Phospholemman deficiency in postinfarct hearts: enhanced contractility but increased mortality.

Phospholemman (PLM) regulates [Na(+) ](i), [Ca(2+)](i) and contractility through its interactions with Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase (NKA) and Na(+) /Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX1) in the heart. Both expression and phosphorylation of PLM are altered after myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure. We tested the hypothesis that absence of PLM regulation of NKA and NCX1 in PLM-knockout (KO) mice is detrimental.

Radial artery sterile granulomatous reaction secondary to hydrophilic-coated sheath used for transradial cardiac catheterization: a case series.

Radial access has lower risk of vascular complication for cardiac catheterization and is rapidly replacing femoral access. There are few unique complications associated with this approach. We present 3 cases of sterile granulomatous reaction associated with a specific hydrophilic radial sheath and possibly contribution by radial wrist band [TR band; Terumo Medical used for hemostasis after sheath removal (2101 cotton tail lane somerset NJ, USA)].

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome: a variant of hypertensive encephalopathy.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a recently described variant of hypertensive encephalopathy characterized by headache, visual disturbances and altered mental function. Its causes are diverse and in contrast to hypertensive encephalopathy, it can develop without significant elevation of blood pressure. This syndrome is mostly reversible when correctly managed; however, failure to recognize it can lead to cerebral infarction and death.

Anginalike pain and normal coronary arteries. Uncovering cardiac syndromes that mimic CAD.

Atherosclerotic CAD is the most common cause of cardiac chest pain in Western countries. Other cardiac syndromes may also cause anginalike pain and may be difficult to differentiate from atherosclerotic CAD. It is essential to make this distinction, because management and prognosis of these conditions are entirely different.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is not addressed in the admitting medical records for the majority of patients who undergo CPR in the hospital.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is routinely performed on patients who develop cardiopulmonary arrest in the hospital. In some situations, it is performed on terminally or critically ill patients where death is predicted to be inevitable despite CPR. Since prior consent is not required for this procedure, CPR may be performed without patient consent or foreknowledge.

Angiographic and long-term outcomes of "rescue" stenting versus PTCA in failed thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction.

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), when performed early after clinically failed thrombolysis, improves acute infarct-artery patency in up to 90% of cases. Limited data are available regarding the role of rescue stenting in this setting. From January 1995 to December 1999, the authors studied all consecutive patients treated with rescue PTCA or rescue stenting within 12 hours of onset of chest pain and clinically failed thrombolytic therapy at their institution.

Effects of phospholemman downregulation on contractility and [Ca(2+)]i transients in adult rat cardiac myocytes.

Phospholemman (PLM) expression was increased in rat hearts after myocardial infarction (MI). Overexpression of PLM in normal adult rat cardiac myocytes altered contractile function and cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) homeostasis in a manner similar to that observed in post-MI myocytes. In this study, we tested whether PLM downregulation in normal adult rat myocytes resulted in contractility and [Ca(2+)](i) transient changes opposite to those observed in post-MI myocytes.

Myocardial infarction resulting from nonatherosclerotic coronary artery diseases.

Myocardial infarction (MI) infrequently results from nonatherosclerotic coronary diseases such as coronary embolism, spasm, dissection, and arteritis. If these disorders are not considered in the differential diagnosis of MI, specific beneficial therapies would be overlooked. Because physicians see large number of patients with MI during their career, the likelihood that they will encounter patients with MI resulting from nonatherosclerotic diseases is high.

Rrn3 becomes inactivated in the process of ribosomal DNA transcription.

The human homologue of yeast Rrn3, a 72-kDa protein, is essential for ribosomal DNA (rDNA) transcription. Although the importance of Rrn3 function in rDNA transcription is well established, its mechanism of action has not been determined. It has been suggested that the phosphorylation of either yeast RNA polymerase I or mammalian Rrn3 regulates the formation of RNA polymerase I.

Efficacy and toxicity of adjuvant chemotherapy in elderly patients with colon carcinoma: a 10-year experience of the Geisinger Medical Center.

Background: Although the benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy has been established clearly in patients with Stage III colon carcinoma, the degree to which elderly patients with colon carcinoma can tolerate such therapy generally has remained unknown.

Methods: The authors reviewed all patients in their Tumor Registry with Stage II and Stage III adenocarcinoma of the colon who underwent potentially curative resection for their disease at the Geisinger Medical Center between January 1990 and September 2000. One hundred twenty patients underwent complete resection of their colon carcinoma and received 5-fluorouracil-based (5-FU) adjuvant chemotherapy.