Protamine requirements in cardiac surgery: effect of changes in the heparin reference standard.

Objective: UFH (unfractionated heparin) and protamine are integral to cardiac surgery, and inappropriate dosing can predispose to coagulopathy and hemorrhage. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recently has instituted changes to UFH formulation and it is not known if this has influenced its susceptibility to neutralization by protamine. Hence, the authors sought to compare 2 commercial preparations of UFH (old and new) with regard to their neutralization by protamine in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Exploring the Role of Rhodtestolin, A Cardio-Inhibitor from the Testes of Rhodnius prolixus, in Relation to the Structure and Function of Reproductive Organs in Insect Vectors of Chagas Disease.

Rhodtestolin is a cardio-inhibitor that was first discovered in testes extracts of the blood-feeding insect, Rhodnius prolixus. Its role in reproduction remains unconfirmed, but if delivered to the female during spermatophore formation, it may serve to calm the female and/or relax the vaginal muscles to facilitate delivery and storage of the spermatophore. We describe here the anatomy of reproductive organs in R.

Thrombelastographic method to quantify the contribution of factor XIII to coagulation kinetics.

Factor XIII (FXIII) plays a critical role in clot strength, and FXIII deficiency or excess is associated with hemorrhage or thrombosis, respectively. Our goal was to design a thrombelastography-based method to characterize the effects of FXIII on plasma clot strength. Normal human plasma was exposed to 0 or 200 mug/ml anti-FXIII antibodies for 20 min prior to celite activation and calcium addition.

Predictive value of persistent versus transient antiphospholipid antibody subtypes for the risk of thrombotic events in pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Study objectives were to determine, in children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), (1) the association of antiphosholipid antibody (APLA) subtypes with thrombotic events (TEs) and (2) the predictive value of persistent versus transient antibodies for TEs. This is a cohort study of 58 SLE children in whom lupus anticoagulants (LAs), anticardiolipin antibodies (ACLAs), anti-beta2-glycoprotein-I (anti-beta2-GPI), and antiprothrombin (anti-PT) were assessed on at least 2 occasions (more than 3 months apart). Antibodies were classified as persistent (positive on at least 2 occasions) or transient (positive once).

Heritability of plasma concentrations of clotting factors and measures of a prethrombotic state in a protein C-deficient family.

Background: Earlier studies found strong support for a genetic basis for regulation of coagulation factor levels and measures of a prethrombotic state (d-dimer, prothrombin fragment 1.2).

Objectives: Estimation of how much of the variation in the levels of coagulation factors and measures of a prethrombotic state, including measures of protein C activation and inactivation, could be attributed to heritability and household effect.