Echocardiographic Monitoring of Cardiac Parameters after Mitral Valve Replacement with the Preservation of Subvalvular Structures

TO date many monitoring techniques have been used to determine the efficacy of surgical cor-rection of mitral valve disease. The most com-mon non-invasive method in use is

Ursodeoxycholic acid as a means of preventing atherosclerosis,steatosis and liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

BACKGROUND Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease(ASCVD)is the leading cause of mortality in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).Weight loss is a key factor for successful NAFLD and CVD therapy.Ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA),which is one of the first-line therapeutic agents for treatment of NAFLD,is reported to have a beneficial effect on dyslipidemia and ASCVD risk because of antioxidant properties.AIM To evaluate the effects of 6 mo of UDCA treatment on hepatic function tests,lipid profile,hepatic steatosis and fibrosis,atherogenesis,and ASCVD risk in men and women with NAFLD,as well as to assess the impact of>5%weight reduction on these parameters.METHODS An open-label,multicenter,international noncomparative trial was carried out at primary health care settings and included 174 patients with ultrasound-diagnosed NAFLD who received 15 mg/kg/d UDCA for 6 mo and were prescribed lifestyle modification with diet and exercise.The efficacy criteria were liver enzymes,lipid profile,fatty liver index(FLI),noninvasive liver fibrosis tests(nonalcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score and liver fibrosis index),carotid intima-media thickness(CIMT),and ASCVD risk score.To test statistical hypotheses,the Wilcoxon test,paired t-test,Fisher’s exact test,and Pearson's chi-squared test were used.RESULTS The alanine aminotransferase(ALT)level changed by-14.1 U/L(-31.0;-5.3)from baseline to 3 mo and by-6.5 U/L(-14.0;0.1)from 3 to 6 mo.The magnitude of ALT,aspartate transaminase,and glutamyltransferase decrease was greater during the first 3 mo of treatment compared to the subsequent 3 mo(P<0.001,P<0.01,P<0.001,respectively).At 6 mo,in the total sample,we observed a statistically significant decrease in body weight and levels of FLI:84.9±10.4 vs 72.3±17.6,P<0.001,total cholesterol:6.03±1.36 vs 5.76±1.21,Р<0.001,lowdensity lipoprotein:3.86±1.01 vs 3.66±0.91,Р<0.001,and triglyceride:3.18(2.00;4.29)vs 2.04(1.40;3.16),Р<0.001.No effect on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score or liver fibrosis index was found.The CIMT decreased significantly in the total sample(0.985±0.243 vs 0.968±0.237,P=0.013),whereas the highdensity lipoprotein(Р=0.036)and 10-year ASCVD risk(Р=0.003)improved significantly only in women.Fifty-four patients(31%)achieved>5%weight loss.At the end of the study,the FLI decreased significantly in patients with(88.3±10.2 vs 71.4±19.6,P<0.001)and without>5%weight loss(83.5±10.3 vs 72.8±16.7,P<0.001).The changes in ALT,aspartate transaminase,glutamyltransferase,total cholesterol,and low-density lipoprotein levels were similar between the subgroups.CONCLUSION UDCA normalizes liver enzymes greatly within the first 3 mo of treatment,improves lipid profile and hepatic steatosis independent of weight loss,and has a positive effect on CIMT in the total sample and 10-year ASCVD risk in women after 6 mo of treatment.

changes in muscle activity in patients with primary chronic headache

Objective:According to the Global Burden of Disease Study,updated in 2018,headache disorders are the second leading cause in the world and impaired quality of life and lead to reduce daily activity and can be the cause of headache-related disability.So,we desperately need to develop new painless and minimally invasive methods to facilitate diagnosis to improve the quality of headache care.Methods:Our study involved 92 participants over 18 years of age with a diagnosis of primary chronic headache.Among those,36 were with chronic tension type headache,26 were with a chronic migraine,and 30 were healthy participants.All patients were selected according to the criteria of the International Headache Society.Clinical questionnaires,instrumental data,and characteristics of headache episodes were collected from all participants.We evaluated the muscle activity of the pericranial and cervical muscles in patients with chronic headache to compare with healthy participants using Surface electromyography to determine if there is an alteration in muscle activity.Results:Surface electromyography data showed that there was a statistically significant difference in results between the target group and the control group,where patients with primary chronic headache had high amplitude and velocity in the studied muscles on the electromyogram.Among the participants,there was a difference in the intensity of headache attacks on the visual analog scale chronic tension type headache 5.2±1.4,chronic migraine 7.7±1.3,control group 1.6±0.7 and in the frequency of headache attacks per month chronic tension type headache 14.4±1.9,chronic migraine 17.3±2.9,the control group of participants had headache attacks of≤1 per month.Conclusion:We concluded that the patients with primary chronic headaches there are changes in the muscle activity of the pericranial and cervical muscles.In contrast to patients without chronic headaches,which,in turn,the method of surface electromyography may encourage further research in this area.

Predictors of microsurgical varicocelectomy efficacy in male infertility treatment:critical assessment and systematization

In this review,we tried to systematize all the evidence(from PubMed[MEDLINE],Scopus,Cochrane Library,EBSCO,Embase,and Google Scholar)from 1993 to 2021 on the predictors of microsurgical varicocelectomy efficacy in male infertility treatment.Regarding the outcomes of varicocele repair,we considered semen improvement and pregnancy and analyzed them separately.Based on the 2011 Oxford CEBM Levels of Evidence,we assigned a score to each trial that studied the role of the predictor.We systematized the studied predictors based on the total points,which were,in turn,calculated based on the number and quality of studies that confirmed or rejected the studied predictor as significant,into three levels of significance:predictors of high,moderate,and low clinical significance.Preoperative total motile sperm count(TMSC)coupled with sperm concentration can be a significant predictor of semen improvement and pregnancy after varicocelectomy.In addition,for semen improvement alone,scrotal Doppler ultrasound(DUS)parameters,sperm DNA fragmentation index(DFI),and bilateral varicocelectomy are reliable predictors of microsurgical varicocelectomy efficacy.