Immediate invasive strategy in NSTEMI patients is associated with lower rates of death or new MI compared with the delayed invasive strategy at early and midterm follow-up, mainly due to a decrease in the risk of new MI in the pre-catheterization period. (Immediate Versus Delayed Invasive Intervention for Non-STEMI Patients [RIDDLE-NSTEMI]; NCT02419833).

Plasma levels of NT-pro-BNP were significantly higher in HCM patients with more advanced disease. Elevated NT-pro-BNP not only reflects the diastolic impairment of the LV, but it might also be the result of cardiac ischemia in patients with HCM.

Background and Aim. Differentiating iron deficiency anemia (IDA) from anemia of chronic disease (ACD) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) represents a clinical challenge. Hepcidin is a polypeptide synthetized in the liver, and iron levels or inflammation mostly regulate hepcidin production. Our aim was to determine serum hepcidin levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as well to investigate whether hepcidin levels correlate with disease activity. Material and Methods. A case-control study was preformed among newly diagnosed IBD patients and same number age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All patients underwent a total ileocolonoscopy. Complete blood count was obtained in addition to inflammatory markers (CRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rate-ESR). Serum levels of hepcidin were determined with commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DRG Instruments Marburg, Germany). Serum iron, TIBC, and UIBC were assessed with an electrochemiluminesence immunoassay, and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) was assessed using an immunoturbidimetric method. Mayo score and CDAI, respectively, were calculated for each patient. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software version 20.0 for Windows. Results. There was a high statistically significant difference between IBD patients and controls in levels of hepcidin ( P < 0.01 ). Namely, serum hepcidin levels were significantly higher in the control group. There was no statistically significant correlation of serum hepcidin with CRP, Mayo score, or CDAI, respectively ( P > 0.05 ). However, we have found a statistically significant negative correlation of sTfR and TIBC with hepcidin ( P < 0.01 ). Conclusion. Results of our study suggest that hepcidin is a reliable marker of IDA in patients with IBD, and it could be used in routine clinical practice when determining adequate therapy in these patients.

Background Hyperglycemia has detrimental effect on ischemic myocardium, but the impact of acute hyperglycemia on the myocardium in asymptomatic diabetic patients has not been fully elucidated. Thus, this follow-up study was aimed to investigate the effects and reversibility of acute hyperglycemia on regional contractile function of left ventricle (LV) in diabetic patients without cardiovascular disease. Methods The two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE), including multilayer strain analysis, was used for evaluation of global and regional LV function in asymptomatic, normotensive patients with uncomplicated diabetes, with acute hyperglycemia ( ≥ 11.1 mmol/l) (Group A, n = 67), or with optimal metabolic control (fasting plasma glucose < 7 mmol/l and HbA1c < 7%) (Group B, n = 20), while 20 healthy individuals served as controls (Group C). In group A, after 72 h of i.v. continuous insulin treatment (at the time euglycemia was achieved) (second examination) and after 3 months following acute hyperglycemia (third examination) 2D-STE was repeated. Results Global longitudinal strain (GLS) (− 19.6 ± 0.4%) in Group A was significantly lower in comparison to both groups B (− 21.3 ± 0.4%; p < 0.05) and C (− 21.9 ± 0.4%; p < 0.01) at baseline, while we could not detect the differences between groups B and C. Peak systolic longitudinal endocardial (Endo), mid-myocardial (Mid) and epicardial (Epi) layer strain were significantly lower in group A at baseline compared to both groups B and C. Deterioration in peak systolic circumferential strain was observed at basal LV level, in all three layers (Endo, Mid and Epi) and in mid-cavity LV level in Epi layer in group A in comparison to group C. Moreover, in group A, after euglycemia was achieved (at second and third examination) GLS, as well as peak longitudinal and circumferential strain remain the same. Conclusion Acute hyperglycemia in asymptomatic diabetic patients has significant negative effects on systolic LV myocardial mechanics primarily by reducing GLS and multilayer peak systolic longitudinal and circumferential strain which was not reversible after three months of good glycemic control.

This study assessed the potential use of various physiological stress biomarkers as indicators of carcass and meat quality traits in 240 pigs subjected to the standard marketing conditions and minimal stressful antemortem handling using Pearson correlations. The most important pork quality traits (pH and temperature, water holding capacity, and color) had limited correlations with stress metabolites (lactate, glucose), stress hormones (cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone), stress enzymes (creatine kinase, aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase), electrolytes (sodium, chloride), and acute-phase proteins (haptoglobin, C-reactive protein, albumin), indicating poor reliability in predicting pork quality. Albumin level was moderately positively correlated with live weight, hot carcass weight, cold carcass weight, and back fat thickness. Alanine amino transferase level was moderately positively correlated with live weight, hot carcass weight, and cold carcass weight. Cortisol level was moderately positively correlated with live weight, hot carcass weight, cold carcass weight, and back fat thickness, and moderately negatively correlated with the lean carcass content. Increased lactate dehydrogenase level was moderately correlated with decreased drip and cooking loss. In conclusion, lactate dehydrogenase could help pork producers predict pork quality variation, while cortisol, alanine amino transferase, and albumin could be useful in prediction of carcass quality.