Short-stay carotid endarterectomy is safe and cost-effective.

Background: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is conventionally performed following a contrast arteriogram, under general anesthesia, and with postoperative admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). We investigated whether any of these traditional adjuncts to CEA is necessary.

Patients And Methods: Eighteen consecutive patients had CEA performed according to a protocol of duplex scanning only, operation under regional anesthesia, and admission to the ICU only in cases of a proven need for services unique to the ICU (group I).

Investigation of the forms of pig duodenal Ca2+-binding protein produced by limited tryptic hydrolysis.

Vitamin D-dependent Ca2+-binding protein from pig duodenum was hydrolysed with trypsin in the presence of Ca2+ and two products were obtained: T1, which differed from the native protein by loss of Ac-Ser-Ala-Gln-Lys from the N-terminus and Ile-Ser-Gln-OH from the C-terminus, and T2, which differed from T1 by loss of a C-terminal lysine. The hydrolysis inactivated one of the two high-affinity Ca2+-binding sites on the native protein, and the remaining site was stable in T1 but labile in T2 when the proteins were Ca2+-free. Binding studies showed that T1 had Kd values of 2.