Does reformer pilates exercise improve cognitive functions in sedentary women? A randomized controlled study.

Background: The reformer is an apparatus on which to perform the foot work and the body in a comfortable, nonweight-bearing supine position and keeps the muscles in balance. The aim of this randomized controlled and single-center study was to investigate the effect of reformer Pilates exercises on cognitive functions in sedentary women.

Methods: A total of 44 sedentary women aged between 24 and 50 were randomized into two groups.

Successful Aorta-osteal Stenting after Iatrogenic Acute Type-A Aortic Dissection during Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: Iatrogenic acute dissection of the ascending aorta following coronary angiography and percutaneous intervention is rare. This complication, if not managed urgently, can have critical results.

Case Report: We present the case of a 70 year-old woman who was treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the right coronary artery (RCA) for acute inferior myocardial infarction; however, the procedure was complicated by anterograde dissection of the RCA with a simultaneous retrograde propagation to the proximal part of the ascending aorta.

The effect of thawing methods on the quality of eels (Anguilla anguilla).

Physical (colour), chemical (pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid values (TBA)) and microbiological (total aerobic mesophylic bacteria, salmonella, coliform, yeast and mould counts) analyses were carried out on thawed European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Different thawing treatments were used (in a refrigerator, in water, in air at ambient temperature and in a microwave oven). The results obtained were compared statistically with those of fresh fish.

QT dispersion on ECG in acute ischemic stroke and its impact on early prognosis.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of corrected QT dispersion (QTcd) on patients` prognosis with early stage non-lacunar ischemic stroke, regardless of location of the lesion.

Methods: In this non-randomized prospective study, stroke patients were evaluated in the intensive care unit of Cukurova University Hospital, School of Medicine, Adana, Turkey, from 2002-2003. Neurologic symptoms of all subjects were recorded according to Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Canadian Neurological Scale.

Global aphasia due to left thalamic hemorrhage.

Global aphasia is an acquired language disorder characterized by severe impairments in all modalities of language. The specific sites of injury commonly include Wernike's and Broca's areas and result from large strokes--particularly those involving the internal carotid or middle cerebral arteries. Rarely, deep subcortical lesions may cause global aphasia.

Accuracy of bedside diagnosis versus Allen and Siriraj stroke scores in Turkish patients.

Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging allow the accurate diagnosis in stroke and distinction of ischemic from hemorrhagic lesions. However, clinical diagnosis is still critical where neuroimaging techniques are not available, especially to establish first-aid measures in a stroke patient. In this prospective study of 300 patients with stroke, the diagnosis of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes was made as an informal bedside diagnosis prior to neuroimaging.

Crossed aphasia in multiple sclerosis.

Aphasia is a rare sign of multiple sclerosis (MS). Several different forms of aphasia have been reported in MS. We report, to our knowledge, the first case of a MS patient with crossed aphasia during an attack.

Anomalous left coronary artery arising from the right sinus of Valsalva: a case report.

We report a case of 56-year-old man whose coronary angiography showed a single coronary artery arising from a single ostium in the right sinus of Valsalva.

Left ventricular diastolic function and circadian variation of blood pressure in essential hypertension.

The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the relationship between circadian blood pressure and left ventricular diastolic function in essential hypertension. The study population included 25 patients aged 56 +/- 18 years with non-dipper hypertension and 25 age- and sex-matched patients with dipper hypertension. They underwent conventional Doppler echocardiography and color tissue Doppler from apical 4- and 2-chamber views.

Unique spontaneous unhealed chronic multivessel coronary artery dissection in an elderly man: a case report and review of the literature.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is relatively uncommon. It often occurs in healthy, middle-aged women without overt risk factors for atherosclerosis and is associated with the peripartum period. The pattern and severity of presentation are variable.

Myocardial Ischemia caused by a coronary anomaly: left circumflex coronary artery arising from right sinus of valsalva.

We present the case of a patient in whom a previously undetected anomalous origin of the circumflex coronary artery caused myocardial ischemia and led to positive myocardial scintigraphic results. Subsequent coronary angiography showed that the left circumflex coronary artery arose from the right coronary ostium-an anomaly that has been associated with chest discomfort-without atherosclerotic lesions. The peripheral distribution of the left circumflex artery was normal.

