Prevalence and clinical characteristics of degenerative mitral stenosis.

Background: Degenerative mitral stenosis (DMS) is found in the elderly population. However, there are a few reports regarding the prevalence rate of DMS and, its clinical characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between age, gender, and the prevalence rate of DMS.

Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of atrial septal aneurysm with patent foramen ovale in a patient with ventricular septal defect.

We present a case of a rare combination of ventricular septal defect and atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) with a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in a 57-year-old female. She was referred to our hospital for the treatment of irregular palpitation and exertional shortness of breath. Two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2D-TEE) with color Doppler imaging demonstrated an ASA with two lines of shunt flows.

Bile duct-bound growth of precursor cells of preneoplastic foci inducible in the initiation stage of rat chemical hepatocarcinogenesis by 2-acetylaminofluorene.

Background: We previously detected precursor cell populations of preneoplastic foci, GST-P(+)/GGT(-) and GST-P(+)/GGT(+) minifoci, in rat liver in the initiation stage of chemical hepatocarcinogenesis, where GST-P and GGT represent glutathione S-transferase P-form and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, respectively.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed a basal diet containing 2-acetylaminofluorene (0.02%) over 16 weeks.