@article{KraftDrechslerGunrebenetal.2014,
  author    = {Kraft, Peter and Drechsler, Christiane and Gunreben, Ignaz and Heuschmann, Peter Ulrich and Kleinschnitz, Christoph},
  title     = {Regulation of Blood Coagulation Factors XI and XII in Patients with Acute and Chronic Cerebrovascular Disease: A Case-Control Study},
  series = {Cerebrovascular Diseases},
  volume    = {38},
  journal   = {Cerebrovascular Diseases},
  number    = {5},
  issn      = {1015-9770},
  doi       = {10.1159/000368434},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-199076},
  pages     = {337-343},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background: Animal models have implicated an integral role for coagulation factors XI (FXI) and XII (FXII) in thrombus formation and propagation of ischemic stroke (IS). However, it is unknown if these molecules contribute to IS pathophysiology in humans, and might be of use as biomarkers for IS risk and severity. This study aimed to identify predictors of altered FXI and FXII levels and to determine whether there are differences in the levels of these coagulation factors between acute cerebrovascular events and chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD). Methods: In this case-control study, 116 patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or transitory ischemic attack (TIA), 117 patients with CCD, and 104 healthy volunteers (HVs) were enrolled between 2010 and 2013 at our University hospital. Blood sampling was undertaken once in the CCD and HV groups and on days 0, 1, and 3 after stroke onset in patients with AIS or TIA. Correlations between serum FXI and FXII levels and demographic and clinical parameters were tested by linear regression and analysis of variance. Results: The mean age of AIS/TIA patients was 70 ± 12. Baseline clinical severity measured with NIHSS and Barthel Index was 4.8 ± 6.0 and 74 ± 30, respectively. More than half of the patients had an AIS (58\%). FXI levels were significantly correlated with different leukocyte subsets (p < 0.05). In contrast, FXII serum levels showed no significant correlation (p > 0.1). Neither FXI nor FXII levels correlated with CRP (p > 0.2). FXII levels were significantly higher in patients with CCD compared with those with AIS/TIA (mean ± SD 106 ± 26\% vs. 97 ± 24\%; univariate analysis: p < 0.05); these differences did not reach significance in multivariate analysis adjusted for sex and age. FXI levels did not differ significantly between study groups. Sex and age were significantly associated with FXI and/or FXII levels in patients with AIS/TIA (p < 0.05). In contrast, no statistical significant influence was found for treatment modality (thrombolysis or not), pre-treatment with platelet inhibitors, and severity of stroke. Conclusions: In this study, there was no differential regulation of FXI and FXII levels between disease subtypes but biomarker levels were associated with patient and clinical characteristics. FXI and FXII levels might be no valid biomarker for predicting stroke risk.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchneiderGutjahrLengsfeldRitzetal.2014,
  author    = {Schneider, Andreas and Gutjahr-Lengsfeld, Lena and Ritz, Eberhard and Scharnagl, Hubert and Gelbrich, G{\"o}tz and Pilz, Stefan and Macdougall, Iain C. and Wanner, Christoph and Drechsler, Christiane},
  title     = {Longitudinal Assessments of Erythropoietin-Stimulating Agent Responsiveness and the Association with Specific Clinical Outcomes in Dialysis Patients},
  series = {Nephron Clinical Practice},
  volume    = {128},
  journal   = {Nephron Clinical Practice},
  number    = {1-2},
  issn      = {1660-2110},
  doi       = {10.1159/000367975},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-196511},
  pages     = {147-152},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background: Dose requirements of erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) can vary considerably over time and may be associated with cardiovascular outcomes. We aimed to longitudinally assess ESA responsiveness over time and to investigate its association with specific clinical end points in a time-dependent approach. Methods: The German Diabetes and Dialysis study (4D study) included 1,255 diabetic dialysis patients, of whom 1,161 were receiving ESA treatment. In those patients, the erythropoietin resistance index (ERI) was assessed every 6 months during a median follow-up of 4 years. The association between the ERI and cardiovascular end points was analyzed by time-dependent Cox regression analyses with repeated ERI measures. Results: Patients had a mean age of 66 ± 8.2 years; 53\% were male. During follow-up, a total of 495 patients died, of whom 136 died of sudden death and 102 of infectious death. The adjusted and time-dependent risk for sudden death was increased by 19\% per 5-unit increase in the ERI (hazard ratio, HR = 1.19, 95\% confidence interval, CI = 1.07-1.33). Similarly, mortality increased by 25\% (HR = 1.25, 95\% CI = 1.18-1.32) and infectious death increased by 27\% (HR = 1.27, 95\% CI = 1.13-1.42). Further analysis revealed that lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were associated with lower ESA responsiveness (p = 0.046). Conclusions: In diabetic dialysis patients, we observed that time-varying erythropoietin resistance is associated with sudden death, infectious complications and all-cause mortality. Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels may contribute to a lower ESA responsiveness.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WagnerKraemerBlohmetal.2014,
  author    = {Wagner, Martin and Kr{\"a}mer, Johannes and Blohm, Elisabeth and Vergho, Dorothee and Weidemann, Frank and Breunig, Frank and Wanner, Christoph},
  title     = {Kidney function as an underestimated factor for reduced health related quality of life in patients with Fabry disease},
  doi       = {10.1186/1471-2369-15-188},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-111159},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background: Impairments of health related quality of life (HRQoL) are frequently observed in Fabry disease (FD) and are known to be related to neuropathic pain and cardiovascular events. This study aimed to explore the role of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a large cohort of patients with FD. Methods: In 96 patients (53\% female; age 40 ± 12 yrs) with genetically proven FD, HRQoL was assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study (SF-36) questionnaire. All patients were na{\"i}ve to enzyme replacement therapy. Three categories for kidney dysfunction were chosen, eGFR ≥/<60 ml/min/1.73 m2 or need of renal replacement therapy (RRT). Minor (e.g. arrhythmia, angina pectoris, etc.) and major (e.g. myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass, stroke or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) vascular events as well as pain and pain therapy were considered in linear regression analyses with the dimensions of HRQoL. Results: Ten patients (10\%) had impaired kidney function and a further nine were on RRT (9.4\%). Kidney function and pain emerged as the main factors associated with lower scores on the SF 36, in particular on physical components (PCS beta-coefficients for CKD -6.2, for RRT -11.8, for pain -9.1, p < 0.05, respectively), while controlling for gender, vascular event and pain-therapy. Relationships were found for mental aspects of HRQoL. Age and history of vascular events were not related to HRQoL. Conclusion: Cardiovascular events and pain are important factors related to HRQoL, social functioning and depression. Our study highlights impaired chronic kidney disease, in particular after initiation of RRT, as a strong determinant of reduced HRQoL in FD.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LocatelliSpasovskiDimkovicetal.2014,
  author    = {Locatelli, Francesco and Spasovski, Goce and Dimkovic, Nada and Wanner, Christoph and Dellanna, Frank and Pontoriero, Giuseppe},
  title     = {The effects of colestilan versus placebo and sevelamer in patients with CKD 5D and hyperphosphataemia: a 1-year prospective randomized study},
  series = {Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation},
  volume    = {29},
  journal   = {Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation},
  number    = {5},
  doi       = {10.1093/ndt/gft476},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-121114},
  pages     = {1061-73},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {BACKGROUND: This study compared the effects of short-term titrated colestilan (a novel non-absorbable, non-calcium, phosphate binder) with placebo, and evaluated the safety and efficacy of colestilan over 1 year compared with sevelamer, in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) 5D. METHODS: This prospective multicentre study comprised a 4-week phosphate binder washout period, a 16-week short-term, flexible-dose, treatment period (including a 4-week placebo-controlled withdrawal period) and a 40-week extension treatment phase. RESULTS: At Week 16 (the end of the 4-week placebo-controlled withdrawal period), serum phosphorus level was 0.43 mmol/L (1.32 mg/dL) lower with colestilan than placebo (P < 0.001; primary end point). Serum LDL-C level was also lower with colestilan than with placebo (P < 0.001). Both colestilan and sevelamer produced significant reductions from baseline in serum phosphorus levels (P < 0.001), maintained for 1 year, and the proportion of patients achieving target levels of ≤1.78 mmol/L (5.5 mg/dL) or ≤1.95 mmol/L (6.0 mg/dL) at study end were similar (65.3 and 73.3\%, respectively, for