Clinical Presentation of Cat Scratch Disease in Pediatric Patients-A Single-Center Study.

Objective: Cat scratch disease (CSD) is the infectious disease caused by Bartonella henselae. Its typical presentation is regional lymphadenopathy. Also it may present with symptoms related to involved organs or disseminated disease with fever of unknown origin (FUO).

Effective diagnosis of sacroiliitis in children: evaluating magnetic resonance imaging with the Canadian scoring system.

Objectives: To reveal the differences by comparing the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of patients with clinically symptomatic sacroiliitis with those undergoing sacroiliac imaging for other reasons using the Canadian Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium-Sacroiliac Inflammatory Scoring System (SPARCC-SIS).

Methods: In this retrospective single-center study, sacroiliac MRIs performed between 2017 and 2023 were evaluated from the database. The SPARCC-SIS scoring system is used to evaluate and grade the inflammation of the sacroiliac joints.

Vesicular HMGB1 release from neurons stressed with spreading depolarization enables confined inflammatory signaling to astrocytes.

The role of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in inflammation is well characterized in the immune system and in response to tissue injury. More recently, HMGB1 was also shown to initiate an "inflammatory signaling cascade" in the brain parenchyma after a mild and brief disturbance, such as cortical spreading depolarization (CSD), leading to headache. Despite substantial evidence implying a role for inflammatory signaling in prevalent neuropsychiatric disorders such as migraine and depression, how HMGB1 is released from healthy neurons and how inflammatory signaling is initiated in the absence of apparent cell injury are not well characterized.

Effect of bladder volume and compliance on ultrasonographic measurement of bladder wall thickness in children with neurogenic bladder dysfunction.

Background: Spina bifida is the most common cause of neurogenic bladder dysfunction in children. Measurement of bladder wall thickness (BWT) is non-invasive, low-cost, and may be complementary to urodynamics in demonstrating bladder condition. It is still unknown the wall thickness response to volume change in bladders with different compliance states.

Comparative analysis of magnetically activated cell sorting and ultracentrifugation methods for exosome isolation.

Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes regulate cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, and synthesis of the extracellular matrix, giving great potential for the treatment of different diseases. The ultracentrifugation method is the gold standard method for exosome isolation due to the simple protocol, and high yield, but presents low purity and requires specialized equipment. Amelioration of technical optimization is required for quick and reliable confinement of exosomes to translate them to the clinic as cell therapeutics In this study, we hypothesized that magnetically activated cell sorting may provide, an effective, reliable, and rapid tool for exosome isolation when compared to ultracentrifugation.

Bilateral Native Kidney Papillary Renal Cell Carcinomas in a 11-Year-Old Renal Transplant Patient.

Renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) are the most common renal tumors in adults and are usually sporadic and unilateral. Renal transplant recipients have an increased risk of developing RCC. RCC development after kidney transplantation is very rarely reported in children.

Internal carotid artery dissection following blunt head trauma: a pediatric case report and review of the literature.

Background: Internal carotid artery dissection (ICAD) is a rare but potentially devastating complication after trauma in the pediatric age group. The diagnosis of traumatic dissection is difficult and is usually recognized only when ischemic symptoms appear. We report a pediatric patient with ICAD due to blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI).

DIagnostic accuracy oF electrocardiogram for acute coronary OCClUsion resuLTing in myocardial infarction (DIFOCCULT Study).

Background: Although ST-segment elevation (STE) has been used synonymously with acute coronary occlusion (ACO), current STE criteria miss nearly one-third of ACO and result in a substantial amount of false catheterization laboratory activations. As many other electrocardiographic (ECG) findings can reliably indicate ACO, we sought whether a new ACO/non-ACO myocardial infarction (MI) paradigm would result in better identification of the patients who need acute reperfusion therapy.

Methods: A total of 3000 patients were enrolled in STEMI, non-STEMI and control groups.

Evolutionary divergence reveals the molecular basis of EMRE dependence of the human MCU.

The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) is a calcium-activated calcium channel critical for signaling and bioenergetics. MCU, the pore-forming subunit of the uniporter, contains two transmembrane domains and is found in all major eukaryotic taxa. In amoeba and fungi, MCU homologs are sufficient to form a functional calcium channel, whereas human MCU exhibits a strict requirement for the metazoan protein essential MCU regulator (EMRE) for conductance.

A new electrocardiographic pattern indicating inferior myocardial infarction.

Background: We identified a specific pattern that does not display contiguous ST-segment elevation (STE), indicating acute inferior myocardial infarction (MI) with concomitant critical stenoses on the other coronary arteries. We sought to define the frequency, underlying anatomic substrate, diagnostic power and prognostic implications of this pattern.

Methods: One thousand patients with a diagnosis of non-STEMI were enrolled as the study group.

Does electrocardiogram help in identifying the culprit artery when angiogram shows both right and circumflex artery disease in inferior myocardial infarction?

