Analysis of LV lead position in cardiac resynchronization therapy using different imaging modalities.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate whether left ventricular (LV) lead position in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can be determined by myocardial deformation imaging during LV pacing and to compare imaging techniques for analysis of LV lead position.

Background: LV lead position has a significant impact on effectiveness of CRT, but clinically applicable methods to determine LV lead position are less defined.

Methods: In 56 patients (53 +/- 5 years, 34 men) undergoing CRT, fluoroscopy and 2 myocardial deformation imaging-based approaches were applied to determine the LV lead position.

Nuclear detection of Y-box protein-1 (YB-1) closely associates with progesterone receptor negativity and is a strong adverse survival factor in human breast cancer.

Background: Y-box binding protein-1 (YB-1) is the prototypic member of the cold shock protein family that fulfills numerous cellular functions. In the nucleus YB-1 protein orchestrates transcription of proliferation-related genes, whereas in the cytoplasm it associates with mRNA and directs translation. In human tumor entities, such as breast, lung and prostate cancer, cellular YB-1 expression indicates poor clinical outcome, suggesting that YB-1 is an attractive marker to predict patients' prognosis and, potentially, is suitable to individualize treatment protocols.

Impact of infarct transmurality on layer-specific impairment of myocardial function: a myocardial deformation imaging study.

Aims: To evaluate deformation parameters of an endocardial, mid-myocardial, and epicardial myocardial layer in different transmurality of myocardial infarction and assess whether layer-specific deformation analysis allows definition of infarct transmurality.

Methods And Results: Fifty-six patients (mean age 55 +/- 9 years, 38 men) with chronic ischaemic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction underwent two-dimensional echocardiography and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (ceMRI). The extent of myocardial infarction was determined as relative amount of hyperenhancement by ceMRI in a 16-segment LV model (0%, no infarction; 1-50%, non-transmural infarction; 51-100%, transmural infarction).