Blunt aortic trauma in a patient with the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type VI.

A 24-year-old male with the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) type VI (ocular scoliotic) who was kicked in the abdomen presented to the emergency room (ER) with abdominal pain. He was found to have a blunt traumatic aortic injury. The patient was treated nonoperatively.

A large mediastinal mass in a 33 year old patient.

Mediastinal masses are commonly found during the evaluation of other illnesses. During gynecologic evaluation for suspected endometriosis, a large asymptomatic intrathoracic mass was discovered in the patient presented. After pre-operative evaluation, the patient underwent thoracotomy with removal of a mature, cystic teratoma invading the pericardium.

Clinical factors associated with weight loss outcomes after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

Objective: Gastric bypass surgery is an effective therapy for extreme obesity. However, substantial variability in weight loss outcomes exists that remains largely unexplained. Our objective was to determine whether any commonly collected preoperative clinical variables were associated with weight loss following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery.

Modulation of Kir4.2 rectification properties and pHi-sensitive run-down by association with Kir5.1.

Inwardly rectifying K+ channels (Kir) comprise seven subfamilies that can be subdivided further on the basis of cytosolic pH (pHi) sensitivity, rectification strength and kinetics, and resistance to run-down. Although distinct residues within each channel subunit define these properties, heteromeric association with other Kir subunits can modulate them. We identified such an effect in the wild-type forms of Kir4.