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Neuropharmacology 2019 Apr 14. Epub 2019 Apr 14.

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Robertson Trust Wing Building, Room 601, 161 Cathedral Street, G4 0RE, Glasgow, UK. Electronic address:

Scorpionism is frequently accompanied by a massive release of catecholamines and acetylcholine from peripheral nerves caused by neurotoxic peptides present in these venoms, which have high specificity and affinity for ion channels. Tityus bahiensis (T. bahiensis) is the second most medically important scorpion species in Brazil but, despite this, its venom remains scarcely studied, especially with regard to its pharmacology on peripheral (somatic and autonomic) nervous system. Read More

N Engl J Med 2019 04;380(16):1555-1564

From the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Cardiac Arrhythmia Center and Electrophysiology Programs, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles.

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2019 Apr;60(5):1644-1656

Department of Neurology, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

Purpose: We investigate morphologic and physiologic alterations of ganglion cells (GCs) in a streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mouse model.

Methods: Experiments were conducted in flat-mount retinas of mice 3 months after the induction of diabetes. Changes in morphology of four subtypes of GCs (ON-type RGA2 [ON-RGA2], OFF-type RGA2 [OFF-RGA2], ON-type RGC1 [ON-RGC1], and ON-OFF type RGD2 [ON-OFF RGD2]) were characterized in Thy1-YFP transgenic mice. Read More

J Neurophysiol 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute and Dept. of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Canada.

Peripheral nerve injury elicits an enduring increase in the excitability of the spinal dorsal horn. This change, which contributes to the development of neuropathic pain, is a consequence of release and prolonged exposure of dorsal horn neurons to various neurotrophins and cytokines. We have shown in rats that nerve injury increases excitatory synaptic drive to excitatory neurons but decreases drive to inhibitory neurons. Read More

Hippocampus 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.

The hippocampus is essential for learning and memory but also regulates emotional behavior. We previously identified the hippocampus as a major brain region that differs in rats bred for emotionality differences. Rats bred for low novelty response (LRs) exhibit high levels of anxiety- and depression-like behavior compared to high novelty responder (HR) rats. Read More

Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2019 Apr 16:e12650. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Faculdade Ciências Médicas, Ciências Médicas-MG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Background: The differential diagnosis of a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is accomplished using a number of pacing maneuvers. The incidence and mechanism of a single ventricular premature beat (VPB) on initiation and termination of tachycardia were evaluated during programmed electrical stimulation (PES) of the heart in patients with the two most common regular SVTs: atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT) and orthodromic atrioventricular tachycardia (AVRT).

Methods: Three hundred and thirty-seven consecutive patients aged above 18 years with an inducible sustained AVNRT or AVRT were prospectively enrolled. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Division of Cardiology, UMAE Hospital de Cardiología, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, IMSS, 330 Cuauhtémoc Av, Doctores, Cuauhtémoc, 06720, Mexico City, Mexico.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in humans. After successful cardioversion, there is a recurrence of 60% due to atrial remodeling, and it has been shown that the global peak atrial longitudinal strain (GPALS) is decreased in these subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of GPALS for AF recurrence. Read More

Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2019 May;12(5):e007260

Cleveland Clinic, OH (D.O.M.).

J Med Food 2019 Apr;22(4):393-407

2 Laboratory of Electrophysiology and Cardiovascular Pharmacology (LEFaC), Faculty of Health Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Although leaves of are used in Brazilian traditional medicine, there is no available data in the literature proving its efficacy and safety. Thus, the aim of the study was to perform a meticulous botanical, phytochemical, toxicological, and pharmacological investigation of in Wistar rats. At first, a morphoanatomical characterization of leaves and stems was performed. Read More

Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Heart and Vascular Team, Bellin Health, 744 South Webster Ave, Green Bay, Wisconsin, 54305.

Concealed conduction is a common electrocardiographic phenomenon whereby a series of events may occur as a result of incomplete propagation of an impulse. The occurrence, maintenance, and resolution (termination) of several events such as functional block and cardiac arrhythmias are linked to concealed conduction. This phenomenon should be suspected on the surface ECG whenever an arrhythmic event occurs unexpectedly. Read More

Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Pekařská 53, 656 91, Brno, Czech Republic.

Background: Choosing the appropriate animal model for development of novel technologies requires an understanding of anatomy and physiology of these different models. There is little data about the characteristics of different animal models for the study of technologies used for epicardial ablation. We aimed to compare the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias during epicardial radiofrequency ablation between swine and canine models using novel epicardial ablation catheters. Read More

Cardiovasc Eng Technol 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA.

