[Antiphospholipid syndrome with myocardial infarction and aortic valve involvement].

The primary antiphospholipid syndrome is a disorder which is characterized by: arterial and/or venous thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, recurrent fetal loss and high plasma levels of antiphospholipid antibodies. Valvular involvement is associated with arterial thrombosis and the most frequent manifestation is regurgitation. We report the case of a young male with primary antiphospholipid syndrome and previous cerebrovascular thrombosis hospitalized for subacute myocardial infarction.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension after maternal naproxen ingestion in a term newborn: a case report.

Constricting effect of indomethacin on the ductus arteriosus of the fetus is well known. The fetal effects of other nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like naproxen are not well reported. We report here a case of a 3,790-g term neonate who developed persistent pulmonary hypertension after birth with a closed ductus arteriosus.

Plastic bronchitis occurring late after the Fontan procedure: treatment with aerosolized urokinase.

Objective: To describe the use of aerosolized urokinase in a patient with plastic bronchitis after a Fontan procedure.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit in a university-affiliated children's hospital.

Enhanced inhibition of platelet aggregation in-vitro by niosome-encapsulated indomethacin.

In order to achieve sustained antiplatelet effect from indomethacin, it was incorporated in a non-ionic surfactant vesicle (niosome). The objective was to study the effect of niosomal-encapsulated indomethacin on platelet function such as inhibition of aggregation and ATP release induced by a variety of agonists (adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP), epinephrine, arachidonic acid, ristocetine) and to explore the feasibility of carrier-mediated drug delivery to the platelets. Multilamellar vesicles (niosomes) were prepared from Tween-60 by the lipid hydration method.

The wandering pacemaker: intraperitoneal migration of an epicardially placed pacemaker and femoral nerve stimulation.

A premature child with congenital complete heart block had an epicardial single-chamber pacemaker implanted at 2 days of age. At 21 months of age, while sitting or standing, the patient's right anterior thigh muscles contracted at her pulse rate. Surgical exploration revealed a free-floating pacemaker in her peritoneum.

Syncope recurrence in children: relation to tilt-test results.

Objectives: To examine the intermediate-term outcome of children with syncope and its relationship to tilt test.

Design: This was a retrospective study of 45 children. In 20, the tilt test was negative.

A prospective, randomized, blinded comparison of multiplane and biplane transesophageal echocardiographic techniques.

Although multiplane transesophageal echocardiography has become an accepted diagnostic technique, there is a paucity of literature directly comparing the diagnostic yield of multiplane and biplane transesophageal examinations. This study was designed to compare the ability of multiplane and biplane transesophageal echocardiographic techniques to visualize intracardiac structures. Complete multiplane and biplane transesophageal studies were performed on each of 50 patients (100 total studies) referred to the echocardiography laboratory for elective transesophageal echocardiography.

Serum electrolytes in children with neurocardiogenic syncope treated with fludrocortisone and salt.

We examined the changes in serum electrolytes of patients with syncope treated with salt and fludrocortisone. The most significant change was an increase in serum bicarbonate concentration, with minimal alteration of sodium, potassium, and chloride concentrations; none was clinically significant.

Expression of the C terminus of the amyloid precursor protein alters growth factor responsiveness in stably transfected PC12 cells.

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a molecule centrally involved in Alzheimer disease pathology, but whose normal function is still poorly understood. To investigate the consequences of increased intracellular production of various regions of APP on cellular physiology, we stably transfected PC12 cells with the C-terminal 100 amino acids of the human APP. In eight transfected clones that express the APP(C100) protein, exposure to nerve growth factor (NGF) did not promote differentiation.

The JT interval as a depolarization independent measurement of repolarization: lessons from catheter ablation of the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

In patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW), preexcitation precludes accurate assessment of the ventricular repolarization by the QTc. In patients with long QT syndrome, it has been demonstrated that the JTc does not change when depolarization abnormalities develop. We hypothesized that this phenomenon should also be applicable to WPW patients.

Expression of Mts1, a metastasis-associated gene, increases motility but not invasion of a nonmetastatic mouse mammary adenocarcinoma cell line.

