Improved regional wall motion 6 months after direct myocardial revascularization (DMR) with the NOGA DMR system

A60-year-old man was referred to our intervention laboratory for direct myocardial revascularization (DMR). He had received maximal medical therapy and had undergone coronary bypass surgery 10 years earlier, and his peripheral coronary anatomy was now found to be unsuited for surgical revascularization

Acetaminophen for self-reported sleep problems in an elderly population (ASLEEP): Study protocol of a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial

Background: The prevalence of sleep disorders increases with age. Sleep disorders may have serious health implications and may be related to serious underlying diseases. Many older people use hypnotics, like benzodiazepines, although these medications have serious side effects and often lead to habituation. Acetaminophen is one of the most frequently used off-label drugs for sleep disorders, although little is known about its effects. Our objective is to investigate whether acetaminophen is effective in treating self-reported sleep disorders in older people. Methods/Design: Participants, aged 65 years or older (n = 150), who have sleep disorders will be randomized for treatment with either acetaminophen 1000 mg or placebo, once daily at bedtime in a double-blind design. Eligible patients should be able to give informed consent, should not be cognitively impaired (Minimal Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≥ 20), should not have pain, and should not use acetaminophen on a regular basis because of pain complaints. The study will take three weeks to complete. During these three weeks, the participants register their sleep behavior in a sleep diary. The participants will use the study medication during the second and third week. The primary endpoint will be the self-reported sleep disorders at the end of week three, as measured by means of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). To validate these subjective sleep parameters against objectively measured indices of the sleep-wake pattern, we will measure the periods of wakefulness and sleep in a subgroup of participants, using an actigraph worn on the wrist during the entire study period. Discussion: The proposed study will contribute to our knowledge about the treatment of sleep disorders in an older population. There is a need for treatments for sleep disorders without serious adverse effects. Acetaminophen might be a simple and inexpensive alternative for the regimes that are currently used with older people. Trial registration: The Netherlands National Trial Register NTR2747

Long term outcome after coronary stent implantation: a 10 year single centre experience of 1000 patients

OBJECTIVE: To describe the long term clinical outcome (up to 11 years) after coronary stenting. DESIGN: A single centre observational study encompassing 1000 consecutive patients with a first stent implantation (1560 stents) between 1986 and 1996, who were followed for at least one year with a median follow up of 29 months (range 12-132 months). RESULTS: Up to July 1997 the cumulative incidence of the major adverse cardiac events (MACE) of death, non-fatal acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, and repeat percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty was 8.2%, 12.8%, 13.1%, and 22.4%, respectively. Survival at one, three, and five years was 95%, 91%, and 86%, respectively. Comparison of MACE incidence during the "anticoagulant era" and the "ticlopidine era" revealed significantly improved event free survival with ticlopidine (27% v 13%; p < 0.005). Multivariable analyses showed that ejection fraction < 50% (relative risk (RR) 4. 1), multivessel disease (RR 3.0), diabetes (RR 2.9), implantation in saphenous vein graft (RR 2.1), indication for unstable angina (RR 1. 9), and female sex (RR 1.7) were independent predictors of increased mortality after stenting. Independent predictors of any MACE were multivessel stenting (RR 2.0), implantation in saphenous bypass graft (RR 1.6), diabetes (RR 1.5), anticoagulant treatment (versus ticlopidine and aspirin) (RR 1.5), bailout stenting (RR 1.5), multivessel disease (RR 1.4), and multiple stent implantation (RR 1. 5). CONCLUSIONS: Long term survival and infarct free survival was good, particularly in non-diabetic men with single vessel disease and good ventricular function, who had a single stent implanted in a native coronary artery. A dramatic improvement was observed in event free survival, both early and late, with the replacement of anticoagulation by ticlopidine. This, of course, cannot be separated from improved stent implantation techniques between 1986 and 1995. Ultimately, almost 40% of the patients experienced an adverse cardiac event (mainly repeat intervention) in the long term. New advances in restenosis treatments and in secondary prevention must be directed at this aspect of patient management after stenting