Benign outcome of objectively proven spontaneous recanalization of internal carotid artery occlusion.

Objective: Spontaneous recanalization of intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion is frequent in embolic strokes. Spontaneous recanalization of the extracranial portion of the ICA occlusion of atherosclerotic or embolic origin is only anecdotally reported, and data are lacking about its incidence, natural history, and outcome in long-term follow-up.

Methods: Consecutive patients with ICA occlusion were prospectively identified and followed-up to detect the incidence of a spontaneous recanalization.

Low-molecular-weight heparin versus compression stockings for thromboprophylaxis after knee arthroscopy: a randomized trial.

Background: Knee arthroscopy, the most common orthopedic operation worldwide, carries a definite risk for deep venous thrombosis; however, postsurgical thromboprophylaxis is not routinely recommended.

Objective: To evaluate whether low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) better prevents deep venous thrombosis and does not cause more complications than graduated compression stockings in adults having knee arthroscopy.

Design: Assessor-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

Circulating levels of cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1beta) in patients with intermittent claudication, at rest, after maximal exercise treadmill test and during restore phase. Could they be progression markers of the disease?

Aim: Inflammation is considered to be one of the main mechanisms for the development and progression of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Many studies have demonstrated that maximal exercise enhances the acute inflammatory response in claudicant patients, but no one has assessed the duration of this acute inflammatory activation. The aim of this study was to assess of the inflammatory pattern in claudicants and of the inflammatory response after maximal exercise and during the recovery from calf pain.

[Primary antiphospholipid syndrome and hyperhomocysteinemia: a study of a group of 29 patients].

Objective: In order to investigate the potential role of hyperhomocysteinemia as an additional risk factor for thrombotic events, we studied its prevalence in patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and evaluated its association with different clinical features.

Methods: We enrolled 29 patients without any current evidence of underlying connective tissue disorder and fulfilling the Sapporo preliminary classification criteria for APS.

Results: Ten (34,4%) patients showed mild hyperhomocysteinemia (18,34 micromol/L +/- 2,04 DS).

Spontaneous recanalization of internal carotid artery occlusion evaluated with color flow imaging and contrast arteriography.

Aim: In strokes of embolic origin a partial recanalization of the intracranial occluded vessel occurs with a high incidence (as high as 80%). In the literature, we find few cases of revascularization, detected with color flow imaging (CFI) or with arteriography (AGF), at carotid siphon or at the origin of an occluded internal carotid artery (ICA). Up to now there have been no reliable data on the incidence and clinical consequences of SR of an extracranial ICA occlusion.