Clinical relevance of antibodies to cardiolipin in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

The significance of antibodies to cardiolipin (anti-CL) remains uncertain in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH-C). The main purpose of this study was to elucidate the clinical characteristics of patients with CH-C seropositive for anti-CL. The prevalence of anti-CL and clinical parameters associated with anti-CL in those patients were examined.

Decline of plasma brain natriuretic peptide during enzyme replacement therapy in a female patient with heterozygous Fabry's disease.

There are no data regarding changes in plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in patients with Fabry's diseases during enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). We describe a patient with Fabry's disease who demonstrated the improvement in plasma brain BNP levels in response to ERT. Fabry's disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme alpha-galactosidase A, which results in progressive intracellular accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) in various organs including the heart.

Positron emission tomographic demonstration of myocardial oxidative metabolism in a case of left ventricular restoration after cardiac resynchronization therapy.

A 65-year-old man with a history of coronary artery bypass grafting was admitted because of severe heart failure. Echocardiography showed diffuse severe hypokinesis of the left ventricle (ejection fraction 25%) and severe mitral regurgitation caused by tethering of the leaflet secondary to left ventricular (LV) dilation. He underwent mitral valve annuloplasty and LV papillary muscle imbrication, but postoperative sustained ventricular tachycardia developed and echocardiography showed ventricular dyssynchrony with a long septal-to-posterior wall motion delay (>130 ms).