Transient parkinsonism: induced by progesterone or pregnancy?

We report on the development of transient parkinsonism after progesterone injection in a pregnant patient with a risk of abortion. Etiological possibilities are discussed, including pregnancy itself, possible toxic effects of the dead fetus, and progesterone injection. Progesterone-induced parkinsonism seems the most likely diagnosis in this case.

Left ventricular hydatid cyst presenting with acute ischemic stroke: case report.

Cardiac hydatid cysts are rarely seen. The presentation of an acute stroke secondary to embolization from a cardiac hydatid cyst is also rare. We report a young boy with left ventricular hydatid cyst who presented with acute ischemic stroke.

Assessment of cardiac autonomic regulation in children with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis by analysis of heart rate variability.

The pathogenesis of monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis is controversial. Various urodynamic studies showed bladder hyperactivity in enuretic children. But the exact cause is not precisely known.

Effects of dipper and non-dipper status of essential hypertension on left atrial mechanical functions.

Aim: This study was designed in order to investigate the effects of dipper and non-dipper status of hypertension on left atrial mechanical (reservoir, conduit and booster pump) functions with left atrial volume measurements by means of two-dimensional echocardiography in untreated systemic hypertensive patients.

Method: A total of 27 untreated dipper hypertensive patients, group I (15 female, 12 male, mean age 57+/-12 years); 23 untreated non-dipper hypertensive patients, group II (12 female, 11 male, mean age: 53+/-18 years); and 25 voluntary healthy individuals, group III (13 female, 12 male, mean age 53+/-10 years) were included into the study. Twenty-four hour blood pressure (BP) measurement was performed by the cuff-oscillometric method to evaluate the nocturnal decrease of BP.

Cardiac autonomic activity in obstructive sleep apnea: time-dependent and spectral analysis of heart rate variability using 24-hour Holter electrocardiograms.

To analyze the function of cardiac autonomic regulation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), we enrolled 36 patients with OSAS and divided them according to the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) into 2 groups: Group I (n=19) had mild OSAS (AHI < 20) and Group II (n=17) had severe OSAS (AHI > or = 20). The findings were compared with those of 24 healthy control subjects who were matched for age, sex, blood pressure, and body mass index. All participants underwent 24-hour Holter monitoring, with continuous time-dependent and spectral analysis of heart rate variability.

Treatment of intracoronary thrombus using tirofiban in a patient with normal coronary arteries.

We report a 64-year-old Turkish man who presented with unstable angina pectoris. Coronary angiography revealed massive intracoronary thrombus, which completely occluded the distal part of the left circumflex coronary artery. The thrombotic segment and the rest of the coronary tree were free of atherosclerosis.

Pulmonary endarteritis and subsequent embolization to the lung as a complication of a patent ductus arteriosus--a case report.

The authors describe a case of pulmonary endarteritis and subsequent embolization to the lungs as a complication of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Although 2-dimensional echocardiography has been shown to be of great value in the diagnosis of patients with infective endocarditis, echocardiographic detection of vegetation within the pulmonary artery and subsequent embolization to the lung is extremely rare and, to our knowledge, has been previously reported only in a few cases. In brief, our case not only shows the importance of echocardiography in making this rare diagnosis but also emphasizes the role of echocardiography as an effective means of following up such a case.

Left atrial appendage aneurysm presenting with recurrent embolic strokes.

A case of left atrial appendage aneurysm is described in a 40-year-old man, who presented with recurrent embolic strokes and was asymptomatic until the last 6 months. Chest X-ray revealed a slightly prominent upper left heart border. The diagnosis was made by transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiography and confirmed by transesophageal echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging and also by surgery.

Levels of serum IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in patients with unstable angina pectoris.

Objectives: Inflammation is the most important mechanism of plaque disruption playing an essential role in acute coronary syndromes. It is controversial whether the inflammatory mediators are the cause or the result in the development of plaque rupture. Stimulation of interleukins increases adhesion molecules, fibrinogen and plasminogen activator inhibitors,which cause the activation of inflammation and thrombosis.