Impact of copeptin on diagnosis, risk stratification, and intermediate-term prognosis of acute coronary syndromes.

Background: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the diagnostic and intermediate-term prognostic impact of C-terminal portion of provasopressin (copeptin) in combination with troponin I.

Methods: In this prospective single-center study we recruited a total of 230 unselected patients with suspected recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) presenting consecutively at our chest pain unit. Troponin I and copeptin levels were determined at presentation and after 3-6 h.

What do we know 40 years after Nixon declared the 'war on cancer'? On the origin, prevention and treatment of cancer.

Evolutionary principles suggested by Darwin and Wallace some 150 years ago can provide insights into the origins of cancer. Moreover, they can form a basis for answering the question implicitly posed when Nixon declared the war on cancer in 1971: Can we actually 'cure' cancer? As explained lucidly by Greaves in 2001, necessary keys to evolution and thus for the origin of species, including ours, are changes of genes or mutations; but changes of genes are also necessary links in the causal chains which lead to cancer. In effect, cancer is therefore, according to Greaves, an 'evolutionary legacy'.

Effects of combined arginine vasopressin and levosimendan on organ function in ovine septic shock.

Objective: To compare the effects of a first-line therapy of combined arginine vasopressin, levosimendan, and norepinephrine with arginine vasopressin + norepinephrine or norepinephrine alone in ovine septic shock.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled laboratory experiment.

Setting: University animal research facility.

Renal effects of saline-based 10% pentastarch versus 6% tetrastarch infusion in ovine endotoxemic shock.

Background: Conflicting data exist on the renal effects of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) preparations. The current study evaluates the effects of saline-based 6% HES 130/0.4, 10% HES 200/0.

Effects of isoflavones equol and genistein on bone quality in a rat osteopenia model.

Phytoestrogens might be an alternative medication in prophylaxis and treatment of osteoporosis. In this study, the osteoprotective effects of genistein (GEN) and equol (EQO) were evaluated. After ovariectomy, 44 rats received soy-free food (Control, C) and developed substantial osteoporosis over the course of two months.

Short-term effects of parathyroid hormone on rat lumbar vertebrae.

Study Design: This study is an experimental study in the rat osteopenia model.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of daily application of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on bone quality and quantity using a new biomechanical compression test for intact rat lumbar vertebrae.

Summary Of Background Data: Because of their high clinical relevance, trabecular content and thick cortical shell vertebrae are of high interest for osteoporosis research.

Sex mismatch in heart transplantation is associated with increased number of severe rejection episodes and shorter long-term survival.

Background: Heart transplantation is the criterion standard for treating end-stage heart failure. Male sex of both the donor organ and the recipient is advantageous for survival, possibly owing to hemodynamic or immunologic reasons. The effect of sex mismatch on long-term survival in male heart transplant recipients is less known.

How to surf today's information tsunami: on the craft of effective reading.

In this editorial, we provide concise suggestions to help individuals decide what scientific papers to read and how to read them. We do so because--like others--we are frequently asked by people with interest in science as to how to effectively surf today's information tsunami. This is particularly important in, but not confined to, universities and other research institutions where reading scientific papers is a fundamental task that forms the basis for all other academic activities such as writing papers or grant applications, providing reviews for a journal, preparing for postdoctoral positions, qualifying for collaborations or making oral or poster presentations.

Cytokine plasma levels: reliable predictors for radiation pneumonitis?

Background: Radiotherapy (RT) is the primary treatment modality for inoperable, locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but even with highly conformal treatment planning, radiation pneumonitis (RP) remains the most serious, dose-limiting complication. Previous clinical reports proposed that cytokine plasma levels measured during RT allow to estimate the individual risk of patients to develop RP. The identification of such cytokine risk profiles would facilitate tailoring radiotherapy to maximize treatment efficacy and to minimize radiation toxicity.

Clockwork blue: on the evolution of non-image-forming retinal photoreceptors in marine and terrestrial vertebrates.

This paper presents a hypothesis that could explain why blue light appears to dominate non-image-forming (NIF) ocular photoreception in marine as well as terrestrial vertebrates. Indeed, there is more and more evidence suggesting that 'novel' retinal photoreceptors, which are sensitive to blue light and were only discovered in the 1990s, could be a feature shared by all vertebrates. In our view, blue light photoreception evolved and persisted as NIF photoreception because it has been useful in the colonisation of extensive photo-dependent oceanic habitats and facilitated the move of vertebrates from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment.

Neanderthal, chimp and human genomes: hypotheses wanted for research into brain evolution.

The recent sequencing of Neanderthal DNA and the release of drafts of human and chimp genomes in 2001 and 2005, respectively, provide an opportunity to better understand why our brain is different from those of extinct and living relatives. However, it is not clear that hypothesis-free analysis of genetic differences alone will shed light on the complex "big bang" evolution of human brains that is thought to have taken place about 100,000 years ago. Rather than pursuing black box genomics, we suggest that genetic analyses should be guided by hypotheses.

Processing of stored packed red blood cells using autotransfusion devices decreases potassium and microaggregates: a prospective, randomized, single-blinded in vitro study.

The aim of the study was to compare the potential of autotransfusion devices to reduce non-infectious complications related to transfusion of long-stored packed red blood cells (PRBC; n= 57), such as changes in electrolytes, blood cells and the load of free microaggregates. Following a baseline measurement, a blood pool of three PRBC was divided into three equal volumes and washed with either the Haemonetics Cell Saver (HCS) or the continuous autotransfusion system (C.A.

Lack of toxicological side-effects in silver-coated megaprostheses in humans.

Deep infection of megaprostheses remains a serious complication in orthopedic tumor surgery. Furthermore, reinfection gets a raising problem in revision surgery of patients suffering from infections associated with primary endoprosthetic replacement of the knee and hip joint. These patients will need many revision surgeries and in some cases even an amputation is inevitable.

Methylprednisolone reverses vasopressin hyporesponsiveness in ovine endotoxemia.

Tachyphylaxis against catecholamines often complicates hemodynamic support in patients with septic shock. Recent experimental and clinical research suggests that the hemodynamic response to exogenous arginine vasopressin (AVP) infusion may also be blunted. The purpose of the present study was therefore to clarify whether the efficacy of a continuous AVP infusion (0.