Purpose: Multi-polar diagnostic catheters are used to construct the 3D electro-anatomic mapping of the atrium during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation procedures; however, it remains unclear how to use the electrograms recorded by these catheters to locate AF-driving sites known as focal and rotor source types. The purpose of this study is to present the first algorithm to iteratively navigate a circular multi-polar catheter to locate AF focal and rotor sources without the need to map the entire atria.

Methods: Starting from an initial location, the algorithm, which was blinded to the location and type of the AF source, iteratively advanced a Lasso catheter based on its electrogram characteristics. Read More

BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2019 Apr 15;19(1):90. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Cardiovascular Department, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, 510010, Guangdong, China.

Background: The ECG characteristics of the distal coronary venous system ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) share common features with VAs arising from the aortic cusps or the endocardial left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) beneath the cusps. The purpose of this study was to identify specific electrocardiographic and electrophysiological characteristics of VAs originating from the distal great cardiac vein (GCV).

Methods: Based on the successful ablation site, patients with idiopathic VAs from the distal GCV, left coronary cusp (LCC) or the subvalvular left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) area were included in the present study. Read More

Environ Int 2019 Apr 12;127:601-614. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Toxicology and Sanitary Chemistry, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, PR China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, PR China. Electronic address:

Background: Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) can causally contribute to progression of atherosclerosis, risk of ischemic heart disease and death, but the underlying mechanism is little known. Since DNA methylation impacts the process of heart disease, it might be useful in exploring potential mechanistic pathways linking PM exposure and heart disease.

Objectives: Here, we investigated the PM-induced ADRB2 hypermethylation and the involving epigenetic mechanism of PM-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis and cardiac dysfunction. Read More

Circulation 2019 Apr;139(16):1974-1976

Division of Cardiac Electrophysiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Pauley Heart Center, Richmond, VA.

Mol Genet Genomic Med 2019 Apr 15:e593. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Cardiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

Background: With expanding use of clinical whole exome sequencing (WES), genetic variants of uncertain significance are increasingly identified. As pathologic mutations in genes associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) carry a risk of sudden death, determining the diagnostic relevance of incidentally identified variants associated with these genes is critical.

Methods: WES variants from a large, predominantly pediatric cohort (N = 7,066 probands) were obtained for nine ARVC-associated genes (Baylor Miraca). Read More

Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2019 22;7:47. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Ionic currents can be evoked by mechanical inputs applied directly at the cell-substrate interface. These ionic currents are mediated by mechanically activated ion channels, where the open probability increases with increasing mechanical input. In order to study mechanically activated ion channels directly at the interface between cells and their environment, we have developed a technique to simultaneously monitor ion channel activity whilst stimuli are applied via displacement of cell-substrate contacts. Read More

Front Cell Neurosci 2019 28;13:114. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Glostrup Research Institute, Danish Headache Center, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Infusion of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-38 (PACAP-38) provokes migraine attacks in migraineurs and headache in non-migraineurs. Adverse events like long-lasting flushing and heat sensation can be terminated with oral antihistamine treatment, indicating the involvement of mast cell activation after PACAP-infusion. Degranulation of rat peritoneal mast cells was provoked by several isoforms of PACAP previously unknown receptor pharmacology. Read More

Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars 2019 Apr;47(3):216-217

2Department of Cardiology, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Indian Pacing Electrophysiol J 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology Unit, Ankara, Turkey.

The right atrial appendage (RAA) is a rare site of focal atrial tachycardia (AT). Sometimes, catheter ablation cannot successfully be accomplished at this location due to the difficulty in reaching the exact ablation site as well as the associated possible life-threatening complications like pericardial tamponade or perforation. Although radiofrequency (RF) ablation is preferred for the treatment of RAA tachycardias, alternative tools may be required in rare instances. Read More

Matrix Biol 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5; Canada; Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G9, Canada; Toronto General Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4; Canada. Electronic address:

Organ-on-a-chip systems have the potential to revolutionize drug screening and disease modeling through the use of human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. The predictive power of these tissue models critically depends on the functional assembly and maturation of human cells that are used as building blocks for organ-on-a-chip systems. To resemble a more adult-like phenotype on these heart-on-a-chip systems, the surrounding micro-environment of individual cardiomyocyte needs to be controlled. Read More

Heart Rhythm 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

IHU Liryc, Electrophysiology and Heart Modeling Institute, Foundation Bordeaux Université, F-33600 Pessac-Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, Centre de recherche Cardio-Thoracique de Bordeaux, Inserm U1045, F-33000, Bordeaux, France.

