Exercise tolerance testing, echocardiography, myocardial perfusion imaging, coronary computed tomography angiography and magnetic resonance imaging help in the diagnosis of CAD and heart failure and help predict cardiovascular outcomes in a manner similar to non-infected individuals. This review will highlight the pathogenesis and factors that link HIV to CAD, presentation and treatment of HIV-patients presenting with CAD and review briefly the cardiac imaging modalities used to identify this entity and help prognosticate future outcomes.

We have set out to develop a catheter-based theranostic system that (a) identifies diseased and at-risk myocardium via endocardial detection of systemically delivered β-emitting radiotracers and (b) utilizes molecular signals to guide delivery of therapeutics to appropriate tissue via direct intramyocardial injection.

Our prototype device consists of a miniature β-radiation detector contained within the tip of a flexible intravascular catheter. The catheter can be adapted to incorporate an injection port and retractable needle for therapeutic delivery. The performance of the β-detection catheter was assessed in vitro with various β-emitting radionuclides and ex vivo in hearts of pigs following systemic injection of

F-fluorodeoxyglucose (

F-FDG) at 1-week post-myocardial infarction. Regional catheter-based endocardial measurements of

F activity were compared to regional tissue activity from PET/CT images and gamma counting.

The β-detection catheter demonstrated sensitive in vitro detection of β-radiation from

Na (β

),

F (β

), and

Tl (β

), with minimal sensitivity to γ-radiation. For

F, the catheter demonstrated a sensitivity of 4067 counts/s/μCi in contact and a spatial resolution of 1.1 mm FWHM. ML265 datasheet Ex vivo measurements of endocardial

F activity with the β-detection catheter in the chronic pig infarct model demonstrated good qualitative and quantitative correlation with regional tissue activity from PET/CT images and gamma counting.

The prototype β-detection catheter demonstrates sensitive and selective detection of β

and β

emissions over a wide range of energies and enables high-fidelity ex vivo characterization of endocardial activity from systemically delivered

F-FDG.

The prototype β-detection catheter demonstrates sensitive and selective detection of β- and β+ emissions over a wide range of energies and enables high-fidelity ex vivo characterization of endocardial activity from systemically delivered 18F-FDG.Repairing the damaged blood-CNS-barrier in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is necessary to prevent entry of detrimental blood-borne factors contributing to motor neuron dysfunction. Recently, we showed benefits of human bone marrow endothelial progenitor cell (hBM-EPC) transplantation into symptomatic ALS mice on barrier restoration by replacing damaged endothelial cells (ECs). Additionally, transplanted cells may endogenously repair ECs by secreting angiogenic factors as our subsequent in vitro study demonstrated. Based on these study results, hBM-EPCs may secrete extracellular vesicles, which may contain and transfer diverse vesicular biomolecules towards maintenance of EC functionality. The study aimed to characterize extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from hBM-EPCs as potential cell-free therapeutics for endothelium repair in ALS. EVs were isolated from hBM-EPC media at different culture times and vesicle properties were evaluated. The protective effects of EVs on mouse brain endothelial cells (mBECs) exposed to ALS mouse plasma were investigated. Uptake and blockage of EVs from GFP-transfected hBM-EPCs in ECs were determined in vitro. Results showed that EVs isolated from hBM-EPCs as nanosized vesicles significantly reduced mBEC damage from the pathological environment and these EVs were taken up by cells. Blockage of β1 integrin on EVs prevented internalization of vesicles in mBECs. Together, these results provide evidence for potential of hBM-EPC-derived EVs as novel cell-free therapeutics for repair of endothelium in ALS. Although determining translational potential of hBM-EPC-derived EVs will require evaluation in vivo, this in vitro study represents a step towards an extracellular vesicle-based approach for repair of the damaged microvascular endothelium in ALS.

Polypharmacy and use of inappropriate medications have been linked to increased risk of falls, hospitalizations, cognitive impairment, and death. The primary objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, and harms of deprescribing interventions among community-dwelling older adults.

We searched OVID MEDLINE Embase, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library from 1990 through February 2019 for controlled clinical trials comparing any deprescribing intervention to usual care or another intervention. Primary outcomes were all-cause mortality, hospitalizations, health-related quality of life, and falls. The secondary outcome was use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). Interventions were categorized as comprehensive medication review, educational initiatives, and computerized decision support. Data abstracted by one investigator were verified by another. We used the Cochrane criteria to rate risk of bias for each study and the GRADE system to determine certainty of eally inappropriate medications.

PROSPERO – CRD42019132420.

PROSPERO – CRD42019132420.

Healthcare providers use a life expectancy of at least 5 to 10 years in shared clinical decision-making with older adults about cancer screening, major surgeries, and disease prevention interventions. At present, few prognostic indexes predict long-term mortality beyond 10 years or are suited for use in primary care settings.

We developed and validated an 8-item multidimensional index predicting 11-year mortality for use in primary care.

Using data from the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Studies (SLAS), we developed a Primary Care Prognostic (PCP) Index for predicting 11-year mortality risk in a development cohort (n = 1550) and validated it in a geographically different cohort (n = 928).

The PCP Index was derived from eight indicators (body mass loss, weakness, slow gait, comorbidity, polypharmacy, IADL/BADL dependency, low albumin, low total cholesterol, out of 25 candidate indicators) using stepwise Cox proportional hazard models.

In the developmental cohort, the mortality hazard ratio increased by 53% per PCP point score increase, independent of age and sex.