Endovascular treatment of spontaneous isolated abdominal aortic dissection

Isolated abdominal aortic dissection is a rare clinical disease representing only 1.3% of all dissections. There are a few case series reported in the literature. The causes of this pathology can be spontaneous, iatrogenic, or traumatic. Most patients are asymptomatic and symptoms are usually abdominal or back pain, while claudication and lower limb ischemia are rare. Surgical and endovascular treatment are two valid options with acceptable results. We herein describe nine cases of symptomatic spontaneous isolated abdominal aortic dissection, out of which four successfully were treated with an endovascular approach between July 2003 and July 2013. All patients were men, smokers, symptomatic (either abdominal or back pain or lower limb ischemia), with a history of high blood pressure, with a medical history negative for concomitant aneurysmatic dilatation or previous endovascular intervention. Diagnosis of isolated abdominal aortic dissection were established by contrast-enhanced computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the thoracic and abdominal aorta. All nine patients initially underwent medical treatment. In four symptomatic cases, non-responsive to medical therapy, bare-metal stents or stent grafts were successfully positioned. All patients completed a CTA follow-up of at least 12 months, during which they remained symptom-free. Endovascular management of this condition is associated with a high rate of technical success and a low mortality; therefore, it can be considered the treatment of choice when it is feasible

A wire-loop technique for implantation of an iliac branched device in a patient with previous surgery for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm

We described a modified technique for implanting a bridging stent-graft into an iliac branched device. A 79-year-old male who had received aortobiiliac synthetic graft surgery for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm six months earlier was admitted to our unit for treatment of a left common iliac aneurysm involving the origin of the hypogastric artery. A standard technique was unsuccessful at implanting the bridging stent-graft, and therefore a wire-loop guidewire over the graft bifurcation was used to stabilize the contralateral sheaths and to complete the implantation. © Turkish Society of Radiology 2012

Permanent monitoring of thin structures with low-cost devices

Recently, structural monitoring technology invested in methodologies that give direct information on structures' stress state. Optic fibers, strain gauges, pressure cells give real-time data on the stress condition of a structural element, often determining the area where peak stresses have been reached, with a clear advantage over other less direct monitoring methodologies, such as, e.g., the use of accelerometers and inverse analysis to estimate internal forces. In addition, stresses can be recorded in a data log for analysis after a loading event, as well as for taking into account the lifelong stress state of the structure. Beams and columns of a reinforced concrete frame can be effectively monitored for flexural loads. Differently, thin shells are most of their lifespan under membrane regime, and, when properly designed, they rarely move to the bending regime. Our proposal is to monitor the stress in thin structures by small-sized low- cost devices able to record the stress history at key locations, sending alerts when necessary, with the aim of ensuring safety against the risk of collapse, or simply to perform maintenance/repairing activities. Such devices are realized with cheap off-the-shelf electronics and traditional strain gauges. The application examples are given as laboratory tests performed on a reinforced concrete plate, a masonry panel, and a steel beam. Results shows that the permanent monitoring control of stresses can be conveniently carried out on new structures using low-cost devices of the type we designed and realized in-house

Antisense reduction of thylakoidal ascorbate peroxidase in Arabidopsis enhances Paraquat-induced photooxidative stress and Nitric Oxide-induced cell death

The production and characterization of Arabidopsis plants containing a transgene in which the Arabidopsis tAPX is inserted in antisense orientation, is described. tAPX activity in these transgenic tAPX plants is around 50% of control level. The tAPX antisense plants are phenotypically indistinguishable from control plants under normal growth conditions; they show, however, enhanced sensitivity to the O 2- -generating herbicide, Paraquat. Interestingly, the tAPX antisense plants show enhanced symptoms of damage when cell death is triggered through treatment with the nitric oxide-donor, SNP. These results are in accordance with the ones recently obtained with transgenic plants overexpressing tAPX; altogether, they suggest that tAPX, besides the known ROS scavenging role, is also involved in the fine changes of H 2O2 concentration during signaling events

Construction of a synthetic infectious cDNA clone of Grapevine Algerian latent virus (GALV-Nf) and its biological activity in Nicotiana benthamiana and grapevine plants

