Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in patients after the Fontan operation.

Background: This study analyzed the change in liver fibrosis markers after the Fontan operation and investigated their clinical usefulness as an index of congestive liver fibrosis.

Methods: The study enrolled 24 patients who underwent the Fontan operation between January 1994 and December 2008. We subdivided the postoperative period into four intervals and then compared the hepatological markers during each.

Drug-eluting stents ameliorate pulmonary vein stenotic changes in pigs in vivo.

The outcome of stent implantation for pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) in children remains poor. Several reports describe placing drug-eluting stents to treat PVS, but their effectiveness remains unknown. In this study, three bare-metal stents (BMSs) and three sirolimus-eluting stents (SESs) were implanted in 1-month-old pigs.

Effects of ghrelin on growth and cardiac function in infants with congenital heart disease.

Background: Ghrelin has effects on appetite and growth. Recent reports suggest effects on cardiac function, but no study has evaluated the ghrelin levels of congenital heart disease (CHD) infants with heart failure. The purpose of the present study was therefore to investigate the relationship between ghrelin level and growth and cardiac function in CHD infants.