First evaluation of an improved assay for molecular genetic detection of tuberculosis as well as rifampin and isoniazid resistances.

The commercially available line probe assay MTBDRplus 2.0 (Hain Lifescience, Nehren, Germany) was evaluated for its ability to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and mutations conferring resistance to rifampin (RMP) and isoniazid (INH) directly in smear-negative and smear-positive pulmonary clinical specimens under routine laboratory conditions. A total of 348 samples originating from Moldova, a high-incidence country for tuberculosis (TB), were investigated.

Painless myocardial ischemia and atherosclerous valvulopathies--their great statistical prevalence.

3384 patients over 40 years old referred to our Cardiovascular Laboratory for overt cardiovascular complaints were examined by usual non-invasive investigations. Painless myocardial ischemia (PMI) prevalence was 17.49% and degenerative aortic and mitral valvulopathies incidence was 15.

Asymptomatic electrocardiographic ischemia and silent myocardial ischemia.

Silent myocardial ischemia is undoubtedly the second most prevalent cardiovascular disease after arterial hypertension. Considering its statistical and social importance, the authors, while admitting the less specific coronary character of this entity, do not agree with its being omitted from the last classification of coronary disease (1979), in which especially/angina pectoris and myocardial infarction are emphasized. In the present paper, which opens up an investigation into initially silent ischemia carried out on a great number of cases, the authors discuss the preliminary observations derived from a ten-year (1976-1986) follow up of 56 cases of initially asymptomatic electrocardiographic ischemia with an electric localization suggesting specific coronary territories.

Temporal discrepancies between low and high frequency vibrations of the second heart sound.

The morphologic analysis of the second heart sound may provide some useful informations, not enough debated in the literature, concerning the functional status of cardiac patients. We noticed significant temporal discrepancies on the phonocardiographic tracings between the onset of the second heart sound in the lowest and in the highest frequency ranges. The correlations between the highest and the lowest frequency vibrations of the second heart sound were analysed in 119 controls, without overt cardiovascular disease, aged from 20 to 40 years and 50 to 70 years and in 148 patients with old myocardial infarction aged 42 to 80 years.

Phonocardiographic changes induced by neuropsychic stress.

We studied the changes occurred in the electrocardiograms, phonocardiograms, apexocardiograms, carotid pulse tracings and blood pressure in 21 healthy men, range 18 to 45, before and during performing timed mental arithmetics. Besides well-known significant increase in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, differential blood pressure (no significant rise in diastolic blood pressure was observed) several phonocardiographic abnormalities were recorded: a significant increase in amplitude and number of vibrations of the early systolic ejection sound and a prominent fourth sound. In general the preexistent third sound diminished after mental stress.