Issue Highlights

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HomeCirculationVol. 113, No. 16Issue Highlights Free AccessIn BriefPDF/EPUBAboutView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toFree AccessIn BriefPDF/EPUBIssue Highlights Originally published25 Apr 2006https://doi.org/10.1161/circ.113.16.1921Circulation. 2006;113:1921NON–TRANSFERRIN-BOUND IRON AND RISK OF CORONARY HEART DISEASE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN, by van der A et al.The parallel rise in both body iron stores and vascular risk in women after menopause led to the ‘iron overload‘ theory of coronary heart disease (CHD). Epidemiological studies relating serum ferritin levels to CHD risk have yielded inconsistent results, however. In this issue of Circulation, van der A and colleagues evaluated a community-based sample of postmenopausal women to test the hypothesis that a labile iron component associated with non--transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) might be more suitable for relating to CHD risk. The investigators noted that women in the highest NTBI tertile had a statistically significant 53% lower risk of acute myocardial infarction and a nonsignificant 16% lower risk of CHD compared with those in the lowest tertile in multivariable analyses. Similar results were obtained for serum iron, transferrin saturation, and serum ferritin. These observations do not support the presence of an excess risk of CHD or myocardial infarction in postmenopausal women with relatively higher levels of NTBI or other measures of iron overload. See p 1942.STEM CELL MOBILIZATION INDUCED BY SUBCUTANEOUS GRANULOCYTE-COLONY STIMULATING FACTOR TO IMPROVE CARDIAC REGENERATION AFTER ACUTE ST-ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION: RESULT OF THE DOUBLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STEM CELLS IN MYOCARDIAL INFACTION (STEMMI) TRIAL, by Ripa et al.Percutaneous coronary revascularization procedures restore coronary flow quickly in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and yet there is often some degree of myocardial necrosis resulting in left ventricular dysfunction. To prevent adverse ventricular remodeling, efforts have been devoted to determining the therapeutic efficacy of bone-marrow–derived stem cells in preserving ventricular function. These cells have been isolated ex vivo and infused into the coronary artery or have been stimulated to exit the bone marrow to home to sites of myocardial injury by the administration of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). Early open-label studies have demonstrated the safety and potential efficacy of G-CSF. In this issue of Circulation, Ripa et al present data from the STEM cells in Myocardial Infarction (STEMMI) Trial. This is the first report of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of G-CSF in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction and successful percutaneous revascularization. See p 1983.MACROPHAGE METALLOELASTASE ACCELERATES THE PROGRESSION OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN TRANSGENIC RABBITS, by Liang et al.In this issue of Circulation, Liang et al used a novel approach involving the generation of transgenic rabbits to study the role of the macrophage metalloelastase (matrix metalloproteinase [MMP]-12) in atherosclerosis. Their results indicate that MMP-12 causes media destruction and pseudoaneurysm formation and accelerates plaque growth in an animal model that more closely resembles atherosclerosis in humans. This transgenic rabbit model may offer new insights into the roles of MMPs in extracellular matrix remodelling and cellular migration in atherosclerotic lesion formation that may challenge some prior conclusions based on mouse models. See p 1993.Visit http://circ.ahajournals.org:Cardiology Patient PageSyncope. See p e715.Images in Cardiovascular MedicineNatural Tissue Engineering Inside a Ventricular Septum Defect Occluder. See p e718. Download figureDownload PowerPointTransition From Left Ventricular Hypertrophy to Massive Fibrosis in the Cardiac Variant of Fabry Disease. See p e720.External Carotid Artery--Internal Jugular Vein Fistula: A Complication of Internal Jugular Cannulation. See p e722.CorrespondenceSee p e724. Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails April 25, 2006Vol 113, Issue 16 Advertisement Article InformationMetrics https://doi.org/10.1161/circ.113.16.1921 Originally publishedApril 25, 2006 PDF download Advertisement