The association between SCN5A, KCNQ1 and KCNE1 gene polymorphisms and complex ventricular arrhythmias in survivors of myocardial infarction.

Background: Post-MI patients are highly susceptible to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) resulting from ventricular arrhythmia (VA). The search for new clinical predictors to identify those patients who are at the highest risk of these events is therefore essential. Numerous data indicate that the presence of polymorphisms and mutations in the cardiac ion channel genes SCN5A, KCNQ1 and KCNE1 might serve as such a predictor.

[Clinical significance of muscle bridge narrowing coronary artery lumen--description of three cases].

The muscle bridge is an anomaly which is found in 0.5-2.5% of coronary angiography examinations and may lead to impairment of coronary blood flow.

[Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)--slows down the aging process?].

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) are secondary adrenal androgens, mainly produced in the reticular layer as well as in the gonads and in the central nervous system. These prohormones influence many functions in human organism, but their most important effect seems to slow down the ageing process. It is well known that the concentrations of both substances are decreasing substantially with age, beginning at 50.