colestilan, and 66.9 and 77.4\%, respectively, for sevelamer). Serum calcium level remained stable in the colestilan group but tended to increase slightly in the sevelamer group (end-of-study increase of 0.035 mmol/L over baseline). Both binders produced similar reductions from baseline in LDL-C level (P < 0.001), and responder rates after 1 year, using a target of <1.83 mmol/L (70 mg/dL) or <2.59 mmol/L (100 mg/dL) were similar in both groups (50.7 and 85.3\% for colestilan and 54.0 and 80.6\% for sevelamer). Colestilan was generally well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Colestilan is effective and safe for the treatment of hyperphosphataemia in patients with CKD 5D, and affords similar long-term phosphorus and cholesterol reductions/responder rates to sevelamer.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LadwigLederbogenAlbusetal.2014,
  author    = {Ladwig, Karl-Heinz and Lederbogen, Florian and Albus, Christian and Angermann, Christiane and Borggrefe, Martin and Fischer, Denise and Fritzsche, Kurt and Haass, Markus and Jordan, Jochen and J{\"u}nger, Jana and Kindermann, Ingrid and K{\"o}llner, Volker and Kuhn, Bernhard and Scherer, Martin and Seyfarth, Melchior and V{\"o}ller, Heinz and Waller, Christiane and Herrmann-Lingen, Christoph},
  title     = {Position paper on the importance of psychosocial factors in cardiology: Update 2013},
  series = {GMS German Medical Science},
  volume    = {12},
  journal   = {GMS German Medical Science},
  doi       = {10.3205/000194},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-121196},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background: The rapid progress of psychosomatic research in cardiology and also the increasing impact of psychosocial issues in the clinical daily routine have prompted the Clinical Commission of the German Heart Society (DGK) to agree to an update of the first state of the art paper on this issue which was originally released in 2008. Methods: The circle of experts was increased, general aspects were implemented and the state of the art was updated. Particular emphasis was dedicated to coronary heart diseases (CHD), heart rhythm diseases and heart failure because to date the evidence-based clinical knowledge is most advanced in these particular areas. Differences between men and women and over the life span were considered in the recommendations as were influences of cognitive capability and the interactive and synergistic impact of classical somatic risk factors on the affective comorbidity in heart disease patients. Results: A IA recommendation (recommendation grade I and evidence grade A) was given for the need to consider psychosocial risk factors in the estimation of coronary risks as etiological and prognostic risk factors. Furthermore, for the recommendation to routinely integrate psychosocial patient management into the care of heart surgery patients because in these patients, comorbid affective disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder) are highly prevalent and often have a malignant prognosis. A IB recommendation was given for the treatment of psychosocial risk factors aiming to prevent the onset of CHD, particularly if the psychosocial risk factor is harmful in itself (e.g. depression) or constrains the treatment of the somatic risk factors. Patients with acute and chronic CHD should be offered anti-depressive medication if these patients suffer from medium to severe states of depression and in this case medication with selective reuptake inhibitors should be given. In the long-term course of treatment with implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) a subjective health technology assessment is warranted. In particular, the likelihood of affective comorbidities and the onset of psychological crises should be carefully considered. Conclusions: The present state of the art paper presents an update of current empirical evidence in psychocardiology. The paper provides evidence-based recommendations for the integration of psychosocial factors into cardiological practice and highlights areas of high priority. The evidence for estimating the efficiency for psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological interventions has increased substantially since the first release of the policy document but is, however, still weak. There remains an urgent need to establish curricula for physician competence in psychodiagnosis, communication and referral to ensure that current psychocardiac knowledge is translated into the daily routine.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchickBaarFlemmingetal.2014,
  author    = {Schick, Martin A. and Baar, Wolfgang and Flemming, Sven and Schlegel, Nicolas and Wollborn, Jakob and Held, Christopher and Schneider, Reinhard and Brock, Robert W. and Roewer, Norbert and Wunder, Christian},