The mts1 gene codes for a 101 amino acid protein belonging to the S100 subfamily of Ca(2+)-binding proteins. Mts1 is overexpressed in metastatic cancers as compared to their nonmetastatic counterparts, and although mts1 is known to be involved in the metastatic phenotype (Davies et al., 1993; Grigorian et al.

Contribution of superior vena caval flow to total cardiac output in children. A Doppler echocardiographic study.

Background: After a cavopulmonary anastomosis, the superior vena caval flow, by virtue of being the effective pulmonary blood flow, is the most important factor influencing the systemic arterial saturation. Determination of the amount of this blood flow will allow a better understanding of the physiology of the circulation after this anastomosis. The purposes of this study were to determine the volumetric flow in the superior vena cava and to evaluate its contribution to the cardiac output as children grow.

Pulmonary/systemic flow ratio in children after cavopulmonary anastomosis.

Objectives: This study attempted to provide a formula for calculation of the pulmonary/systemic flow ratio in children after bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis.

Background: With the bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis, only the superior vena cava blood is oxygenated by the lungs. The inferior vena cava flow recirculates into the systemic circulation.

The fate of homograft conduits in children with congenital heart disease: an angiographic study.

The use of homograft conduits in the repair of congenital heart disease is widely accepted. We reviewed the catheterization and angiographic data from 20 patients with homograft conduits. All conduits were to the pulmonary arteries.

Discrete subaortic stenosis after successful treatment of congenital aortic valve stenosis.

Two cases of discrete subaortic obstruction which developed in a previously normal left ventricular outflow tract of patients with congenital valvar aortic stenosis are described. These examples emphasize the need for careful scrutiny of the etiology of recurrent postoperative left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.

NMDA and AMPA receptors in transgenic mice expressing human beta-amyloid protein.

The human beta-amyloid protein may play an important, possibly primary, role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and it appears to potentiate the susceptibility of neurons to excitotoxicity. AD is associated with alterations in the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) subtypes of glutamate receptors, and it has been suggested that excitotoxicity may play a role in neuronal damage in AD. In this study, we have used quantitative receptor autoradiography to examine NMDA and AMPA receptors in transgenic mice that contain the gene for the carboxyl-terminal 100 amino acids of the human amyloid precursor protein, beginning with the beta-amyloid region, which is under the control of the JC viral early region promoter.

Improved detection of mycobacterial antigens in clinical specimens by combined enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Three types of antibodies against cellular and secretory-excretory protein antigens were simultaneously used for the direct detection of mycobacterial antigens in sputum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The antibodies consisted of in-house raised and prepared anti-whole-cell, heat-killed, and sonicated Mycobacterium tuberculosis, anti-secretory-excretory protein extract of bacilli Calmette-Guerin (BCG) strain, and commercially available anti-BCG. Sputum specimens comprised 24 smear positive, culture positive, and 47 smear-negative, culture positive (SNCP), from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, as well as 45 smear-negative, culture-negative (SNCN) control samples.

Bronchoscopy in lipoid pneumonia.

Forcible administration of rendered animal fat to infants is a tradition in south western Saudi Arabia. Accidental inhalation may result in a resistant form of lipoid pneumonia. A series of 24 cases of lipoid pneumonia, 22 of which were diagnosed by bronchoscopy with bronchial lavage and microscopic examination of the aspirate, are reported.

Development of a left atrial ball thrombus in a woman with complex congenital heart disease including congenital mitral valve stenosis.

A 20-year-old woman with complex cyanotic congenital heart disease, including severe congenital mitral stenosis and intact atrial septum, who developed a left atrial ball thrombus and an embolic phenomenon, is presented. Increased vigilance in this unique setting is necessary for the antemortem detection of this rare complication.

Expression of the human beta-amyloid protein of Alzheimer's disease specifically in the brains of transgenic mice.

The human beta-amyloid protein is deposited in senile plaques and in the cerebro-vasculature of people with Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome. The precise role of beta-amyloid in Alzheimer's disease pathology is presently unknown. To study the properties of beta-amyloid in vivo, we generated transgenic mice that harbor the gene for the carboxyl-terminal 100 amino acids of the human amyloid precursor protein, beginning with the beta-amyloid region, under control of the JC viral early region promoter.