[MELAS: diagnostic keys and treatment in the Intensive Care Unit].

Cerebrovascular accident in young adults is not rare and the most common causes are: cardiac embolism, arterial dissection and migraine. The unknown etiology, in spite of extensive studies, is described in the literature in about one third of patients under 45 years of age. The mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) may occur with symptoms that simulate a stroke.

Successful treatment of Candida parapsilosis mural endocarditis with combined caspofungin and voriconazole.

Background: Fungal mural endocarditis is a rare entity in which the antemortem diagnosis is seldom made. Seven cases of mural endocarditis caused by Candida spp. have been collected from literature and six of these patients died after treatment with amphotericin B.

Hypotension, acidosis and vasodilation syndrome after heart transplant: incidence, risk factors, and prognosis.

Background: HAV syndrome, the combination of hypotension, acidosis and vasodilation (HAV), is a serious postoperative complication after heart transplantation (HT). Its etiology and prognosis are poorly understood.

Aim: To determine the incidence and prognosis of post-HT HAV syndrome and examine possible risk factors.