121 research outputs found
First recovery of bird acanthocephalan Sphaerirostris lanceoides in an Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in Italy
Esemplari di cistacanti parzialmente e completamente evertiti dell'acantocefalo Sphaerirostris lanceoides sono stati rilevati nell'intestino di 1 tra 5 tassi (Meles meles) raccolti in Italia e già deceduti al momento del loro ritrovamento. Questa è la prima segnalazione di S. lanceoides nel tasso
Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase fractions in Myotonic Dystrophy type I: Differences with healthy subjects and patients with liver disease.
Objectives: Elevation of serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), in absence of a clinically significant
liver damage, is often found in Myotonic Dystrophy type-1 (DM1).
In this study we investigated if a specific GGT fraction pattern is present in DM1.
Designs and methods: We compared total and fractional GGT values (b-, m-, s-, f-GGT) among patients
with DM1 or liver disease (LD) and healthy subjects (HS).
Results: The increase of GGT in DM1 and LD, vs HS, was mainly due to s-GGT (median: 32.7; 66.7; and
7.9 U/L, respectively), and b-GGT (8.5; 18.9; and 2.1 U/L). The subset of DM1 patients matched with HS with
corresponding serum GGT showed higher b-GGT (6.0 vs 4.2 U/L).
Conclusions: DM1 patients with normal total GGT values showed an alteration of the production and
release in the blood of GGT fractions. Since increased s-GGT is also found in LD, a sub-clinical liver damage
likely occurs in DM1 subjects apparently free of liver disease
Guidelines on the management of valvular heart disease: The Task Force on the Management of Valvular Heart Disease of the European Society of Cardiology.
80These guidelines focus on valvular heart disease in adults and adolescents, are
oriented towards management, and will not deal with endocarditis
and congenital valve diseases in adults and
adolescents, since recent guidelines have been produced
by the ESC on these topics. Although valvular heart disease is less common in
industrialized countries than coronary disease, heart
failure, or hypertension, guidelines are needed in this
field for several reasons: valvular heart disease is common and often requires intervention; substantial advances have been made in the understanding
of its pathophysiology; the patient population has changed with a continuous
decline of acute rheumatic fever and an increased
incidence
of degenerative valvular diseases in industrialized
countries. The incidence of endocarditis remains stable and
other causes of valve disease are rare. Because of the predominance
of degenerative valve disease, the two most frequent
valve diseases are now calcific aortic stenosis and
mitral regurgitation. Aortic regurgitation and mitral stenosis have become less common. Diagnosis is now dominated by echocardiography, which
has become the standard to evaluate valve structure and
function. Treatment has not only developed through the continuing
progress in prosthetic valve technology, but has also been
reoriented by the development of conservative surgical
approaches and the introduction of percutaneous interventional
techniques.openopenVahanian, A; Baumgartner, ; H, ; Bax, ; J, ; Butchart, ; E, ; Dion, ; R, ; Filippatos, ; G, ; Flachskampf, ; F, ; Hall, ; R, ; Iung, ; B, ; Kasprzak, ; J, ; Nataf, ; P, ; Tornos, ; P, ; Torracca, ; L, ; Wenink, ; A, ; Silvia, ; Priori, G.; Blanc, Jean-Jacques; Andrzej, ; Budaj, ; John, ; Camm, ; Veronica, ; Dean, ; Jaap, ; Deckers, ; Kenneth, ; Dickstein, ; John, ; Lekakis, ; Keith, ; Mcgregor, ; Marco, ; Metra, ; João, ; Morais, ; Ady, ; Osterspey, ; Juan, ; Tamargo, ; Luis, José; Zamorano, ; Annalisa, ; Angelini, ; Manuel, ; Antunes, ; Angel, Miguel; Fernandez, Garcia; Christa, ; Gohlke-Baerwolf, ; Gilbert, ; Habib, ; John, ; Mcmurray, ; Catherine, ; Otto, ; Luc, ; Pierard, ; Josè, ; Pomar, L.; Bernard, ; Prendergast, ; Raphael, ; Rosenhek, ; Sousa, Miguel; Uva, ; Juan, ; Tamargo,Vahanian, A; Baumgartner, ; H, ; Bax, ; J, ; Butchart, ; E, ; Dion, ; R, ; Filippatos, ; G, ; Flachskampf, ; F, ; Hall, ; R, ; Iung, ; B, ; Kasprzak, ; J, ; Nataf, ; P, ; Tornos, ; P, ; Torracca, ; L, ; Wenink, ; A, ; Silvia, ; Priori, G.; Blanc, Jean Jacques; Andrzej, ; Budaj, ; John, ; Camm, ; Veronica, ; Dean, ; Jaap, ; Deckers, ; Kenneth, ; Dickstein, ; John, ; Lekakis, ; Keith, ; Mcgregor, ; Marco, ; Metra, Marco; João, ; Morais, ; Ady, ; Osterspey, ; Juan, ; Tamargo, ; Luis, José; Zamorano, ; Annalisa, ; Angelini, ; Manuel, ; Antunes, ; Angel, Miguel; Fernandez, Garcia; Christa, ; Gohlke, Baerwolf; Gilbert, ; Habib, ; John, ; Mcmurray, ; Catherine, ; Otto, ; Luc, ; Pierard, ; Josè, ; Pomar, L.; Bernard, ; Prendergast, ; Raphael, ; Rosenhek, ; Sousa, Miguel; Uva, ; Juan, ; Tamargo
A novel survival model of cardioplegic arrest and cardiopulmonary bypass in rats: a methodology paper
