Usefulness of baseline plasma myeloperoxidase levels as an independent predictor of myocardial infarction at two years in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome.

Baseline plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels have been shown to independently predict the early risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in patients presenting with chest pain. In addition, baseline MPO levels have been demonstrated to predict the development of adverse cardiac events up to 6 months after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, in contrast to other biomarkers, there are no data about the long-term independent predictive value of baseline MPO values in patients with ACS.

Beyond lipid lowering: the anti-hypertensive role of statins.

Introduction: The management of the hypercholesterolemic patient has evolved tremendously with the introduction of the HMG-CoA Reductase inhibitors, a class of drugs better known as the statins. Statins modify cholesterol metabolism by inhibiting the rate-limiting enzyme of cholesterol biosynthesis, producing greater decreases in plasma cholesterol levels than previously realized with hypolipidemic therapy. With the advent of the classic statin-megatrials such as the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S), WOSCOPS, CARE, and the more recent Heart Protection Study (HPS), the role of statins in both the primary and secondary prevention and ultimate risk reduction of patients with coronary disease has been firmly established.

Can short-long-short sequences predict atrial fibrillation in acute inferior myocardial infarction?

Short-long-short sequences (SLSS), related to atrial ectopic beats (AEBs), predict the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in some clinical situations. We investigated whether SLSS predict the occurrence of AF in acute phase of inferior myocardial infarction (MI). In patients who developed AF AEBs were more frequent.

Supraventricular arrhythmias in noncompaction of left ventricle: is this a frequent complication?

Background: Isolated left ventricular noncompaction is the result of incomplete myocardial morphogenesis, leading to persistence of the embryonic myocardium. The condition is recognised by an excessively prominent trabecular meshwork and deep intertrabecular recesses of the left ventricle. Whether these intertrabecular recesses are a favorable substrate for supraventricular arrhythmias is unclear, even if the incidence of chronic heart failure seems to be high.

Genetic diversity and major spoligotype families of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates from different regions of Turkey.

To highlight the transmission rate and major phylogenetic clades of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates, a total of 200 drug-resistant strains isolated in four different regions of Turkey (Marmara n=81; Mediterranean n=39; Aegean n=42; East Anatolia n=38), were typed by spoligotyping and IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The major spoligotyping-defined shared-types (STs) and corresponding lineages were, ST 41 (22.5%, LAM7-TUR), ST53 (19.

Tissue Doppler imaging in the evaluation of the left and right ventricular diastolic functions in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Previous studies have reported that cardiovascular involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurs frequently. Although ventricular functions of RA have been investigated through the standard Doppler in RA, they have yet to be investigated thoroughly by means of the relatively new and advantageous tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). The present study aims to investigate left and right ventricular functions in RA patients by means of TDI and standard Doppler echocardiography.

Ventricular tachycardia in non-compaction of left ventricle: is this a frequent complication?

Background: Isolated left ventricular non-compaction is the result of incomplete myocardial morphogenesis, leading to persistence of the embryonic myocardium. The condition is recognized by an excessively prominent trabecular meshwork and deep intertrabecular recesses of the left ventricle. Whether these intertrabecular recesses are a favorable substrate for ventricular arrhythmias is unclear.

[Development of a database for tracking HIV positive/AIDS patients].

The collection of reliable data is the first step to assess the status of HIV/AIDS in a community. HIV recording systems are necessary for organizing and analyzing the patients' data. The aim of the study was to develop a database to be used to track HIV positive/AIDS patients.

A sewing needle migrating into the liver in a child: case report and review of the literature.

Swallowing foreign bodies is a common problem in children. Although most objects pass through the gastrointestinal tract with no untoward effect; long, sharp-pointed, or slender objects can perforate the gut. Migration of an object to the liver is extremely rare and very few cases have been reported in the literature.

The use of levosimendan in comparison and in combination with dobutamine in the treatment of decompensated heart failure.

Levosimendan is a new calcium sensitizer with inotropic and vasodilatory actions mediated by the sensitization of contractile proteins to calcium, opening of potassium channels and inhibition of phosphodiesterase-3. Its alternative mechanisms of action to those of other traditional inotropes provide a new approach in the management of decompensated heart failure. In contrast to dobutamine, levosimendan does not increase myocardial oxygen demand and, therefore, it is thought to have a lower potential to induce increases in myocardial ischemia and cardiac arrhythmias.

Impact of gender on in-hospital percutaneous coronary interventional outcomes in African-Americans.

Background: Previous studies on outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have shown an increased rate of in-hospital mortality and vascular complications in women compared to men. The impact of gender on post-PCI outcomes in African-Americans has not been reported.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 835 consecutive African-American patients (n = 392 men and n = 443 women) who underwent PCI using a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (GPI) bolus-only strategy from January 2003 to August 2004 at a single institution.

The effects of magnesium particles in posterolateral spinal fusion: an experimental in vivo study in a sheep model.

