VU University Medical Center

About: VU University Medical Center is a healthcare organization based out in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Randomized controlled trial. The organization has 10882 authors who have published 22907 publications receiving 1156378 citations. The organization is also known as: VUmc.

Myocardial Titin Hypophosphorylation Importantly Contributes to Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction in a Rat Metabolic Risk Model

Abstract: Background—Obesity and diabetes mellitus are important metabolic risk factors and frequent comorbidities in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. They contribute to myocardial diastolic dysfunction (DD) through collagen deposition or titin modification. The relative importance for myocardial DD of collagen deposition and titin modification was investigated in obese, diabetic ZSF1 rats after heart failure with preserved ejection fraction development at 20 weeks. Methods and Results—Four groups of rats (Wistar-Kyoto, n=11; lean ZSF1, n=11; obese ZSF1, n=11, and obese ZSF1 with high-fat diet, n=11) were followed up for 20 weeks with repeat metabolic, renal, and echocardiographic evaluations and hemodynamically assessed at euthanization. Myocardial collagen, collagen cross-linking, titin isoforms, and phosphorylation were also determined. Resting tension (Fpassive)–sarcomere length relations were obtained in small muscle strips before and after KCl–KI treatment, which unanchors titin and allows cont...

Generalizability of the Proportional Recovery Model for the Upper Extremity After an Ischemic Stroke

Abstract: Background and objective. Spontaneous neurological recovery after stroke is a poorly understood process. The aim of the present article was to test the proportional recovery model for the upper ext...

Biological markers in CSF and blood for axonal degeneration in multiple sclerosis

Abstract: Biomarkers in body fluids could help to predict and monitor neurological decline in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). We discuss markers for axonal damage in body fluids in people with MS. The most promising axonal marker for discriminating patients with MS from those with other neurological diseases is the neurofilament light chain in CSF. Antibodies against the heavy-chain isoform are associated with disease progression. Other studies have shown altered CSF concentrations of tau proteins, actin, tubulin, and 14-3-3 protein. Interestingly, the concentration of 24S-hydroxycholesterol was decreased in serum of patients with MS. No clear changes have been shown for the markers apolipoprotein E and neurospecific enolase. We describe three types of markers for axonal damage: markers that reflect processes in the CNS, those that reflect extraneural processes, and those that reflect whole-body changes. These concepts may be helpful for biomarker research in various neurodegenerative diseases.