An Extremely Rare Congenital Muscle Bundle Crossing the Right Atrial Cavity.

Muscle bundles in the right atrium are an extremely rare congenital anomaly. We report the case of a patient with 2 atrial septal defects and a large muscle bundle crossing the right atrium. Only 3 comparable cases have previously been published.

Colchicine in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.

Background Inflammation plays a pivotal role in coronary artery disease (CAD). The anti-inflammatory drug colchicine seems to reduce ischemic events in patients with CAD. So far there is equipoise about its safety and impact on mortality.

"Exercise induced asthma" is not always asthma.

A 25 year old woman was referred to our center for further evaluation of an exercise-induced dyspnea. Moreover, the patient suffered from hoarseness and recurrent sinusitis and otitis. After initially finding nothing suspicious, a spiro-ergometry was performed.

Relationships of Measured and Genetically Determined Height With the Cardiac Conduction System in Healthy Adults.

Background: Increasing height is an independent risk factor for atrial fibrillation, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We hypothesized that height-related differences in electric conduction could be potential mediators of this relationship.

Methods And Results: We enrolled 2149 adults aged 25 to 41 years from the general population.

[Abdominal pain and hypertension in a 55-year-old male patient].

A 55-year-old male patient under permanent testosterone therapy for hypogonadism presented with abdominal pain and increased blood pressure values. In the physical examination a plethora was noted and laboratory examinations revealed polyglobulia. In the subsequent diagnostic process polycythemia vera and cancer could be excluded as the cause.

Relationships of iron metabolism with insulin resistance and glucose levels in young and healthy adults.

Aims: Several biomarkers within the iron metabolism pathway have been related to the occurrence of diabetes mellitus, but underlying mechanisms are unknown. The aim of our study was to investigate the differential relationships of iron metabolism with a broad range of diabetes markers in young and healthy adults.

Design: 2160 participants aged 25 to 41years were enrolled in a population-based study.

The interrelationships of birthweight, inflammation and body composition in healthy adults.

Background: Lower birthweight is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. We hypothesized that inflammation and body fat may be potential mediators for these inverse relationships.

Materials And Methods: Healthy adults aged 25-41 years were enrolled in a prospective population-based cohort study in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Relationship of N-Terminal fragment of Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide and copeptin with erythrocytes-related parameters: A population-based study.

Background: Plasma levels of natriuretic peptides (NP) have been inversely related to hemoglobin (Hb) concentration in prior studies. However, the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear. We aimed to obtain further insights into potential mechanisms for this correlation in a cohort of healthy adults.

Utility of transvenous liver biopsies and wedged hepatic venous pressure measurements in sixty marrow transplant recipients.

Sixty marrow transplant recipients with liver dysfunction underwent transvenous liver biopsy and measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient. Biopsies were done on 29 patients using a Cook needle inserted through the jugular vein, on 30 patients through the femoral vein with a Mansfield biopsy forceps, and on 1 patient using both instruments. The average number of evaluable portal spaces was 4.

Renal angioplasty: current status.

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years and is being used with increasing frequency for the treatment of renovascular hypertension from renal artery stenosis. One hundred forty dilatation procedures have been performed in 90 patients with 119 renal artery stenoses. Ten of the patients were treated for renal insufficiency alone.