The burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remains unclear in many regions of the world.The GBD (Global Burden of Disease) 2015 study integrated data on disease incidence, prevalence, and mortality to produce consistent, up-to-date estimates for cardiovascular burden.CVD mortality was estimated from vital registration and verbal autopsy data. CVD prevalence was estimated using modeling software and data from health surveys, prospective cohorts, health system administrative data, and registries. Years lived with disability (YLD) were estimated by multiplying prevalence by disability weights. Years of life lost (YLL) were estimated by multiplying age-specific CVD deaths by a reference life expectancy. A sociodemographic index (SDI) was created for each location based on income per capita, educational attainment, and fertility.In 2015, there were an estimated 422.7 million cases of CVD (95% uncertainty interval: 415.53 to 427.87 million cases) and 17.92 million CVD deaths (95% uncertainty interval: 17.59 to 18.28 million CVD deaths). Declines in the age-standardized CVD death rate occurred between 1990 and 2015 in all high-income and some middle-income countries. Ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of CVD health lost globally, as well as in each world region, followed by stroke. As SDI increased beyond 0.25, the highest CVD mortality shifted from women to men. CVD mortality decreased sharply for both sexes in countries with an SDI >0.75.CVDs remain a major cause of health loss for all regions of the world. Sociodemographic change over the past 25 years has been associated with dramatic declines in CVD in regions with very high SDI, but only a gradual decrease or no change in most regions. Future updates of the GBD study can be used to guide policymakers who are focused on reducing the overall burden of noncommunicable disease and achieving specific global health targets for CVD.Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The adult heart is a vital and highly specialized organ of the human body, with limited capability of self-repair and regeneration in case of injury or disease. Engineering biomimetic cardiac tissue to regenerate the heart has been an ambition in the field of tissue engineering, tracing back to the 1990s. Increased understanding of human stem cell biology and advances in process engineering have provided an unlimited source of cells, particularly cardiomyocytes, for the development of functional cardiac muscle, even though pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes poorly resemble those of the adult heart. This review outlines key biology-inspired strategies reported to improve cardiomyocyte maturation features and current biofabrication approaches developed to engineer clinically relevant cardiac tissues. It also highlights the potential use of this technology in drug discovery science and disease modeling as well as the current efforts to translate it into effective therapies that improve heart function and promote regeneration.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Until recently, it was thought that myocardium was not able to repair itself, but studies have now shown that resident cardiac stem cells have regenerative capacity, and stem cell therapy may be a novel approach for cardiac muscle repair and regeneration. Stem cell-derived paracrine factors have been shown to regulate ventricular remodeling, inflammation, apoptosis, cardiomyocytes regeneration, and neovascularization in regions of infarcted cardiac tissue. In this review, we summarize the evidence from cellular, animal, and clinical studies supporting the potential clinical significance of stem cell therapy as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of MI.© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The number of people affected by heart disease such as coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction increases at an alarming rate each year. Currently, the methods to treat these diseases are restricted to lifestyle change, pharmaceuticals, and eventually heart transplant if the condition is severe enough. While these treatment options are the standard for caring for patients who suffer from heart disease, limited regenerative ability of the heart restricts the effectiveness of treatment and may lead to other heart-related health problems in the future. Because of the increasing need for more effective therapeutic technologies for treating diseased heart tissue, cardiac patches are now a large focus for researchers. The cardiac patches are designed to be integrated into the patients' natural tissue to introduce mechanical support and healing to the damaged areas. As a promising alternative, synthetic biodegradable polymer based biomaterials can be easily manipulated to customize material properties, as well as possess certain desired characteristics for cardiac patch use. This comprehensive review summarizes recent works on synthetic biodegradable cardiac patches implanted into infarcted animal models. In addition, this review describes the basic requirements that should be met for cardiac patch development, and discusses the inspirations to designing new biomaterials and technologies for cardiac patches.© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

纳米纤维在生物医疗、高效过滤及生化防护等领域有着广泛的应用前景。静电纺丝被学术界及工业界认为是最具产业化制备纳米纤维的前景技术之一，其中熔体静电纺丝无需使用溶剂，相比溶液静电纺丝，避免了有毒溶剂残留、回收及处理等问题，是聚合物纳米纤维绿色制造的发展方向。然而，受到装备复杂、工艺滞后的影响，熔体静电纺丝始终未能突破纤维细化难、制备效率低的瓶颈。为此，团队创新提出了熔体微分静电纺丝新方法，经过十余年探索，围绕其工艺、装备、材料及应用等进行了系统的研究，率先实现了500 nm范围内熔体电纺纳米纤维的工业化制备，并建立了世界上第一套熔体微分静电纺丝纳米纤维工业化生产线。本文将从熔体微分静电纺丝的机理、关键技术、纳米纤维批量绿色制造及应用三个方面介绍熔体微分静电纺丝的研究成果及最新进展。

Cardiac myocyte-fibroblast electrotonic coupling is a well-established fact in vitro. Indirect evidence of its presence in vivo exists, but few functional studies have been published. This review describes the current knowledge of fibroblast-myocyte electrical signaling in the heart. Further research is needed to understand the frequency and extent of heterocellular interactions in vivo in order to gain a better understanding of their relevance in healthy and diseased myocardium. It is hoped that associated insight into myocyte-fibroblast coupling in the heart may lead to the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and the development of agents for improving outcomes of myocardial scarring and fibrosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.