Suspected progeria in Nigeria: a case report.

Background: Progeria is a rare fatal genetic condition characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging in children. It has an incidence of 1 in 8 million and results from a mutation of the LMNA gene causing nuclear instability. Clinical diagnosis is based on recognition of common clinical features and definitive diagnosis is by identifying the mutation in the LMNA gene.

Early and sustained benefit on event-free survival and heart failure hospitalization from fixed-dose combination of isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine: consistency across subgroups in the African-American Heart Failure Trial.

Background: We previously reported that the fixed-dose combination of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine hydrochloride (FDC I/H) significantly decreased the risk of all-cause death and first hospitalization for heart failure (HF) and improved quality of life in patients with New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure in the African-American Heart Failure Trial (A-HeFT). The current analyses further define the effect of FDC I/H on the timing of event-free survival (mortality or first hospitalization for HF) and time to first hospitalization for HF, as well as effects by subgroups and effects on cause-specific mortality.

Methods And Results: Kaplan-Meier analyses of the 1050 A-HeFT patients on standard neurohormonal blockade demonstrated that FDC I/H produced a 37% improvement in event-free survival (P<0.

Influence of blood pressure on the effectiveness of a fixed-dose combination of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine in the African-American Heart Failure Trial.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the effect of baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) and changes in SBP on the effectiveness of treatment with fixed-dose combination of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine (FDC I/H) in patients with heart failure (HF).

Background: Low SBP is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in patients with HF. However, FDC I/H lowered SBP in the A-HeFT (African-American Heart Failure Trial) and yet prolonged survival.

African-American Heart Failure Trial (A-HeFT): rationale, design, and methodology.

Background: Hydralazine and isosorbide dinitrate combination (H+ISDN), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and beta-blockers have improved outcomes in heart failure (HF). Analysis of previous trials has shown that H+ISDN appears especially beneficial in African American patients.

Methods And Results: The African-American Heart Failure Trial (A-HeFT) is double-blind, placebo-controlled, and includes African American patients with stable New York Heart Association Class III-IV HF on standard therapy.