Acute coronary syndromes are associated with a reduction of VLA-1+ peripheral blood T cells and their enrichment in coronary artery plaque aspirates.

Memory T cells producing interferon (IFN)γ and expressing very late antigen-1 (VLA-1) integrin collagen receptors are found in carotid atherosclerotic plaques, suggesting their involvement in coronary artery disease (CAD) as well. To determine the role of VLA-1+ T cells in CAD percent of CD3+ T cells binding monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to VLA-1 in peripheral blood (PB), and in coronary plaque material aspirated during coronary arterography and arterial blood, were analyzed in a cohort of 117 patients with CAD and 34 controls without CAD. % VLA-1+ T cells in PB was 0.

Thrombus aspiration during primary percutaneous coronary intervention in acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Background And Objectives: The main limitation of primary PCI in acute MI is lack of tissue reperfusion due to distal embolization. We sought to examine the safety and feasibility of a manual thrombus aspiration device in patients undergoing primary PCI.

Methods: Seventy-eight consecutive patients with ST-elevation MI eligible for primary PCI were included.

Oral acetylcysteine as an adjunct to saline hydration for the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy following coronary angiography. A randomized controlled trial and review of the current literature.

Aims: To determine laboratory and clinical benefit of oral acetylcysteine, as an adjunct to saline hydration, in chronic renal insufficiency patients undergoing coronary angiography.

Methods And Results: We prospectively studied 80 patients with chronic renal insufficiency (mean [+/-SD] serum creatinine concentration 2.0+/-0.

Primary angioplasty with routine stenting compared with thrombolytic therapy in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Prior studies have yielded conflicting data on the advantage of primary angioplasty compared with thrombolysis in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). These studies, however, were performed before the contemporary widespread use of intracoronary stents and glycoprotien IIb/IIIa antagonists.

Methods: We prospectively compared the outcome of 130 consecutive elderly patients (aged > or =70 years) with ST-elevation AMI who were admitted to 2 similar neighboring medical centers.

Left main coronary artery atresia: extremely rare coronary anomaly in an asymptomatic adult and an adolescent soccer player.

Left main coronary artery atresia is a very rare coronary anomaly with only 33 cases reported in the literature, of whom only 1 patient is asymptomatic. Pediatric patients are usually very symptomatic early in life (dyspnea, syncope, failure to thrive, ventricular tachycardia, and sudden death), whereas adult patients begin showing symptoms (angina or sudden death) only at an advanced age. Given the high risk related to the presence of left main coronary artery atresia, and in view of the good results obtained by coronary artery bypass surgery, coronary artery revascularization should always be considered as the possible treatment of choice for establishing adequate myocardial blood flow.