Objective: In a subgroup of patients with inferior myocardial infarction (MI), both the right coronary artery (RCA) and circumflex coronary artery (Cx) show potentially culprit lesions, and angiography may be insufficient to determine which artery is responsible for the clinical presentation. Although many electrocardiographic (ECG) algorithms have been proposed for identifying the infarct-related artery in patients with inferior MI, it is unclear whether the current algorithms have the discriminative power to identify the real culprit artery in these patients.

Methods: The patients with the diagnosis of acute inferior MI and underwent coronary angiography were enrolled in the study.

Effect of acute kidney injury on long-term mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention in a high-volume tertiary center.

Objective: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a reflection of both renal and cardiac reserve in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), but there is a lack of evidence related to the effect of AKI on long-term mortality in patients with STEMI. This study was an investigation of the prognostic value of AKI for long-term mortality in patients with STEMI complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).

Methods: This retrospective analysis evaluated the long-term prognostic impact of AKI on 492 patients with STEMI complicated by CS who were treated with PPCI.

Hair whitening and obesity are independently related to ascending aorta dilatation in young-middle aged men.

Objective: Hair whitening (HW) is strongly linked with aging. Ascending aortic dilation (AAD) and HW share common etiologic factors. We investigated the association of HW with ascending aortic diameters.

Is the inferior ST-segment elevation in anterior myocardial infarction reliable in prediction of wrap-around left anterior descending artery occlusion?

Objective: In a subgroup of patients with the anterior wall myocardial infarction (MI), the electrocardiogram (ECG) records a concomitant inferior ST-segment elevation (STE), which is generally explained by a 'wrap-around' left anterior descending (LAD) artery occlusion. However, recent evidence indicates that this may be due to a distal LAD occlusion, which may be irrelevant to the LAD length. We investigated the relationship between inferior ST-T changes in anterior MI and the presence of a wrap-around LAD.

The established electrocardiographic classification of anterior wall myocardial infarction misguides clinicians in terms of infarct location, extent and prognosis.

Background: The currently used scheme for the classification of infarct location and extent in anterior myocardial infarction (MI) is intuitive rather than being evidence-based, and recent evidence suggests that it may be misleading both in anatomic and prognostic sense.

Material And Methods: Consecutive patients with the diagnosis of anterior MI were enrolled. All electrocardiograms (ECG) were first classified according to established scheme and then reassessed using newer criteria for angiographic site of occlusion.

An algorithm for the differentiation of the infarct territory in difficult to discern electrocardiograms.

Background: In a minority of the patients presenting with ST-segment elevation (STE) myocardial infarction (MI), electrocardiogram (ECG) may show a balanced STE in both anterior and inferior lead groups and may cause diagnostic confusion about involved myocardial territory. In this study, we sought ECG clues which may facilitate discriminating (1) MI location and then (2) culprit artery in patients with difficult-to-discern ECGs.

Material And Methods: Consecutive patients with the diagnosis of STEMI were scanned and patients with ECGs displaying both anterior and inferior STE were enrolled.

Outcomes of survivors of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction complicated by out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a single-center surveillance study.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate in-hospital and long-term outcomes of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) survivors who experienced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at a high-volume center within the STEMI network.

Methods: The records of 2681 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent primary PCI between January 2009 and December 2014 at a single center in the STEMI network were retrospectively analyzed. Patients with STEMI complicated by OHCA were compared with a reference group of STEMI patients who did not experience OHCA.

A Simplified Formula Discriminating Subtle Anterior Wall Myocardial Infarction from Normal Variant ST-Segment Elevation.

Benign variant (BV) ST-segment elevation (STE) is present in anterior chest leads in most individuals and may cause diagnostic confusion in patients presenting with chest pain. Recently, 2 regression formulas were proposed for differentiation of BV-STE from anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI) on the electrocardiogram, computation of which is heavily device-dependent. We hypothesized that a simpler visual-assessment-based formula, namely (R-wave amplitude in lead V4 + QRS amplitude in V2) - (QT interval in millimeters + STE60 in V3), will be noninferior to these formulas.

Association between high on-treatment platelet reactivity to clopidogrel and hepatosteatosis in patients undergoing elective stent implantation.

Objective: The present study is an investigation of the association between high on-treatment platelet reactivity to clopidogrel (HTPRC) and hepatosteatosis in patients who had elective stent implantation due to coronary artery disease.

Methods: A total of 190 consecutive patients who underwent an elective coronary stent implantation due to coronary artery disease were prospectively enrolled in the study. Eligible patients were given a 300 mg loading dose of clopidogrel before percutaneous coronary intervention.

Interatrial block as a predictor of atrial fibrillation in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Introduction: Interatrial block (IAB) is strongly associated with recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in different clinical scenarios. Atrial fibrosis is considered the responsible mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of IAB. The aim of this study was to investigate whether IAB predicted AF at 12 months follow-up in a population of patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).