Combination biologics: 1 stone, 2 birds

Left Atrial Appendage Closure: Killing 2 Birds With 1 Stone?

L eft atrial appendage (LAA) closure in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has been practiced since the 1930s, even without evidence-based data in the form of randomized controlled trials in support of this procedure. Initially, LAA closure through excision or ligation was performed by cardiothoracic surgeons in the context of open heart surgery for other reasons, akin to general surgeons r...

Treating aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation with 1 transcatheter heart valve: 2 birds with 1 stone.

Deleting Mcl-1 in mast cells: getting 2 birds with 1 stone.

REFERENCES 1. Hegde S, Kaushal N, Ravindra KC, et al. delta12-pros-taglandin J3, an omega-3 fatty acid-derived metabolite, selectively ablates leukemia stem cells in mice. 2. Mozaffarian D, Lemaitre RN, King IB, et al. Circulating long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and incidence of congestive heart failure in older adults: the cardiovascular health study: a cohort study. polyunsaturated fatty acids...

One stone, two birds

The notch signaling pathway is highly conserved and plays an important role in the regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Constitutive activation of notch signaling results in excessive cellular proliferation and a wide range of malignan-cies. However, notch can also act as a tumor suppressor, and its inactivation has been associated with an increased risk of spont...

Exogenous ghrelin on nitric oxide-endothelin 1 imbalance in metabolic syndrome: can we kill 2 birds with 1 stone?

Ghrelin is a recently identified growth hormone–releasing peptide, isolated from the stomach, initially described as an endogenous ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptors. Although essentially a gastric hormone, which is involved in regulating energy balance and exerts influence on the pituitary-gonadal axis, additional growth hormone–independent cardiovascular actions have been attrib...