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“Background: The late cardiotoxic effects of anthracycline chemotherapy influence morbidity and mortality in the growing population of childhood cancer survivors. Even with lower anthracycline doses, evidence of adverse cardiac remodeling and reduced exercise capacity exist. IPI-549 order We aim to examine the relationship between cardiac structure, function and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) tissue characteristics with chemotherapy dose and exercise capacity in childhood cancer survivors.
Methods:
Thirty patients (15 +/- 3 years), at least 2 years following anthracycline treatment, underwent CMR, echocardiography, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (peak VO2). CMR measured ventricular function, mass, T-1 and T-2 values, and myocardial extracellular volume fraction, ECV, a measure of diffuse fibrosis based on changes in myocardial T-1 values pre- and post-gadolinium. Cardiac function was also assessed with conventional and speckle tracking echocardiography.
Results:
Patients had normal LVEF (59 +/- 7%) but peak VO2 was 17% lower than age-predicted normal values and were correlated with anthracycline dose (r = -0.49). Increased ECV correlated with decreased mass/volume ratio (r = -0.64), decreased LV wall thickness/height Selleck AR-13324 ratio (r = -0.72), lower peak VO2(r = -0.52), and higher cumulative dose (r = 0.40). Echocardiographic measures of systolic and diastolic function were reduced compared to normal values (p < 0.01), but had no relation to ECV, peak VO2 or cumulative dose.
Conclusions: Myocardial T-1 and ECV were found to be early tissue markers of ventricular remodeling that may represent diffuse fibrosis in children with normal ejection fraction post anthracycline therapy, and are related to cumulative dose, exercise capacity and myocardial wall thinning.”
“Investigation of human embryo
implantation requires a non-disruptive Erastin means of studying the endometrium during the window of implantation. This stud), describes a novel approach of cytokine profiling in endometrial secretions. Endometrial secretions aspirated prior to embryo transfer from 210 women undergoing IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection were analysed by a multiplex immunoassay. Tell mediators [interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, IL-12, IL-18, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, eotaxin, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, interferon-gamma inducible protein-10, vascular endothelial, growth factor] were detectable in 90-100% of the samples. Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor, IL-5, IL-17, IL-10, Dickkopf homologue-1 and IL-15 were detected in 23-76%, whereas interferon-gamma was not detectable in any of the samples.