[Is the coronary artery disease in woman so different from the man].

Clinical presentation and symptoms of coronary artery disease may vary according to gender. This is not true to the same extent for acute coronary syndromes. The diagnosis is more complex in women because they show less often a typical clinical picture.

[Do we have to be scared of chronic constitutional low blood pressure].

Chronic constitutional low blood pressure entity has been poorly studied. Typically, affects quality of life, because of manifold symptoms. Its mechanisms are not well understood but diminished cerebral blood flow, microcirculation and autonomic deregulation have been documented.

[Stress echocardiography: it is all in the contrast!].

The availability of myocardial contrast echocardiography has potential for several applications in coronary disease. Experimental studies have demonstrated a good correlation between measurements of myocardial blood flow and regional contrast intensity, and therefore capabilities of myocardial contrast echocardiography in detecting myocardial ischemia during stress. Recently, clinical studies have confirmed the value of this new technique in comparison with radionuclide imaging.

[Blood pressure variability: clinical interest or simple curiosity?].

Blood pressure variability is a physiological phenomenon influenced by many internal and external factors. This variability could be also influenced by pathological conditions such as arterial hypertension. Two forms must be mainly distinguished: the blood pressure variability at long and short-term.

alpha-Tocopherol affects neuronal plasticity in adult rat dentate gyrus: the possible role of PKCdelta.

Hippocampus dentate gyrus (DG) is characterized by neuronal plasticity processes in adulthood, and polysialylation of NCAM promotes neuronal plasticity. In previous investigations we found that alpha-tocopherol increased the PSA-NCAM-positive granule cell number in adult rat DG, suggesting that alpha-tocopherol may enhance neuronal plasticity. To verify this hypothesis, in the present study, structural remodeling in adult rat DG was investigated under alpha-tocopherol supplementation conditions.

Thyroid hormones affect neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of adult rat.

Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in new neuron production and maturation during brain development. However, the knowledge about the involvement of these hormones on adult neurogenesis is still incomplete. Hippocampus is an anatomical region where neurogenesis occurs throughout adulthood and where high levels of thyroid hormone receptors have been found.

[Silent myocardial ischaemia: a deafening silence].

Angina pectoris, whether stable or unstable, is not the most common ischaemic manifestation of coronary heart disease. Silent or asymptomatic ischaemia is the most frequently encountered ischaemic event in coronary heart disease. nevertheless, its prevalence is very variable, depending on the studied population (2-4% in asymptomatic patients, 20-30% after an myocardial infarction, 40-60% in stable angina and 60-80% in unstable angina).

[Resistant hypertension].

Hypertension is a cardiovascular risk factor which needs a good evaluation before treatment. When this latter is decided, the target is to normalize high blood pressure. This requires a complete information of the patient; the latter will also receive individualized non pharmacological advices and also possibly different antihypertensive drugs.

Prognostic value of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement for the onset of atrial fibrillation in treated patients with essential hypertension.

This study retrospectively determined the prognostic variables of blood pressure by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement in relation to onset of atrial fibrillation in treated patients who had essential hypertension and analyzed the class effect of antihypertensive management on the nonoccurrence of this supraventricular arrhythmia.

Learning may reduce neurogenesis in adult rat dentate gyrus.

Neuron production carries on throughout adult life in granule cell layer of mammalian dentate gyrus. The acquisition of a hippocampus-dependent task enhances newborn cell survival in granule cell layer (GCL) during the period in which several newborn cells die. In this paper the effect of learning, occurring after the maximal period of newborn cell death, on newborn cells was investigated.

Vitamin E affects cell death in adult rat dentate gyrus.

We have previously reported the presence of dying cells in the granule cell layer (GCL) of adult rat dentate gyrus (DG), where neurogenesis occurs. In particular, we found that cell death in the GCL increased in vitamin E deficiency and decreased in vitamin E supplementation. These findings were regarded as related to changes in neurogenesis rate, which in turn was influenced by vitamin E availability; a neuroprotective effect of vitamin E on cell death was also proposed.

Alpha-tocopherol, an exogenous factor of adult hippocampal neurogenesis regulation.

In previous work, we found that adult hippocampal neurogenesis in rat is affected by vitamin E deficiency. Because vitamin E deficiency is a complex condition involving numerous biological systems, it is possible that its effect on postnatal new neuron production could be mediated by unknown changes in different factors that in turn play a role in this process. To clarify if vitamin E plays a direct role in regulating hippocampal neurogenesis, we studied the neurogenesis in adult control rats and in adult rats under supplementation with alpha-tocopherol, the most important compound of vitamin E.

Effects of thiocolchicine on axonal cytoskeleton of the rat peroneus nerve.

Thiocolchicine is a colchicine-derivative used in the therapy of some diseases and extensively studied in the field of oncological research as antimitotic agent. Here we studied the activity of thiocolchicine on the cytoskeleton of the peroneus nerve, performing a histological and ultrastructural analysis. We observed a decrease in mean myelinated fiber area in thiocolchicine-treated rats in comparison to controls; this was due to a decrease in mean axoplasm area, while myelin thickness was constant.

Neural precursor proliferation and newborn cell survival in the adult rat dentate gyrus are affected by vitamin E deficiency.

