Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases and statins are the common drugs used to correct dyslipidemia. Herein, we report a case where the subject was a nondiabetic, dyslipidemia patient on medication with Rosuvastatin. After the intake of Rosuvastatin, his triglycerides decreased to a minimum of 220 mg/dL. In order to augment the action of Rosuvastatin, he was advised to take 1.5 mg of Nichi Glucan food supplement, which is a 1,3-1,6 Beta Glucan derived from the black yeast, Aureobasidium pullulans, daily for 2 months. At the end of 2 months, his triglyceride levels decreased from 523 mg/dL (at start of the study) to 175 mg/dL. His VLDL levels, which were 104.6 mg/dL at the start of the study decreased to 35 mg/dL and the HDL cholesterol levels increased from 27 to 38 mg/dL. This is a first of its kind report on the effect of the black yeast derived 1,3-1,6 Beta Glucans on dyslipidemia not associated with diabetes. Thus supplementation of Nichi Glucan, 1,3- 1,6 Beta Glucan derived from the black yeast along with the routine medications was beneficial to treat dyslipidemia and a larger trial is needed to confirm the effects.

The donor cTnI level represents a biochemical surrogate of functional donor heart assessment. High cTnI is associated with worse donor heart function and may act as a prompt for detailed assessment and optimisation.

Background Simulation training is a useful adjunct to surgical training and education (SET) in Cardiothoracic Surgery yet training opportunities outside the Royal Australasian College of Surgery or industry‐sponsored workshops are rare due to high cost and limited training faculty, time, assessment tools or structured curricula. We describe our experience in establishing a low‐cost cardiac simulation programme. Methods We created low‐cost models using hospital facilities, hardware stores, abattoirs and donations from industry. Three workshops were conducted on coronary anastomoses, aortic and mitral valve replacement. Results Whole porcine hearts were sourced from local farms. Industry donations of obsolete stock were used for suture and valve material—stations constructed using ironing‐board, 2‐L buckets and kebab‐skewers. Suture ring holders were fashioned from recycled cardboard or donated. All participants were asked to complete pre and post simulation self‐assessment forms. Across three workshops, 45 participants (57.8% female) with a median age 27 (interquartile range 24–31) attended. Training level consisted of nurses (8, 17.8%), medical students (17, 37.8%), residents/house officers (6, 13.3%) and registrars (14, 31.1%). There were improvements in knowledge of anatomy (mean difference 18%; 95% confidence interval 12%–24%), imaging (16%; 10%–22%) and procedural components (34%; 28%–42%); and practical ability to describe steps (30%; 24%–38%), partially (32%; 26%–38%) or fully complete (32%; 28%–38%) the procedure. Conclusions Simulation‐based training in cardiac surgery is feasible in a hospital setting with low overhead costs. It can benefit participants at all training levels and has the potential to be implemented in training hospitals as an adjunct to the SET programme.

Among the various strategies providing a cure for illness, cell-based therapies have caught the attention of the world with the advent of the “stem cell” era. Our inherent understanding indicates that stem cells have been in existence since the birth of multicellular organisms. However, the formal discovery of stem cells in the last century, followed by their intricate and extensive analysis, has led to clinical and translational efforts with the aim of using them in the treatment of conditions which don’t have a definitive therapeutic strategy, has fueled our interest and expectations. Technological advances in our ability to study their cellular components in depth, along with surface markers and other finer constituents, that were unknown until last century, have improved our understanding, leading to several novel applications. This has created a need to establish guidelines, and in that process, there are expressed understandings and views which describe cell therapy along lines similar to that of biologic products, drugs, and devices. However, the age-old wisdom of using cells as tools for curing illness should not be misled by recent knowledge, to make cell therapy using highly complex stem cells equal to factory-synthesized and reproducible chemical compounds, drugs, or devices. This article analyses the differences between these two entities from various perspectives.

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