Rediscovery of Otto Frank's contribution to science.

In the late 19th century, German physiologist Otto Frank (1865-1944) embarked on a near life-long research program of laying down the mathematical, methodological, and theoretical foundations in order to understand and define the performance of the heart and circulatory system in all their complexity. The existence of the "Frank-Starling law" testifies to this. Two of his seminal publications have been translated into English previously, introducing Frank's research on the dynamics of the heart and the arterial pulse to a wider audience.

The Hyponatremia Epidemic: A Frontier Too Far?

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality and is often neglected, especially in elderly and seemingly terminal patients. Hyponatremia can be asymptomatic or can cause symptoms ranging from nausea and lethargy to convulsions and coma. This condition has become increasingly common over time with a similar time course to the increase in adoption of low salt diets.

Update on the important new drug target in cardiovascular medicine - the vascular glycocalyx.

We reviewed this subject in 2009, pointing out that, to the process of atherothrombosis, glycocalyx dysfunction and damage must be added to the previous known causitive factors. Glycocalyx dysfunction is possibly the very first step in the process of atherothrombosis, being a protective layer between the endothelial cells and the blood. We emphasise the unique feature of glycocalyx mediated vasodilatation in that it is initiated purely by mechanical changes, i.