Patients received a cardiac-resynchronization pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) (the latter if the patient had an indication for defibrillation therapy) and were randomly assigned to standard right

ventricular pacing or biventricular pacing. The primary outcome was the time to death this website from any cause, an urgent care visit for heart failure that required intravenous therapy, or a 15% or more increase in the left ventricular end-systolic volume index.

RESULTS

Of 918 patients enrolled, 691 underwent randomization and were followed for an average of 37 months. The primary outcome occurred in 190 of 342 patients (55.6%) in the right-ventricular-pacing group, as compared Ro 61-8048 ic50 with 160 of 349 (45.8%) in the biventricular-pacing group. Patients randomly assigned to biventricular pacing had a significantly lower incidence of the primary outcome over time than

did those assigned to right ventricular pacing (hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% credible interval, 0.60 to 0.90); results were similar in the pacemaker and ICD groups. Left ventricular lead-related complications occurred in 6.4% of patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Biventricular pacing was superior to conventional right ventricular pacing in patients with atrioventricular block and left ventricular systolic dysfunction with NYHA class I, II, or III heart failure. (Funded by Medtronic; BLOCK HF ClinicalTrials. gov number, NCT00267098.)”
“Small heat shock proteins alphaA and alphaB crystallin form highly polydisperse oligomers that frustrate protein aggregation, crystallization, and amyloid formation. Here, we present the crystal structures of truncated forms of bovine alphaA crystallin (AAC(59-163)) and human alphaB crystallin (ABC(68-162)), both containing the C-terminal extension that functions in chaperone action and

oligomeric assembly. In both structures, the C-terminal extensions swap into neighboring molecules, creating runaway domain swaps. This interface, termed DS, enables crystallin polydispersity because the C-terminal extension is palindromic Phosphoribosylglycinamide formyltransferase and thereby allows the formation of equivalent residue interactions in both directions. That is, we observe that the extension binds in opposite directions at the DS interfaces of AAC(59-163) and ABC(68-162). A second dimeric interface, termed AP, also enables polydispersity by forming an antiparallel beta sheet with three distinct registration shifts. These two polymorphic interfaces enforce polydispersity of alpha crystallin. This evolved polydispersity suggests molecular mechanisms for chaperone action and for prevention of crystallization, both necessary for transparency of eye lenses.”
“BACKGROUND

Overweight and obesity are epidemic among persons with serious mental illness, yet weight-loss trials systematically exclude this vulnerable population.