Measurement of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide has been shown a good rule-out test for cardiac dysfunction in patients in the intensive care unit. The peptide measurement should not be used as a replacement for other forms of monitoring, and performs best as a diagnostic test when interpreted together with other clinical findings and investigations. At a cutoff value similar to that f...

BACKGROUND Exercise is associated with changes in circulating B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal-proBNP (NT-proBNP). However, the biological relevance of this phenomenon is poorly examined. We sought to assess determinants of absolute (Δ) and relative (Δ%) exercise-induced changes in BNP and NT-proBNP. METHODS BNP (n = 418) and NT-proBNP (n = 478) at rest and peak exercise were m...

BACKGROUND Measurement of amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is useful for evaluating patients with heart failure (HF). METHODS We evaluated the performance of a new automated NT-proBNP assay. RESULTS The VITROS NT-proBNP assay had mean within-run and total imprecision of 1.0% and 3.4% at NT-proBNP concentrations from 67-27,500 ng/l. Acceptable linearity, functional/a...

Both BNP and NT-proBNP are considered to be gold standard biomarkers of HF. Both of these are also incorporated into the majority of the national and international cardiovascular therapy guidelines. However, despite this, our understanding of their very complex nature is still far from being complete and comprehensive. Moreover, the constant development of new approaches in patient care and the...

BACKGROUND Our hypothesis was that telehealth in combination with an optimised care program coordinated amongst care professionals in primary, secondary and tertiary care can achieve beneficial outcomes in heart failure. The objective was to evaluate the clinical effects of introduction of telehealth in an optimised care program in a community hospital in the north of the Netherlands. METHODS...

Aim . To study the morphofunctional state of colonic wall in rats when using N–terminal analog adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) ACTH6-9-Pro-Gly-Pro (ACTH 6-9 -PGP) peptide under chronic stress. Materials and methods The was performed on 55 male Wistar rats, which were divided into 5 groups (n = 11): group 1 – control (administration saline solution without stress); 2 restraint stress (CRS) + ...

A large number of chemokines, cytokines, and signal peptides share a highly conserved X-Pro motif on the N-terminus. The cleavage of this N-terminal X-Pro dipeptide results in functional alterations of chemokines such as RANTES, stroma-derived factor-1, and macrophage-derived chemokine. Until recently, CD26/DPPIV was the only known protease with the ability to cleave N-terminal X-Pro motifs at ...

Members of the ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase) family of proteins possess a multidomain architecture which permits functionalities as adhesion molecules, signalling intermediates and proteolytic enzymes. ADAM8 is found on immune cells and is induced by multiple pro-inflammatory stimuli suggesting a role in inflammation. Here we describe an activation mechanism for recombinant human A...