Constrictive pericarditis: retrospective study of 109 patients.

Background Chronic constrictive pericarditis is the most common diastolic disorder of the heart. Non-elasticity of the pericardium with impaired cardiac diastolic function is constriction. Chronic constrictive pericarditis is the result of scarring and fibrosis in mid and late diastole.

Assessment of placental oxidative stress in pre-eclampsia.

Objective: To study oxidative stress in placental tissue as well as in serum in pre-eclamptic women.

Methods: Fifty pre-eclamptic cases and fifty normal pregnant women were selected in the study. Thio barbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) was measured as oxidative stress marker and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and GSH (reduced glutathione) were measured for assessment of antioxidant status in placental tissue extract and serum.