Diabetes mellitus and hemodynamics in advanced heart failure.

Background: The presence of diabetes in patients with heart failure (HF) is associated with a worse prognosis. It is unclear if hemodynamics in HF patients with DM differ from those of non-diabetic patients and how this might influence outcome. This study aims to discover the impact of DM on hemodynamics in HF patients.

Technical Note: Measuring the thickness of histological sections by detecting fluorescence intensity of embedding foam.

Fluorescence intensity of embedding foam in paraffin blocks can be used to measure the thickness of histological microsections. We embedded samples of embedding foam and produced several microsections of varying thicknesses using routine processing and staining. Fluorescence intensity in the blue area of the embedding foam detected with a slide scanner was compared to absolute thickness as measured using confocal microscopy.

Steroid withdrawal after heart transplantation in adults.

Corticosteroids (CSs) are a key component of immunosuppressive treatment after heart transplantation (HTx). While effectively preventing acute rejection, several adverse effects including diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, and hyperlipidemia are associated with long-term use. As these complications may impair long-term outcome in HTx recipients, withdrawal of CSs is highly desirable, however, no uniform approach exists.