Loss of Nexilin function leads to a recessive lethal fetal cardiomyopathy characterized by cardiomegaly and endocardial fibroelastosis.

The Nexilin F-Actin Binding Protein (Nexilin) encoded by NEXN is a cardiac Z-disc protein important for cardiac function and development in humans, zebrafish, and mice. Heterozygote variants in the human NEXN gene have been reported to cause dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Homozygous variants in NEXN cause a lethal form of human fetal cardiomyopathy, only described in two patients before.

[Self-reported level of practical skills after the revision of a medical school curriculum in Trondheim].

Background: The medical curriculum of the University of Trondheim was recently changed from a traditional (2.5 years preclinical studies followed by 3.5 years clinical studies) to an integrated, problem-based approach.

[Self-reported level of skills in practical procedures following internship in general practice].

Background: Previous reports have demonstrated variable and partly insufficient skills in standard practical procedures among young doctors who have served their internship. The present study examines the development of interns' self-reported level of skills in practical procedures during internship in general practice in relation to quantity and quality of supervision, gender and the size of the community they served in.

Material And Methods: Between 1996 and 1999, all doctors going through internships in Norway were asked to indicate their level of skills in 88 practical clinical procedures before and after internship in general practice.

[Physicians' clinical skills after finishing internship].

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate Danish interns' clinical skills after their internship in order to identify areas where systematic training is needed. This study was a follow-up of a previous study on a group of interns at the beginning of their internship.

Material And Methods: A questionnaire listing 88 practical skills was posted to a group of trainees before and after internship.

Effects of cariporide and losartan on hypertrophy, calcium transients, contractility, and gene expression in congestive heart failure.

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare long-term effects of cariporide with those of losartan in postinfarction heart failure.

Methods And Results: Female Sprague-Dawley rats with large myocardial infarctions and sham controls were randomized to losartan, cariporide, or placebo after 7 days and treated for 49 days. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography and measurement of left ventricular pressures, and gene expression was assessed by competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.