Objective: The electrocardiogram (ECG) is an important, available, and inexpensive diagnostic tool to assess cardiac symptoms. Few studies address the prevalence of ECG abnormalities or changes of a normal tracing in ECG in outpatients. Our objective was to evaluate ECGs of adult outpatients to determine whether changes from a normal tracing could disclose the patients' cardiovascular health status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe risk that patients with Behçet's disease may develop various thrombotic complications has been previously described. Although vascular complications from Budd-Chiari syndrome associated with Behçet's disease have been described, the pathogenic mechanisms are still unknown. Severe vascular complications present in Budd-Chiari syndrome associated with Behçet's disease are very common among young male adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The risk that patients with Behçet's disease will develop thrombotic complications has been previously described. Although it is distributed worldwide, Behçet's disease is rare in the Americas and Europe. Even though the pathogenic mechanisms of vascular complications of Budd-Chiari syndrome in patients with Behçet's disease are unknown, severe vascular complications of Budd-Chiari syndrome associated with Behçet's disease seem to affect mainly young men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Histoplasmosis is a fungal disease caused by inhaling spores of the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. The spores can be found in soil contaminated with bird, bat or chicken feces. Histoplasmosis occurs worldwide and is one of the most common pulmonary and systemic mycoses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChagas disease is an infectious disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The disease mainly affects the nervous system, digestive system and heart. The objective of this review is to revise the literature and summarize the main chronic gastrointestinal manifestations of Chagas disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRelaxation of gastrointestinal smooth muscle caused by release of non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (NANC) transmitters from enteric nerves occurs in several physiologic digestive reflexes. Likely candidate NANC inhibitory agents include nitric oxide (NO), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP), carbon monoxide (CO), protease-activated receptors (PARs), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), neurotensin (NT) and beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (beta-NAD). Multiple NANC transmitters work in concert, are pharmacologically coupled and are closely coordinated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeme-oxygenase-2 generates carbon monoxide in the enteric nervous system and in interstitial cells of Cajal in the canine, mouse and human jejunum. Carbon monoxide is considered a non-adrenergic and non-cholinergic inhibitory neurotransmitter and it establishes and maintains the resting membrane potential in the stomach and small intestine. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of heme-oxygenase-2 in the enteric nervous system of the pig jejunum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSouth American (SA) opossum lower esophageal sphincter (LES) circular smooth muscle relaxes by activation of enteric nerves elicited by EFS (electrical field stimulation, 0.5 ms, 48 V, 0.5-8 Hz for 10 s).
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