibition Prevents Fibronectin And Myofibrillar Loss And Improves Cardiomyocyte Function And Lv Torsion Angle In Dogs With Isolated Mitral Regurgitation., Betty Pat, Yuanwen Chen, Cheryl Killingsworth, James D Gladden, Ke Shi, Junying Zheng, Pamela C Powell, Greg Walcott, Mustafa I Ahmed, Himanshu Gupta, Ravi Desai, Chih-Chang Wei, Naoki Hase, Tsunefumi Kobayashi, Abdelkarim Sabri, Henk Granzier, Thomas Denney, Michael Tillson, A Ray Dillon, Ahsan Husain, Louis J Dell'italia

Ravi V Desai MD

BACKGROUND: The left ventricular (LV) dilatation of isolated mitral regurgitation (MR) is associated with an increase in chymase and a decrease in interstitial collagen and extracellular matrix. In addition to profibrotic effects, chymase has significant antifibrotic actions because it activates matrix metalloproteinases and kallikrein and degrades fibronectin. Thus, we hypothesize that chymase inhibitor (CI) will attenuate extracellular matrix loss and LV remodeling in MR.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied dogs with 4 months of untreated MR (MR; n=9) or MR treated with CI (MR+CI; n=8). Cine MRI demonstrated a >40% increase in LV end-diastolic volume in both groups, consistent with …

Wnt Signaling Exerts An Antiproliferative Effect On Adult Cardiac Progenitor Cells Through Igfbp3., Angelos Oikonomopoulos, Konstantina-Ioanna Sereti, Frank Conyers, Michael Bauer, Annette Liao, Jian Guan, Dylan Crapps, Jung-Kyu Han, Hanhua Dong, Ahmad F Bayomy, Gabriel C Fine, Karen Westerman, Travis L Biechele, Randall T Moon, Thomas Force, Ronglih Liao

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

RATIONALE: Recent work in animal models and humans has demonstrated the presence of organ-specific progenitor cells required for the regenerative capacity of the adult heart. In response to tissue injury, progenitor cells differentiate into specialized cells, while their numbers are maintained through mechanisms of self-renewal. The molecular cues that dictate the self-renewal of adult progenitor cells in the heart, however, remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE: We investigate the role of canonical Wnt signaling on adult cardiac side population (CSP) cells under physiological and disease conditions.

METHODS AND RESULTS: CSP cells isolated from C57BL/6J mice were used to study the effects of canonical …