Risk Factors for Venous Thromboembolism in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: COPD patients are at increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). VTE however remains under-diagnosed in this population and the clinical profile of VTE in COPD is unclear.

Methods: Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stages II-IV participants in the COPD Genetic Epidemiology (COPDGene) study were divided into 2 groups: VTE+, those who reported a history of VTE by questionnaire, and VTE-, those who did not.

Importance of ryanodine receptors in effects of cyclic GMP is reduced in thyroxine-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

We tested the hypothesis that the negative functional effects of cyclic GMP were mediated by ryanodine receptors, and that these effects would be reduced in thyroxine (thyroxine, 0.5 mg/kg/day, 16 days)-induced hypertrophic myocytes. Using rabbit ventricular myocytes from control (n=9) and thyroxine (n=9) hearts, percent cell shortening (%) and maximum rate of contraction and relaxation were determined using a video edge detector at baseline and after 10(-6), 10(-5) M 8-bromo-cyclic GMP.