Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on ST-elevation myocardial infarction presentation and survival.

Presentation and outcomes of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) may change during viral pandemics. We compared symptom-tocall (STC), call-to-balloon (CTB), doorto-balloon (DTB) times; high-sensitivity troponin (hs-cTnI) levels; and survival of patients (n=39) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (defined as a 'COVID period' starting four weeks before lockdown) to historical controls from a 'pre-COVID period' (n=45). STEMI admissions fell one week before lockdown by 29%.

Cardiac arrest, chronic total occlusion, and occluded stent in a 16-year-old boy with Kawasaki disease: a case report.

Background: Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of premature coronary artery disease in developed countries. As such, patients may require revascularisation as children. However, there are no randomized data guiding treatment so this must be individualized.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Coronary Artery Aneurysms; Technical Aspects. Report of Case Series and Literature Review.

Coronary Artery Aneurysms (CAAs) in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients are associated with poor long-term outcomes. The best treatment option for CAAs remains a subject of debate. The underlying pathology is not well understood, randomised controlled trials and supportive data are lacking and there is no consensus on treatment plan.

Analysis of the tonsillar microbiome in young adults with sore throat reveals a high relative abundance of Fusobacterium necrophorum with low diversity.

Fusobacterium necrophorum (Fn), a gram-negative anaerobe, is increasingly implicated as an etiologic agent in older adolescents and young adults with sore throat. Inadequately treated Fn pharyngitis may result in suppurative complications such as peritonsillar abscess and Lemierre's syndrome. Data from the literature suggest that the incidence of life-threating complications in these age groups from Fn pharyngitis (Lemierre's syndrome) in the United States exceeds those associated with group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis (acute rheumatic fever).

The clinical presentation of Fusobacterium-positive and streptococcal-positive pharyngitis in a university health clinic: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Pharyngitis guidelines focus solely on group A β-hemolytic streptococcal infection. European data suggest that in patients aged 15 to 30 years, Fusobacterium necrophorum causes at least 10% of cases of pharyngitis; however, few U.S.

Limitations of the MRL mouse as a model for cardiac regeneration.

Objective: Myocardial repair following injury in mammals is restricted such that damaged areas are replaced by scar tissue, impairing cardiac function. MRL mice exhibit exceptional regenerative healing in an ear punch wound model. Some myocardial repair with restoration of heart function has also been reported following cryoinjury.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of atomoxetine in young children with ADHD.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of atomoxetine for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 5- and 6-year-old children.

Methods: This was an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of atomoxetine in 101 children with ADHD. Atomoxetine or placebo was flexibly titrated to a maximum dose of 1.

Methylphenidate and amphetamine do not induce cytogenetic damage in lymphocytes of children with ADHD.

Objective: In response to previously published findings of methylphenidate-induced chromosomal changes in children, this study was designed to determine whether methylphenidate- or amphetamine-based drugs induce chromosomal damage (structural aberrations, micronuclei, and sister chromatid exchanges) in peripheral blood lymphocytes of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder after 3 months of continuous treatment.

Method: Stimulant drug-naïve subjects, 6 to 12 years of age, in good overall health, and judged to be appropriate candidates for stimulant therapy based on rigorously diagnosed ADHD using DSM-IV criteria, were randomized into two open-label treatment groups (methylphenidate or mixed amphetamine salts). Each subject provided a blood sample before initiation of treatment and after 3 months of treatment.

Post-infarction remodeling is independent of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (MKK3).

Objectives: Our aim was to examine the role of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (MKK3) in the development of left ventricular (LV) remodeling following myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods: MKK3-null mice were subjected to permanent coronary artery ligation. Twenty-eight days after MI, haemodynamics in male mkk3+/+(WT) and mkk3-/-(KO) littermates were assessed using a pressure-conductance catheter.

Ischaemic preconditioning and myocardial adaptation to serial intracoronary balloon inflation: cut from the same cloth?

Elective percutaneous coronary intervention fulfils many of the criteria needed of a clinical model of ischaemic preconditioning. But is this really a reflection of the laboratory phenomenon of ischaemic preconditioning?

Analysis of K-ras gene mutations in human pancreatic cancer cell lines and in bile samples from patients with pancreatic and biliary cancers.

The ras family of oncogenes are the most frequently activated group of dominant transforming genes in both human and experimental cancers. The ras family of genes encode highly similar proteins with molecular weights of 21 kDa which are thought to play a key role in signal transduction. Activation in vivo by point mutations results in the ras p21 protein being maintained in the activated form and stimulating cellular proliferation autonomously.

A rapid microneutralization assay for the measurement of neutralizing antibody reactive with human cytomegalovirus.

We have developed a murine monoclonal antibody reactive with a major immediate early 72,000 dalton protein of human cytomegalovirus and utilized this reagent in a rapid virus titration and microneutralization assay. Because of the early expression of this virus encoded protein, both assays could be accomplished within 16 h following virus inoculation. In addition, both assays resulted in considerable savings of reagents because the assays were carried out in 96-well microtiter plates.