Endovascular therapy for hepatic artery stenosis and thrombosis following liver transplantation.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of endovascular management of steno-oclusive disease in liver transplants.

Methods: Retrospective review of liver transplant recipients with hepatic artery stenosis (HAS) or thrombosis (HAT) was performed. The HAS group was treated with balloon angioplasty with selective stent placement.

Bleeding gastric varices obliteration with balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration using sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam.

Purpose: Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) of bleeding gastric varices (GV) is well described in the literature. Using ethanolamine oleate as the sclerosing agent in BRTO, but it is not readily available in the United States in the desired concentrations. The authors' aim is to describe their initial experience with BRTO using sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) foam as an alternative sclerosing agent.

Design and testing of an architecture for a national primary care chronic disease surveillance network in Canada.

Chronic diseases are a growing concern around the globe. In Canada, chronic disease care is taking an increasing share of health care budgets, and with an aging population, is threatening to overwhelm Provincial budgets where most health care is paid for. A chronic disease surveillance network fills an important gap in current public health surveillance systems.

Probing charge transfer at surfaces using graphene transistors.

Graphene field effect transistors (FETs) are extremely sensitive to gas exposure. Charge transfer doping of graphene FETs by atmospheric gas is ubiquitous but not yet understood. We have used graphene FETs to probe minute changes in electrochemical potential during high-purity gas exposure experiments.

The association between biological subtype and locoregional recurrence in newly diagnosed breast cancer.

We investigated the association between the risk of locoregional recurrence (LRR) and biological subtypes defined by hormonal receptors (HR) and HER-2 status in women with invasive breast cancer (BC). A total of 618 newly diagnosed BC patients were identified from a cancer registry within a single institution with standardized methods of tumor assessment for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER-2. Patients were stratified based on surgical treatment, breast-conserving therapy (BCT) versus modified radical mastectomy (MRM), as well as biological subtypes: HR+/HER-2- (ER-positive or PR-positive, HER-2-negative), HR+/HER-2+ (ER-positive or PR-positive, HER-2-positive), HR-/HER-2+ (ER-negative and PR-negative, HER-2-positive) and TN (ER-negative, PR-negative and HER-2-negative).

Percutaneous occlusion of the left subclavian and celiac arteries before or during endograft repair of thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms with detachable nitinol vascular plugs.

Purpose: To review an experience with the Amplatzer vascular plug (AVP) for prevention of type II endoleaks during endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of thoracic and thoracoabdominal aneurysms.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective review was undertaken of 14 patients undergoing transcatheter occlusion of the left subclavian (n = 12) or celiac artery (n = 2) with the AVP as part of EVAR of thoracic and thoracoabdominal aneurysms at a single institution. Procedural criteria evaluated were success at target vessel occlusion, the number of AVPs used, use of adjunctive embolization devices, and embolization-related ischemic end-organ events.

Effect of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement on renal function: a 7-year, single-center experience.

Purpose: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation has been shown to improve renal function in small series of patients with hepatorenal syndrome. The present study examined the effect of TIPS creation on renal function in a large series of patients undergoing TIPS creation who had varying degrees of baseline renal function.

Materials And Methods: All de novo TIPS creations during a 7-year period at a single institution were retrospectively reviewed regardless of indication.

Metachronous bilateral posterior tibial artery aneurysms in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV is a life-threatening genetic connective tissue disorder. We report a 24-year-old woman with EDS-IV who presented with metachronous bilateral aneurysms/pseudoaneurysms of the posterior tibial arteries 15 months apart. Both were treated successfully with transarterial coil embolization from a distal posterior tibial approach.

Real-world experience with type I endoleaks after endovascular repair of the thoracic aorta.

Endoleaks are a frequent complication of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and will likely increase in incidence with application of the technique to more complicated aortic anatomy and a wider range of thoracic aortic pathologies. Management generally consists of aggressive repair of Type I endoleaks; however, the natural history of Type I endoleaks after TEVAR remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence and characteristics of Type I endoleaks and to evaluate clinical outcomes of patients with Type I endoleaks after TEVAR.

New withanolides from Mandragora officinarum: first report of withanolides from the Genus Mandragora.

Two new withanolides named mandragorolide A (1) and mandragorolide B (2) were isolated from the MeOH extract of the whole plant of Mandragora officinarum of Jordanian origin, along with five known withanolides namely larnaxolide A (3), withanolide B (4), datura lactone 2 (5), withanicandrin (6) and salpichrolide C (7). Compound 3 has been reported only once before, from the leaves of Larnax glabra. This is the first report of withanolides of different biogenetic types from the genus Mandragora.

Stenting for atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis.

Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) is the most common cause of renal artery stenosis in the adult population. ARAS may result in progressive renal impairment, renovascular hypertension, and/or cardiac disturbance syndromes. Because medical therapy does not affect the progressive nature of this disease process, more aggressive treatments are needed to definitively treat ARAS.

Treatment of renal artery fibromuscular dysplasia.

Fibromuscular dysplasia is a nonatherosclerotic and noninflammatory disease that can result in stenoses of the renal arteries and hypertension, most commonly affecting middle-aged women. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty has long been considered the mainstay of therapy and offers high rates of improved or cured hypertension. The disease involves the mid and distal renal arteries and branchpoints and poses endovascular treatment challenges that separate fibromuscular dysplasia from atherosclerotic disease.

Outcomes of covered kissing stent placement compared with bare metal stent placement in the treatment of atherosclerotic occlusive disease at the aortic bifurcation.

Purpose: To review the outcomes with the use of balloon-expandable covered iliac kissing stents as compared with bare metal stents in the treatment of atherosclerotic disease at the aortic bifurcation.

Materials And Methods: A review of consecutive patients from a single institution with atherosclerotic occlusive disease at the aortic bifurcation treated with balloon-expandable kissing stents was performed between January 1, 2002, and September 1, 2007. Fifty-four patients were identified and divided into two groups: those with bare metal stents and those with covered stents.

Dietary bioflavonoids inhibit Escherichia coli ATP synthase in a differential manner.

The aim of this study was to determine if the dietary benefits of bioflavonoids are linked to the inhibition of ATP synthase. We studied the inhibitory effect of 17 bioflavonoid compounds on purified F1 or membrane bound F1Fo E. coli ATP synthase.

The effect of combined resistance and home-based walking exercise in type 2 diabetes patients.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of combined resistance and home-based walking exercise on glycemic and metabolic control, depression and quality of life in type-2 diabetes patients.

Methods: This prospective study was conducted at a private hospital in Turkey. Thirty-six type-2 diabetic patients participated in the study.

MGMT modulates glioblastoma angiogenesis and response to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib.

Angiogenesis inhibitors, such as sunitinib, represent a promising strategy to improve glioblastoma (GBM) tumor response. In this study, we used the O(6)-methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT)-negative GBM cell line U87MG stably transfected with MGMT (U87/MGMT) to assess whether MGMT expression affects the response to sunitinib. We showed that the addition of sunitinib to standard therapy (temozolomide [TMZ] and radiation therapy [RT]) significantly improved the response of MGMT-positive but not of MGMT-negative cells.

Endovascular therapy for patients with renal angiomyolipoma presenting with retroperitoneal haemorrhage.

We report our experience treating four patients with acutely bleeding angiomyolipoma (AML) of sizes between 4 and 12 cm who were managed with endovascular embolisation with a mean follow-up of 10 months. In our case series, we demonstrate that endovascular embolisation in the acute setting for bleeding AMLs is a viable treatment option. AML should be in the differential diagnosis of acutely bleeding renal masses, even when there is no fat assessed by computed tomography (CT) imaging in the renal mass.

Beta1-integrin circumvents the antiproliferative effects of trastuzumab in human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-positive breast cancer.

Resistance to trastuzumab, the monoclonal antibody targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), is a major concern for HER-2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. To date, HER-2 status is the only available biomarker for selecting patients for trastuzumab-based therapy. Beta(1)-integrin, an adhesion molecule involved in cell survival and drug resistance, shares common downstream signaling elements with HER-2, such as the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 (ERK1/2) pathways.

Rational design and synthesis of potent dibenzazepine motifs as beta-secretase inhibitors.

We have identified small-molecule dibenzazepine inhibitors of beta-secretase (BACE1). These BACE1 inhibitors possess two key salient features. The first is a seven-membered heterocyclic ring fused to two aromatic rings representing the P3-P2 residues.

Subjective life satisfaction and mental disorders among older adults in UAE in general population.

Background: Life satisfaction is widely considered to be a central aspect of human welfare. Many have identified happiness with it, and some maintain that well-being consists largely or wholly in being satisfied with one's life. Empirical research on well-being relies heavily on life satisfaction studies.

Günter tulip filter retrieval experience: predictors of successful retrieval.

We report our experience with Günter Tulip filter placement indications, retrievals, and procedural problems, with emphasis on alternative retrieval techniques. We have identified 92 consecutive patients in whom a Günter Tulip filter was placed and filter removal attempted. We recorded patient demographic information, filter placement and retrieval indications, procedures, standard and nonstandard filter retrieval techniques, complications, and clinical outcomes.

Secretory expression and characterization of a highly Ca2+-activated thermostable L2 lipase.

Thermostable lipases are important biocatalysts, showing many interesting properties with industrial applications. Previously, a thermophilic Bacillus sp. strain L2 that produces a thermostable lipase was isolated.