  title     = {Sepsis-induced acute kidney injury by standardized colon ascendens stent peritonitis in rats - a simple, reproducible animal model},
  series = {Intensive Care Medicine Experimental},
  volume    = {2},
  journal   = {Intensive Care Medicine Experimental},
  number    = {34},
  doi       = {10.1186/s40635-014-0034-x},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-126111},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background Up to 50\% of septic patients develop acute kidney injury (AKI). The pathomechanism of septic AKI is poorly understood. Therefore, we established an innovative rodent model to characterize sepsis-induced AKI by standardized colon ascendens stent peritonitis (sCASP). The model has a standardized focus of infection, an intensive care set up with monitoring of haemodynamics and oxygenation resulting in predictable impairment of renal function, AKI parameters as well as histopathology scoring. Methods Anaesthetized rats underwent the sCASP procedure, whereas sham animals were sham operated and control animals were just monitored invasively. Haemodynamic variables and blood gases were continuously measured. After 24 h, animals were reanesthetized; cardiac output (CO), inulin and PAH clearances were measured and later on kidneys were harvested; and creatinine, urea, cystatin C and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) were analysed. Additional sCASP-treated animals were investigated after 3 and 9 days. Results All sCASP-treated animals survived, whilst ubiquitous peritonitis and significantly deteriorated clinical and macrohaemodynamic sepsis signs after 24 h (MAP, CO, heart rate) were obvious. Blood analyses showed increased lactate and IL-6 levels as well as leucopenia. Urine output, inulin and PAH clearance were significantly decreased in sCASP compared to sham and control. Additionally, significant increase in cystatin C and NGAL was detected. Standard parameters like serum creatinine and urea were elevated and sCASP-induced sepsis increased significantly in a time-dependent manner. The renal histopathological score of sCASP-treated animals deteriorated after 3 and 9 days. Conclusions The presented sCASP method is a standardized, reliable and reproducible method to induce septic AKI. The intensive care set up, continuous macrohaemodynamic and gas exchange monitoring, low mortality rate as well as the opportunity of detailed analyses of kidney function and impairments are advantages of this setup. Thus, our described method may serve as a new standard for experimental investigations of septic AKI.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{FreyPoppPostetal.2014,
  author    = {Frey, Anna and Popp, Sandy and Post, Antonia and Langer, Simon and Lehmann, Marc and Hofmann, Ulrich and Siren, Anna-Leena and Hommers, Leif and Schmitt, Angelika and Strekalova, Tatyana and Ertl, Georg and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Frantz, Stefan},
  title     = {Experimental heart failure causes depression-like behavior together with differential regulation of inflammatory and structural genes in the brain},
  series = {Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience},
  issn      = {1662-5153},
  doi       = {10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00376},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-118234},
  pages     = {376},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background: Depression and anxiety are common and independent outcome predictors in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, it is unclear whether CHF causes depression. Thus, we investigated whether mice develop anxiety- and depression-like behavior after induction of ischemic CHF by myocardial infarction (MI). Methods and Results: In order to assess depression-like behavior, anhedonia was investigated by repeatedly testing sucrose preference for 8 weeks after coronary artery ligation or sham operation. Mice with large MI and increased left ventricular dimensions on echocardiography (termed CHF mice) showed reduced preference for sucrose, indicating depression-like behavior. 6 weeks after MI, mice were tested for exploratory activity, anxiety-like behavior and cognitive function using the elevated plus maze (EPM), light-dark box (LDB), open field (OF), and object recognition (OR) tests. In the EPM and OF, CHF mice exhibited diminished exploratory behavior and motivation despite similar movement capability. In the OR, CHF mice had reduced preference for novelty and impaired short-term memory. On histology, CHF mice had unaltered overall cerebral morphology. However, analysis of gene expression by RNA-sequencing in prefrontal cortical, hippocampal, and left ventricular tissue revealed changes in genes related to inflammation and cofactors of neuronal signal transduction in CHF mice, with Nr4a1 being dysregulated both in prefrontal cortex and myocardium after MI. Conclusions: After induction of ischemic CHF, mice exhibited anhedonic behavior, decreased exploratory activity and interest in novelty, and cognitive impairment. Thus, ischemic CHF leads to distinct behavioral changes in mice analogous to symptoms observed in humans with CHF and comorbid depression.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KraftDrechslerGunrebenetal.2014,
