Warfarin anticoagulant therapy: a Southern Italy pharmacogenetics-based dosing model.

Background And Aim: Warfarin is the most frequently prescribed anticoagulant worldwide. However, warfarin therapy is associated with a high risk of bleeding and thromboembolic events because of a large interindividual dose-response variability. We investigated the effect of genetic and non genetic factors on warfarin dosage in a South Italian population in the attempt to setup an algorithm easily applicable in the clinical practice.

Comparison of the TaqMan and LightCycler systems in pharmacogenetic testing: evaluation of CYP2C9*2/*3 polymorphisms.

Background: Pharmacogenetic testing for drug-metabolizing enzymes is not yet widely used in clinical practice.

Methods: In an attempt to facilitate the application of this procedure, we have compared two real-time PCR-based methods, the TaqMan and the LightCycler for the pharmacogenetic evaluation of CYP2C9*2/*3 polymorphisms.

Results And Conclusion: Both procedures are suitable for pharmacogenetic studies.

Exercise training improves diastolic perfusion time in patients with coronary artery disease.

Exercise training elicits an improvement in work capacity and in left-ventricular function in patients with coronary artery disease. An improvement in myocardial oxygen supply accounts for these effects. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that exercise training could favorably influence diastolic perfusion time, a major determinant of subendocardial perfusion.