Anomalous Drainage of Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava to the Left Atrium: Case Series and Literature Review.

Persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) draining into the coronary sinus is not uncommon, but to the left atrium is a rare condition. Such anomaly may be a cause of unexplained hypoxia in all age groups. It is often diagnosed accidentally during cardiovascular diagnostic work-up or in a contest of other cardiac investigations.

Angiotensin converting enzyme DD genotype is associated with development of rheumatic heart disease in Egyptian children.

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism was previously studied in some cardiovascular diseases. There are only few studies which investigated this polymorphism in patients with rheumatic heart disease (RHD). The results of these investigations are inconsistent.

Lack of association between endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS 4 b/a) gene polymorphism and rheumatic heart disease.

Our aim in this work was to explore any possible association between ecNOS 4 b/a polymorphism and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). In this study, leukocyte DNA was extracted from 139 patients with RHD and 79 healthy control children. After amplification by PCR, the products were separated by electrophoresis in 6% polyacrylamide gel and visualized after ethidium bromide staining with UV light.