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Background Previous publications about the association between fatty-acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) and cardiac remodeling have reported different, both beneficial and harmful, associations. Aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the association of FABP4 with parameters of myocardial remodeling defined by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). Methods We investigated plasma FABP4 levels in 331 patients (71% men, mean age 63±13 years) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF ≥ 55%) who underwent a CMR examination. We used linear cox regression to investigate associations between FABP4 and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), right ventricular end-diastolic diameter (RVEDD), relative wall thickness (RWT), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and LVEF (unadjusted and adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, cardiac biomarkers, and comorbidities). Results FABP4 levels were associated with lower LVMI and higher NT-proBNP levels in an adjusted model. The inverse association between FABP4 and LVMI was more pronounced in lower FABP4 levels, whereas the positive association between FABP4 and NT-proBNP was more pronounced in relatively high NT-proBNP levels. Conclusions Possible beneficial and harmful associations between FABP4 and left ventricular size have been reported. Our results suggest a beneficial association with LVMI (more pronounced in lower FABP4 levels) but a harmful association with NT-proBNP (more pronounced in higher FABP4 levels). Therefore, our results might indicate a potential dose-dependent association of FABP4, but this observation needs further investigation in larger study samples.

Left ventricular (LV) longitudinal, circumferential, and radial motion can be measured using feature tracking of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) images. The aim of our study was to detect differences in LV mechanics between patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) who were matched using a propensity score-based model. Between April 2017 and October 2019, 1224 patients were included in our CMR registry, among them 141 with ICM and 77 with DCM. Propensity score matching was used to pair patients based on their indexed end-diastolic volume (EDVi), ejection fraction (EF), and septal T1 relaxation time (psmatch2 module L Feature tracking provided six parameters for global longitudinal, circumferential, and radial strain with corresponding strain rates in each group. Strain parameters were compared between matched pairs of ICM and DCM patients using paired t tests. Propensity score matching yielded 72 patients in each group (DCM mean age 58.6 ± 11.6 years, 15 females; ICM mean age 62.6 ± 13.2 years, 11 females, p = 0.084 and 0.44 respectively; LV-EF 32.2 ± 13.5% vs. 33.8 ± 12.1%, p = 0.356; EDVi 127.2 ± 30.7 ml/m2 vs. 121.1 ± 41.8 ml/m2, p = 0.251; native T1 values 1165 ± 58 ms vs. 1167 ± 70 ms, p = 0.862). There was no difference in global longitudinal strain between DCM and ICM patients (− 10.9 ± 5.5% vs. − 11.2 ± 4.7%, p = 0.72), whereas in DCM patients there was a significant reduction in global circumferential strain (− 10.0 ± 4.5% vs. − 12.2 ± 4.7%, p = 0.002) and radial strain (17.1 ± 8.51 vs. 21.2 ± 9.7%, p = 0.039). Our data suggest that ICM and DCM patients have inherently different myocardial mechanics, even if phenotypes are similar. Our data show that GCS is significantly more impaired in DCM patients. This feature may help in more thoroughly characterizing cardiomyopathy patients.

Introduction: The alignment between anterior superior and inferior posterior iliac spine is related to the lumbar curvature in the sagittal plane. Objective: To characterize the flexibility and angulations of the lumbar spine and the relation with the pelvic tilt in sagittal plane of preschool children. Methods: Participated in the study 138 children with ages ranging from five to six years and enrolled in eight public schools. The evaluation was performed by photogrammetry, pelvic sagittal balance test and limb stretching by fleximeter and Thomas test. Results: There was no difference in the lumbar angle with relation to gender, body mass and age. With regard to pelvic sagittal balance, the majority of preschoolers presented pelvic retroversion (56.6%). Children with pelvic anteversion (4.3%) presented a lower lumbar angle, indicating hyperlordosis. Children with pelvic sagittal balance presented better flexibility of the hamstring muscles than those with the pelvis in retroversion and anteversion. Conclusion: Flexibility was greatest in girls and in five-year-old children. The angle of the lumbar was 24.07°. The pelvis was retroversed in most children, differing from expected for the age group. The lowest angle of the lumbar region corresponded to a pelvis in anteroversion and balanced.