Peri-operative oral caffeine does not prevent postoperative atrial fibrillation after heart valve surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: A randomised controlled clinical trial.

Background: Raised plasma levels of endogenous adenosine after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) have been related to the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF).

Objective: We wished to assess if caffeine, an adenosine receptor antagonist could have a beneficial effect on the incidence of POAF.

Design: A randomised controlled study.

Comparison between Ventriculosubgaleal Shunt and Extraventricular Drainage to Treat Acute Hydrocephalus in Adults.

Context: Hydrocephalus, due to subarachnoid or intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), meningitis, or tumor compression, is usually transient and may resolve after treatment. There are several temporary methods of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion, none of it is superior to the other, and the decision is based on its various etiologies and factors. Ventriculosubgaleal shunt (VSGS) is one of those temporary measures, which is a simple and rapid CSF decompression method without causing electrolyte and nutritional losses.

Effect of hyperoxic and hyperbaric conditions on the adenosinergic pathway and CD26 expression in rat.

The nucleoside adenosine acts on the nervous and cardiovascular systems via the A2A receptor (A2AR). In response to oxygen level in tissues, adenosine plasma concentration is regulated in particular via its synthesis by CD73 and via its degradation by adenosine deaminase (ADA). The cell-surface endopeptidase CD26 controls the concentration of vasoactive and antioxidant peptides and hence regulates the oxygen supply to tissues and oxidative stress response.

[Reverse Takotsubo cardiomyopathy after iatrogenic epinephrine injection requiring percutaneous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation].

Purpose: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by the sudden onset of reversible left ventricular dysfunction. Associated refractory cardiogenic shock is a rare occurrence and may require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). We report a case of a patient who, following the inadvertent injection of 1 mg of epinephrine, presented with reverse Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and refractory cardiogenic shock that required the implementation of a percutaneous ECMO.

A study of the effect of relaxing music on heart rate recovery after exercise among healthy students.

Background: Music has been employed in various clinical settings to reduce anxiety. However, meta-analysis has shown music to have little influence on haemodynamic parameters. This study aimed at investigating the effect of relaxing music on heart rate recovery after exercise.

Using non-invasive biomarkers to identify hepatic fibrosis in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Edinburgh type 2 diabetes study.

Background & Aims: It is difficult to determine the different stages of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease without the use of invasive liver biopsy. In this study we investigated five non-invasive biomarkers used previously to detect hepatic fibrosis and determined the level of agreement between them in order to inform future research.

Methods: In the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study, a population-based cohort aged 60-74 years with type 2 diabetes, 831 participants underwent ultrasound assessment for fatty liver and had serum aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT), aspartate to platelet ratio index (APRI), European Liver Fibrosis panel (ELF), Fibrosis-4 Score (FIB4) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) measured.

Non-invasive hepatic biomarkers (ELF and CK18) in people with type 2 diabetes: the Edinburgh type 2 diabetes study.

Background & Aims: Type 2 diabetes is an established risk factor for the presence and progression of fatty liver. Little is known about the distributions and correlates of hepatic non-invasive biomarkers in community-based populations with diabetes, unselected for liver disease. We aimed to identify the distribution of, and metabolic risk factors associated with serum cytokeratin-18 (CK18) and the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis score (ELF), in a large, representative cohort of people with type 2 diabetes (the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study, ET2DS).

Hypertrophy of neurons within cardiac ganglia in human, canine, and rat heart failure: the potential role of nerve growth factor.

Background: Autonomic imbalances including parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic overactivity are cardinal features of heart failure regardless of etiology; however, mechanisms underlying these imbalances remain unknown. Animal model studies of heart and visceral organ hypertrophy predict that nerve growth factor levels should be elevated in heart failure; whether this is so in human heart failure, though, remains unclear. We tested the hypotheses that neurons in cardiac ganglia are hypertrophied in human, canine, and rat heart failure and that nerve growth factor, which we hypothesize is elevated in the failing heart, contributes to this neuronal hypertrophy.

Reoperation for failure of freestyle bioprosthesis using an Edwards intuity valve.

We report the first case of a successful implantation of the new Edwards Intuity rapid-deployment bioprosthesis in a 50-year-old man with acute failure of a Freestyle Medtronic root with severe aortic regurgitation and massive calcification of the root and both coronary buttons.

Ischemia-modified albumin and adenosine plasma concentrations are associated with severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome after cardiopulmonary bypass.

