Height Versus Body Surface Area to Normalize Cardiovascular Measurements in Children Using the Pediatric Heart Network Echocardiographic Z-Score Database.

Normalizing cardiovascular measurements for body size allows for comparison among children of different ages and for distinguishing pathologic changes from normal physiologic growth. Because of growing interest to use height for normalization, the aim of this study was to develop height-based normalization models and compare them to body surface area (BSA)-based normalization for aortic and left ventricular (LV) measurements. The study population consisted of healthy, non-obese children between 2 and 18 years of age enrolled in the Pediatric Heart Network Echo Z-Score Project.

Impaired Single Right Ventricular Function Compared to Single Left Ventricles during the Early Stages of Palliation: A Longitudinal Study.

Background: Single right ventricles (SRV) are postulated to be disadvantaged compared with single left ventricles (SLV). We compared the evolution of SRV versus SLV function during infancy using conventional measures and speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE). We hypothesized that the SRV is mechanically disadvantaged during early infancy.

Adsorption of 99mTc-sestamibi onto plastic syringes: evaluation of factors affecting the degree of adsorption and their impact on clinical studies.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to document the extent of adhesion of (99m)Tc-sestamibi to syringes in patient procedures, determine factors that influence the degree of adhesion, and evaluate alternatives to our current practice that would either result in a more reproducible degree of adhesion or, ideally, eliminate adhesion.

Methods: The extent of adhesion was documented in 216 patient procedures and evaluated in detail in an additional 73 patient procedures. We evaluated the nature of the adhesion and its possible causes, including the location of adhesion in injection sets, the effect of syringe type, and the effect of prerinsing of syringes with various solutions of nonradiolabeled sestamibi and (99m)Tc-sestamibi.

Intrastriatal infusion of amiloride increases rotations in 6-OHDA lesioned rats and "down-regulates" D2 receptors in the striatum and 5-HT2A receptors in the cortex.

Intrastriatal infusion of amiloride and 12-0-tetradeconoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in 6-OHDA lesioned rats increased the apomorphine (APO)-induced rotation. This behavioral effect occurred in the presence of a decrease in the density and an increase in the affinity of D2 dopamine receptors in the striatum. There was an associated decrease in the number of 5-HT2A receptors labelled with ketanserin in the cortex on the side of infusion.

The neuropsychological features of mitochondrial myopathies and encephalomyopathies.

Detailed testing of higher cerebral function was performed in 36 patients with mitochondrial myopathies and encephalomyopathies. Fourteen of these patients were thought to be cognitively impaired on clinical grounds. The assessments included tests of general intellectual ability and focal tests of memory, language, and perception.