Cardiovascular Disease in the Indo-Caribbean Population: A Scoping Review.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a shift in disease patterns from that of communicable disease to noncommunicable disease (NCD). As a result, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has emerged as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Its incidence and effect on various populations at a molecular level as well as clinical implications have been heavily studied; however, its role in morbidity and mortality in the Indo-Caribbean population is often overlooked.

Caribbean Diaspora Healthy Nutrition Outreach Project (CDHNOP): A Qualitative and Quantitative Approach to Caribbean Health.

Background: Obesity prevention and its associated co-morbidities such as diabetes require a multi-tiered, culturally sensitive, population-based approach. South Florida's tri-county area is home to approximately 75% of Florida's total Caribbean immigrant population. This project is the first Caribbean-focused intervention using the or format which designates whether a food or beverage should be chosen frequently ( - green), less often ( - yellow), or rarely ( - red) based on the content of nutrients, sodium, fat, and sugar.

An unusual tale of rat-bite fever endocarditis.

A 49-year-old man presented to our department with an acute history of right leg tenderness, rash, swelling and fever. CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis and a transoesophageal echocardiogram confirmed the diagnosis of mitral valve infective endocarditis with distal splenic emboli. Positive blood cultures revealed the causative organism to be Streptobacillus moniliformis.

Typical takotsubo cardiomyopathy in suspected ST elevation myocardial infarction patients admitted for primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Aim: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) is increasingly being recognised in patients admitted with suspected acute coronary syndrome, as access to angiography and echocardiography is much quicker than before. We aimed to analyse the prevalence of typical TCM in patients admitted for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) with suspected ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) to a single tertiary centre in United Kingdom.

Methods: All patients admitted to our unit with suspected STEMI from September 2009 to November 2011 were included for analysis.

Data protection among junior medical staff: a questionnaire study.

Objective: There have been numerous reports of loss of confidential information amongst UK public agencies. The aim of the study was to examine current standards of practice and knowledge of junior medical staff with respect to management of patient identifiable information.

Methods: An anonymous multiple choice questionnaire was completed by 50 junior medical staff in each of 2 separate district general hospitals in the UK.

Progression of coronary disease in a Behcet's patient in remission.

Behcet's disease is characterised histologically by vasculitis. In the heart this can lead to aneurysm formation and thrombosis. There is also accelerated atherosclerosis, the mechanism of which is unclear.

Sub-chronic impact of cannabinoids in street cannabis on cognition, psychotic-like symptoms and psychological well-being.

Background: Cannabis varies considerably in levels of its two major constituent cannabinoids - (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Recently, we found evidence that those who smoked cannabis containing detectable levels of CBD had fewer psychotic-like symptoms than those whose cannabis had no CBD. The present study aimed, first, to replicate those findings and, second, to determine whether protective effects of CBD may extend to other harms of cannabis, such as memory impairment and reduced psychological well-being.

Normalization of circulating nucleic acid results.

Nucleic acids, both DNA and mRNA, have been detected in the circulation and have been demonstrated to be useful in such areas as fetal medicine, oncology, and transplantation. When mRNA is measured in circulating blood, the results are expressed in relation to a reference gene product in order to correct for any differences in extraction, volume of starting material or other differences. Many authors use beta-actin mRNA and express results as a ratio of target mRNA to beta-actin mRNA.