Role of the HIPPO pathway as potential key player in the cross talk between oncology and cardiology.

The HIPPO pathway (HP) is a highly conserved kinase cascade that affects organ size by regulating proliferation, cell survival and differentiation. Discovered in Drosophila melanogaster to early 2000, it immediately opened wide frontiers in the field of research. Over the last years the field of knowledge on HP is quickly expanding and it is thought will offer many answers on complex pathologies.

Fatal Heart Failure Induced by Pazopanib in a Sarcoma Patient Previously Treated with Gemcitabine.

Gemcitabine is commonly used for various solid organ malignancies with rarely reported cardiac side effects such as cardiomyopathy. Pazopanib usually can cause arterial hypertension but cases of heart failure have recently been reported. We describe a case of fatal heart failure after treatment with gemcitabine and pazopanib in a 55-year-old female with sarcoma.

Atrial fibrillation and cognitive disorders: An overview on possible correlation.

Atrial Fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia affecting people of all ages, principally the elderly. Cognitive decline and dementia are also prevalent diseases in elderly. The scientific community always showed interest in the possible association between these two pathological entities, both implicating social and economic burden.

Transesophageal Contrast Echocardiography is Not Always the Gold Standard Method in the Identification of a Patent Foramen Ovale: A Clinical Case.

In the embryo, Eustachian valve is a crescent-shaped membrane extending from the lower margin of the inferior vena cava and the ostium of the coronary sinus into the right atrium toward fossa ovalis and tricuspid valve. At birth, after the functional closure of the foramen ovale, the Eustachian valve loses its function, reducing to an embryo remnant. According to growing evidence, a persistent Eustachian valve is a frequent finding in patients with a patent foramen ovale (PFO).

High dose of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and daptomycin as a therapeutic option for MRSA endocarditis with large vegetation complicated by embolic stroke: a case report and literature review.

Large cardiac vegetation carries a poor prognosis and high mortality risk, especially if associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. We share our experience of a rare and complicated large cardiac vegetation which had a favourable outcome with combination antibiotic treatment alone. A 35-year-old HIV-negative, HCV-positive male patient with a previous history of methicillin-susceptible S.

Risk factors for contrast induced nephropathy: a study among Italian patients.

This study aimed to make a profile of patients at highest risk of developing contrast induced nephropathy (CIN) in order to take appropriate prevention measures. 591 patients undergoing coronary procedures were divided into two groups: patients with (CIN-group) and without (no-CIN) an increase in creatinine level equal or more than 25% from baseline values within 24-48 h after the coronary procedure. All patients underwent an accurate anamnesis, objective exam, hematochemical measurements, and diagnostic exams.

Asymptomatic carotid lesions add to cardiovascular risk prediction.

Aim: To show that subclinical atherosclerosis (subclinical-ATS) of carotid arteries [intima-media thickness (IMT) or asymptomatic carotid plaque (ACP)], may provide additional information for risk stratification, in asymptomatic patients, aged greater than 45 years, with a cluster of risk factors (RFs).

Methods And Results: We studied 558 asymptomatic patients (235 males). RFs for atherosclerosis were assessed and the 10-year-risk was calculated according to the Italian risk score.

The PFO anatomy evaluation as possible tool to stratify the associated risks and the benefits arising from the closure.

Aims: According to the current guidelines, the patent foramen ovale (PFO) is still considered a qualitative factor and, as a consequence, its closure is recommended just on the basis of its 'presence'.

Methods And Results: In the year 2008, we evaluated 25 patients (mean age 62.7) with acute cerebrovascular event and 92 patients (mean age 27.

Heart rate turbulence for guiding electric therapy in patients with cardiac failure.

Background: It is well-known that a reduction of the cardiac frequency variability, measurable with the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) system, is an indirect expression of the sympathetic-autonomic tone. Another index, Heart Rate Turbulence (HRT), has been recently suggested as a possible unit of measurement for the sympathetic-autonomic tone: this system allows to estimate the baro-reflex response of the carotid arteries to an early ventricular extra-systole by analysing heart rate variations induced by a premature beat.

Methods And Results: In our research we have analyzed this phenomenon in patients affected by moderate or severe cardiac failure.

Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy and microcirculation.

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy was described for the first time in Japan in the 1990s. It is very similar to the ischemic cardiopathy both for clinical and instrumental characteristics. His peculiarity is an alteration of the ventricular contraction mechanism with hypo-akinesis of the apex and lateral segments of the left ventricle, associated with hyper-kinesis of the heart base which is responsible for the typical echocardiographic aspect of a cruet during the systole.