Advantages and pitfalls of three-dimensional ultrasound imaging of carotid bifurcation.

Objectives: Several specialists use three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound as adjuvant imaging technique in their clinical practice. It has been applied to study carotid plaque morphology, surface and volume during atherosclerosis progression. Nonetheless, no papers have so far described the use of this technique in conditions different than carotid stenosis, such as bifurcation anatomy changes of the caliber and vessel course modifications.

Retroperitoneal cryptococcoma in a case of disseminated cryptococcosis on antifungal maintenance therapy.

Cryptococcoma is a rare entity, characterized by solid, space-occupying masses, usually found in the brain. It has been reported in the setting of "paradoxical" immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. A case of retroperitoneal cryptococcoma in a HIV-infected woman with a clinical history of disseminated cryptococcosis on antifungal maintenance therapy is described.

Bilateral spontaneous internal carotid artery dissection with both early and very late recanalization: A case report.

Spontaneous bilateral internal carotid artery dissection has frequently been described in the literature as a cause of stroke. In more than half of the patients with internal carotid artery dissection, recanalization occurs early after the event and is unusual later than 6 months after onset of the dissection. We describe a patient with ischemic stroke due to left internal carotid artery occlusion in the extracranial segment.

Highly controlled vascular syringes for pericardiocentesis.

Objectives: The present study determined the utility and needle control characteristics of highly controlled vascular syringes for image-guided pericardiocentesis.

Background: Vascular syringes have been integrated into invasive cardiovascular procedures with improved patient safety, but to date have not been used in pericardiocentesis. To address this issue, we determined the method of use of vascular syringes for pericardiocentesis.

Extracranial and intracranial sonographic findings in vertebral artery diseases.

Objective: The aim of this review is to illustrate the sonographic features that can be detected in vertebral artery (VA) diseases.

Methods: We conducted a review of sonographic findings in VA diseases.

Results: Various VA diseases are described, and sonographic techniques and features are discussed.

Noninvasive imaging of carotid arteries in stroke: emerging value of real-time high-resolution sonography in carotid occlusion due to cardiac embolism.

Objective: Comprehension of the pathophysiologic characteristics of atherosclerosis has focused its attention on the study of dynamic and metabolic processes involving the vessel wall as possible causes of stroke. When compared with conventional radiologic techniques, sonography has the main advantage of being a real-time imaging modality. We report 2 acute stroke cases in which carotid sonography showed some dynamic features that could not be identified with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).

Protein causes a glycemic response.

The glycemic index is used to compare the extent to which the blood glucose level increases following the consumption of foods containing digestible carbohydrate and is considered to be zero, or not measurable, if the food, such as protein, is carbohydrate-free. We have found that after overnight fasting, the consumption of several varieties of meat caused significant increases in blood glucose levels. We consider these possibly to be because of gluconeogenesis from the digested protein.

Transcranial Doppler for brain death in infants: the role of the fontanelles.

Objective: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a sensitive technique for circulatory arrest diagnosis in brain death when patterns such as reverberant flow and short systolic spikes are observed. In infants, the nonossified fontanelles compensate for intracranial hypertension. We describe TCD patterns in infants with brain death, different from adults, with the hemodynamic modifications induced by anterior fontanelle compression.

Down syndrome fibroblasts and mouse Prep1-overexpressing cells display increased sensitivity to genotoxic stress.

PREP1 (PKNOX1) maps in the Down syndrome (DS) critical region of chromosome 21, is overexpressed in some DS tissues and might be involved in the DS phenotype. By using fibroblasts from DS patients and by overexpressing Prep1 in F9 teratocarcinoma and Prep1(i/i) MEF to single out the role of the protein, we report that excess Prep1 increases the sensitivity of cells to genotoxic stress and the extent of the apoptosis directly correlates with the level of Prep1. The apoptotic response of Prep1-overexpressing cells is mediated by the pro-apoptotic p53 protein that we show is a direct target of Prep1, as its depletion reverts the apoptotic phenotype.

Ochratoxin A induces craniofacial malformation in mice acting on Dlx5 gene expression.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by fungal of Aspergillus species absorbed in human through contaminate food in gastrointestinal tract. OTA has been demonstrated to be teratogenic in a number of species including mice and potentially human. Mice exposed in uterus to OTA develop craniofacial abnormalities such as exencephaly, microencephaly, microphthalmia and facial clefts.

Bortezomib and zoledronic acid on angiogenic and vasculogenic activities of bone marrow macrophages in patients with multiple myeloma.

Bone marrow neovascularisation supports plasma cell tumour progression in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), and is partially sustained by bone marrow macrophages through their angiogenic and vasculogenic activities. As such, macrophages may be a target for antivascular treatment in MM. Here, we show that bortezomib (BZ) and zoledronic acid (ZOL) display distinct and synergistic inhibitory effects on cell proliferation, adhesion, migration and expression of angiogenic cytokines (i.

