A study on the mortality and complication rates following percutaneously adjustable pulmonary artery banding.

Introduction: Pulmonary artery (PA) banding is a procedure associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. It however can effectively palliate several forms of congenital heart lesions with increased pulmonary flow. Occasionally, to obtain an optimal degree of banding following operation, readjustment of the band is inevitable.

Patient's Radiation Exposure in Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty: The Impact of Different Projections.

Introduction: We aimed to determine angiography projections with lower Dose Area Product (DAP) rate by measuring the mean DAP and fluoroscopy times in coronary angiography (CAG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and calculating DAP rate in different projections.

Methods: DAP and fluoroscopy times were measured in all employed projections in real-time in 75 patients who underwent CAG or PCI by a single cardiologist in Madani Cardiovascular University Hospital (45 in CAG group and 30 in PCI group). DAP rate was calculated in both groups and in all projections.

Effect of peripheral edema on oscillometric blood pressure measurement.

Introduction: Blood pressure (BP) measurement is essential for epidemiological studies and clinical decisions. It seems that tissue characteristics can affect BP results and we try to find edema effect on BP results taken by different methods.

Methods: BP of 55 children before open heart surgery were measured and compared according to three methods: Arterial as standard and reference, oscillometric and auscultatory methods.

Prosthetic valve thrombosis.

Background: We conducted a retrospective, single center study to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of all consecutive patients with prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) over a 10 year period.

Methods: Data from 85 episodes of PVT in 80 patients treated over a 10-year period between 2001 and 2011 were analyzed. The diagnosis of PVT was confirmed by echocardiography and/or fluoroscopy.

Comparison of pectoral angina misconception among Iranian nurses, nursing students and patients.

previous studies revealed some angina misconception among patients and health care providers. The aim of this study was to assess the misconceptions about angina held by nurses, nursing students and patients. In this cross sectional study, 120 nurses, 120 nursing students, and 120 patients with angina pectoris in Iran participated.

Possible unaware intoxication by anticoagulant rodenticide.

Superwarfarin toxicity may be a serious problem. It needs high clinical suspicious in patients with bleeding diathesis without hematologic or liver diseases even in patients with apparent negative history of warfarin or other anticoagulant accessibility. Here we reported a patient with a negative history of any medical diseases or drug administration who was referred with generalized ecchymosis.

A pilot randomized trial of pentoxifylline for the reduction of periprocedural myocardial injury in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention.

Purpose: Periprocedural myocardial injury (PMI) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has received great attention due to its significant association with mortality and morbidity. Accordingly, cardioprotection during PCI is one of the important therapeutic concerns. Regarding the potential cardiovascular benefits of pentoxifylline this study was performed to evaluate whether the pretreatment pentoxifylline could reduce PMI in patients who are undergoing elective PCI.

The lived experiences of patients post coronary angioplasty: a qualitative study.

Few qualitative studies have focused on the experiences of patients post angioplasty. A deep understanding of patient experiences of care and the way a treatment can affect their everyday life is particularly important in chronic disease management. The aim of this study was to explore experiences that patients undergo after angioplasty.

Stem cells and the impact of ROS signaling.

An appropriate balance between self-renewal and differentiation is crucial for stem cell function during both early development and tissue homeostasis throughout life. Recent evidence from both pluripotent embryonic and adult stem cell studies suggests that this balance is partly regulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), which, in synchrony with metabolism, mediate the cellular redox state. In this Primer, we summarize what ROS are and how they are generated in the cell, as well as their downstream molecular targets.

Apigenin modulates the expression levels of pro-inflammatory mediators to reduce the human insulin amyloid-induced oxidant damages in SK-N-MC cells.

Amyloid depositions of proteins play crucial roles in a wide variety of degenerative disorders called amyloidosis. Although the exact mechanisms involved in amyloid-mediated cytotoxicity remain unknown, increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrogen species and overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines are believed to play key roles in the process. In that regard, we investigated the effect of apigenin, a common dietary flavonoid with high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties on potential factors involved in cytotoxicity of human insulin amyloids.

AZD1152-HQPA induces growth arrest and apoptosis in androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP) via producing aneugenic micronuclei and polyploidy.

Prostate cancer is the frequent non-cutaneous tumor with high mortality in men. Prostate tumors contain cells with different status of androgen receptor. Androgen receptor plays important roles in progression and treatment of prostate cancer.

Resveratrol increases the bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell capacity.

Resveratrol is a plant-derived polyphenol that has shown protective effects against many disorders including, several types of cancers and other age-associated diseases as well as blood disorders in cultured cells and/or animal models. However, whether resveratrol has any impact specifically on normal blood stem cells remains unknown. Here, we show that a 3-week treatment of resveratrol increases the frequency and total numbers of normal bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) without any impact on their competitive repopulation capacity.

