Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder following acute coronary syndrome and clinical characteristics of patients referred to cardiac rehabilitation

BACKGROUND Studies have demonstrated that patients who have experienced acute coronary syndrome(ACS)have an increased risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD)and experiencing worse survival outcomes than those who do not develop PTSD.Nevertheless,the prevalence rates of PTSD following ACS vary widely across studies,and it is noteworthy that in most cases,the diagnosis of PTSD was based on self-report symptom questionnaires,rather than being established by psychiatrists.Additionally,the individual characteristics of patients who develop PTSD after ACS can differ widely,making it difficult to identify any consistent patterns or predictors of the disorder.AIM To investigate the prevalence of PTSD among a large sample of patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation(CR)after ACS,as well as their characteristics in comparison to a control group.METHODS The participants of this study are patients who have experienced ACS with or without undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention and are enrolled in a 3-wk CR program at the largest CR center in Croatia,the Special Hospital for Medical Rehabilitation Krapinske Toplice.Patient recruitment for the study took place over the course of one year,from January 1,2022,to December 31,2022,with a total of 504 participants.The expected average follow-up period for patients included in the study is about 18 mo,and currently ongoing.Using self-assessment questionnaire for PTSD criteria and clinical psychiatric interview,a group of patients with a PTSD diagnosis was identified.From the participants who do not have a PTSD diagnosis,patients who would match those with a PTSD diagnosis in terms of relevant clinical and medical stratification variables and during the same rehabilitation period were selected to enable comparability of the two groups.RESULTS A total of 507 patients who were enrolled in the CR program were approached to participate in the study.Three patients declined to participate in the study.The screening PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version questionnaire was completed by 504 patients.Out of the total sample of 504 patients,74.2%were men(n=374)and 25.8%were women(n=130).The mean age of all participants was 56.7 years(55.8 for men and 59.1 for women).Among the 504 participants who completed the screening questionnaire,80 met the cutoff criteria for the PTSD and qualified for further evaluation(15.9%).All 80 patients agreed to a psychiatric interview.Among them,51 patients(10.1%)were diagnosed with clinical PTSD by a psychiatrist according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria.Among the variables analyzed,there was a noticeable difference in the percentage of theoretical maximum achieved on exercise testing between the PTSD and non-PTSD groups.Non-PTSD group achieved a significantly higher percentage of their maximum compared to the PTSD group(P=0.035).CONCLUSION The preliminary results of the study indicate that a significant proportion of patients with PTSD induced by ACS are not receiving adequate treatment.Furthermore,the data suggest that these patients may exhibit reduced physical activity levels,which could be one of the possible underlying mechanisms in observed poor cardiovascular outcomes in this population.Identifying cardiac biomarkers is crucial for identifying patients at risk of developing PTSD and may derive benefits from personalized interventions based on the principles of precision medicine in multidisciplinary CR programs.

The use of hydrogel-delivered extracellular vesicles in recovery of motor function in stroke:a testable experimental hypothesis for clinical translation including behavioral and neuroimaging assessment approaches

Neural tissue engineering,nanotechnology and neuroregeneration are diverse biomedical disciplines that have been working together in recent decades to solve the complex problems linked to central nervous system(CNS)repair.It is known that the CNS demonstrates a very limited regenerative capacity because of a microenvironment that impedes effective regenerative processes,making development of CNS therapeutics challenging.Given the high prevalence of CNS conditions such as stroke that damage the brain and place a severe burden on afflicted individuals and on society,it is of utmost significance to explore the optimum methodologies for finding treatments that could be applied to humans for restoration of function to pre-injury levels.Extracellular vesicles(EVs),also known as exosomes,when derived from mesenchymal stem cells,are one of the most promising approaches that have been attempted thus far,as EVs deliver factors that stimulate recovery by acting at the nanoscale level on intercellular communication while avoiding the risks linked to stem cell transplantation.At the same time,advances in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have offered the potential of using hydrogels as bio-scaffolds in order to provide the stroma required for neural repair to occur,as well as the release of biomolecules facilitating or inducing the reparative processes.This review introduces a novel experimental hypothesis regarding the benefits that could be offered if EVs were to be combined with biocompatible injectable hydrogels.The rationale behind this hypothesis is presented,analyzing how a hydrogel might prolong the retention of EVs and maximize the localized benefit to the brain.This sustained delivery of EVs would be coupled with essential guidance cues and structural support from the hydrogel until neural tissue remodeling and regeneration occur.Finally,the importance of including nonhuman primate models in the clinical translation pipeline,as well as the added benefit of multi-modal neuroimaging analysis to establish non-invasive,in vivo,quantifiable imagingbased biomarkers for CNS repair are discussed,aiming for more effective and safe clinical translation of such regenerative therapies to humans.

