Synthesis and characterisation of the novel double perovskites La2CrB2/3Nb1/3O6, B = Mg, Ni, Cu

The novel perovskites La2CrB2/3Nb1/3O6, B = Mg, Ni, and Cu have been synthesised at 1350 degrees C in air via the citrate route. Rietveld refinements using neutron powder diffraction (NPD) data showed that the compounds adopt the GdFeO3 type structure with space group Pbnm, and unit cell parameters a approximate to b approximate to root 2 x a(p) and c approximate to 2 x a(p), where a(p) approximate to 3.8 angstrom. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) of B = Ni and Cu samples confirmed space group Pbnm. However, distinct reflections forbidden in Pbnm symmetry, but allowed in the monoclinic sub-group P2(1)/n and unit cell parameters a approximate to b approximate to root 2 x a(p) and c approximate to 2 x a(p), beta approximate to 90 degrees were present in SAED patterns of B = Mg sample. This indicates an ordering of the B-cations within the crystal structure of La2CrMg2/3Nb1/3O6. High-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) study indicating uniform, without formation of clusters, ordering of B-cations in the crystallites of La2CrMg2/3Nb1/3O6. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show that the compounds are antiferromagnetic (with some glass or spin clustering effects due to additional ferromagnetic interactions between the B-cations) with T-N for La2CrB2/3Nb1/3O6, B = Mg, Ni, Cu being 90, 125 and 140K, respectively

Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Damage Induced by Traditional Chemotherapy

Traditional chemotherapeutics are essential tools in the management of cancer patients. Nevertheless, these drugs are burdened by some degree of cardiovascular toxicity. Anthracycline-induced toxicity has been historically the most studied, but also the use of other drugs can be limited by a certain risk of cardiac and vascular toxicities. Here we acknowledge the main mechanistic insights, and we describe the different aspects of cardiotoxicity of these drugs, highlighting the different cellular compartments and cardiovascular components affected

Cardiovascular Efficacy and Safety of Bococizumab in High-Risk Patients

Bococizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits proprotein convertase subtilisin- kexin type 9 (PCSK9) and reduces levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of bococizumab in patients at high cardiovascular risk. METHODS In two parallel, multinational trials with different entry criteria for LDL cholesterol levels, we randomly assigned the 27,438 patients in the combined trials to receive bococizumab (at a dose of 150 mg) subcutaneously every 2 weeks or placebo. The primary end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for unstable angina requiring urgent revascularization, or cardiovascular death; 93% of the patients were receiving statin therapy at baseline. The trials were stopped early after the sponsor elected to discontinue the development of bococizumab owing in part to the development of high rates of antidrug antibodies, as seen in data from other studies in the program. The median follow-up was 10 months. RESULTS At 14 weeks, patients in the combined trials had a mean change from baseline in LDL cholesterol levels of -56.0% in the bococizumab group and +2.9% in the placebo group, for a between-group difference of -59.0 percentage points (P<0.001) and a median reduction from baseline of 64.2% (P<0.001). In the lower-risk, shorter-duration trial (in which the patients had a baseline LDL cholesterol level of ≥70 mg per deciliter [1.8 mmol per liter] and the median follow-up was 7 months), major cardiovascular events occurred in 173 patients each in the bococizumab group and the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.22; P = 0.94). In the higher-risk, longer-duration trial (in which the patients had a baseline LDL cholesterol level of ≥100 mg per deciliter [2.6 mmol per liter] and the median follow-up was 12 months), major cardiovascular events occurred in 179 and 224 patients, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.97; P = 0.02). The hazard ratio for the primary end point in the combined trials was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.02; P = 0.08). Injection-site reactions were more common in the bococizumab group than in the placebo group (10.4% vs. 1.3%, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS In two randomized trials comparing the PCSK9 inhibitor bococizumab with placebo, bococizumab had no benefit with respect to major adverse cardiovascular events in the trial involving lower-risk patients but did have a significant benefit in the trial involving higher-risk patients