Poor performance of historical prediction models in patients investigated for chest pain: a prospective single centre, head-to-head comparison in a large cohort of patients.

Background: An optimal investigation strategy for patients with suspected angina pectoris (AP) remains elusive. Present guidelines use the Duke Clinical Score (DCS) or the Diamond-Forrester (DF) model to compute the likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD). This prospective study of patients referred to a chest pain clinic compares the relative values of these two historical models and of pain characteristics only to predict the presence of CAD.

Cardiovascular effects of treatment with taxanes.

Taxanes are cytotoxic drugs that stabilize cellular microtubules and are among the most active of the antineoplastic agents being widely used in the treatment of cancer patients. Furthermore, taxanes comprise a valuable tool in interventional cardiology. Following treatment with taxanes, in many patients, the risk of cardiovascular complications has recently been noted.

Pathophysiologic mechanisms of calcific aortic stenosis.

Calcific aortic stenosis (CAS) comprises the leading indication for valve replacement in the Western world. Until recently, progressive calcification was considered to be a passive process. Emerging evidence, however, suggests that degenerative aortic stenosis constitutes an active process involving stimulation of several pathophysiologic pathways such as inflammation and osteogenesis.

Evaluation of left ventricular hypertrophy in patients requiring permanent pacing.

Objective: Hypertension may lead to left ventricular hypertrophy, fibrosis and degeneration of the conduction system. Our aim was to study the association of hypertrophy with certain arrhythmias such as complete atrioventricular block (AVB) and symptomatic sick sinus syndrome (SSS) that require implantation of permanent pacemaker.

Methods: We studied 130 patients that had been given a pacemaker because of complete AVB, 130 patients that had been given a pacemaker because of symptomatic SSS and 45 patients without cardiac conduction disturbances.

Survivin overexpression in HCC and liver cirrhosis differentially correlates with p-STAT3 and E-cadherin.

Survivin, a member of the family of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, functions as a key regulator of apoptosis and cell proliferation. Overexpression of survivin has been implicated in several human cancers, including human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although several factors have been shown in vitro to upregulate survivin expression in cancer cells, the in vivo regulators of survivin in human hepato-carcinogenesis are largely unknown.

ILK overexpression in human hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis correlates with activation of Akt.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common life-threatening malignancies in the world. The molecular mechanisms leading to the development of HCC are complex and only recently have they begun to be clarified. Integrin linked-kinase (ILK), a multifunctional signaling and scaffold protein of focal adhesion plaques, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human malignancies.

Bone regulatory factors NFATc1 and Osterix in human calcific aortic valves.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that calcific aortic valve stenosis constitutes an active process sharing common features with atherosclerosis and bone formation. To further support this hypothesis, we investigated the expression of bone regulatory factors in calcified aortic valves.

Methods-results: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of human aortic tricuspid valves (n=54) were used from patients undergoing valve replacement for calcific, non-rheumatic aortic stenosis.