Background: Iron deficiency is common in cardiovascular diseases (CVD), e.g., heart failure and coronary heart disease. Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is a promising marker representing unmet cellular iron demands. However, whether higher serum sTfR is associated with increased risk of CVDs needs further investigation.Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, we analyzed data of 4,867 adult participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2018. Linear regression models were employed to identify possible correlations between sTfR and other characteristics. The association between sTfR and CVDs was assessed with univariable and multivariable logistics regression models.Results: The prevalence of CVDs was 9.5% among participants, and higher sTfR levels were found in participants with CVDs (p < 0.001). Linear regression models revealed positive associations between sTfR and age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, glycated hemoglobulin A1c, and insulin resistance (all p < 0.001). In the multivariable logistics regression model, the adjusted odds ratio of sTfR for CVDs was 2.05 (per 1 log2 mg/L, 95% confidence interval: 1.03∼4.05, p = 0.046). Further subgroup analysis identified the associations of sTfR and CVDs were only significant in participants ≥60 years old, or with hypertension (all p < 0.05).Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that increased serum sTfR levels were associated with a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases.

Background: Perturbation of energy metabolism exacerbates cardiac dysfunction, serving as a potential therapeutic target in congestive heart failure. Although circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) are linked to insulin resistance and risk of coronary heart disease, it still remains unclear whether circulating FFAs are associated with the prognosis of patients with acute heart failure (AHF).Methods: This single-center, observational cohort study enrolled 183 AHF patients (de novo heart failure or decompensated chronic heart failure) in the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. All-cause mortality and heart failure (HF) rehospitalization within 1 year after discharge were investigated. Serum FFAs were modeled as quartiles as well as a continuous variable (per SD of FFAs). The restricted cubic splines and cox proportional hazards models were applied to evaluate the association between the serum FFAs level and all-cause mortality or HF rehospitalization.Results: During a 1-year follow-up, a total of 71 (38.8%) patients had all-cause mortality or HF rehospitalization. The levels of serum FFAs positively contributed to the risk of death or HF rehospitalization, which was not associated with the status of insulin resistance. When modeled with restricted cubic splines, the serum FFAs increased linearly for the incidence of death or HF rehospitalization. In a multivariable analysis adjusting for sex, age, body-mass index, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, left ventricular ejection fraction and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptid, each SD (303.07 μmol/L) higher FFAs were associated with 26% higher risk of death or HF rehospitalization (95% confidence interval, 2–55%). Each increasing quartile of FFAs was associated with differentially elevated hazard ratios for death or HF rehospitalization of 1 (reference), 1.71 (95% confidence interval, [0.81, 3.62]), 1.41 (95% confidence interval, [0.64, 3.09]), and 3.18 (95% confidence interval, [1.53, 6.63]), respectively.Conclusion: Serum FFA levels at admission among patients with AHF were associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes. Additional studies are needed to determine the causal-effect relationship between FFAs and acute cardiac dysfunction and whether FFAs could be a potential target for AHF management.

Trimetazidine has been reported to benefit patients with heart failure (HF) and angina. The impact of trimetazidine on non-ischemic HF remains unclear. We reviewed clinical trials to investigate whether trimetazidine could improve exercise endurance, life quality, and heart function in non-ischemic HF patients. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of science for randomized clinical trials published before April 30th, 2020; Studies limited to patients with non-ischemic HF, aged ≥18 years, comparing trimetazidine with conventional therapy with/without placebo. Outcome measurements included primary outcomes (6 minutes walking test (6-MWT)) and secondary outcomes (life quality scores, echocardiography parameters, biomarker, peak oxygen consumption). The follow-up period was longer than three months. This study was registered with international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD42020182982). Six studies with 310 cases were included in this research. Trimetazidine significantly improved 6-MWT (weighted mean difference (WMD) = 48.51 m, 95% confidence interval (CI) [29.41, 67.61], p < 0.0001, I2 = 0%), left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) (WMD = 3.09%, 95% CI [1.09, 5.01], p = 0.002, I2 = 0%) at 3 months, and LVEF (WMD = 6.09%, 95% CI [3.76, 8.42], p < 0.0001, I2 = 12%) at 6 months. Furthermore, it reduced peak oxygen consumption (WMD = –2.24 mL/kg per minute, 95% CI [–4.09, –0.93], p = 0.02). This meta-analysis suggested that trimetazidine might be an effective strategy for improving exercise endurance and cardiac function in patients with non-ischemic HF.

1523 Background: The early prediction of glioma prognosis is very important. Amino acid metabolism of glioma is associated with numerous catabolic processes favoring tumor growth. As an essential amino acid, L-methionine plays a central role in the altered metabolism of cancer cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of PET imaging using 11C-methionine (MET) in patients with gliomas treated by radiotherapy. Methods: MET PET was prospectively performed in 36 patients with gliomas before and within one month after radiotherapy. Tumor MET uptake was measured with the semiquantitative tumor-to-nontumor ratio (T/N ratio). The MET uptake in the tumor and relevant clinical parameters were entered into univariate and multivariate survival analysis. Results: All tumors were identified in the baseline MET PET study. Patients with a baseline T/N ratio of < 4.0 had a significant better survival than patients with a baseline T/N ratio > 4.0 (2-year survival rate: 50.8% versus 0%, P=0.026). Patients with a post radiotherapy ratio of <4.0 had a better survival than that with a post radiotherapy ratio > 4.0 (2-year survival rate: 50.4% versus 0%, P=0.0012). The univariate analysis showed that both baseline and postradiotherapy T/N ratio were statistically significant predictors of patient survival, and postradiotherapy T/N ratio was a significant independent survival predictor in multivariate analysis. Tumors with larger T/N ratio had a significantly poorer prognosis. Conclusions: Baseline MET uptake was a potential survival indicator and postradiotherapy MET uptake was a significant independent predicator in glioma patients treated by radiotherapy. MET PET is a valuable tool in the predication of survival in patients with gliomas treated by radiotherapy. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

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