128 research outputs found
Chiari's network: Normal anatomic variant or risk factor for arterial embolic events?
Objectives.This study was performed to assess the prevalence of Chiari's network in patients undergoing transesophageal echocardiography and to determine whether this anomaly is associated with other cardiac lesions or is characterized by typical clinical findings.Background.Chiari's network is a congenital remnant of the right valve of the sinus venosus. It has been found in 1.3% to 4% of autopsy studies and is believed to be of little clinical consequence.Methods.Video recordings of 1,436 consecutive adult patients evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography over a 30-month period were reviewed for the presence of Chiari's network. Echocardiographic contrast studies had been performed in all patients with Chiari's network and were compared with those of 160 consecutive patients without a Chiari net, serving as a control group.Results.Chiari's network was present in 29 of 1,436 patients (prevalence 2%). A frequently associated finding was a patent foramen ovale in 24 (83%) of the 29 patients with Chiari's network versus 44 (28%) of 160 control patients (p < 0.001). Intense right-to-left shunting occurred significantly more often in patients with Chiari's network than in control patients (16 [55%] of 29 patients vs. 19 [12%] of 160 control patients, p < 0.001). Another frequent association was an atrial septal aneurysm in 7 (24%) of 29 patients. The indication for transesophageal echocardiography was a suspected cardiac source of arterial embolism in 24 (83%) of 29 patients with a Chiari net, 13 of whom (54%) had recurrent embolic events. Chiari's network was significantly more common in patients with unexplained arterial embolism than in patients evaluated for other indications (24 [4.6%] of 522 patients vs. 5 [0.5%] of 914 patients, p < 0.001). Potential causes for arterial embolism were present in 9 of the 24 patients with a Chiari net and embolic events (atrial septal aneurysm in 7, cerebrovascular lesion in 2). In 15 (62%) of 24 patients only a patent foramen ovale could be identified. Three patients had deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism at the time of arterial embolism; none had a thrombus detected within the network.Conclusions.In patients undergoing transesophageal echocardiography, the prevalence of Chiari's network was 2%, which is consistent with autopsy studies. By maintaining an embryonic right atrial flow pattern into adult life and directing the blood from the inferior vena cava preferentially toward the interatrial septum, Chiari's network may favor persistence of a patent foramen ovale and formation of an atrial septal aneurysm and facilitate paradoxic embolism
Takotsubo syndrome in Heart Failure and World Congress on Acute Heart Failure 2019 : highlights from the experts
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Pathophysiology of Takotsubo syndrome - a joint scientific statement from the Heart Failure Association Takotsubo Syndrome Study Group and Myocardial Function Working Group of the European Society of Cardiology - Part 2: vascular pathophysiology, gender and sex hormones, genetics, chronic cardiovascular problems and clinical implications
While the first part of the scientific statement on the pathophysiology of Takotsubo syndrome was focused on catecholamines and the sympathetic nervous system, in the second part we focus on the vascular pathophysiology including coronary and systemic vascular responses, the role of the central and peripheral nervous systems during the acute phase and abnormalities in the subacute phase, the gender differences and integrated effects of sex hormones, genetics of Takotsubo syndrome including insights from microRNA studies and inducible pluripotent stem cell models of Takotsubo syndrome. We then discuss the chronic abnormalities of cardiovascular physiology in survivors, the limitations of current clinical and preclinical studies, the implications of the knowledge of pathophysiology for clinical management and future perspectives and directions of research
Pathophysiology of Takotsubo syndrome - a joint scientific statement from the Heart Failure Association Takotsubo Syndrome Study Group and Myocardial Function Working Group of the European Society of Cardiology - Part 1 : overview and the central role for catecholamines and sympathetic nervous system
Acknowledgements S.H. acknowledges the support from the Netherlands Cardiovascular Research Initiative, an initiative with support of the Dutch Heart Foundation, CVON2016-Early HFPEF, 2015-10, and CVON She-PREDICTS, grant 2017-21, CVON-Arena-PRIME, European Union Commission’s Seventh Framework programme under grant agreement n. 305507 (HOMAGE) and n. 602904 (FIBROTAR-GETS). D.D. acknowledges support from the British Heart Foundation grants PG/15/108/31928 and FS/16/39/32174, the Josephine Lansdell British Medical Association 2015Award and Tenovus Scotland, G13.10. A.R.L. is supported by the Leducq Foundation Cardio-Oncology Network. Conflict of interest: none declaredPeer reviewedPublisher PD
The structural basis for selective binding of non-methylated CpG islands by the CFP1 CXXC domain
CFP1 is a CXXC domain-containing protein and an essential component of the SETD1 histone H3K4 methyltransferase complex. CXXC domain proteins direct different chromatin-modifying activities to various chromatin regions. Here, we report crystal structures of the CFP1 CXXC domain in complex with six different CpG DNA sequences. The crescent-shaped CFP1 CXXC domain is wedged into the major groove of the CpG DNA, distorting the B-form DNA, and interacts extensively with the major groove of the DNA. The structures elucidate the molecular mechanism of the non-methylated CpG-binding specificity of the CFP1 CXXC domain. The CpG motif is confined by a tripeptide located in a rigid loop, which only allows the accommodation of the non-methylated CpG dinucleotide. Furthermore, we demonstrate that CFP1 has a preference for a guanosine nucleotide following the CpG motif
Euclidean Gibbs states of interacting quantum anharmonic oscillators
A rigorous description of the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of an
infinite system of interacting -dimensional quantum anharmonic oscillators
is given. The oscillators are indexed by the elements of a countable set
, possibly irregular; the anharmonic potentials
vary from site to site. The description is based on the representation of the
Gibbs states in terms of path measures -- the so called Euclidean Gibbs
measures. It is proven that: (a) the set of such measures
is non-void and compact; (b) every obeys an
exponential integrability estimate, the same for the whole set
; (c) every has a
Lebowitz-Presutti type support; (d) is a singleton at
high temperatures. In the case of attractive interaction and we prove
that at low temperatures. The uniqueness of Gibbs
measures due to quantum effects and at a nonzero external field are also proven
in this case. Thereby, a qualitative theory of phase transitions and quantum
effects, which interprets most important experimental data known for the
corresponding physical objects, is developed. The mathematical result of the
paper is a complete description of the set , which refines
and extends the results known for models of this type.Comment: 60 page
Left Ventricular Thrombi and Embolic Events in Takotsubo Syndrome despite Therapeutic Anticoagulation
Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Transcatheter Occlusion: An Effective and Safe Protection Against Stroke or Embolism?
Is Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Transcatheter Occlusion an Alternative to Oral Anticoagulation in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation?
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