A Case of Cystic Adventitial Degeneration of the Left Popliteal Artery Diagnosed by Intravascular Ultrasound

An 87-year-old male was admitted with intermittent claudication of the left calf. We performed lower extremity angiography, which revealed stenosis of the left popliteal artery. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) image correctly identified the cystic appearance of visualized extravascular hypodensity, causing extrinsic compression of the lumen. We diagnosed the condition as cystic adventitial degeneration (CAD) of the popliteal artery. We operated a resection of a cyst with the artery and replaced the autovein graft (saphenous vein). After surgery, the patient was free of symptoms. CAD is a rare disease; thus, our IVUS findings may provide unique diagnostic clues in patients with CAD

High Serum Level of Neopterin is a Risk Factor of Patients with Heart Failure

Serum neopterin concentration was measured in 198 patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and 62 control subjects by ELISA. Patients were prospectively followed during a median follow-up period of 745 days with end points of cardiac death or re-hospitalization due to progressive heart failure. Serum concentration of neopterin increased with advancing New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class (P < 0.001). High neopterin group had a significantly higher incidence of cardiac events than low neopterin group (P < 0.0001). In the multivariate Cox analysis, serum neopterin concentration was an independent risk factor for cardiac events (hazard ratio 1.70, 95%CI 1.16-2.50, P = 0.0068). Serum neopterin concentration is a novel prognostic marker for CHF

Left atrial strain as evaluated by two-dimensional speckle tracking predicts left atrial appendage dysfunction in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background: Left atrial appendage (LAA) dysfunction predisposes patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to cardioembolic stroke. Two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking was reported to be useful for evaluating left atrial (LA) regional function, as well as left ventricular function. However, it remains unclear whether 2D speckle tracking is useful for evaluating LAA dysfunction. Therefore, we investigated whether decreased LA strain may predict LAA dysfunction and thrombus formation in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods: We performed transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography in 120 patients (83 males, mean age 72 ± 11 years) within 7 days of onset of an acute ischemic stroke. Longitudinal LA strain was evaluated using 2D speckle tracking imaging at each LA segment, and peak systolic strain was calculated by averaging the results for each segment. Results: Forty-eight patients had LAA dysfunction as defined by the presence of LAA thrombus and/or severe spontaneous echo contrast. LA peak systolic strain was significantly decreased in patients with LAA dysfunction compared to those without (32.3 ± 13.7% vs. 12.1 ± 7.2%, p < 0.0001). LA peak systolic strain was significantly correlated with LAA emptying flow velocity (r = 0.693, p < 0.0001). The optimum LA peak systolic strain cut-off value for predicting LAA dysfunction was 19%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that LA peak systolic strain was an independent predictor of LAA dysfunction (odds ratio 0.059, 95% confidence interval 0.018–0.146; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Decreased LA peak systolic strain was independently associated with LAA dysfunction in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Hypertrophic changes after TAC operation.

<p>A. Plasma concentrations of IL-6 at 5 days after TAC or sham operation in PTX3-KO mice (left) and PTX3-TG mice (right). B. IL-6 expression after TAC detected by quantitative PCR in PTX3-KO mice (left) and PTX3-TG mice (right). C. Representative photographs of hearts at 4 weeks after TAC and sham operation in PTX3-KO mice (left) and PTX3-TG mice (right). *<i>P</i><0.01 vs. sham mice of the same strain. Results are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 6–8).</p

Gravimetric and echocardiographic data of PTX3-KO mice after TAC.

<p>WT, Wild type; PTX3-KO, PTX3 systemic knockout mice; TAC, thoracic aortic constriction; BW, body weight; HW, heart weight; LW, lung wet weight; IVS, interventricular septal wall thickness; LVEDD, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter; LVFS, left ventricular fractional shortening. All data are shown as mean ± SD (n = 10 per group).</p>*<p><i>P</i><0.05 and</p>**<p><i>P</i><0.01 vs. sham-operated mice of the same strain;</p>#<p><i>P</i><0.05 and</p>##<p><i>P</i><0.01 vs. TAC-operated WT mice at each time point, respectively.</p