Activity-dependent spinal cord neuromodulation rapidly restores trunk and leg motor functions after complete paralysis.

Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) targeting the dorsal roots of lumbosacral segments restores walking in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, EES is delivered with multielectrode paddle leads that were originally designed to target the dorsal column of the spinal cord. Here, we hypothesized that an arrangement of electrodes targeting the ensemble of dorsal roots involved in leg and trunk movements would result in superior efficacy, restoring more diverse motor activities after the most severe SCI.

Clinical efficacy and safety of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator lead with a floating atrial sensing dipole.

Background: The concept of a single-lead implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), with a floating dipole, has been proven safe and functional.

Methods And Results: The studied active-fixation, steroid-eluting lead (Linox(smart) S DX, BIOTRONIK SE & Co KG, Berlin, Germany) is one French thinner than its predecessor and coated with lubricious SilGlide to improve lead handling. A dedicated ICD device has a self-adaptive atrial input stage including a fourfold amplifier.

Thrombosis of A Prosthetic Mitral Valve After Withdrawal of Phenprocoumon Therapy.

Patients with prosthetic heart valves require lifelong oral anticoagulant therapy based on vitamin K antagonists. These patients may need interruption of their anticoagulant therapy if they have to undergo surgery. The clinical challenge is to identify patients who can safely undergo surgery while continuing their vitamin K antagonist treatment and those who have to take short-acting heparin as part of a bridging therapy.

Potential value of automated daily screening of cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator diagnostics for prediction of major cardiovascular events: results from Home-CARE (Home Monitoring in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy) study.

Aim: To investigate whether diagnostic data from implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) retrieved automatically at 24 h intervals via a Home Monitoring function can enable dynamic prediction of cardiovascular hospitalization and death.

Methods And Results: Three hundred and seventy-seven heart failure patients received CRT-Ds with Home Monitoring option. Data on all deaths and hospitalizations due to cardiovascular reasons and Home Monitoring data were collected prospectively during 1-year follow-up to develop a predictive algorithm with a predefined specificity of 99.