Endovascular stent graft repair for a Salmonella-infected aneurysm of thoracic aorta.

Thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair using stent graft has been reported as a feasible and effective treatment for aortic aneurysm. However, its application for treating infected aortic aneurysms is still controversial and less reported. We report a 74-year-old male diabetic patient diagnosed with Salmonella-infected aortic aneurysm, who was successfully treated with endovascular stent graft repair followed by a 2-month course of intravenous antibiotics and long-term oral antibiotic therapy.

Aneurysm of an aberrant right subclavian artery: treatment with thoracic aortic stent graft.

Aberrant right subclavian artery aneurysms are rare but carry a high risk of spontaneous rupture without any treatment. Aggressive early elective treatment is warranted. We present a hybrid endovascular treatment that was used to treat a 77-year-old woman with aberrant right subclavian artery aneurysm for whom surgical treatment would have been associated with high risk.

Mechanism of the inhibitory effect of atorvastatin on endoglin expression induced by transforming growth factor-beta1 in cultured cardiac fibroblasts.

Aims: Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and endoglin play a causal role in promoting cardiac fibrosis. Atorvastatin has been shown to have an inhibitory effect on cardiac fibroblasts in vitro. However, the effects of statins on TGF-beta1 and endoglin are poorly understood.

Spontaneous rupture of left ventricular true aneurysm.

The rupture of left ventricular true aneurysm is a rare event. We report the case of a 52-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with cardiac tamponade that was due to a ruptured left ventricular true aneurysm. An emergency operation was successfully performed to address this rare event.

A novel functional VKORC1 promoter polymorphism is associated with inter-individual and inter-ethnic differences in warfarin sensitivity.

Warfarin, a commonly prescribed anticoagulant, exhibited large inter-individual and inter-ethnic differences in the dose required for its anticoagulation effect. Asian populations, including Chinese, require a much lower maintenance dose than Caucasians, for which the mechanisms still remain unknown. We determined DNA sequence variants in CYP2C9 and VKORC1 in 16 Chinese patients having warfarin sensitivity (< or = 1.

Electrical remodeling of the canine superior vena cava after chronic rapid atrial pacing.

Background: The superior vena cava (SVC) might serve as the trigger and/or substrate for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the electrophysiological properties of the SVC with chronic AF are unknown. The purposes of this study were to investigate the electrophysiological properties of the SVC and the electropharmacological effects of intravenous dl-sotalol on the canine SVC after chronic rapid atrial pacing (RAP).

Angiotensin II signals mechanical stretch-induced cardiac matrix metalloproteinase expression via JAK-STAT pathway.

Background: Mechanical stress induces many pathophysiological effects in cardiomyocytes. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that angiotensin II is a potential mediator of stretch-induced activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP).

Methods: Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes grown on a flexible membrane were cyclically stretched achieving up to 20% elongation at 60 cycles/min (using a vacuum).

Role of tissue oxygen saturation monitoring in diagnosing necrotizing fasciitis of the lower limbs.

Study Objective: We determine the utility of tissue oxygen saturation monitoring in diagnosing necrotizing fasciitis of the lower extremities.

Methods: We prospectively studied patients who met the criteria of soft tissue infection throughout the lower extremities by tissue oxygen saturation monitoring (with near-infrared spectroscopy) over the middle third of possible involved areas. Cases with evidence of chronic venous stasis, peripheral vascular disease, shock, and systemic hypoxia were excluded.

Evolution of plasma D-dimer and fibrinogen in witnessed onset of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Background: Although increased D-dimer and fibrinogen have been proved to be related with atrial fibrillation (AF), their evolution in the course of time remains unclear.

Methods: To elucidate the evolution of plasma D-dimer and fibrinogen in AF of different duration. 56 patients (group A) of 3,524 patients in whom the onset of AF had been witnessed in a chest pain clinic were enrolled for study.

Spontaneous cardiac rupture.

An 83-year-old woman had a sudden onset of loss of consciousness with no detectable blood pressure. Pulseless electrical activity was present in the electrocardiogram and massive pericardial effusion was found by echocardiography. Emergent subxiphoid pericardiotomy and drainage was immediately performed to release the cardiac tamponade at bedside and was followed by rushing the patient to the operating room for exploration.