Ginsenoside Rg1 exhibited protective effect against TAC-induced left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiac dysfunction, which is potentially associated with phospho-Akt activation and p38 MAPK inhibition.

IntroductionElevated midkine (MK) expression may contribute to ventricular remodeling and ameliorate cardiac dysfunction after myocardial infarction (MI). Ex vivo modification of signaling mechanisms in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with MK overexpression may improve the efficacy of cell-based therapy. This study sought to assess the safety and efficacy of MSCs with MK overexpression transplantation in a rat model of MI.MethodsA pLenO-DCE vector lentivirus encoding MK was constructed and infected in MSCs. MSC migration activity and cytoprotection was examined in hypoxia-induced H9C2 cells using transwell insert in vitro. Rats were randomized into five groups: sham, MI plus injection of phosphate buffered saline (PBS), MSCs, MSCs-green fluorescent protein (MSCs-GFP) and MSCs-MK, respectively. Survival rates were compared among groups using log-rank test and left ventricular function was measured by echocardiography at baseline, 4, 8 and 12 weeks.ResultsOverexpression of MK partially prevented hypoxia-induced MSC apoptosis and exerted MSC cytoprotection to anoxia induced H9C2 cells. The underlying mechanisms may be associated with the increased mRNA and protein levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transformation growth factor-β (TGF-β), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1a) in MSCs-MK compared with isolated MSCs and MSCs-GFP. Consistent with the qPCR results, the culture supernatant of MSCs-MK had more SDF-1a (9.23 ng/ml), VEGF (8.34 ng/ml) and TGF-β1 (17.88 ng/ml) expression. In vivo, a greater proportion of cell survival was observed in the MSCs-MK group than in the MSCs-GFP group. Moreover, MSCs-MK administration was related to a significant improvement of cardiac function compared with other control groups at 12 weeks.ConclusionsTherapies employing MSCs with MK overexpression may represent an effective treatment for improving cardiac dysfunction and survival rate after MI.

Objective To evaluate survival following afatinib (AF) and erlotinib (ER) treatment in advanced del19 lung adenocarcinoma (AD19LA) with asymptomatic brain metastasis (ABM) after pemetrexed–cisplatin chemotherapy (PCC). Methods Data were retrospectively analysed from individuals with AD19LA and ABM after PCC who received AF or ER for 2 years or until intolerable adverse events (AEs), withdrawal, or death. The primary outcome was survival; secondary outcomes were AEs. Results The final analysis included 174 AD19LA individuals (AF: n = 86; ER: n = 88) with a median follow-up of 24.2 months (IQR 2.1–28.3). Significant differences in overall survival (16.2 months [95%CI 15.4–17.1] for AF vs 7.2 months [95%CI 6.3–8.1] for ER) (HR 0.50, 95%CI 0.36–0.71, p<0.0001) and median progression-free survival (9.4 months [95%CI 8.5–9.7] for AF vs 5.6 months [4.7–6.2] for ER) (HR 0.66, 95%CI 0.47–0.94, p=0.02) were observed between the groups. Rates of all-grade AEs were 82.5% for AF and 72.7% for ER, and rates of grade ≥3 AEs were 37.2% for AF and 34.0% for ER. Conclusion Compared with ER, AF treatment may be more beneficial in terms of survival in the management of AD19LA after PCC with a tolerable safety profile.

Goal: To investigate the clinical benefits of partial body weight support for the function of Cardiopulmonary and Cardiac autonomic nerve in the early stage of Heart failure rehabilitation. Materials and Methods: We selected 90 patients with heart failure, divided into observation group (n = 45) and control group (n = 45). Both patients had the conventional drug therapy, while the observation group had the partial body weight support additionally within the 3 months treatment period. Serological examination includes brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and aldosterone. Echocardiography detects left ventricular morphology, cardiac ejection function (EF) and cardiac autonomic nerve function. Minnesota quality of life scale (MHL) evaluates the life quality of the patients. Results: Before any treatment, there is no significant difference of serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), aldosterone, cardiac autonomic nerve function and the Minnesota quality of life scale (MHL) (P > 0.05). After treatment, outcome measures declined, including serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and aldosterone (P < 0.01), LVESD and ESV (P < 0.01), LVEDD and EDV (P > 0.05). Outcome measures raised, including SV, CI, EF%, ΔD%. Among them, EF% had significant difference with P value < 0.05, and ΔD% with P value < 0.01. Both LF and HF raised, but LF/HF declined. The Minnesota quality of life scale (MHL) is significantly lower than before. Conclusion: Partial body weight support obviously reduces serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and aldosterone, as well as improves the function of cardiopulmonary and cardiac autonomic nerve of the patients with heart failure, which at last improves the life quality.