Most common cardiovascular diseases of the elderly – A review article

Number of people over 65 years is continuously increasing and represents an ever growing proportion of population even in Hungary. Medical treatment of the elderly implies a massive burden for the healthcare system. Special knowledge is required to provide an appropriate medical care for the elderly. During the ageing process, several changes accumulate in the body and several chronic diseases develop. Function of parenchymal organs is impaired, healing process is slower, clinical manifestations of diseases are not so prominent, the diagnosis is often difficult to establish. Moreover, treatment possibilities also differ, because pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs are different from that of young patients. Communication with older patients is also cumbersome, participation of a relative or caregiver at consultation can be useful. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death of adults over the age of 65. Among these diseases congestive heart failure, coronary artery diseases, hypertension, atrial fibrillation have the greatest significance.

Variants of D9N, G188A, N291S, and 93 T/G Genes in patients with Coronary Artery Diseases

Objective: Our work aimed to study the relationship between LPL variants D9N, G188A, N291S, and 93 T/G genes and CAD in Saudi patients. Materials and Methods: We recruited 253 CAD patients, who underwent diagnostic coronary angiography, and 207 control subjects. Several biochemical and behavioral markers were obtained, and different genotypes of LPL variants, D9N, G188E, N291S, and 93 T/G, were detected using The PCR-RFLP method. Results: The current study found D9N genotypes, AA, AG, and GG in 71.14%, 23.72%, and 5.14% in CAD patients, respectively. the AA, AG, and GG control genotypes were found in 81.64%, 16.43%, and 1.93%, respectively. The OR of the D9N AA versus AG genotype with a 95% CI was determined to be 1.65 (1.04–2.65), (p = 0.035). The OR of the D9N AA versus AG + GG genotype with a 95% CI was 1.80 (1.16–2.81), (p = 0.009). A strong relation of the D9N AA was observed with CAD. For the G188E, N291S, 93T/G variants insignificant were observed in both CAD and control groups. Conclusion: This study revealed the D9N variant has an association with CAD; however, no relation was detected between CAD and G188E, N291S, and 93T/G variants in the Saudi patients.

Generation of Functional Cardiomyocytes from Human Gastric Fibroblast-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Coronary artery diseases are major problems of the world. Coronary artery disease patients frequently suffer from peptic ulcers when they receive aspirin treatment. For diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, the implementation of panendoscopy (PES) with biopsy is necessary. Some biopsy samples are wasted after the assay is completed. In the present study, we established a protocol for human gastric fibroblast isolation and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) generation from gastric fibroblasts via PES with biopsy. We showed that these iPSCs can be differentiated into functional cardiomyocytes in vitro. To our knowledge, this is the first study to generate iPSCs from gastric fibroblasts in vitro.

Increased expression of IL-20 is associated with ischemic cardiomyopathy and acute myocardial infarction

Background: The expression and clinical significance of IL-20 in coronary artery diseases need to be analyzed. Methods: IL-20 and its receptors were analyzed in coronary artery tissues. In a separate study, plasma IL-20 was also evaluated. Results: IL-20 and its receptors were significantly higher in coronary artery stenosis tissues from ischemic cardiomyopathy patients than that from controls. T lymphocytes and macrophages were the main source of IL-20 and expressed its receptors abundantly. Plasma IL-20 was significantly higher in acute myocardial infarction patients than that in controls. Conclusion: IL-20 was closely associated with the presence of acute myocardial infarction. IL-20 may participate in the progression of coronary artery stenosis and plaque vulnerability via regulating T lymphocytes and macrophages.