Psoriasis and cardiovascular diseases.

Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated disorder that affects about 2% to 3% of the adult population. Several reports have demonstrated an association between psoriasis and cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, hypertension, valvular disease and arrhythmia. In this review we analysed the link between psoriasis and cardiovascular disease and the possible physiopathologic mechanism of this correlation.

Differences between nitrates: role of isosorbide 2-mononitrate.

Introduction: Nitrates are used in the treatment of coronary heart disease and heart failure. The major drawback of their therapeutic use is the rapid development of tolerance.

Aim Of The Study: To investigate the effect of different nitrates on isolated rabbit hearts and aortic strips and the mechanism responsible for nitrate tolerance, using nitroglycerine (NTG), isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), 5-mononitrate (5MN) and 2-mononitrate (2MN).

Multiorgan paradoxical embolism consequent to acute pulmonary thromboembolism with patent foramen ovale: a case report.

Paradoxical embolism is defined as a systemic arterial embolism requiring the passage of a venous thrombus into the arterial circulatory system through a right-to-left shunt. It is a relatively rare phenomenon, representing about 2% of all cases of arterial embolism. We report a case of a 79-years-old woman admitted to hospital because of dyspnea and lower left limb pain.

[Usefulness of left atrial diametres and volumes for the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function].

Introduction: The diastolic function of the left ventricle is a main point of the physiological adaptations of the cardiovascular system to the various situations.

Aim Of The Study: Evaluation of left atrium diameter change during diastole and left atrial volume and their possible correlation with different left ventricular diastolic filling pattern.

Material And Methods: Ninety patients with echocardiographically determined diastolic dysfunction and eighty healthy volunteers were included in the study.

[Erythropoietin: a new perspective in cardiovascular therapy].

Erythropoietin is a hormone produced by the kidney, which regulates proliferation, differentiation and maturation of red cells. Recombinant human EPO (rH-EPO) is well known to correct anaemia in patients with chronic renal failure in terminal stage. However, recent studies showed the existence of several not haematopoietic effects of erythropoietin.

[Diabetes and ischemic heart disease: specific treatment].

Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide epidemic whose incidence and prevalence have significantly increased in recent decades. Diabetic patients have an increased mortality and morbidity related to ischemic heart disease and are more likely to develop multivessel coronary artery disease than non-diabetic patients. An acute coronary event is the leading cause of death among diabetics.

[Peripartum cardiomyopathy].

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare disorder in which left ventricular dysfunction and symptoms of heart failure occur in the peripartum period in previously healthy women. Incidence of PPCM ranges from 1 in 1300 to 1 in 15,000 pregnancies. The etiology of PPCM is unknown, but viral, autoimmune, and idiopathic causes may contribute.