Object: Magnesium has recently become a material of interest as a biocompatible and biodegradable implant metal. Authors of several reports have noted the potential bone-cell activating or bone-healing effect of high Mg ion concentrations. The classic method for achieving intertransverse process fusion involves using an autologous iliac crest bone graft.

Computationally efficient cardiac bioelectricity models toward whole-heart simulation.

This work studies the characteristics of excitable cell mathematical models, with the goal of developing new insights and techniques in simulating the electrical behavior of the human heart. While very simple models of such behavior can be simulated at real-time or better speeds on powerful computing equipment, the use of realistic cell models or organ-magnitude cell networks make the simulations computationally infeasible. We present an examination of the FitzHugh-Nagumo model and its response to stimulus and, in order to move toward the goal of a full cardiac simulation, we present a method of optimizing single-cell calculations through local interpolation techniques.

Low plasma RANTES levels are an independent predictor of cardiac mortality in patients referred for coronary angiography.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the prognostic value of baseline plasma RANTES levels in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. RANTES is a chemokine produced by a variety of cell types including platelets that has been implicated in atherosclerosis.

Methods And Results: Baseline plasma RANTES levels were measured in 389 male patients undergoing coronary angiography at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Permanent pacemaker lead implantation via azygous vein in a patient with silent superior vena cava syndrome.

Occlusion of the superior vena cava is a rare but serious complication of transvenous endocardial pacing. We describe an unusual approach for permanent pacemaker implantation using the azygous vein in a patient with occlusion of the bilateral total subclavian and innominate veins after previous bilateral pectoral pacemaker implantation. Endocardial pacing using the azygous vein with minimal invasive thoracotomy may be a good option for patients with inaccessible subclavian route.

The effect of successful electrical cardioversion on left ventricular diastolic function in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation: a tissue Doppler study.

Background: Changes in mitral inflow and pulmonary venous flow after electrical cardioversion (ECV) in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) were showed in many former studies. In our study we investigated the effects of ECV on diastolic parameters by using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in patients with persistent AF.

Methods: Forty-one (24 women) consecutive patients underwent successful elective ECV for nonvalvular persistent AF, and maintained sinus rhythm for 1 month were enrolled to the study.

[A scanning electron microscope observation of Dictyocaulus filaria.].

In this study, D. filaria causing parasitic bronchopneumonia in sheep was observed using a scanning electron microscope. This parasite belongs to the Trichostrongyloidea super family.

Bolus-only platelet glycoprotein IIb-IIIa inhibition during percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Platelet glycoprotein IIb-IIIa inhibitors (GPI) are traditionally administered as a bolus followed by an infusion. In the current era of routine stenting, we hypothesized that a bolus-only GPI strategy can be used during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in order to reduce bleeding complications, while preserving the benefits of inhibition of platelet aggregation at the time of device deployment.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients (n = 1001) who underwent PCI and received an unfractionated heparin (UFH) and bolus-only GPI regimen, from January 2003 to August 2004 in a single institution.

Benefit of bolus-only platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition during percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the very early outcomes in the Evaluation of 7E3 for the Prevention of Ischemic Complications (EPIC) trial.

Background: Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors are administered during percutaneous coronary intervention as a bolus followed by infusion. The need for an infusion was established by the Evaluation of 7E3 for the Prevention of Ischemic Complications (EPIC) trial conducted during the percutaneous transluminal coronary balloon angioplasty (PTCA) era, when the threat of acute thrombotic complications prevailed over concerns regarding bleeding, and stenting was considered an adverse event.

Methods: The EPIC trial randomized high-risk PTCA patients to 3 arms: placebo, abciximab bolus only, and abciximab bolus plus infusion.

Usefulness of the white blood cell count as a predictor of angiographic findings in an unselected population referred for coronary angiography.

There are limited data about the relative importance of the many different but inter-related inflammatory markers with respect to their ability to independently predict the presence and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD). In addition, studies demonstrating such associations have often been conducted in well-defined populations and have excluded patients with or not adjusted for co-morbidities associated with CAD. In a cohort of 389 men who underwent coronary angiography for a variety of clinical indications and across a spectrum of risk, the following inflammatory markers were measured at baseline to determine their relative abilities to predict angiographic outcomes: C-reactive protein, myeloperoxidase, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and white blood cell (WBC) count.

[Characterization of two new pigmented mycobacteria isolates].

Two pigmented mycobacteria isolated from sputum specimens were described by biochemical tests, whole-cell fatty acid analyses by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and sequencing of 65-kDa heat shock protein gene and 16S rRNA gene. The hsp65 gene and 16S rRNA gene sequences of the Mycobacterium sp. G1368 and Mycobacterium sp.

Zoonotic infections among veterinarians in Turkey: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and beyond.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus, Brucella spp, and Coxiella burnetii among veterinarians in a highly endemic and a non-endemic region for these infections in Turkey.

Methods: The antibody levels against these three infections were surveyed. Eighty-three veterinarians were included from two distinct geographic regions.