J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2019 Apr 13. Epub 2019 Apr 13.

Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, UO Cardiologia 2 SSN, Pisa, Italy.

Introduction: Little data are available on anticoagulation (AC) management in patients with cardiac resynchronization (CRT) devices who undergo lead extraction procedure (TLE). We investigated the impact of AC on peri-procedural complications in CRT patients undergoing TLE, enrolled in the ESC-EHRA European Lead Extraction ConTrolled (ELECTRa) registry.

Methods And Results: All CRT patients treated with TLE enrolled in the registry were considered. Read More

Mol Pharmacol 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Semmelweis University;

Cloxyquin has been reported as a specific activator of TRESK (K2P18.1, TWIK-related spinal cord K+ channel) background potassium channel. In this study, we have synthetized chemically modified analogues of cloxyquin and tested their effects on TRESK and other K2P channels. Read More

Arch Cardiovasc Dis 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Paediatric and congenital cardiology unit, Bordeaux university hospital, 33604 Pessac, France; IHU Lyric, electrophysiology and heart modelling institute, Fondation Bordeaux université, 33600 Pessac, France.

Neural Comput 2019 Apr 12:1-19. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki 00029, Finland

Recently, Markram et al. (2015) presented a model of the rat somatosensory microcircuit (Markram model). Their model is high in anatomical and physiological detail, and its simulation requires supercomputers. Read More

Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2019 Apr 12:e12652. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Cardiology, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.

Aims: Supraventricular arrhythmia diagnosis using the surface electrocardiogram (sECG) is often cumbersome due to limited atrial signal quality. In some instances, use of esophageal electrocardiography (eECG) may facilitate the diagnosis. Here, we present a novel approach to reconstruct cardiac activation maps from eECG recordings. Read More

J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Cardiology II - Electrophysiology, University Hospital Mainz, Mainz, Germany.

Introduction: Procedural atrial fibrillation (AF) termination is considered as a predictor of long-term success after catheter ablation for persistent AF (persAF). However, some patients remain free of arrhythmia recurrences despite failure to achieve AF termination. The objective of this study was to assess long-term outcome and prognostic factors in patients undergoing complex ablation without procedural AF termination. Read More

Eur Heart J 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Cardiology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Videnska 1958/9, 140 21 Prague, Czech Republic.

Aims: Edoxaban is a direct factor Xa inhibitor approved for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF). Uninterrupted edoxaban therapy in patients undergoing AF ablation has not been tested.

Methods And Results: The ELIMINATE-AF trial, a multinational, multicentre, randomized, open-label, parallel-group study, was conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of once-daily edoxaban 60 mg (30 mg in patients indicated for dose reduction) vs. Read More

J Am Coll Cardiol 2019 Apr;73(14):1756-1765

Department of Cardiology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. Electronic address:

Background: Information on young patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS) and arrhythmic events (AEs) is limited.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe their characteristics and management as well as risk factors for AE recurrence.

Methods: A total of 57 patients (age ≤20 years), all with BrS and AEs, were divided into pediatric (age ≤12 years; n = 26) and adolescents (age 13 to 20 years; n = 31). Read More

Part Fibre Toxicol 2019 Apr 11;16(1):16. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Toxicology and Sanitary Chemistry, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, People's Republic of China.

Background: Safety evaluation is a prerequisite for nanomaterials in a wide range of fields, including chemical industries, medicine or food sciences. Previously, we had demonstrated that SiNPs could trigger the thrombotic effects in vivo, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This study was aimed to explore and verify the role of miR-451a on SiNPs-induced vascular endothelial dysfunction and pre-thrombotic state. Read More

Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics 2019 Mar 7;30:262-282. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1993 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. Electronic address:

Peptides are known to contribute to central pattern generator (CPG) flexibility throughout the animal kingdom. However, the role played by receptor diversity/complement in determining this functional flexibility is not clear. The stomatogastric ganglion (STG) of the crab, Cancer borealis, contains CPGs that are models for investigating peptidergic control of rhythmic behavior. Read More

Am J Cardiovasc Drugs 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Department of Medicine and Winthrop Research Institute, NYU Winthrop Hospital, 101 Mineola Boulevard, Mineola, NY, 11501, USA.

