Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death in Western countries. Epidemiological studies show acute MI to be more preva- lent in the morning and to be associated with a poorer outcome in terms of mortality and recovery. The mechanisms behind …

Treatment options for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are limited, in particular in advanced and drug resistant HCC. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are non-coding small RNAs that are emerging as novel drugs for the treatment of cancer. The aim of this …

Background—Cardiac tests for diagnosing myocarditis lack sensitivity or specificity. We hypothesized that contrast- enhanced ultrasound molecular imaging could detect myocardial inflammation and the recruitment of specific cellular subsets of the …

Impaired cardiac diastolic function occurs with aging in many species and may be difficult to measure noninvasively. In humans, left atrial (LA) volume is a robust measure of chronic diastolic function as the LA is exposed to increased left ventricular …

Abstract The arterial structure cyclically fluctuates in three-dimensions (3-D) caused by pulsatile blood flow. The evaluation of arterial wall motion and hemodynam- ics contributes to early diagnosis of carotid atherosclerosis. Ultrasound is one of the …

The conversion of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from contractile to proliferative phenotype is thought to play an important role in atherosclerosis. However, the contribution of this process to plaque growth has never been fully defined. In this …

To determine whether hepatic de- pletion of vitamin A (VA) stores has an effect on the postnatal heart, studies were carried out with mice lacking liver retinyl ester stores fed either a VA-sufficient (LRVAS) or VA-deficient (LRVAD) diet (to deplete …

Alco- holic cardiomyopathy in humans develops in response to chronic excessive alcohol consumption; however, good models of alcohol- induced cardiomyopathy in mice are lacking. Herein we describe mouse models of alcoholic cardiomyopathies induced by …

Polydatin (PD), a resveratrol (RES) glycoside, has a stronger antioxidative effect than RES. It is known that RES is an autophagic enhancer and exerts a cardioprotective effect against ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the effect of PD …

BACKGROUND The striated muscle costamere, a multiprotein complex at the boundary between the sarcomere and the sarcolemma, plays an integral role in maintaining striated muscle structure and function. Multiple costamere-associated proteins, such as …