A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of policosanol in patients with intermittent claudication.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of policosanol, a new cholesterol-lowering drug with concomitant antiplatelet effects, in patients with intermittent claudication. After a baseline period of 6 weeks, 62 patients were randomized to receive, under double-blind conditions, either placebo (31 patients) or policosanol (31), 10 mg twice daily. Walking distances in a treadmill (constant speed 3.

Prenatal detection of congenital hypospadias in the Wolf-Hirschhorn (4p-) syndrome.

Hypospadias is one of the most prominent and characteristic midline defects in male infants with the Wolf-Hirschhorn (4p-) syndrome. In this report we present a case in which hypospadias was identified prenatally at 29 weeks' gestation in association with intrauterine growth retardation. Cytogenetic evaluation after birth confirmed a 46,XY,del(4)(p14) karyotype.

[The atrioventricular canal and vascular ring. The surgical treatment of a rare anatomical association].

We report the clinical and surgical data of 11 patients with atrioventricular canal and vascular ring. Down syndrome was present in 8 cases (72.7%); 8 patients were female (72.

Postoperative evaluation after end-to-end subclavian-left coronary artery anastomosis in anomalous left coronary artery.

In most instances of anomalous left coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery, surgical treatment is recommended. Because establishment of a direct systemic to coronary blood flow is expected to provide the best recovery of left ventricular function, various corrective procedures have been proposed. Subclavian-left coronary artery anastomosis appears to be a logical approach.

[Long-term study of patients with active chronic hepatitis treated with leukocyte interferon].

Seven patients with active chronic hepatitis who received Interferon Alfa showed a marked humoral and histological improvement one year after the treatment was concluded, in 3 patients the hepatic histology was almost normal, 2 evolved to a persistent chronic hepatitis and only one showed deterioration. These results differed from those obtained immediately after the treatment (p 0.05).