Management of IRVAN syndrome with observation.

A 7-year-old girl with IRVAN (idiopathic retinal vasculitis, aneurysms, and neuroretinitis) syndrome was monitored for 9 years. The patient had symmetric multiple aneurysmal dilations, retinal vasculitis, and severe hard exudation in the macula bilaterally. Long-term visual acuity in her untreated right eye was 20/25.

[Intracardiac echography in interventional cardiology].

Since its early development, interventional cardiology relies on radiological imaging to show and describe vascular structures involved in percutaneous treatment. However, the development of the transcatheter approach to structural heart disease has highlighted the limits of X-rays in guiding interventions targeting soft heart tissues because of their low radiological resolution. Transesophageal echocardiography has thus gained an important role in many catheterization laboratories that perform percutaneous structural heart disease interventions.

In vivo bladder regeneration using small intestinal submucosa: experimental study.

Significant side effects are correlated with bladder augmentation. Recently, small intestinal submucosa (SIS) has been proposed for clinical use. The efficacy of SIS bladder regeneration was studied in a porcine experimental model.

New positive inotropic agents in the treatment of left ventricular dysfunction.

Three major classes of inotropic agents have been clinically evaluated in patients with left ventricular dysfunction: a) agents that increase the intracellular concentration of cyclic adenosine monophosphate by stimulating the beta-adrenergic receptor or inhibiting phosphodiesterase; b) drugs that increase the intracellular sodium concentration; c) the new calcium-sensitizing drugs. This review will focus on the newest drug for each of the above-mentioned classes of inotropic agents. Moreover, we present a new protocol which provides the use of levosimendan in patients with post-ischemic left ventricular dysfunction.

Enzyme variability and neonatal jaundice. The role of adenosine deaminase and acid phosphatase.

A sample of children treated by phototherapy during the neonatal period has been studied in the population of Penne (South Eastern Italy) in order to confirm the association previously reported in newborns from the population of Rome between neonatal jaundice and phenotypes of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and acid phosphatase (ACP1). The present data confirm that the incidence of clinically relevant jaundice is much greater in newborns of phenotype ACP1 BA carrying ADA2 allele than in other infants. Since ACP1 probably acts as flavin mononucleotide phosphatase and is modulated by purine nucleotides, it is likely that enzymes of purine nucleotide metabolism (including ADA), ACP1 and flavoenzymes (including gluthatione reductase and enzymes of Krebs cycle), may represent a polygenic complex influencing bilirubin levels in the first few days of life.

Multiple restriction site polymorphism at the human somatostatin locus: a population study in Italy.

Three Italian populations were examined for a multiple restriction fragment length polymorphism tightly linked to the human somatostatin gene. No difference was observed between the three samples. The haplotype frequencies in Italy were found to be: SST ESBS = 0.