Altered clot formation and lysis are associated with increased fibrinolytic activity in ascites in patients with advanced cirrhosis.

Analysis of coagulation disorders and assessment of rebalanced hemostasis with the use of traditional coagulation assays is challenging in cirrhotic patients. Therefore, alternative tests are under investigation for the evaluation of coagulopathy in this specific setting. Aim of this study was to analyze the modifications of clot structure and function in cirrhotic patients with different degrees of severity.

Erythrocyte Membrane Fluidity Alterations in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Patients: The Role of Oxidative Stress.

Introduction Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) involves an acute unexplained hearing loss, nearly always unilateral, that occurs over less than a 72-hour period. SSNHL pathogenesis is not yet fully understood. Cochlear vascular occlusion has been proposed as a potential mechanism of hearing damage and cochlear ischaemia has been related to alterations of cochlear microvessels.

ACE gene in pregnancy complications: Insights into future vascular risk.

Objective: A history of placenta-mediated pregnancy complications (PMPCs) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life, possibly related to the persistence of endothelial dysfunction. We performed this study in order to search for a common genetic background shared by women with a history of PMPC and vascular disorders, due to their common pathophysiologic pathway of endothelial dysfunction.

Methods: We analyzed the prevalence of seven polymorphisms in ACE, AGTR1, AGT, and eNOS genes, endothelial-function related, in 290 women with a history of premature cardiovascular events (CVDs), and in 367 women with a history of PMPC (preeclampsia (PE), stillbirth (SB), and small for gestational age (SGA)), compared with 300 healthy women (HW) who delivered after uneventful pregnancy (HW).

Searching for a common mechanism for placenta-mediated pregnancy complications and cardiovascular disease: role of lipoprotein(a).

Objective: To investigate lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], a well known cardiovascular risk factor, in women with history of placenta-mediated pregnancy complications (PMPC) compared with healthy uneventful-pregnancy women (HW), and the role of LPA gene functional polymorphisms in modulating both Lp(a) levels and PMPC risk.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: University hospital.

Residual perfusion defects in patients with pulmonary embolism are related to impaired fibrinolytic capacity.

Background: Few studies investigated the relationship between fibrinolysis abnormalities and residual pulmonary perfusion defects after acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

Objective: To assess the fibrinolytic profile in patients with prior PE in relation to the extent of scintigraphically detectable residual perfusion abnormalities.

Patients And Methods: We studied 71 consecutive patients with a prior episode of PE, who were examined after one year of the incident embolic event, and at least one month after anticoagulation withdrawal.