AIM:To investigate the effect of fenofibrate(FF)on the heart of rats with high-altitude heart dis-ease-induced right ventricular hypertrophy(H-RVH),and to explore the mechanisms and associated signaling pathways.METHODS:A total of 36 six-week-old male SD rats were randomly divided into control,model(H-RVH),and FF inter-vention(H-RVH+FF)groups with 12 rats each.A rat model of H-RVH was established by single subcutaneous injection of Sugen 5416(20 mg/kg)and exposure to a hypoxic condition(5 000 m above sea level)for 21 d in all groups except the control group.The rats in H-RVH+FF group were given FF(60 mg·kg-1·d-1)through gavage,while those in control and model groups received equal volume of saline once daily for 21 d.Rat heart gross morphology was observed,and the heart volume and weight,right ventricular weight and other hypertrophy indexes were measured in each group at the end of the experiment.A right heart floating catheter was used for measuring pulmonary artery and right ventricular pressure.Cardi-ac function was checked through cardiac ultrasonography.The serum levels of atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP),N-termi-nal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP),free fatty acids(FFA),and myocardial tissue glucose(Glu)in all groups of rats were detected.The protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α(PPARα),fatty acid binding protein 1(FABP1),carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1a(CPT1a),pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase(PDK),and pyruvate dehydrogenase(PDH)were detected through Western blot.RESULTS:(1)Compared with the control group,the H-RVH group showed a significant increase in heart morphology and weight and increases in heart weight/body weight(HW/BW),heart volume,right ventricular weight/heart weight(RVW/HW),and Fulton index(FI)(P<0.05).Cardiac mor-phology,volume,heart weight,and HW/BW significantly decreased in the fenofibrate intervention group compared with the H-RVH group(P<0.05).RVW/HW and FI also decreased.(2)The right heart float catheter test showed that the mean right ventricular pressure(mRVP)and mean pulmonary artery pressure(mPAP)significantly increased in the H-RVH group compared with the control group(P<0.01).The increases in mRVP and mPAP were reversed in rats in the fe-nofibrate intervention group compared with the H-RVH group.(3)Cardiac ultrasonography showed that compared with the control group,the H-RVH group had significantly increased right ventricular anterior wall(RVAW)and right ventricular posterior wall(RVPW)thickness(P<0.01),significantly decreased right ventricular end-diastolic diameter(RVEDD),and right ventricular end-diastolic length(RVEDL)(P<0.01).In addition,pulmonary artery acceleration time(PAAT)was reduced,ejection time(PAET)was prolonged,and PAAT/PAET ratio decreased(P<0.01).Compared with the H-RVH group,the fenofibrate intervention group showed significant decreases in RVAW and RVPW(P<0.05),increases in RVEDD and RVEDL,and an increase in PAAT/PAET ratio.(4)The kit assay showed that the levels of ANP and NT-Pro BNP in serum were significantly higher in the H-RVH group than in the control group(P<0.05),while the levels of both were lower in the fenofibrate intervention group.The levels of serum FFA and myocardial tissue Glu levels(P<0.05)were significantly higher in the H-RVH group than in the control group.The levels of serum FFA and myocardial tissue Glu level were significantly lower in the fenofibrate intervention group than in the H-RVH group(P<0.05).(5)Western blot results showed that the expression levels of PPARα,FABP1,CPT1a,and PDH in the myocardial tissues of rats in the H-RVH group were significantly reduced(P<0.01),whereas the expression level of PDK significantly increased relative to those of the control group(P<0.01).All the effects on the above indices in the H-RVH group can be significantly re-versed by fenofibrate intervention(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Fenofibrate exerts a protective effect on the hearts of rats with right ventricular hypertrophy associated with high-altitude heart disease by activating PPARα/FABP1/CPT1a,en-hancing fatty acid oxidation,inhibiting PDK,and activating PDH to promote the aerobic oxidation of glucose.Hence,the medication can ameliorate glucose-lipid metabolism disorders.

