Benign outcome of objectively proven spontaneous recanalization of internal carotid artery occlusion.

Objective: Spontaneous recanalization of intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion is frequent in embolic strokes. Spontaneous recanalization of the extracranial portion of the ICA occlusion of atherosclerotic or embolic origin is only anecdotally reported, and data are lacking about its incidence, natural history, and outcome in long-term follow-up.

Methods: Consecutive patients with ICA occlusion were prospectively identified and followed-up to detect the incidence of a spontaneous recanalization.

Low-molecular-weight heparin versus compression stockings for thromboprophylaxis after knee arthroscopy: a randomized trial.

Background: Knee arthroscopy, the most common orthopedic operation worldwide, carries a definite risk for deep venous thrombosis; however, postsurgical thromboprophylaxis is not routinely recommended.

Objective: To evaluate whether low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) better prevents deep venous thrombosis and does not cause more complications than graduated compression stockings in adults having knee arthroscopy.

Design: Assessor-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

Circulating levels of cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1beta) in patients with intermittent claudication, at rest, after maximal exercise treadmill test and during restore phase. Could they be progression markers of the disease?

Aim: Inflammation is considered to be one of the main mechanisms for the development and progression of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Many studies have demonstrated that maximal exercise enhances the acute inflammatory response in claudicant patients, but no one has assessed the duration of this acute inflammatory activation. The aim of this study was to assess of the inflammatory pattern in claudicants and of the inflammatory response after maximal exercise and during the recovery from calf pain.

[Primary antiphospholipid syndrome and hyperhomocysteinemia: a study of a group of 29 patients].

Objective: In order to investigate the potential role of hyperhomocysteinemia as an additional risk factor for thrombotic events, we studied its prevalence in patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and evaluated its association with different clinical features.

Methods: We enrolled 29 patients without any current evidence of underlying connective tissue disorder and fulfilling the Sapporo preliminary classification criteria for APS.

Results: Ten (34,4%) patients showed mild hyperhomocysteinemia (18,34 micromol/L +/- 2,04 DS).

Spontaneous recanalization of internal carotid artery occlusion evaluated with color flow imaging and contrast arteriography.

Aim: In strokes of embolic origin a partial recanalization of the intracranial occluded vessel occurs with a high incidence (as high as 80%). In the literature, we find few cases of revascularization, detected with color flow imaging (CFI) or with arteriography (AGF), at carotid siphon or at the origin of an occluded internal carotid artery (ICA). Up to now there have been no reliable data on the incidence and clinical consequences of SR of an extracranial ICA occlusion.

Clinical outcome of patients with internal carotid artery occlusion: a prospective follow-up study.

Purpose: We prospectively evaluated whether, and to what extent, different clinical presentations (symptomatic or asymptomatic) or the presence of atherosclerotic narrowing of the contralateral carotid system modifies the mortality rate and the incidence of nonfatal cerebrovascular events in patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in the Unit Care of Angiology at the University Hospital of Padua in Italy. Consecutive patients with ICA occlusion were eligible for the study.

An unexpectedly high rate of pulmonary embolism in patients with superficial thrombophlebitis of the thigh.

Purpose: The rate of objectively proven pulmonary embolism in patients with thrombophlebitis of the greater saphenous vein was studied.

Methods: Consecutive ambulant patients with thrombophlebitis of the greater saphenous vein, involving the above-knee segment, underwent a complete venous echo color Doppler examination of the lower limbs, perfusion lung scanning, and chest radiography. A high probability of pulmonary embolism was defined as the presence of two or more large segmental defects, one large and two or more moderate perfusion defects, or four or more moderate perfusion defects, with no corresponding abnormality found by means of chest radiography.

Incidence of risk of thromboembolism during treatment high-grade gliomas: a prospective study.

A prospective study of a series of 77 patients on adjuvant radiochemotherapy following surgery for high-grade gliomas was conducted to evaluate the risk of deep vein thrombosis and identify risk factors. We found a 20.8% risk of deep vein thrombosis at 12 months (standard error = 4.

Diagnosis of high-grade stenosis of innominate artery.

Although pathology of the innominate artery (IA) is not frequent, it causes relevant impairment of extracranial circulation and sometimes cerebrovascular events. Definite differentiation of high-grade stenosis from occlusion of the IA has not been obtained until now with continuous-wave (C.W.

Takayasu's arteritis: anatomic change before and after steroid therapy evaluated by angiography and echo-Doppler color-flow.

A 36-year-old Italian woman with active Takayasu's disease presented a bilateral occlusions of subclavian artery and stenosis of bilateral common carotid arteries: the maximal diameter stenosis, measured with echo-Doppler color-flow (EDCF) in the longitudinal section was of 43.5 +/- 2.4% on the right and 61 +/- 1.

Peripheral arterial occlusion in infants--a report of two cases treated conservatively.

The occlusion of major arteries in newborns is usually associated with catheterization of the umbilical vessels. It occurs very rarely instead as a primary disorder, and the cause is still unclear. We present two new cases of newborns with this type of disease, which were resolved with the only medical treatment.

Hereditary heparin cofactor II deficiency and thrombosis: report of six patients belonging to two separate kindreds.

We describe six patients belonging to two families with congenital heparin cofactor II deficiency (HC II). The affected members had low levels of HC II antigen and activity, and no abnormalities in HC II electrophoretic mobility were detected in the presence of heparin or dermatan sulphate during the first migration of crossed immunoelectrophoresis. These data suggested that patients had a type I (true) HC II deficiency.

Efficacy of indobufen in the treatment of intermittent claudication.

The aim of this trial was to assess the activity of indobufen compared with placebo in peripheral occlusive arterial disease of the lower limbs of atherosclerotic or diabetic origin. Fifty-two outpatients were admitted to the randomized, double-blind study and were given either an indobufen 200-mg tablet (28 subjects) or placebo (24) for six months. Painfree walking distance on a treadmill at a constant speed (4 km/h) and slope (10 degrees) was assessed before and after three and six months' treatment.