Relationship between platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and the presence and severity of coronary artery ectasia

Evaluation of erectile function in laboratory animals: an overview

INTRODUCTION

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common male sexual disorder that diminishes quality of life significantly. Despite extensive research, little is known about the complex physiological mechanisms of ED, in part owing to disparities between animal and human physiology. Comprehensive and objective assessment methods for animal models are crucial to bridge this translational gap.

OBJECTIVES

Various experimental approaches for evaluating erectile function in rodent models are explored.

METHODS

A search of the medical literature was carried out in PubMed and Medline, focusing on original research and systematic reviews of original research on the evaluation of erectile function in experimental animals. Studies without erectile assessment methods or insufficient data, editorials, letters, commentaries, and non-English articles were excluded.

RESULTS

The ICP-to-mean arterial pressure ratio remains a valuable indicator for evaluating erectile function. Furthermore, laser speckle blood perfusion imaging technology offers an approach for assessing changes in cavernous blood flow, whereas infrared thermal imaging technology enables real-time temperature monitoring during erectile responses. Microscopic ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging allow high-resolution observation of hemodynamic and histological changes in the rat model penis, real-time assessment of blood flow, and detailed anatomical information. Human-rat homologous marker detection using blood tests has high clinical relevance and translational potential. In addition, wearable adaptive penile rigidity monitoring (WARM) dynamically monitors erectile function by accurately and continuously detecting changes in the girth of the rat penis in a non-invasive manner. Utilizing ex vivo models of cavernous tissue, such as the cavernous artery and smooth muscle, can provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying ED and the pharmacological effects and efficacy of drugs.

CONCLUSION

This comprehensive review covers diverse approaches, including new technologies, for assessing erectile function in rodent models, including new technologies. By addressing the limitations of the existing methodologies and providing a framework for accurate and reliable evaluations, this review provides a basis for further research on the pathophysiology of ED and potential therapeutic interventions.

Inflammatory Biomarkers in Coronary Artery Ectasia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Isolated coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a relatively rare clinical entity, the pathogenesis of which is poorly understood. More and more evidence is accumulating to suggest a critical inflammatory component. We aimed to elucidate any association between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and coronary artery ectasia. A systematic MEDLINE database, ClinicalTrials.gov, medRxiv, Scopus and Cochrane Library search was conducted: 50 studies were deemed relevant, reporting on difference in NLR levels between CAE patients and controls (primary endpoint) and/or on high-sensitive CRP, IL-6, TNF-a and RDW levels (secondary endpoint), and were included in our final analysis. (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021224195). All inflammatory biomarkers under investigation were found higher in coronary artery ectasia patients as compared to healthy controls (NLR; SMD = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.27–1.20, hs-CRP; SMD = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.64–1.28, IL-6; SMD = 2.68; 95% CI: 0.95–4.41, TNF-a; SMD = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.24–0.75, RDW; SMD = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.26–0.87). The main limitations inherent in this analysis are small case-control studies of moderate quality and high statistical heterogeneity. Our findings underscore that inflammatory dysregulation is implicated in coronary artery ectasia and merits further investigation.

Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio is a predictor of long-term mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Introduction

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory process and inflammation is an important component of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a useful parameter showing the degree of the inflammatory response.

Aim

To explore the association between PLR and long-term mortality in patients with ACS.

Material and methods

A total of 538 patients who had a diagnosis of ACS between January 2012 and August 2013 were followed up to 60 months. On admission, blood sampling to calculate PLR and detailed clinical data were obtained.

Results

In total, 538 patients with a mean age of 61.5 ±13.1 years (69% male) were enrolled in the study. Median follow-up was 79 months (IQR: 74–83 months). Patients were divided into 3 tertiles based on PLR levels. Five-year mortality of the patients was significantly higher among patients in the upper PLR tertile when compared with the lower and middle PLR tertile groups (55 (30.7%) vs. 27 (15.0%) and 34 (19.0%); p < 0.001, p = 0.010 respectively). In the Cox regression analysis, a high level of PLR was an independent predictor of 5-year mortality (OR = 1.005, 95% CI: 1.001–1.008, p = 0.004). Kaplan-Meier analysis according to the long-term mortality-free survival revealed the higher occurrence of mortality in the third PLR tertile group compared to the first (p < 0.001) and second tertiles (p = 0.009).

