Colloids facilitate cadmium and uranium transport in an undisturbed soil: A comparison of soil solution isolation methods.

Accurate data of cadmium (Cd) and uranium (U) leaching are needed in the context of identifying their mass balances in agricultural soils. There is some controversy related to sampling methods and the contribution of colloid facilitated transport. Here, leaching was measured in undisturbed unsaturated soils and the impact of colloids was measured with due attention to solution sampling protocols.

[Use of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure].

Utility of the dosage of brain natriuretic factor (BNP) in the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure. Congestive heart failure (HF) is the main reason for hospitalisation of elderly patients. HF affects nearly 15% of patients aged 75 years or older.

[Cardiac decompensation after an adenectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism: hypocalcemic cardiopathy or cascade effect?].

A 42 year old woman presented with an auricular tachyarrhythmia as well as a congestive cardiac failure ascribed to a viral myocarditis, two months after an adenectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism. Serum calcium was low whereas parathormone serum was increased suggesting a "hungry bone syndrome". The left ventricular dysfunction persisted for a long period even after normalization of the serum calcium.

Minocycline-induced pericardial effusion.

Objective: To describe a reversible hypersensitivity reaction characterized by pericardial effusion and acute mixed liver injury in a woman treated with minocycline.

Case Summary: A 39-year-old white woman developed dyspnea and chest pain with pericardial effusion on echocardiography approximately 20 days after starting minocycline treatment. Additional manifestations consisted of eosinophilia and liver injury.

[Dynamic three-dimensional cardiac reconstruction by transesophageal echocardiography. A clinical experience apropos of 100 cases].

Three-Dimensional (3D) echocardiography was performed during routine transesophageal examinations in 100 patients to identify the most promising applications. The approach used was based on the integration of multiple two-dimensional images recorded with a multiplane probe to achieve 3D reconstruction. A series of 90 cardiac cycles was recorded from a fixed position during computer-controlled rotation of the transducer.

The influence of coronary collateral flow on the assessment of myocardial perfusion by videodensitometry.

Objectives: Coronary collateral flow often mitigates the effects of coronary artery obstruction and has a significant impact on the prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease. In the presence of variable degrees of coronary collateral flow, digital radiographic assessment of myocardial blood flow has not been quantitatively validated.

Methods: A distal coronary arterial collateral path was created into the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) bed in 8 anesthetized pigs.

Hemodynamic comparison of Medtronic intact bioprostheses and bileaflet mechanical prostheses in aortic position.

Hemodynamic properties of both bioprostheses and mechanical valves have improved over the years, however, direct comparison between second-generation porcine and bileaflet valves is rare. Therefore, by the mean of Doppler echocardiography, we determined hemodynamic performances in 45 patients with Medtronic Intact bioprostheses in the aortic position and in 67 patients with bileaflet mechanical valves. Differences in pressure gradients between the two groups were essentially attributable to differences in annulus size.

[Physical exercise and its effects on the cardiovascular system in elderly subjects].

Physical capacity and exercise tolerance decrease in the elderly because of derangements of the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. It is increasingly apparent that many of these alterations are not necessarily connected to ageing but rather to physical inactivity. Rehabilitation programs adapted to the individual capacities of each patient permit prevention and even reversal of organic and functional deficits of the two systems, which are sometimes at the onset of serious invalidity.

[Diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular accidents of cardioembolic origin].

Compared to the normal population, patients with atrial fibrillation are at a significantly enhanced risk for cerebrovascular insults, in particular when the fibrillation is of recent occurrence, chronic rather than paroxysmal, and when it is associated with cardiopathy. Several studies have documented the efficacy of anticoagulation in prevention of cerebrovascular insults. Aspirin may be a valid alternative in young patients without cardiopathy; however, anticoagulation is more effective in patients which have experienced thromboembolism.

Intravascular ultrasound imaging of coarctation of the aorta: animal and human studies.

Although the use of balloon dilation for treatment of native and recurrent coarctation of the aorta (coA) has become widespread, the optimal balloon size and postdilation vessel wall changes remain undetermined. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging has emerged as a an important adjunct in the treatment and follow-up of patients with coronary artery and peripheral vascular lesions, and has been used for evaluation in a limited number of patients with CoA. We used a combination of balloon dilation/ultrasound imaging catheter in animals with experimentally-induced CoA.

Coronary angiography in octogenarians: results and implications for revascularization.

Purpose: To determine the risks and the consequences of coronary angiography performed on octogenarians with symptomatic coronary artery disease.

Patients And Methods: In order to define angiographic findings, procedural complications, and therapeutic consequences, a retrospective evaluation was made of 115 consecutive patients with angina, aged 80 or above, who underwent coronary angiography in our institution between 1988 and 1992.

Results: In all, 115 patients (68 men) aged 82 +/- 2 years, 70% with unstable angina, underwent coronary angiography corresponding to 1.