Growth-inhibitory and antiangiogenic activity of the MEK inhibitor PD0325901 in malignant melanoma with or without BRAF mutations.

The Raf/MEK/ERK pathway is an important mediator of tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis. Here, we investigated the growth-inhibitory and antiangiogenic properties of PD0325901, a novel MEK inhibitor, in human melanoma cells. PD0325901 effects were determined in a panel of melanoma cell lines with different genetic aberrations.

Contrast carotid ultrasound for the detection of unstable plaques with neoangiogenesis: a pilot study.

Objectives: To evaluate whether contrast ultrasonography can be used to distinguish asymptomatic from symptomatic carotid plaques and provide insight into underlying pathophysiological differences.

Design: Contrast carotid ultrasound was performed in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients referred for carotid endarterectomy.

Materials And Methods: Of 77 consecutive patients referred for carotid artery evaluation, 64 underwent carotid endarterectomy for asymptomatic cerebrovascular disease and 9 underwent urgent surgery for acute neurological deficits with hemiparesis.

ATM-ATR-dependent up-regulation of DNAM-1 and NKG2D ligands on multiple myeloma cells by therapeutic agents results in enhanced NK-cell susceptibility and is associated with a senescent phenotype.

There is much evidence to support a role for natural killer (NK) cells in controlling the progression of multiple myeloma (MM), a malignancy characterized by an abnormal plasma cell proliferation in the bone marrow (BM). Induction of DNA damage response has been recently shown capable of enhancing NKG2D ligand (NKG2DL) expression, but nothing is known about DNAM-1 ligand (DNAM-1L) regulation. In this study, we show that myeloma cells treated with low doses of therapeutic agents commonly used in the management of patients with MM, such as doxorubicin, melphalan, and bortezomib, up-regulate DNAM-1 and NKG2D ligands.

Sonographic carotid plaque morphologic characteristics and vascular risk factors: results from a population study.

Objective: The role of vascular risk factors in atherosclerosis development is well established, whereas risk factors involved in determining plaque vulnerability are still a matter of debate. We investigated the vascular risk factor distribution in patients with carotid plaques.

Methods: We consecutively assessed sonographic plaque morphologic characteristics, the degree of stenosis, and the common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in 1655 patients.

Concordant improvements in coronary flow reserve and ST-segment resolution during percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction: a benefit of postconditioning.

Objective: To assess the effect of ischemic postconditioning on indices of coronary microvascular function during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Background: Myocardial tissue level perfusion remains suboptimal in many patients with STEMI despite restoration of antegrade flow in the epicardial coronary artery.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with an evolving anterior STEMI were randomized to undergo a previously-validated ischemic postconditioning protocol or usual care during PCI.

Cerebral vasomotor reactivity is reduced in patients with erectile dysfunction.

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is not only evidence of diffuse atherosclerosis but also an index of early endothelial damage. We investigated cerebrovascular reactivity, expression of early arterial damage, in patients with isolated ED (ED+) and controls (ED-).

Materials And Methods: Fifteen ED+ and 15 ED- subjects, matched for age (ED+: 58+/-6, ED-: 59 +/- 4 years) and vascular risk factors, were submitted to carotid duplex ultrasound and transcranial Doppler.

BCR ligation induced by IgM stimulation results in gene expression and functional changes only in IgV H unmutated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients exhibit a variable clinical course. To investigate the association between clinicobiologic features and responsiveness of CLL cells to anti-IgM stimulation, we evaluated gene expression changes and modifications in cell-cycle distribution, proliferation, and apoptosis of IgV(H) mutated (M) and unmutated (UM) samples upon BCR cross-linking. Unsupervised analysis highlighted a different response profile to BCR stimulation between UM and M samples.

[Changes in infant sleeping position after an educational intervention in a University General Hospital during a ten year follow up].

Introduction: The prone sleeping position has been identified as the main risk factor for the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Objectives: The aim was to assess the prevalence of the different sleeping positions of infants, between 1 and 6 months, who attended the immunizations office of the "Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires" during a ten year period. During this time an important educational intervention, called "Project Link" was developed.

Detection of carotid adventitial vasa vasorum and plaque vascularization with ultrasound cadence contrast pulse sequencing technique and echo-contrast agent.

Background And Purpose: Adventitial vasa vasorum and plaque vascularization have been established as predictors of unstable atheromasic lesions in cerebro- and cardiovascular patients. Ultrasound contrast agents provide reliable information on tissue perfusion and microcirculation. We used contrast ultrasound duplex scanning to identify carotid plaque vascularization.

Sex proportion of offspring and exposure to radiation in male invasive cardiologists.

High radiation exposure among male radiologists has been reported to result in a significantly higher proportion of female offspring. This study examined whether work-related radiation exposure was associated with a higher propensity for female offspring among male interventional cardiologists. On behalf of the interventional committee of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, an Internet-based questionnaire was sent to the society's 2063 members.