Pulsed perfusion in a venous human organ culture model with a Windkessel function (pulsed perfusion venous HOC-model).

Background: The effectiveness of human saphenous vein grafting is limited by hyperplasia of the vessel wall. The current paper reports on a pulsed perfused venous human organ culture model (pp-venous HOC-model) with a Windkessel function.

Material/methods: Saphenous vein grafts from 21 patients undergoing coronary bypass grafting were cultured either in venous or arterial hemodynamic conditions.

A 25-year-old woman with a gastric GIST and a PET-positive epicardial tumor.

Background: A 25-year-old woman presented with a history of abdominal pain. Endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract revealed a tumor that protruded into the prepyloric antrum. After resection, a 'high-risk' gastrointestinal stromal tumor was histologically confirmed.

Comparative evaluation of multimedia driven, interactive, and case-based teaching in heart surgery.

Background: Multimedia-augmented instruction with various approaches is used in heart surgery. There is little evidence which instructional techniques and media are of advantage to impart knowledge more effectively and lead to better application of knowledge in the operation room.

Methods: Sixty-nine students learned with an interactive, case-based teaching (ICBT) course about aortic valve replacement.

Edge restenosis: impact of low dose irradiation on cell proliferation and ICAM-1 expression.

Background: Low dose irradiation (LDI) of uninjured segments is the consequence of the suggestion of many authors to extend the irradiation area in vascular brachytherapy to minimize the edge effect. Atherosclerosis is a general disease and the uninjured segment close to the intervention area is often atherosclerotic as well, consisting of neointimal smooth muscle cells (SMC) and quiescent monocytes (MC). The current study imitates this complex situation in vitro and investigates the effect of LDI on proliferation of SMC and expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in MC.

Multimedia-driven teaching significantly improves students' performance when compared with a print medium.

Background: In this study, we compared the educational value of a multimedia module about aortic valve replacement as a preparation for the operating room with a print medium of identical content.

Methods: One hundred twenty-six students were randomly assigned in a prospective study to either use the multimedia course (n = 69) or a print version (n = 57). A 20-item multiple-choice test was performed before and after learning with the respective medium.

Serum starvation and growth factor receptor expression in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Background: Smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation in atherosclerosis is regulated through the interaction of growth factors like platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and their receptors (R). We hypothesized that serum starvation of SMCs may affect PDGFbeta-R and IGF-1-R expression and, consequently, the effect of their cognate ligands on SMC survival/proliferation.

Methods And Results: Serum starvation significantly increases PDGFbeta-R but not IGF-1-R mRNA and protein expression in SMCs.

An image of mitral valve repair.

Mitral regurgitation is a severe problem of the mitral valve mechanism caused by many factors, including ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy, inflammation, degeneration and others. Regardless of the cause of valve dysfunction, many changes in surgical approach have been undertaken. The pioneering work of Carpentier led to the era of mitral valve reconstruction a few decades ago.

Triple-coated stents (Hirudin/Iloprost/Paclitaxel): an in vitro approach for characterizing the antiproliferative potential of each individual compound.

Background: Hirudin (H)/iloprost (I)/paclitaxel (P)-coated stents represent a multifactorial approach to reducing the proliferative response caused by ballooning and stenting. The study presented compares the net effect of each individual compound of HIP-coated stents with the summed effect of the compounds in the stent coating.

Methods And Results: For proliferation prescreening studies, human coronary smooth muscle cells were incubated with H (0.

Minimally invasive heart valve surgery: already established in clinical routine?

Cardiac valve replacement with the need for open heart surgery still has the highest morbidity and mortality rates among routine cardiac surgery, with the exception of aortic aneurysm repair and surgery for congenital heart defects. Reducing invasiveness is a desirable goal, and different strategies and approaches have been used to achieve this with valve repair or replacement less invasive. Despite the good results reported with minimally invasive techniques, time on extracorporal circulation is always longer compared with the conventional procedures.

Intimal hyperplasia and expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 in saphenous veins and internal mammary arteries before coronary artery surgery.

Background: The development of fibromuscular intimal hyperplasia and subsequent graft failure remains an urgent problem in cardiac surgery. Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) is involved in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis through induction of extracellular matrix proteins. We tested the hypothesis that intimal hyperplasia is already present in human saphenous veins and left internal mammary arteries before coronary artery bypass surgery and is associated with an increased expression of TGF-beta1.

Expression of mortalin in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation.

Background: In myocardium of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) the expression of the mitochondrial heat shock proteins HSP60 and HSP10 is increased. They are responsible for folding and translocation of proteins inside the mitochondria. Import of these proteins is accomplished by mortalin.

Virtual reality and 3D visualizations in heart surgery education.

Background: Computer assisted teaching plays an increasing role in surgical education. The presented paper describes the development of virtual reality (VR) and 3D visualizations for educational purposes concerning aortocoronary bypass grafting and their prototypical implementation into a database-driven and internet-based educational system in heart surgery.

Materials And Methods: A multimedia storyboard has been written and digital video has been encoded.

Enteral application of an immunoglobulin-enriched colostrum milk preparation for reducing endotoxin translocation and acute phase response in patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery--a randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of enteral application of an immunoglobulin enriched bovine milk preparation on endotoxin plasma levels, endotoxin neutralizing capacity of plasma (ENC) and the acute phase response (IL-6, CRP) during and after cardiac surgery, in a pilot study.

Design, Patients And Methods: 60 patients who underwent coronary bypass operations, were evenly enrolled in a placebo-controlled randomized study. The patients were treated by enteral application of either 42 g of a bovine colostrum milk preparation per day or placebo, for 2 days preoperatively.

Overexpression of heat shock protein 60/10 in myocardium of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation.

Background: Cardiomyocytes respond to chronic atrial fibrillation with increased expression of heat shock protein 60 (HSP60). The aim of this study was to investigate whether expression of the coprotein HSP10 is also increased.

Methods: Right atrial samples from 16 patients undergoing elective cardiac operation were excised and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen.

The expression of heat shock protein 60 in myocardium of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation.

Objective: Cardiomyocytes respond to stress with the expression of different heat shock proteins (HSP). HSP60 is induced by various stress factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of HSP60 in human atrial fibrillation (AF).