Purpose: Severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) occurring after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a common cause of mortality during cardiac surgery. These syndromes are characterized by vasoplegia and ischemia-reperfusion phenomenom. Adenosine is a strong endogenous vasodilating agent, which may be involved in blood pressure failure during CPB induced by severe SIRS.

Clinical and subclinical macrovascular disease as predictors of cognitive decline in older patients with type 2 diabetes: the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study.

Objective: Macrovascular disease may contribute to increased risk of accelerated cognitive decline in patients with type 2 diabetes. We aimed to determine associations of measures of macrovascular disease with cognitive change in a cognitively healthy older population with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Eight hundred thirty-one men and women (aged 60-75 years) attended two waves of the prospective Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study (ET2DS).

[Phaeochromocytoma revealed by a cardiogenic shock treated by extracorporeal life support].

Phaeochromocytoma is a catecholamine-secreting tumour that originates from the chromaffin cells in the adrenal medulla in 85% of the cases. Phaeochromocytoma typically presents with the classic signs and symptoms of paroxysmal hypertension, tachycardia, and episodic headache in young adults. However, it rarely may manifest as cardiogenic shock due to a catecholamine induced cardiomyopathy.

Caring for children of parents with frontotemporal degeneration: a report of the AFTD Task Force on Families With Children.

The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) organized a 7-person Task Force on Families With Children to explore the concerns of families when a parent of young children or teens is diagnosed with FTD. This report summarizes the findings of the task force and highlights the need for additional attention to this topic. The task force conducted a review of related literature and existing resources and compiled issues identified by spouses/partners, teens, and adult children within an affected family.

Prevalence of and risk factors for hepatic steatosis and nonalcoholic Fatty liver disease in people with type 2 diabetes: the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study.

Objective: Type 2 diabetes is an established risk factor for development of hepatic steatosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to determine the prevalence and clinical correlates of these conditions in a large cohort of people with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: A total of 939 participants, aged 61-76 years, from the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study (ET2DS)-a large, randomly selected population of people with type 2 diabetes-underwent liver ultrasonography.

[Interest of circulatory assistance mobile unit for cardiovascular surgical pathology support at distance of specialized centers: about a case of papillary muscle rupture].

Papillary muscle rupture is a classical, but not frequent life-threatening complication of myocardial infarction. The only treatment consists in mitral valve surgical replacement. It should be performed in a hospital with specialized critical care and a cardiac surgery unit.

The use of ultrasound to diagnose hepatic steatosis in type 2 diabetes: intra- and interobserver variability and comparison with magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Aim: To compare ultrasound gradings of steatosis with fat fraction (FF) on magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS; the non-invasive reference standard for quantification of hepatic steatosis), and evaluate inter- and intraobserver variability in the ultrasound gradings.

Materials And Methods: Triple grading of hepatic ultrasound examination was performed by three independent graders on 131 people with type 2 diabetes. The stored images of 60 of these individuals were assessed twice by each grader on separate occasions.

Worldwide distribution of PSEN1 Met146Leu mutation: a large variability for a founder mutation.

Objective: Large kindreds segregating familial Alzheimer disease (FAD) offer the opportunity of studying clinical variability as observed for presenilin 1 (PSEN1) mutations. Two early-onset FAD (EOFAD) Calabrian families with PSEN1 Met146Leu (ATG/CTG) mutation constitute a unique population descending from a remote common ancestor. Recently, several other EOFAD families with the same mutation have been described worldwide.

Nitric oxide involvement in TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta-mediated changes in human mesangial cell MMP-9 and TIMP-1.

Background: Mesangial cells are known to secrete metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) that are capable of disrupting the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). Disruption of the GBM appears to be an important mechanism in the renal disease process, however little is known about the mechanisms involved. Therefore we examined the potential role of nitric oxide (NO) in the regulation of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 by tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) using the human mesangial cell line (HMCL).

Long-term survival using intra-aortic balloon pump and percutaneous right ventricular assist device for biventricular mechanical support of cardiogenic shock.

Right ventricular (RV) involvement in acute inferior left ventricular (LV) myocardial infarction increases the risks of cardiogenic shock and in-hospital mortality. Acutely impaired RV performance results in reduced LV preload and, in combination with impaired LV contractility, causes severely reduced LV stroke volume and cardiac output. Here we report long-term patient survival after acute biventricular myocardial infarction (MI) using simultaneous RV support with a TandemHeart percutaneous ventricular assist device (Cardiac Assist Technologies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and LV support with an intra-aortic balloon pump.