Sex differences in heart failure mortality might be affected by age, race, and treatment response. Many large studies in Western countries have shown conflicting results, however few studies have been conducted in Asian patients. We prospectively investigated the mortality risk in a multicenter cohort of 1,093 male and 416 female heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) hospitalized for worsening symptoms in Taiwan between 2013 and 2015. Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox proportional regression analyses were used to determine the one-year mortality risk by sex. There were no significant differences in major adverse cardiovascular events, re-admission rate, and mortality between sexes in the overall cohort and the young subgroup during one-year of follow-up. In the elderly subgroup, the overall and cardiac mortality rate of the male patients were higher than those of the female patients (p = 0.035, p = 0.049, respectively). We found that the prognostic effect of old age on overall mortality rate appeared to be stronger in the male patients (p < 0.0001) than in the female patients (p = 0.69) in Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Male sex was a risk factor for all-cause mortality in the elderly (hazard ratio 1.50, 95% confidence interval 1.02-2.25) independently of systolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, hemoglobin concentration, kidney function, and medications. In the Taiwan HFrEF registry, the highest mortality risk was observed in male patients aged 65 years or more. Clinicians need to pay more attention to these patients.In the Taiwan HFrEF registry, the highest mortality risk was observed in male patients aged 65 years or more. Clinicians need to pay more attention to these patients. Thrombi are an important challenge when establishing hemodialysis access for hemodialysis. We developed a minimally invasive thrombectomy (MIT) salvage treatment to solve this problem when traditional percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) fails. The study aimed to investigate the safety and patency rate following MIT as a rescue procedure for traditional PTA with organized thrombi obstructing hemodialysis access. This was a prospective study of MIT as a rescue procedure for traditional PTA to remove organized thrombi and establish hemodialysis access. We included patients with (1) stenotic lesions, (2) vascular access thrombi, (3) high venous pressure, (4) vascular collapse and suction. Nephrologists evaluated hemodialysis access immediately post-thrombi removal and patency at 7, 30, 60, 120, and 180 days post-removal, in addition to complications. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to analyze the primary and secondary patency rates after clinical procedural success. From June 2014 to May 2015, 746 patients underwent PTA in our hospital, and 425 patients consented to participate in this study. Of these patients, we enrolled 46 who underwent simultaneous PTA and MIT. Immediate clinical success was achieved in 100% of the patients in the MIT group. No complications were observed in any of the 46 patients, including major bleeding, shock, or hospitalization. The primary and secondary patency rates did not differ between MIT and PTA alone (p = 0.93 and p = 0.28, respectively). MIT can be considered a safe rescue procedure for removing organized thrombi to establish vascular access for hemodialysis when initial and traditional PTA fails.MIT can be considered a safe rescue procedure for removing organized thrombi to establish vascular access for hemodialysis when initial and traditional PTA fails. Risk score is widely used in non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients to predict the in-hospital outcome for immediate coronary angiography decision and care of unit selection. This study compared the performances of the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI), Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE), Primary Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction (PAMI), and Revised Controlled Abciximab and Device Investigation to Lower Late Angioplasty Complications (Revised CADILLAC) risk scores in predicting in-hospital and long-term outcomes in diabetic NSTEMI patients. A total of 750 diabetic NSTEMI patients from 27 hospitals were enrolled between January 2013 and December 2015 in the nationwide registry initiated by the Taiwan Society of Cardiology. Four score systems were calculated with receiver operator characteristic analysis used to compare outcome discrimination performance. No studied risk scores reached acceptable discrimination per area under curve (AUC) in the prediction of in-hospital outcome except for the revised CADILLAC score which reached acceptable discrimination in new-onset cardiogenic shock (AUC = 0.7191) and acute renal failure (AUC = 0.7283). In long-term outcomes, only the revised CADILLAC score reached acceptable discrimination of mortality prediction at 6, 12 and 24 months (AUC = 0.7261 at 6 months, 0.7319 at 12 months, and 0.7256 at 24 months). Subgroup analysis based on the revised CADILLAC score risk class showed a significant difference in adjusted mortality rate between low-risk group/intermediate-risk group and high-risk group. Only the revised CADILLAC score showed acceptable accuracy to predict the long-term mortality outcome among the scores studied.Only the revised CADILLAC score showed acceptable accuracy to predict the long-term mortality outcome among the scores studied.Despite enormous advances in the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD), heart disease remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. NXY-059 in vivo Thus, there is a need for novel CVD therapeutics. CVD appears to be a custom-made scenario for applying stem cell therapy. Although human pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into cardiomyocytes to regenerate injured heart tissue and restore post-myocardial infarction cardiac function, several obstacles need to be overcome before cell therapy can be applied in CVD patients. One of these major hurdles is the immunological barrier. Currently, long-term immunosuppressant treatment is necessary for allogenic stem cell or organ transplantation to prevent rejection. However, the long-term use of immunosuppressants may cause serious adverse events such as nephrotoxicity, severe infections and malignancy. Thus, overcoming this immunological hurdle is crucial for the clinical application of stem cell therapy in cardiac regeneration. This review summarizes the recent advances and challenges of immunogenicity in relation to stem cell therapy.