The adult hippocampal neurogenesis is affected by vitamin E deficiency. In the present investigation we examined if neural precursor proliferation, newborn cell survival or both are altered by vitamin E deficiency. 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was employed as a marker of proliferating cells.

Painful left bundle branch block detected during dobutamine stress echocardiography.

We report on the observation, in a 50-year-old woman undergoing dobutamine stress echocardiography, of the simultaneous onset of complete left bundle branch block and anginal chest pain, unaccompanied by any abnormality of left ventricular segmental contraction or wall thickening. Further etiologic investigations, in particular for coronary artery disease, proved negative. This observation is discussed in the context of a literature review.

Prognostic value of dobutamine echocardiography in patients with intermediate coronary lesions at angiography.

Unlabelled: The prognostic value of dobutamine echocardiography (DOBU-ECHO) in patients with intermediate coronary lesions has not been described in the literature. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of DOBU-ECHO in patients presenting with coronary lesions smaller than 50% at angiography. Ninety-four consecutive patients were analyzed and followed-up for 64 +/- 7 months (range: 12 to 75 months).

Impairment of neural precursor proliferation increases survival of cell progeny in the adult rat dentate gyrus.

In the present study we show that a reduction in the number of neural precursor cells enhances survival of new granule cells in the dentate gyrus allowing the recovery of the proper granule cell layer structure. To diminish the number of newborn cells methylazoxymethanol (MAM), a toxic agent for proliferating cells, was injected during neonatal life. Proliferation of precursor cells and survival of newborn cells were assessed by BrdU administration to 1-month-old rats when granule cell layer still shows a reduction in granule cell number in treated animals.

Tocopherols enhance neurogenesis in dentate gyrus of adult rats.

In the dentate gyrus of the mammalian hippocampus, neurogenesis carries on throughout postnatal life. The aim of this work was to identify an exogenous control factor of adult neurogenesis. Neurogenesis in the adult dentate gyrus was previously found to be enhanced in vitamin E-deficient rats.

Prognostic value of dobutamine echocardiography in elderly patients with suspected coronary artery disease and an abnormal resting electrocardiogram.

Unlabelled: The prognostic value of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DE) in elderly patients over 70 years of age with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and an abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) at rest has not been well documented. We investigated 158 consecutive outpatients (97 men) aged 76 +/- 4 years presenting with right bundle branch block with or without a left anterior hemiblock (41%), left bundle branch block (23%), or repolarization abnormalities (36%). The basic clinical and echocardiographic data were analyzed and correlated with the DE results.

Postnatal development of rat dentate gyrus: effects of methylazoxymethanol administration.

In order to investigate the role of postnatal neurogenesis in granule cell number control in the rat dentate gyrus, we administered Methylazoxymethanol (MAM), a drug able to prevent cells from dividing, on P3, P5, P7, P9, when the most granule cells are produced. The effect of MAM on the number of proliferating precursors and of granule cells was examined at P16 and P90. We used 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine administration to label proliferating cells and immunohistochemistry to characterize the cell phenotype using neuron markers TUC 4, PSA-NCAM, Calbindin D28K and glial marker GFAP.

Unusual presentation of a left ventricular aneurysm.

We report on a case of left ventricular aneurysm in a 42-year-old woman presenting with atypical chest pains. The resting electrocardiogram showed abnormal Q and T negative waves in leads II, III, and aVF. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed an aneurysm on the posterior wall of the left ventricle.

Alpha-tocopherol controls cell proliferation in the adult rat dentate gyrus.

The effect of alpha-tocopherol on cell proliferation and proliferated cell survival was investigated in the dentate gyrus of adult rats. Adult rats were supplemented with alpha-tocopherol, injected with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU), that is incorporated into DNA during the S-phase, and killed at different time after BrdU injection. The number of newborn cells decreased after alpha-tocopherol supplementation, confirming the hypothesis that alpha-tocopherol is able to depress cell proliferation in vivo.

Diagnosis of coronary artery disease in patients with permanent cardiac pacemaker by dobutamine stress echocardiography or exercise thallium-201 myocardial tomography.

This study evaluated the use of dobutamine stress echocardiography and exercise thallium-201 myocardial computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with permanent transvenous pacemaker with the electrode implanted in the right ventricle (RV). Twenty-nine consecutive patients with pacemaker underwent dobutamine stress echocardiography, exercise thallium-201 myocardial CT, and coronary arteriography over a period of 8 +/- 1 days. None of these patients had suffered a myocardial infarction (MI).

Spatial learning affects immature granule cell survival in adult rat dentate gyrus.

Neurogenesis occurs throughout life in mammalian dentate gyrus. The effect of learning on newborn cell survival was studied in rat. Rats were trained on a hippocampus-dependent spatial learning task by using Morris water maze.

Clinical study to investigate the predictive parameters for the onset of atrial fibrillation in patients with essential hypertension.

Background: The risk factors involved in the onset of atrial fibrillation (AF) are well known, but the predictive clinical and paraclinical parameters for the onset of AF in hypertensive patients have not been investigated specifically.

Methods And Results: We retrospectively analyzed 97 consecutive patients with hypertension and no known history of AF or cardiovascular events who attended the cardiology outpatient clinic. The analysis was based on clinical data, the noninvasive ambulatory 24-hour measurement of blood pressure (AMBP), a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram, and a Doppler echocardiogram.