In-hospital complications after invasive strategy for the management of Non STEMI: women fare as well as men

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To analyze the in-hospital complication rate in women suffering from non-ST elevation myocardial infarction treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared to men.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The files of 479 consecutive patients (133 women and 346 men) suffering from a Non STEMI (Non ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) between the January 1^st2006 and March 21^st2009 were retrospectively analyzed with special attention to every single complication occurring during hospital stay. Data were analyzed using nonparametric tests and are reported as median unless otherwise specified. A p value < .05 was considered significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As compared to men, women were significantly older (75.8 <it>vs</it>. 65.2 years; p < .005). All cardiovascular risk factors but tobacco and hypertension were similar between the groups: men were noticeably more often smoker (p < .0001) and women more hypertensive (p < .005). No difference was noticed for pre-hospital cardiovascular drug treatment. However women were slightly more severe at entry (more Killip class IV; p = .0023; higher GRACE score for in-hospital death - p = .008 and CRUSADE score for bleeding - p < .0001). All the patients underwent PCI of the infarct-related artery after 24 or 48 hrs post admission without sex-related difference either for timing of PCI or primary success rate. During hospitalization, 130 complications were recorded. Though the event rate was slightly higher in women (30% <it>vs</it>. 26% - p = NS), no single event was significantly gender related. The logistic regression identified age and CRP concentration as the only predictive variables in the whole group. After splitting for genders, these parameters were still predictive of events in men. In women however, CRP was the only one with a borderline p value.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study does not support any gender difference for in-hospital adverse events in patients treated invasively for an acute coronary syndrome without ST-segment elevation and elevated troponin.</p

Double blind randomized placebo-controlled trial on the effects of testosterone supplementation in elderly men with moderate to low testosterone levels: design and baseline characteristics [ISRCTN23688581]

In ageing men testosterone levels decline, while cognitive function, muscle and bone mass, sexual hair growth, libido and sexual activity decline and the risk of cardiovascular diseases increase. We set up a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of testosterone supplementation on functional mobility, quality of life, body composition, cognitive function, vascular function and risk factors, and bone mineral density in older hypogonadal men. We recruited 237 men with serum testosterone levels below 13.7 nmol/L and ages 60–80 years. They were randomized to either four capsules of 40 mg testosterone undecanoate (TU) or placebo daily for 26 weeks. Primary endpoints are functional mobility and quality of life. Secondary endpoints are body composition, cognitive function, aortic stiffness and cardiovascular risk factors and bone mineral density. Effects on prostate, liver and hematological parameters will be studied with respect to safety. Measure of effect will be the difference in change from baseline visit to final visit between TU and placebo. We will study whether the effect of TU differs across subgroups of baseline waist girth (< 100 cm vs. ≥ 100 cm; testosterone level (<12 versus ≥ 12 nmol/L), age (< median versus ≥ median), and level of outcome under study (< median versus ≥ median). At baseline, mean age, BMI and testosterone levels were 67 years, 27 kg/m(2 )and 10.72 nmol/L, respectively

Psychoactive Pharmaceuticals Induce Fish Gene Expression Profiles Associated with Human Idiopathic Autism

Idiopathic autism, caused by genetic susceptibility interacting with unknown environmental triggers, has increased dramatically in the past 25 years. Identifying environmental triggers has been difficult due to poorly understood pathophysiology and subjective definitions of autism. The use of antidepressants by pregnant women has been associated with autism. These and other unmetabolized psychoactive pharmaceuticals (UPPs) have also been found in drinking water from surface sources, providing another possible exposure route and raising questions about human health consequences. Here, we examined gene expression patterns of fathead minnows treated with a mixture of three psychoactive pharmaceuticals (fluoxetine, venlafaxine & carbamazepine) in dosages intended to be similar to the highest observed conservative estimates of environmental concentrations. We conducted microarray experiments examining brain tissue of fish exposed to individual pharmaceuticals and a mixture of all three. We used gene-class analysis to test for enrichment of gene sets involved with ten human neurological disorders. Only sets associated with idiopathic autism were unambiguously enriched. We found that UPPs induce autism-like gene expression patterns in fish. Our findings suggest a new potential trigger for idiopathic autism in genetically susceptible individuals involving an overlooked source of environmental contamination

Besides Purkinje cells and granule neurons: an appraisal of the cell biology of the interneurons of the cerebellar cortex

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Primary Liposarcoma of the Liver: A Case Report and Review of The Literature

Liver neoplasm is not an uncommon disease in Asian countries. Liposarcoma is a rare mesenchymal malignant tumor which usually originates in the retroperitoneum and extremities.From 1973 till now about 10 cases of primary liver liposarcoma have been reported. We present the eleventh case in a young adult female with uncommon presentation.She suffered from a huge mass in the right portion of the liver with clinical manifestations of sepsis and respiratory distress.Despite aggressive surgery, tumor recurrence after six months led to death after a year. Hepatectomy is the best strategy to achieve long term survival for patients.Trials of preoperative radiation therapy with or without intraoperative irradiation are underway