Novel strategy for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension: enhancement of apoptosis.

Advanced pulmonary arterial hypertension is characterized by extensive vascular remodeling that is usually resistant to vasodilator therapy. As the major component of the vascular media, decreased apoptosis of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (PASMC) plays key roles during pulmonary vascular remodeling. Recent studies showed that enhancement of apoptosis of PASMC can reverse pulmonary vascular remodeling and severe pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Molecular mechanisms of congenital heart disease.

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect. Despite the many advances in our understanding of cardiac development and many genes related to cardiac development identified, the fundamental etiology for the majority of cases of congenital heart disease remains unknown.

Methods: This review summarizes normal cardiac development, outlines the recent discoveries of the genetic causes of CHD, and provides possible strategies for exploring them.

Successful surgical correction of total anomalous systemic venous drainage: a report of 2 cases.

Total anomalous systemic venous drainage is a rare malformation and only limited cases have been reported previously. Here we report two cases of total anomalous systemic venous drainage with successful surgical correction.

Mechanism of myocardial microvessel formation in cyanotic congenital heart disease.

Background: Patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease (C-CHD) usually have myocardial thickening and fibrosis, both of which can affect the course of surgical management. Hypoxia and ischemia may stimulate microvessel formation in the myocardium, which may accelerate the myocardial thickening and fibrosis. Whether hyperplasia of microvessels occurs in the myocardium of C-CHD was investigated in this report.

Surgical intervention for advanced valvular heart disease in 227 cases.

Background: Although the results of surgical treatment in cardiac valve disease continue to improve, the postoperative mortality rate and the rate of complications in patients with advanced valvular heart disease (AVHD) are still very high. We did this retrospective study to summarize the surgical experience of heart valve replacement for patients with AVHD and discuss effective ways to improve the surgical outcome.

Methods: From January 1994 to October 2003, surgical procedures of heart valve replacement were performed on 227 (136 men and 91 women) patients with AVHD in our Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

[Diagnosis and surgical treatment of primary cardiac tumors].

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and surgical treatment of primary cardiac tumors.

Method: The clinical features and surgical results in 126 cases (1971-2000) of primary cardiac tumors were analyzed retrospectively.

Results: Among the 121 patients with benign tumors were treated surgically, 6 had recurrence of the pathologically confirmed intracardiac myxoma in a period of 1 to 7 years after surgery, and all were cured after reoperation.

Diagnosis and surgical treatment of congenital dextrocardia.

Objective: To understand the pathological features of congenital dextrocardia and explore its diagnosis and surgical treatment.

Method: The clinical data from 32 cases of congenital dextrocardia were collected to understand the major cardiac anomalies and evaluate the diagnostic approaches of this disease. Analysis of the effect of surgical treatment was also conducted in 16 among the 32 cases.