Inflammation-related gene expression profiles of salivary extracellular vesicles in patients with head trauma

At present,there is no reliable biomarker for the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury(TBI).Studies have shown that extracellular vesicles released by damaged cells into biological fluids can be used as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of TBI and evaluation of TBI severity.We hypothesize that the genetic profile of salivary extracellular vesicles in patients with head trauma differs from that in uninjured subjects.Findings from this hypothesis would help investigate the severity of TBI.This study included 19 subjects,consisting of seven healthy controls who denied history of head trauma,six patients diagnosed with concussion injury from an outpatient concussion clinic,and six patients with TBI who received treatment in the emergency department within 24 hours after injury.Real-time PCR analysis of salivary extracellular vesicles in participants was performed using TaqMan Human Inflammation array.Gene expression analysis revealed nine upregulated genes in emergency department patients(LOX5,ANXA3,CASP1,IL2RG,ITGAM,ITGB2,LTA4H,MAPK14,and TNFRSF1A)and 13 upregulated genes in concussion clinic patients compared with healthy participants(ADRB1,ADRB2,BDKRB1,HRH1,HRH2,LTB4R2,LTB4R,PTAFR,CYSLTR1,CES1,KLK1,MC2R,and PTGER3).Each patient group had a unique profile.Comparison between groups showed that 15 inflammation-related genes had significant expression change.Our results indicate that inflammation biomarkers can be used for diagnosis of TBI and evaluation of disease severity.This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board on December 18,2015(approval No.0078-12)and on June 9,2016(approval No.4093-16).

Taking central nervous system regenerative therapies to the clinic: curing rodents versus nonhuman primates versus humans

The central nervous system is known to have limited regenerative capacity.Not only does this halt the human body’s reparative processes after central nervous system lesions,but it also impedes the establishment of effective and safe therapeutic options for such patients.Despite the high prevalence of stroke and spinal cord injury in the general population,these conditions remain incurable and place a heavy burden on patients’families and on society more broadly.Neuroregeneration and neural engineering are diverse biomedical fields that attempt reparative treatments,utilizing stem cells-based strategies,biologically active molecules,nanotechnology,exosomes and highly tunable biodegradable systems(e.g.,certain hydrogels).Although there are studies demonstrating promising preclinical results,safe clinical translation has not yet been accomplished.A key gap in clinical translation is the absence of an ideal animal or ex vivo model that can perfectly simulate the human microenvironment,and also correspond to all the complex pathophysiological and neuroanatomical factors that affect functional outcomes in humans after central nervous system injury.Such an ideal model does not currently exist,but it seems that the nonhuman primate model is uniquely qualified for this role,given its close resemblance to humans.This review considers some regenerative therapies for central nervous system repair that hold promise for future clinical translation.In addition,it attempts to uncover some of the main reasons why clinical translation might fail without the implementation of nonhuman primate models in the research pipeline.

散发性阿尔茨海默病早老素-2基因调节区的多态性:一项病例对照研究

Objective: presenilin- 2 is one of the causative genes for familial Alzheimer’s disease, and the apolipoprotein E∈ 4 allele is a major genetic risk factor for late-onset and sporadic early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Polymorphism of the regulatory region of presenilin- 2 has recently been reported to be associated with sporadic Alzheimer’s disease in a Russian population. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Alzheimer’s disease is associated with the presenilin- 2 gene polymorphism and the apolipoprotein E genotype in an extended case-control study. Methods: We examined 230 patients with Alzheimer s disease, along with an equal number of age-and sex-matched controls from the same community, in a Japanese population by using a Chi-square test for homogeneity and a logistic regression analysis. Results: The presenilin-2 polymorphism frequencies were similar in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease patients (0.17) and younger controls (0.15), and in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (0.20) and elderly controls (0.20). We found no evidence for an association between the presenilin-2 polymorphism and the apolipoprotein E∈ 4 allele. Conclusions: Our results fail to support an association of presenilin- 2 gene polymorphism with Alzheimer’s disease. The discrepancy between our results and the results of the Russian study appear to be due to racial differences.