[Remodeling of the left ventricle following myocardial infarction: physiopathology and prevention].

The degree of left ventricular dilatation occurring after myocardial infarction is a major prognostic factor. Left ventricular remodeling is characterized by early expansion of the infarcted region and predominantly excentric hypertrophy of the noninfarcted myocardium, resulting in left ventricular cavity dilatation. Remodeling is most pronounced in large anterior infarctions.

[Hypersensitivity myocarditis. A case of myocarditis following drug administration].

Based upon the findings of eosinophilia and concomitant ECG changes, hypersensitivity myocarditis was diagnosed in a patient who had been given longstanding antibiotic therapy. With cessation of drug treatment the disease resolved spontaneously.

[Role of transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of cardiac disorders].

Transesophageal echocardiography provides a new window for ultrasound examination of the heart. The approach allows ultrasonic access to the heart in patients with transthoracic images of inadequate quality. Furthermore, transesophageal examination may provide information additional to that from the conventional transthoracic approach in the search for lesions including complications of endocarditis, mitral prosthesis dysfunction, aortic dissection, embolism of cardiac origin and selected cardiac malformations.

[Role of echocardiography in the diagnosis of aortic dissection].

Since the introduction of transesophageal transducers, Doppler echocardiography allows to detect aortic dissection with high sensitivity. The extent of the dissection can be determined accurately and the possibility of conducting the examination at bedside is particularly advantageous. Caution is advisable in interpreting doubtful observations in the distal part of the ascending aorta, which often ist incompletely visualized.

Outcome after acute myocardial infarction in patients with prior coronary artery bypass surgery.

Little is known concerning the influence of remote prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on the outcome of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Therefore, this study evaluated 2,494 patients with AMI of whom 219 (8.8%) had a history of CABG a mean of 7.

[Assessment of blood flow in hart and large vessels using Doppler color flow mapping].

Two-dimensional echocardiography allows the noninvasive assessment of the morphology and the movement of cardiac structures, including valves and ventricular walls. Color Doppler flow imaging presents a spatial visualization of blood flow, superimposed on two-dimensional echocardiographic images. The color indicates the direction of flow.

Evaluation of inotropic effect of endothelin-1 in vivo.

The vasoconstrictive peptide endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been reported to exert a very important positive inotropic effect in vitro. To assess the effect of ET-1 on myocardial contractility in vivo, we compared the effect of intracoronary infusion of 10(-8) M ET-1 (constant coronary blood flow) to that of 10(-8) M dobutamine in 8 swine. ET infusion did not produce changes in segmental shortening (control vs.

Intraluminal ultrasound imaging through a balloon dilation catheter in an animal model of coarctation of the aorta.

Background: Controversy still exists over the optimal balloon size, extent of vascular disruption, and long-term results of balloon dilation therapy for coarctation of the aorta. Intravascular ultrasound imaging has been used in patients with coronary artery disease to provide further insight into the anatomy of atherosclerotic lesions and the results of angioplasty and atherectomy. Initial observations of the results of balloon dilation of coarctations with intravascular ultrasound imaging have shown prominent dissections of the inner vascular layers that are often not detected by angiography.

Abnormal left ventricular filling pattern in patients with single vessel coronary artery disease: effect of angioplasty.

To study the effect of coronary angioplasty (PTCA) on left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling, mitral Doppler flow tracings of 15 patients with isolated stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and normal systolic LV function were recorded before PTCA as well as 24 h and 3 months after successful PTCA. Compared to control subjects, patients with LAD stenosis exhibited an abnormal LV filling velocity pattern before PTCA. The day following PTCA, the ratios of the early peak diastolic velocity to the peak late diastolic velocity and of the time velocity integral of the early diastolic filling phase to the time velocity integral of the late diastolic filling phase were unchanged.

Trends in use of coronary angiography in subacute phase of myocardial infarction.

Background: Most patients do not undergo acute reperfusion after myocardial infarction, and which of these patients should undergo coronary angiography is still debated.

Methods And Results: We analyzed the 1-year clinical outcomes and rates of coronary angiography performed as late as 60 days after myocardial infarction in 3,804 patients admitted between 1979 and 1988 and followed in six different centers. Patients less than 75 years old were classified into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups using a multivariate analysis of historical and clinical variables gathered during the first 8 hospital days.

Catheter-based intravascular ultrasound imaging of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease.

Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy is now the treatment of choice for pulmonary hypertension due to chronic pulmonary thromboemboli. A precise assessment of location and extension of these thrombi is important because only proximal chronic pulmonary thromboemboli are accessible to surgery. Because intravascular ultrasound imaging can assess not only arterial luminal size, but also wall thickness, its value as a complement to angiography was assessed in 11 patients aged 35 to 64 years with severe pulmonary hypertension (systolic pulmonary artery pressure, mean +/- standard deviation 70 +/- 19 mm Hg; pulmonary artery resistance, 609 +/- 297 dynes.