Percutaneous interventions on the hemodialysis reliable outflow vascular access device.

Purpose: To determine the outcomes of percutaneous interventions for prolonging the patency of the Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow (HeRO) device.

Materials And Methods: Between January 2007 and August 2011, 73 percutaneous interventions were performed on 26 HeRO devices in 25 patients. The graft was implanted in the upper arm with the outflow catheter tip in the superior vena cava or right atrium.

Central veins of the chest: evaluation with time-resolved MR angiography.

Purpose: To retrospectively assess the diagnostic performance of time-resolved magnetic resonance (MR) angiography in the detection of stenoses and occlusions in the central veins of the chest, with angiographic and surgical findings and consensus readings serving as the reference standard.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained, and the informed consent requirement was waived for this HIPAA-compliant study. Retrospective analysis was performed with 27 consecutive patients (12 male, 15 female; age range, 16-67 years) who underwent MR venography of the central veins.

EGF activates intracellular and intercellular calcium signaling by distinct pathways in tumor cells.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-mediated Ca2+ signaling in multiple cell lines derived from human gliomas and in the A431 epidermoid carcinoma cell line was observed using fluorescence videomicroscopy. Bath application of EGF evoked an oscillatory increase in [Ca2+]i in 4 different human glioma cell lines as well as the A431 cell line. This effect was blocked by the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors gefitinib and erlotinib, as well as by the EGFR antibody cetuximab.

The impact of thalamic stimulation on activities of daily living for essential tremor.

Background: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of the ventro-intermedius nucleus of the thalamus is the treatment of choice for drug-refractory essential tremor (ET). This study evaluated the effectiveness of thalamic stimulation in improving the patient's quality of life through activities of daily living.

Methods: Sixteen ET patients completed a health questionnaire, the "Tremor Activities of Daily Living Scale" (TADLS) measured by the patient, a 10-item subset of the TADLS measured by the clinician, and the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin tremor rating scale (TRS).