Patient experience of the informed consent process during acute myocardial infarction: a sub-study of the VALIDATE-SWEDEHEART trial.

Objective: We aimed to assess the patient experience of informed consent (IC) during acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a sub-study of the VALIDATE-SWEDEHEART trial. The original trial compared two anticoagulant agents in patients undergoing coronary intervention. A witnessed oral IC was required prior to randomization in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, which was subsequently complemented with a written IC after percutaneous coronary intervention.

The Gut Microbiota Modulates Energy Metabolism in the Hibernating Brown Bear Ursus arctos.

Hibernation is an adaptation that helps many animals to conserve energy during food shortage in winter. Brown bears double their fat depots during summer and use these stored lipids during hibernation. Although bears seasonally become obese, they remain metabolically healthy.

Metabolic changes in summer active and anuric hibernating free-ranging brown bears (Ursus arctos).

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) hibernates for 5 to 6 months each winter and during this time ingests no food or water and remains anuric and inactive. Despite these extreme conditions, bears do not develop azotemia and preserve their muscle and bone strength. To date most renal studies have been limited to small numbers of bears, often in captive environments.

Decrease in the red cell cofactor 2,3-diphosphoglycerate increases hemoglobin oxygen affinity in the hibernating brown bear Ursus arctos.

During winter hibernation, brown bears (Ursus arctos) reduce basal O(2) consumption rate to ∼25% compared with the active state, while body temperature decreases moderately (to ∼30°C), suggesting a temperature-independent component in their metabolic depression. To establish whether changes in O(2) consumption during hibernation correlate with changes in blood O(2) affinity, we took blood samples from the same six individuals of hibernating and nonhibernating free-ranging brown bears during winter and summer, respectively. A single hemoglobin (Hb) component was detected in all samples, indicating no switch in Hb synthesis.

Losartan-induced coronary artery spasm.

We report a case of coronary artery spasm documented with angiography in a patient with severe chest pain, electrocardiographic ST-segment elevations and highly elevated troponin I. Symptom onset was 15 min after the patient's first-ever intake of losartan. Although parts of the clinical presentation suggested allergy or anaphylaxis, laboratory testing did not support this.

Adipose-derived stem cells from the brown bear (Ursus arctos) spontaneously undergo chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation in vitro.

In the den, hibernating brown bears do not develop tissue atrophy or organ damage, despite almost no physical activity. Mesenchymal stem cells could play an important role in tissue repair and regeneration in brown bears. Our objective was to determine if adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) can be recovered from wild Scandinavian brown bears and characterize their differentiation potential.

Platelet function in brown bear (Ursus arctos) compared to man.

Background: Information on hemostasis and platelet function in brown bear (Ursus arctos) is of importance for understanding the physiological, protective changes during hibernation.

Objective: The study objective was to document platelet activity values in brown bears shortly after leaving the den and compare them to platelet function in healthy humans.

Methods: Blood was drawn from immobilized wild brown bears 7-10 days after leaving the den in mid April.

Angiographic morphology impacts outcomes in STEMI patients with LAD occlusion.

Objectives And Background: Acute proximal occlusion of the left anterior descendent coronary artery (LAD) is a critical medical condition often leading to heart failure and death. Our objective was to investigate how additional angiographic findings might influence prognosis.

Methods: In a single center setting by using consecutive data from the Swedish angiography and angioplasty registry (SCAAR), we identified all patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) related to the proximal LAD referred for primary coronary angioplasty.