Background: Grapevine Algerian latent virus (GALV) is a tombusvirus first isolated in 1989 from an Algerian grapevine (Vitis spp.) plant and more recently from water samples and commercial nipplefruit and statice plants. No further reports of natural GALV infections in grapevine have been published in the last two decades, and artificial inoculations of grapevine plants have not been reported. We developed and tested a synthetic GALV construct for the inoculation of Nicotiana benthamiana plants and different grapevine genotypes to investigate the ability of this virus to infect and spread systemically in different hosts. Methods: We carried out a phylogenetic analysis of all known GALV sequences and an epidemiological survey of grapevine samples to detect the virus. A GALV-Nf clone under the control of the T7 promoter was chemically synthesized based on the full-length sequence of the nipplefruit isolate GALV-Nf, the only available sequence at the time the project was conceived, and the infectious transcripts were tested in N. benthamiana plants. A GALV-Nf-based binary vector was then developed for the agroinoculation of N. benthamiana and grapevine plants. Infections were confirmed by serological and molecular analysis and the resulting ultrastructural changes were investigated in both species. Results: Sequence analysis showed that the GALV coat protein is highly conserved among diverse isolates. The first epidemiological survey of cDNAs collected from 152 grapevine plants with virus-like symptoms did not reveal the presence of GALV in any of the samples. The agroinoculation of N. benthamiana and grapevine plants with the GALV-Nf binary vector promoted efficient infections, as revealed by serological and molecular analysis. The GALV-Nf infection of grapevine plants was characterized in more detail by inoculating different cultivars, revealing distinct patterns of symptom development. Ultrastructural changes induced by GALV-Nf in N. benthamiana were similar to those induced by tombusviruses in other hosts, but the cytopathological alterations in grapevine plants were less severe. Conclusions: This is the first report describing the development of a synthetic GALV-Nf cDNA clone, its artificial transmission to grapevine plants and the resulting symptoms and cytopathological alterations

Stent-assisted detachable coil embolization of wide-necked renal artery aneurysms

Renal artery aneurysms (RAAs) are rare with an estimated incidence of 0.1% in the general population, and they represent approximately 25% of all visceral aneurysms. The gold standard of treatment is open surgery, but it is associated with a high risk of nephrectomy, mortality, and morbidity. Less invasive endovascular therapies are becoming increasingly common for the treatment of RAAs. Here, we aimed to report three cases of wide-necked complex renal artery aneurysms treated endovascularly using stent-assisted coil embolization with self-expandable stent nitinol Solitaire AB and Concerto Axium coils. In addition, we describe the use of the waffle-cone technique in a case of wide-necked saccular RAA involving the renal artery bifurcation. Technical success was achieved in all three cases with no early or late complications and no recurrences

Mycotic pseudoaneurysms complicating renal transplantation: a case series and review of literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Kidney transplantation can be complicated by infection and subsequent development of mycotic aneurysm, endangering the survival of the graft and the patient. Management of this condition in five cases is discussed, accompanied by a review of the relevant literature.</p> <p>Case presentations</p> <p>Five patients, three men 42-, 67- and 57-years-old and two women 55- and 21-years-old (mean age of 48 years), all Caucasians, developed a mycotic aneurysm in the region of the anastomosis between renal graft artery and iliac axes. Four patients presented with systemic fever and iliac fossa pain and one presented with hemorrhagic shock. Morphologic investigation by color doppler ultrasonography revealed a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomotic site. A combination of antibiotic therapy, surgery and interventional procedures was required as all kidney transplants had to be removed. No recurrence was recorded during the follow-up period.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high index of suspicion is required for the timely diagnosis of a mycotic aneurysm; aggressive treatment with cover stents and/or surgical excision is necessary in order to prevent potentially fatal complications.</p

An evaluation of coronary atherosclerosis using coronary CT in subjects with asymptomatic carotid lesions.

The evaluation of coronary lesions in patients with asymptomatic carotid plaque represents a very promising line of research to assess cardiovascular risk and the possible implementation of a more aggressive prevention therapy. METHODS: In this study we enrolled 102 patients with intermediate to high cardiovascular risk but no history of coronary artery disease. The first group, consisting of 51 patients, underwent a Coronary CT scan (CCT-group) as well as carotid ultrasonography. The second group, also consisting of 51 patients, underwent coronary angiography (CA) and carotid ultrasonography. RESULTS: The absence of a statistically significant difference between the involvement of both coronary and carotid sites, assessed by CCT and CA, confirms the role of coronary CT as a useful method in the preclinical evaluation of cardiovascular risk. In the CCT group, the correlation between atherosclerosis of carotid artery and coronary disease, as well as between the mean carotid intimal medial thickness and the number of involved coronary vessels, and between the maximum values of carotid plaque and the presence of coronary artery stenosis > 50%, were statistically significant. The Agatson calcium score was also statistically associated with carotid plaque size. CONCLUSION: The imaging biomarkers have a key role in the evaluation of subclinical atherosclerotic disease. Moreover, carotid ultrasound examination and a CT-scan of coronary arteries, in a particular sub-group of patients with intermediate to high cardiovascular risk, can play a crucial role to assess the preventive therapeutic strategies

Construction of a synthetic infectious cDNA clone of Grapevine Algerian latent virus (GALV-Nf) and its biological activity in Nicotiana benthamiana and grapevine plants.

This is the first report describing the development of a synthetic GALV-Nf cDNA clone, its artificialtransmission to grapevine plants and the resulting symptoms and cytopathological alteration