AIM:To investigate the effect of fenofibrate(FF)on the heart of rats with high-altitude heart dis-ease-induced right ventricular hypertrophy(H-RVH),and to explore the mechanisms and associated signaling pathways.METHODS:A total of 36 six-week-old male SD rats were randomly divided into control,model(H-RVH),and FF inter-vention(H-RVH+FF)groups with 12 rats each.A rat model of H-RVH was established by single subcutaneous injection of Sugen 5416(20 mg/kg)and exposure to a hypoxic condition(5 000 m above sea level)for 21 d in all groups except the control group.The rats in H-RVH+FF group were given FF(60 mg·kg-1·d-1)through gavage,while those in control and model groups received equal volume of saline once daily for 21 d.Rat heart gross morphology was observed,and the heart volume and weight,right ventricular weight and other hypertrophy indexes were measured in each group at the end of the experiment.A right heart floating catheter was used for measuring pulmonary artery and right ventricular pressure.Cardi-ac function was checked through cardiac ultrasonography.The serum levels of atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP),N-termi-nal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP),free fatty acids(FFA),and myocardial tissue glucose(Glu)in all groups of rats were detected.The protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α(PPARα),fatty acid binding protein 1(FABP1),carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1a(CPT1a),pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase(PDK),and pyruvate dehydrogenase(PDH)were detected through Western blot.RESULTS:(1)Compared with the control group,the H-RVH group showed a significant increase in heart morphology and weight and increases in heart weight/body weight(HW/BW),heart volume,right ventricular weight/heart weight(RVW/HW),and Fulton index(FI)(P<0.05).Cardiac mor-phology,volume,heart weight,and HW/BW significantly decreased in the fenofibrate intervention group compared with the H-RVH group(P<0.05).RVW/HW and FI also decreased.(2)The right heart float catheter test showed that the mean right ventricular pressure(mRVP)and mean pulmonary artery pressure(mPAP)significantly increased in the H-RVH group compared with the control group(P<0.01).The increases in mRVP and mPAP were reversed in rats in the fe-nofibrate intervention group compared with the H-RVH group.(3)Cardiac ultrasonography showed that compared with the control group,the H-RVH group had significantly increased right ventricular anterior wall(RVAW)and right ventricular posterior wall(RVPW)thickness(P<0.01),significantly decreased right ventricular end-diastolic diameter(RVEDD),and right ventricular end-diastolic length(RVEDL)(P<0.01).In addition,pulmonary artery acceleration time(PAAT)was reduced,ejection time(PAET)was prolonged,and PAAT/PAET ratio decreased(P<0.01).Compared with the H-RVH group,the fenofibrate intervention group showed significant decreases in RVAW and RVPW(P<0.05),increases in RVEDD and RVEDL,and an increase in PAAT/PAET ratio.(4)The kit assay showed that the levels of ANP and NT-Pro BNP in serum were significantly higher in the H-RVH group than in the control group(P<0.05),while the levels of both were lower in the fenofibrate intervention group.The levels of serum FFA and myocardial tissue Glu levels(P<0.05)were significantly higher in the H-RVH group than in the control group.The levels of serum FFA and myocardial tissue Glu level were significantly lower in the fenofibrate intervention group than in the H-RVH group(P<0.05).(5)Western blot results showed that the expression levels of PPARα,FABP1,CPT1a,and PDH in the myocardial tissues of rats in the H-RVH group were significantly reduced(P<0.01),whereas the expression level of PDK significantly increased relative to those of the control group(P<0.01).All the effects on the above indices in the H-RVH group can be significantly re-versed by fenofibrate intervention(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Fenofibrate exerts a protective effect on the hearts of rats with right ventricular hypertrophy associated with high-altitude heart disease by activating PPARα/FABP1/CPT1a,en-hancing fatty acid oxidation,inhibiting PDK,and activating PDH to promote the aerobic oxidation of glucose.Hence,the medication can ameliorate glucose-lipid metabolism disorders.

Background: and Purpose The optimal management of patients with acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO) is uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) compared to medical management (MM) for acute BAO through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs of patients with acute BAO. We analyzed the pooled effect of EVT compared to MM on the primary outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] of 0–3 at 3 months), secondary outcome (mRS 0–2 at 3 months), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and 3-month mortality rates. For each study, effect sizes were computed as odds ratios (ORs) with random effects and Mantel-Haenszel weighting. Results: Four RCTs met inclusion criteria including 988 patients. There were higher odds of mRS of 0-3 at 90 days in the EVT versus MM group (45.1% vs. 29.1%, OR 1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–3.80; P=0.04). Patients receiving EVT had a higher sICH compared to MM (5.4% vs. 0.8%, OR 7.89, 95% CI 4.10–15.19; P<0.01). Mortality was lower in the EVT group (35.5% vs. 45.1%, OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42–0.99; P=0.05). In an analysis of two trials with BAO patients and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) <10, there was no difference in 90-day outcomes between EVT versus MM. Conclusion In this systematic review and meta-analysis, EVT was associated with favorable outcome and decreased mortality in patients with BAO up to 24 hours from stroke symptoms compared to MM. The treatment effect in BAO patients with NIHSS <10 was less certain. Further studies are of interest to evaluate the efficacy of EVT in basilar occlusion patients with milder symptoms.

Background: and Purpose Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020). Results: There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P<0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P<0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths. Conclusions During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT.