Reliability of Fractional Flow Reserve and Instantaneous Wave-Free Ratio in Assessing Intermediate Coronary Stenosis in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Despite the current use of fractional flow reserve (FFR) and instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) for guiding revascularization in atrial fibrillation (AF), there is a lack of studies evaluating their reliability in this particular population. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the reliability of FFR and iFR in patients with AF. This retrospective study included all patients with AF undergoing FFR measurements (n = 45 vessels from 36 patients) at Brugmann University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium, between 2012 and 2020 or iFR (n = 18 vessels from 13 patients) and a corresponding number of patients with sinus rhythm (SR) randomly selected from the same period, benefiting from iFR (n = 20 vessels from 17 patients) or FFR (n = 50 vessels from 37 patients).

Evaluation of Cardiac Function in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease with Left Ventricular Global Longitudinal Strain.

Background And Objectives: The importance of myocardial dysfunction in sickle cell disease (SCD) is currently debated. It is difficult to find a reliable index of function in patients with chronic overload as in SCD. Speckle tracking echocardiography, a new mean of evaluating cardiac function, might be a useful tool in SCD.

Targeting thrombogenicity and inflammation in chronic HIV infection.

Persons with HIV infection (PWH) have increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Coronary thrombosis is known to provoke myocardial infarctions, but whether PWH have elevated thrombotic propensity is unknown. We compared thrombogenicity of PWH on antiretroviral therapy versus matched controls using the Badimon chamber.

Implantation of a Stent in a Stenotic Conduit Between the Left Ventricle and Aorta in a Patient Undergone Surgery for a Double Outlet Right Ventricle.

Reinterventions for surgery complications in adult patients with complex congenital heart disease are often difficult and have a high operative risk. If anatomically possible, a percutaneous approach is an alternative to surgery. We report the case of a 36 year-old patient who underwent surgery for a double outlet right ventricle with transposition of the great arteries and pulmonary stenosis.

Cardiogenic Shock after Nifedipine Administration in a Pregnant Patient: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

We present a case of a 21-year-old Caucasian woman at 27 weeks of pregnancy who was admitted to the obstetric department for pre-term labor. She received 10 mg of nifedipine 4 times in 1 h, according to the internal protocol. Shortly after, she brutally deteriorated with pulmonary edema and hypoxemia requiring transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) for mechanical ventilation.

BioChroma - A New and Patented Technology for Processing Radioactive Wastewater from Nuclear Medicine Therapy Facilities in Hospitals and Clinics.

After undergoing radionuclide therapy, patients generate wastewater with a considerable amount of radioactivity, which can reach levels of as much as 90% of the administered dose. Due to the risk of accumulation after discharge into the sewer, it is advisable to collect this effluent for its treatment prior to final discharge. Delay and decay (natural decomposition of the isotope) is the most commonly used technical method of abating radioactive iodine, but it is frequently criticized as being complex and very expensive.

Simpler radioactive wastewater processing.

José Canga Rodríguez, key account manager, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences, EnviroChemie, and Volker Luh, CEO of EnviroDTS, describe the development, and recent successful application, of a new technology for dealing safely and effectively with the radioactive "wastewater" generated by patients who have undergone radiotherapy in nuclear medicine facilities. The BioChroma process provides what is reportedly not only a more flexible means than traditional "delay and decay" systems of dealing with this "by-product" of medical treatment, but also one that requires less plant space, affords less risk of leakage or cross-contamination, and is easier to install.

[Lifestyle and treatment adherence of type 2 diabetes mellitus people in the Canary Islands].

Background: The Canary Islands population experiences the highest type 2 diabetes (DM2) mortality in Spain. We studied lifestyle, unknown DM2 and treatment adherence in diabetics of these islands.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 6729 subjects from the general population (age 18-75) that participate in the cohort study "CDC of the Canary Islands".

Functional outcome after facial allograft transplantation in rats.

Background: Full face, hemiface and facial subunit transplants have been reported before. However, the functional recovery of the face transplant largely remains unknown. The mystacial pad (also known as the vibrissal or whiskers region) is the main sensorimotor unit in rats' faces.

Mechanism of low density lipoprotein (LDL) release in the endosome: implications of the stability and Ca2+ affinity of the fifth binding module of the LDL receptor.

Uptake of low density lipoproteins (LDL) by their receptor, LDLR, is the primary mechanism by which cells incorporate cholesterol from plasma. Mutations in LDLR lead to familial hypercholesterolemia, a common disease affecting 1 in 500 of the human population. LDLR is a modular protein that uses several small repeats to bind LDL.

Evaluation of smoking cessation behaviors and interventions among Latino smokers at low-income clinics in a US-Mexico border county.

A descriptive study of 94 Latino smokers receiving nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in US-Mexico border clinics in El Paso County, Texas was conducted. A baseline questionnaire and two follow-up telephone surveys (8-12 weeks and 6 months) were administered to evaluate smoking habits, behaviors, and cessation interventions. Participants reported an average daily cigarette consumption of 15 cigarettes and smoked within 30 min of waking (44%).

Guide for herbal product use by Mexican Americans in the largest Texas-Mexico border community.

Use of herbal products is a very common practice among Mexican Americans living in the El Paso, Texas, region. Although medicinal plants are generally assumed to be a safe and natural alternative to conventional medications, some herbal products could pose a potential health risk to the consumer. Currently, only a few studies focus on herbal product use by Mexican Americans, and no studies have focused on its use by patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HN) living on the US-Mexico border.

Providers of herbal products in the largest US-Mexico border community.

We surveyed providers of herbal products in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, México, to find out which herbal products they used, the content and place of origin of the products, and the illnesses for which the products were recommended. Providers were selected randomly from Ciudad Juárez and El Paso. Most of the herbal products sold in El Paso (98%) are from the United States, whereas most sold in Ciudad Juárez (89.

Herbal product use in non-HIV and HIV-positive Hispanic patients.

Purpose: The primary endpoint of this study was to determine the prevalence of herbal product use by a sample of Mexican-American patients in the El Paso, TX region. Even though medicinal plants are popularly assumed to be a safe and natural alternative to conventional medications, some herbal products may pose a potential health risk to the consumer. Currently, there are few studies related to herbal use by Mexican Americans and none in HIV patients living on the U.

Angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockade to control blood pressure in postmenopausal women: influence of hormone replacement therapy.

Background: Hypertension is twice as common in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a blockade of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) with candesartan cilexetil (CC) to control blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive menopausal women, and the influence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Methods: This was designed as a prospective, open-label and non-comparative study.