The exosome complex establishes a barricade to erythroid maturation.

Complex genetic networks control hematopoietic stem cell differentiation into progenitors that give rise to billions of erythrocytes daily. Previously, we described a role for the master regulator of erythropoiesis, GATA-1, in inducing genes encoding components of the autophagy machinery. In this context, the Forkhead transcription factor, Foxo3, amplified GATA-1-mediated transcriptional activation.

Aging-like phenotype and defective lineage specification in SIRT1-deleted hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

Aging hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) exhibit defective lineage specification that is thought to be central to increased incidence of myeloid malignancies and compromised immune competence in the elderly. Mechanisms underlying these age-related defects remain largely unknown. We show that the deacetylase Sirtuin (SIRT)1 is required for homeostatic HSC maintenance.

Anomalous origin of right coronary artery from distal left circumflex artery: a case study and a review of its clinical significance.

Single coronary arteries are rare congenital anomalies in which the whole heart circulation is supplied by a coronary artery arising from a single ostium. Single left coronary artery with right coronary artery (RCA) originating from distal left circumflex artery (LCX) is a very rare anomaly with only few cases reported in the literature. We report a 44 years old male presenting with anterior myocardial infarction who was found to have a single left coronary artery during angiography.

Activated clotting time level with weight based heparin dosing during percutaneous coronary intervention and its determinant factors.

Introduction: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may be associated with Thrombotic complications. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is a potent and preferable antithrombotic agent during this procedure. Activated clotting time (ACT) is a good assay for accurate titration of UFH during PCI.

Expression pattern of hTERT telomerase subunit gene in different stages of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Telomerase is activated in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML); however, it is not known whether the catalytic telomerase reverse transcriptase subunit (hTERT) is vital in the progression of this disease. This study involved patients with CML in the chronic phase (pretreatment and after treatment), accelerated and blastic phase. Expression of the hTERT gene differed significantly among the four major groups (p < 0.

FOXO3-mTOR metabolic cooperation in the regulation of erythroid cell maturation and homeostasis.

Ineffective erythropoiesis is observed in many erythroid disorders including β-thalassemia and anemia of chronic disease in which increased production of erythroblasts that fail to mature exacerbate the underlying anemias. As loss of the transcription factor FOXO3 results in erythroblast abnormalities similar to the ones observed in ineffective erythropoiesis, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of the defective Foxo3(-/-) erythroblast cell cycle and maturation. Here we show that loss of Foxo3 results in overactivation of the JAK2/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in primary bone marrow erythroblasts partly mediated by redox modulation.

The Beneficial Effects of Valproic Acid in Thyroid Cancer Are Mediated through Promoting Redifferentiation and Reducing Stemness Level: An In Vitro Study.

Valproic acid (VPA) has been identified as a histone deacetylase inhibitor, inducing differentiation in transformed cells. However, no study has shown the effect of VPA in the redifferentiation induction and stemness of anaplastic thyroid. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of VPA as a differentiation therapy agent in human thyroid cancer based on its effect on stemness and differentiation process.

Evaluation of antitumor activity of a TGF-beta receptor I inhibitor (SD-208) on human colon adenocarcinoma.

Background: Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway is involved in primary tumor progression and in promoting metastasis in a considerable proportion of human cancers such as colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, blockage of TGF-β pathway signaling via an inhibitor could be a valuable tool in CRC treatment.

Methods: To evaluate the efficacy of systemic targeting of the TGF-β pathway for therapeutic effects on CRC, we investigated the effects of a TGβRI (TGF-β receptor 1) or TβRI kinase inhibitor, SD-208, on SW-48, colon adenocarcinoma cells.

Giant right atrial lipoma mimicking tamponade.

Cardiac lipomas are rarely encountered. They are mostly asymptomatic and may be discovered incidentally. We describe the case of a 56 year-old man with a presentation similar to tamponade.

Metabolism of arsenic trioxide in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells.

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) effectively induces complete clinical and molecular remissions in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients and triggers apoptosis in APL cells. The effect induced by As2O3 is also associated with extensive genomic-wide epigenetic changes with large-scale alterations in DNA methylation. We investigated the As2O3 metabolism in association with factors involved in the production of its methylated metabolites in APL-derived cell line, NB4.

Silibinin induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast carcinoma cells through suppression of nuclear factor kappa B activation.

Background: Silibinin is a traditionally well-known drug for its hepatoprotective efficacy against various types of liver afflictions. In addition, it has recently been considered broadly as a potential chemopreventive agent against many types of cancers. The current study was designed to evaluate the restrictive effects of pharmacological doses of silibinin on SKBR3, an ErbB2-overexpressed and ER-negative human breast carcinoma cell line.