Adenosine is an endogenous nucleoside with a short half-life that regulates many physiological functions involving the heart and cardiovascular system. Among the cardioprotective properties of adenosine are its ability to improve cholesterol homeostasis, impact platelet aggregation and inhibit the inflammatory response. Through modulation of forward and reverse cholesterol transport pathways, adenosine can improve cholesterol balance and thereby protect macrophages from lipid overload and foam cell transformation. Read More

Sci Adv 2019 Apr 5;5(4):eaav5265. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Laboratory of Organic Electronics, ITN Campus Norrköping, Linköping University, SE-60221 Norrköping, Sweden.

Optical control of the electrophysiology of single cells can be a powerful tool for biomedical research and technology. Here, we report organic electrolytic photocapacitors (OEPCs), devices that function as extracellular capacitive electrodes for stimulating cells. OEPCs consist of transparent conductor layers covered with a donor-acceptor bilayer of organic photoconductors. Read More

Front Cardiovasc Med 2019 26;6:27. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin and Laboratory of Cardiovascular Genetics, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.

Left cardiac sympathetic denervation (LCSD) is a surgical antiadrenergic intervention with a strong antiarrhythmic effect, supported by preclinical as well as clinical data. The mechanism of action of LCSD in structurally normal hearts with increased arrhythmic susceptibility (such as those of patients with channelopathies) is not limited to the antagonism of acute catecholamines release in the heart. LCSD also conveys a strong anti-fibrillatory action that was first demonstrated over 40 years ago and provides the rationale for its use in almost any cardiac condition at increased risk of ventricular fibrillation. Read More

Front Physiol 2019 27;10:273. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

IHU-Liryc, Electrophysiology and Heart Modeling Institute, Foundation Bordeaux Université, Bordeaux, France.

The electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) inverse problem highly relies on adding constraints, a process called regularization, as the problem is ill-posed. When there are no prior information provided about the unknown epicardial potentials, the Tikhonov regularization method seems to be the most commonly used technique. In the Tikhonov approach the weight of the constraints is determined by the regularization parameter. Read More

J Neurosci 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton Alberta, Canada, T6G 2H7

Although neuropeptide Y (NPY) has potent anxiolytic actions within the basolateral amygdala (BLA), selective activation of BLA NPY Y receptors (YR) acutely increases anxiety by an unknown mechanism. Using male rat brain slice electrophysiology, we show that the selective YR agonist, [ahx]NPY, reduced the frequency of GABA-mediated miniature inhibitory post synaptic currents (mIPSC) in BLA principal neurons (PN). [ahx]NPY also reduced tonic activation of GABA receptors (GABAR), which increased PN excitability through inhibition of a tonic, inwardly-rectifying potassium current ( ). Read More

J Neural Eng 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, UNITED STATES.

Objective: Intracellular patch-clamp electrophysiology, one of the most ubiquitous, high-fidelity techniques in biophysics, remains laborious and low-throughput. While previous efforts have succeeded at automating some steps of the technique, here we demonstrate a robotic "PatcherBot" system that can perform many patch-clamp recordings sequentially, fully unattended.

Approach: comprehensive automation is accomplished by outfitting the robot with machine vision, and cleaning pipettes instead of manually exchanging them. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2019 Apr 10;15(4):e1007712. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Department of Medicine (Royal Melbourne Hospital), The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.

Although considerable evidence supports that misfolded prion protein (PrPSc) is the principal component of "prions", underpinning both transmissibility and neurotoxicity, clear consensus around a number of fundamental aspects of pathogenesis has not been achieved, including the time of appearance of neurotoxic species during disease evolution. Utilizing a recently reported electrophysiology paradigm, we assessed the acute synaptotoxicity of ex vivo PrPSc prepared as crude homogenates from brains of M1000 infected wild-type mice (cM1000) harvested at time-points representing 30%, 50%, 70% and 100% of the terminal stage of disease (TSD). Acute synaptotoxicity was assessed by measuring the capacity of cM1000 to impair hippocampal CA1 region long-term potentiation (LTP) and post-tetanic potentiation (PTP) in explant slices. Read More

J Neurophysiol 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, United States.

Patch clamping is the gold standard measurement technique for cell type characterization in vivo but it is low throughput, difficult to scale, and requires highly skilled operation. We developed an autonomous robot that can acquire multiple consecutive patch clamp recordings in vivo. In practice, 40 pipettes loaded into a carousel are sequentially filled and inserted into the brain, localized to a cell, used for patch clamping, and disposed. Read More

Addict Biol 2019 Apr 10:e12757. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Addiction Biology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Nicotine is recognized as one of the most addictive drugs, which in part could be attributed to progressive neuroadaptations and rewiring of dorsal striatal circuits. Since motor-skill learning produces neuroplasticity in the same circuits, we postulate that rotarod training could be sufficient to block nicotine-induced rewiring and thereby prevent long-lasting impairments of neuronal functioning. To test this hypothesis, Wistar rats were subjected to 15 days of treatment with either nicotine (0. Read More

Histol Histopathol 2019 Apr 10:18115. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, England, UK.