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Given the growing population of cardiac surgery patients with impaired preoperative cardiac function and rapidly expanding surgical techniques, continued efforts to improve myocardial protection strategies are warranted. Prior research is mostly limited to either large animal models or <it>ex vivo </it>preparations. We developed a new <it>in vivo </it>survival model that combines administration of antegrade cardioplegia with endoaortic crossclamping during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in the rat.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sprague-Dawley rats were cannulated for CPB (n = 10). With ultrasound guidance, a 3.5 mm balloon angioplasty catheter was positioned via the right common carotid artery with its tip proximal to the aortic valve. To initiate cardioplegic arrest, the balloon was inflated and cardioplegia solution injected. After 30 min of cardioplegic arrest, the balloon was deflated, ventilation resumed, and rats were weaned from CPB and recovered. To rule out any evidence of cerebral ischemia due to right carotid artery ligation, animals were neurologically tested on postoperative day 14, and their brains histologically assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty minutes of cardioplegic arrest was successfully established in all animals. Functional assessment revealed no neurologic deficits, and histology demonstrated no gross neuronal damage.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This novel small animal CPB model with cardioplegic arrest allows for both the study of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury as well as new cardioprotective strategies. Major advantages of this model include its overall feasibility and cost effectiveness. In future experiments long-term echocardiographic outcomes as well as enzymatic, genetic, and histologic characterization of myocardial injury can be assessed. In the field of myocardial protection, rodent models will be an important avenue of research.</p
The estimation of oxidative stress markers and apoptosis in right atrium auricles cardiomyocytes of patients undergoing surgical heart revascularisation with the use of warm blood cardioplegia.
Current trends in cannulation and neuroprotection during surgery of the aortic arch in Europe†‡
OBJECTIVES To conduct a survey across European cardiac centres to evaluate the methods used for cerebral protection during aortic surgery involving the aortic arch. METHODS All European centres were contacted and surgeons were requested to fill out a short, comprehensive questionnaire on an internet-based platform. One-third of more than 400 contacted centres completed the survey correctly. RESULTS The most preferred site for arterial cannulation is the subclavian-axillary, both in acute and chronic presentation. The femoral artery is still frequently used in the acute condition, while the ascending aorta is a frequent second choice in the case of chronic presentation. Bilateral antegrade brain perfusion is chosen by the majority of centres (2/3 of cases), while retrograde perfusion or circulatory arrest is very seldom used and almost exclusively in acute clinical presentation. The same pumping system of the cardio pulmonary bypass is most of the time used for selective cerebral perfusion, and the perfusate temperature is usually maintained between 22 and 26°C. One-third of the centres use lower temperatures. Perfusate flow and pressure are fairly consistent among centres in the range of 10-15 ml/kg and 60 mmHg, respectively. In 60% of cases, barbiturates are added for cerebral protection, while visceral perfusion still receives little attention. Regarding cerebral monitoring, there is a general tendency to use near-infrared spectroscopy associated with bilateral radial pressure measurement. CONCLUSIONS These data represent a snapshot of the strategies used for cerebral protection during major aortic surgery in current practice, and may serve as a reference for standardization and refinement of different approache
Wytyczne ESC 2022 dotyczące oceny ryzyka sercowo-naczyniowego i postępowania u pacjentów poddawanych operacjom niekardiochirurgicznym. Suplement
Letter to the Editor doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehm334 Management of pregnant women with
artificial heart valves: inconsistency in ESC publications I read with interest the ESC position paper on anticoagulants in heart disease.1 However, I was surprised by the succinct statement on anticoagulation in pregnant patients with artificial heart valves. Vitamin K antagonists increase the risk of embryopathy, whereas the use of unfractionated heparin has been associated with an increased thrombo-embolic risk for the mother. Experience with low molecular weight heparin is still limited. The risk of warfarin embryopathy is prob-ably dose-dependent.2 The current ES
Meal composition and Tryptophan/Large Neutral Amino Acids plasmatic ratio in dog
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of meal composition on the plasmatic ratio between Tryptophan
(Trp) and 5 other large neutral amino acids (5LNAAs: isoleucine, leucine, valine, tyrosine, phenylalanine).
This study included 5 female Labrador Retrievers. Each dog received a meal of puffed rice, minced meat and olive
oil (M1) for a single day and then they received a meal of puffed rice and olive oil (M2), with no meat, for another
single day. A second meal was administered in the evening to balance the energy intake and both diets were isoenergetic.
Blood was collected right before the meal (t0) and after 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 hours. Trp and phenylalanine concentrations
showed no significant difference between M1 and M2 samples. Isoleucine, leucine, valine and tyrosine
plasma concentrations were lower after M2. Due to the latter, Trp/5LNAAs ratio was higher after the meal with no
meat (M2) at all sampling times (except t0) and such trend reached a statistically significant difference at 2 (median:
0.206 versus 0.311), 4 (median: 0.217 versus 0.345) and 10 (median: 0.242 versus 0.289) hours after the meal.
These findings suggest that meal composition has a key role in the Trp bioavailability
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