  author    = {Kraft, Peter and Drechsler, Christiane and Gunreben, Ignaz and Nieswandt, Bernhard and Stoll, Guido and Heuschmann, Peter Ulrich and Kleinschnitz, Christoph},
  title     = {Von Willebrand Factor Regulation in Patients with Acute and Chronic Cerebrovascular Disease: A Pilot, Case-Control Study},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  number    = {6},
  issn      = {1932-6203},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0099851},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119588},
  pages     = {e99851},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background and Purpose In animal models, von Willebrand factor (VWF) is involved in thrombus formation and propagation of ischemic stroke. However, the pathophysiological relevance of this molecule in humans, and its potential use as a biomarker for the risk and severity of ischemic stroke remains unclear. This study had two aims: to identify predictors of altered VWF levels and to examine whether VWF levels differ between acute cerebrovascular events and chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD). Methods A case-control study was undertaken between 2010 and 2013 at our University clinic. In total, 116 patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or transitory ischemic attack (TIA), 117 patients with CCD, and 104 healthy volunteers (HV) were included. Blood was taken at days 0, 1, and 3 in patients with AIS or TIA, and once in CCD patients and HV. VWF serum levels were measured and correlated with demographic and clinical parameters by multivariate linear regression and ANOVA. Results Patients with CCD (158±46\%) had significantly higher VWF levels than HV (113±36\%, P<0.001), but lower levels than AIS/TIA patients (200±95\%, P<0.001). Age, sex, and stroke severity influenced VWF levels (P<0.05). Conclusions VWF levels differed across disease subtypes and patient characteristics. Our study confirms increased VWF levels as a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease and, moreover, suggests that it may represent a potential biomarker for stroke severity, warranting further investigation.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SteinbrunnChatterjeeBargouetal.2014,
  author    = {Steinbrunn, Torsten and Chatterjee, Manik and Bargou, Ralf C. and St{\"u}hmer, Thorsten},
  title     = {Efficient Transient Transfection of Human Multiple Myeloma Cells by Electroporation - An Appraisal},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  number    = {6},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0097443},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119616},
  pages     = {e97443},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Cell lines represent the everyday workhorses for in vitro research on multiple myeloma (MM) and are regularly employed in all aspects of molecular and pharmacological investigations. Although loss-of-function studies using RNA interference in MM cell lines depend on successful knockdown, no well-established and widely applied protocol for efficient transient transfection has so far emerged. Here, we provide an appraisal of electroporation as a means to introduce either short-hairpin RNA expression vectors or synthesised siRNAs into MM cells. We found that electroporation using siRNAs was much more efficient than previously anticipated on the basis of transfection efficiencies deduced from EGFP-expression off protein expression vectors. Such knowledge can even confidently be exploited in "hard-to-transfect" MM cell lines to generate large numbers of transient knockdown phenotype MM cells. In addition, special attention was given to developing a protocol that provides easy implementation, good reproducibility and manageable experimental costs.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{FrantzMonacoArslan2014,
  author    = {Frantz, Stefan and Monaco, Claudia and Arslan, Fatih},
  title     = {Danger Signals in Cardiovascular Disease},
  series = {Mediators of Inflammation},
  volume    = {2014},
  journal   = {Mediators of Inflammation},
  number    = {395278},
  issn      = {1466-1861},
  doi       = {10.1155/2014/395278},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-120110},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {No abstract available.},
  language  = {en}
}