Background- Functional properties of the sinoatrial node (SAN) are known to differ between sexes. Women have higher resting and intrinsic heart rates. Sex determines the risk of developing certain arrhythmias such as sick sinus syndrome, which occur more often in women. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104;

Membrane depolarization and intracellular Ca promote activation of the large-conductance Ca- and voltage-gated (Slo1) big potassium (BK) channel. We examined the physical interactions that stabilize the closed and open conformations of the ion conduction gate of the human Slo1 channel using electrophysiological and computational approaches. The results show that the closed conformation is stabilized by intersubunit ion-ion interactions involving negative residues (E321 and E324) and positive residues (RKK) at the cytoplasmic ends of the transmembrane S6 segments ("RKK ring"). Read More

Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019 Apr 3;106:102-110. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Biosciences Complex, 116 Barrie street, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada. Electronic address:

17ß-Estradiol (E2) is a potent neuromodulator capable of producing changes in inhibitory synaptic transmission by either changing pre-synaptic GABA release or post-synaptic GABA receptor function. Physiologically, E2 is important for energy homeostasis, influencing food consumption, body weight, adipose tissue metabolism and energy expenditure. E2 may influence energy homeostasis through estrogen receptor-rich regions such as the oval bed nucleus of the stria-terminalis (ovBNST). Read More

Kardiol Pol 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Centre for Heart Diseases, 4th Military Hospital, Wroclaw, Poland.

Background: Patients with central sleep apnoea (CSA) have recently been shown to have improved sleep metrics and quality of life (QoL) with phrenic nerve stimulation (PNS).

Aim: The aim of this analysis is to describe one clinical centre's partnership between cardiology, sleep medicine, and electrophysiology as well as the enrolment, implantation, and follow-up experience demonstrating both the safety and efficacy of PNS.

Methods: This analysis included data from the Pilot and Pivotal trials investigating the effect of PNS using an implantable transvenous system in patients with CSA. Read More

Hum Gene Ther Methods 2019 Apr;30(2):44-52

1 Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Mutations in the human gene are responsible for a number of distinct retinal disorders known as bestrophinopathies, for which there are no current treatments. The protein product, bestrophin-1, is expressed in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) where it localizes to the basolateral membrane and acts as a Ca-activated chloride channel. Recent studies have shown successful BEST1-mediated gene transfer to the RPE, indicating human clinical trials of BEST1 gene therapy may be on the horizon. Read More

Heart Vessels 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Department of Cardiology, IPGME&R and SSKM Hospital, Flat-B1, GB-43, Narayantala (west), DB Nagar, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700059, India.

Several studies have reported the adverse effects of right ventricular apical pacing. Permanent His bundle pacing is proved to be the most physiological. But it can be technically difficult sometimes. Read More

Herzschrittmacherther Elektrophysiol 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Department of Cardiology, Division of Clinical Electrophysiology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) resulting in maximal QRS narrowing may be associated with improved outcomes.

Methods: Various atrioventricular (AV) delay settings, including the new SyncAV™ algorithm (St. Jude Medical/Abbott, St. Read More

Childs Nerv Syst 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Debrecen, Móricz Zs. krt, Debrecen, 22, Hungary.

Purpose: To compare the short- and long-term outcomes after surgical treatment of tethered cord syndrome with and without electrophysiological monitoring.

Method: We collected the preoperative data of 102 tethered cord surgeries of 91 patients. We compared the outcomes regarding the presence of intraoperative electrophysiology, the types of surgeries and the preoperative neurological condition. Read More

Nervenarzt 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Deutschland.

Background: Mechanical ventilation is provided for neurological patients in the following settings: in neurointensive care units, in centers providing weaning and early rehabilitation and in home mechanical ventilation. In the last decade there has been a sharp rise in treatment and bed capacities for mechanically ventilated neurological patients in specialized centers in Germany in the areas of weaning and neurological neurosurgical early rehabilitation of ventilated patients. Neither the number of beds nor details about structures in these centers with respect to bed capacity, personnel and qualifications, equipment, treatment methods and concepts are known. Read More