Conclusions

PLR, which is an easily calculated and universally available marker, may be useful in long-term risk classification of patients presenting with ACS.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio as predictors of survival after heart transplantation

Aims

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR) predict outcome in heart failure (HF) patients undergoing heart transplantation (HTX).

Methods and results

Data from 111 HF patients undergoing HTX 2010–2015 were retrospectively reviewed. NLR and PLR were calculated before HTX, immediately after HTX, and at 6 and 24 hours. Primary endpoint was in‐hospital mortality, and secondary endpoints were 1 year mortality and renal replacement therapy (RRT). Prognostic factors were assessed by multivariate analysis, and the predictive values of NLR and PLR for mortality were compared. The discriminatory performance for predicting in‐hospital mortality was better for NLR [area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.644, 95% confidence interval 0.492–0.797] than for PLR (AUC = 0.599, 95% confidence interval 0.423–0.776). Best cut‐off value was 2.41 for NLR (sensitivity 86%, specificity 67%) and 92.5 for PLR (sensitivity 86%, specificity 68%). When divided according to best cut‐off value, in‐hospital mortality was significantly higher in the high NLR group (17.5% vs. 3.2%, P < 0.05), but not in the high PLR group (16.5% vs. 6.3%, P = ns). One year mortality was not significantly higher for either group (37.5% vs. 6.5% for NLR; 36.7% vs. 9.4% for PLR, P = ns for both), while RRT was significantly higher in both the NLR and PLR high groups (33.8% vs. 0%; 32.9% vs. 3.1%, respectively, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that only high NLR (hazard ratio = 3.403, P < 0.05) and pre‐transplant diabetes (hazard ratio = 3.364, P < 0.05) were independent prognostic factors for 1 year mortality.

Conclusions

High NLR was a predictor for in‐hospital mortality, and an independent prognostic factor for 1 year mortality. Both high NLR and high PLR were predictors for RRT.

Serum PLR and LMR in Behçet's disease: Can they show the disease activity?

The aim of this study is to determine platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and lymphocytes to monocytes ratio (LMR) levels in Behçet's disease (BD) and to investigate their relationships with disease activity.Hematological and inflammatory parameters including high-sensitivity C-reactive proteins (hs-CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), PLR, and LMR were examined in BD and healthy controls.Data from 140 patients with BD (108 with active and 32 with inactive disease) and 107 controls were enrolled. PLR (153.21 ± 65.44, 106.20 ± 28.91, P <.001, respectively) was remarkably higher, whereas LMR (5.37 ± 5.47, 8.95 ± 5.84, P <.001, respectively) was significantly lower in BD than in controls. Active BD patients had significantly higher PLR (159.20 vs 131.14, P = .037), ESR (38.30 vs 24.55, P = .017), and hs-CRP (30.20 vs 17.21, P = .027) than those with inactive BD. However, no significant difference in LMR was found between the groups. Moreover, PLR was positively correlated with BDCAF (r = 0.193, P <.05), hs-CRP (r = 0.402, P <.01), and ESR (r = 0.284, P <.01), whereas LMR was negatively correlated with BDCAF (r = -0.175, P <.05), hs-CPR (r = -0.263, P <.01), and ESR (r = -0.175, P <.05). Additionally, both PLR and LMR were shown to be independent factors for BD by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, a PLR level of 124.63 was determined as the best cut-off value by ROC analysis (sensitivity 64.3%, specificity 78.0%, and the area under the ROC curve 0. 753).PLR was elevated in active BD as compared to inactive BD. PLR may be a reliable, cost-effective, and novel potential parameter to help evaluate disease activity in BD.