Postoperative Hyperglycemia and 4-Year Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Children Operated for Congenital Heart Disease.

Objectives: To study the long-term neurodevelopmental effects of hyperglycemia in infant bypass surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD).

Study Design: Prospective cohort study on neurodevelopmental outcome after infant cardiac bypass surgery.

Exclusion Criteria: age older than 1 year at first surgery, genetic comorbidity, and birth weight <2000 g.

Oral everolimus inhibits neointimal proliferation in prosthetic pulmonary valved stents in pigs.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Growth factor-dependent cell proliferation can cause in-stent neointimal hyperplasia. The study aim was to evaluate whether oral everolimus inhibits the intimal proliferation associated with the implantation of prosthetic pulmonary valved stents.

Methods: Prosthetic pulmonary valves were implanted in 12 pigs (mean bodyweight 25 kg) using a transcatheter technique.

Physical models aiding in complex congenital heart surgery.

Purpose: Our aim was to improve spatial imagination of complex congenital cardiac abnormalities for subsequent surgical intervention.

Description: Magnetic resonance imaging data of a patient with complex congenital heart malformations was post-processed with software developed at our institution. The resulting virtual surface data sets were printed out three-dimensionally by rapid prototyping techniques.

Magnetic resonance imaging-guided balloon angioplasty of coarctation of the aorta: a pilot study.

Background: MRI guidance of percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty (PTA) of aortic coarctation (CoA) would be desirable for continuous visualization of anatomy and to eliminate x-ray exposure. The aim of this study was (1) to determine the suitability of MRI-controlled PTA using the iron oxide-based contrast medium Resovist (ferucarbotran) for catheter visualization and (2) to subsequently apply this technique in a pilot study with patients with CoA.

Methods And Results: The MRI contrast-to-noise ratio and artifact behavior of Resovist-treated balloon catheters was optimized in in vitro and animal experiments (pigs).

Hypothermia preserves myocardial function and mitochondrial protein gene expression during hypoxia.

Hypothermia before and/or during no-flow ischemia promotes cardiac functional recovery and maintains mRNA expression for stress proteins and mitochondrial membrane proteins (MMP) during reperfusion. Adaptation and protection may occur through cold-induced change in anaerobic metabolism. Accordingly, the principal objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that hypothermia preserves myocardial function during hypoxia and reoxygenation.

Hypothermic protection of the ischemic heart via alterations in apoptotic pathways as assessed by gene array analysis.

Hypothermia improves resistance to ischemia in the cardioplegia-arrested heart. This adaptive process produces changes in specific signaling pathways for mitochondrial proteins and heat-shock response. To further test for hypothermic modulation of other signaling pathways such as apoptosis, we used various molecular techniques, including cDNA arrays.