A severe influenza season in Austria and its impact on the paediatric population: mortality and hospital admission rates, november 2017 - march 2018.

Background: In Austria paediatric influenza-associated hospitalisations and deaths have never been systematically monitored. We examined the influenza season 2017/18 in terms of hospitalisation and mortality in the Austrian paediatric population and put the results into perspective of the available data from the last 15 years.

Methods: Cases of influenza-associated hospitalisations and deaths for season 2017/18 in children below 18 years were retrospectively collected from 12 and 33 Austrian hospitals, respectively.

Early diagnosis of cardiac involvement in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy by cardiac magnetic resonance tomography.

The aim of this study was to investigate cardiac involvement in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies excluding inclusion body myositis with cardiac magnetic resonance tomography (CMR). A case series of 53 patients with polymyositis, dermatomyositis, or non-specific myositis underwent CMR including functional imaging, T1-weighted, and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging. T1-weighted and LGE images were analyzed for myocardial enhancement.

Angiographic validation of magnetic resonance assessment of myocardium at risk in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

In the setting of acute myocardial ischemia, the hypoperfused portion of the myocardium is in danger of becoming irreversibly injured. This portion is called the area at risk (AAR). It is of clinical interest to be able to estimate the AAR for further evaluation and improvement of different revascularization strategies.

Inter-observer agreement and diagnostic accuracy of myocardial perfusion reserve quantification by cardiovascular magnetic resonance at 3 Tesla in comparison to quantitative coronary angiography.

Background: Quantification of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) at 1.5 Tesla has been shown to correlate to invasive evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD) and to yield good inter-observer agreement. However, little is known about quantitative adenosine-perfusion CMR at 3 Tesla and no data about inter-observer agreement is available.

Intermediate-term prognostic value of reversible perfusion deficit diagnosed by adenosine CMR: a prospective follow-up study in a consecutive patient population.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the hypothesis that cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) myocardial perfusion imaging can provide incremental prognostic value over other risk factors regarding the prediction of major cardiovascular events in a large, consecutive, and thereby unselected population of patients presenting with stable angina pectoris.

Background: Recently, it has been shown that CMR provides good short-term prognosis in patients with stable coronary heart disease. Reversible myocardial ischemia can be assessed using a combination of perfusion and late gadolinium enhancement imaging.

Myocardial perfusion reserve assessed by T2-prepared steady-state free precession blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging in comparison to fractional flow reserve.

Background: Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has been shown to be able to detect myocardial perfusion differences. However, validation of BOLD CMR against fractional flow reserve (FFR) is lacking. The aim of our study was to analyze the potential diagnostic accuracy of BOLD CMR in comparison to invasively measured FFR, which served as gold standard for a hemodynamic significant coronary lesion.

Is contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T superior to 1.5 T for detection of coronary artery disease?

The aim is to compare a compiled clinical routine cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging protocol performed at both 1.5 and 3 T in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing coronary X-ray angiography. CMR including adenosine perfusion and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) at 1.

Quantification of myocardial perfusion reserve at 1.5 and 3.0 Tesla: a comparison to fractional flow reserve.

The objective of this study was to compare quantitative analysis of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) perfusion at 1.5 and 3 T against fractional flow reserve (FFR) as measured invasively. FFR is considered by many investigators to be a reliable standard to determine hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenoses.

Ivabradine reduces chemokine-induced CD4-positive lymphocyte migration.

Aims: Migration of CD4-positive lymphocytes into the vessel wall is a critical step in atherogenesis. Recent data suggest that ivabradine, a selective I(f)-channel blocker, reduces atherosclerotic plaque formation in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice, hitherto nothing is known about the mechanism by which ivabradine modulates plaque formation. Therefore, the present study investigated whether ivabradine regulates chemokine-induced migration of lymphocytes.

The effect of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine consumption and vegetarian diet on gallstone prevalence.

Aim: To investigate the effects of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine consumption and of vegetarian diet on gallstone prevalence in an urban population sample.

Methods: A total of 2417 individuals underwent ultrasound examination and completed a standardized questionnaire as part of the EMIL study. Statistical analysis of the data considered the known risk factors of age, female sex, BMI, positive family history and potential confounders, such as alcohol, caffeine and tobacco consumption and vegetarian diet using multiple logistic regression with variable selection.

Detection of long-term progression of myocardial fibrosis in Duchenne muscular dystrophy in an affected family: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance study.

Background: Detection of myocardial fibrosis and left ventricular dysfunction in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the corner stone for further therapeutic studies. Little is known about the ability of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) to evaluate progression of myocardial fibrosis. Aim of our study was to provide CMR data in a previously genotyped DMD family and to evaluate whether progression of myocardial fibrosis could be visualized.

Rapid effect of single-dose rosiglitazone treatment on endothelial function in healthy men with normal glucose tolerance: data from a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study.

Antidiabetic thiazolidinediones (TZDs) improve endothelial function in patients with or without type 2 diabetes. The present randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study examined the time course of a single dose of rosiglitazone on flow-mediated endothelium-dependent vasodilation (FMD), metabolic parameters, and its effect on inflammatory markers in non-diabetic men. Forty non-obese, healthy men with normal glucose tolerance were randomised to a single dose of rosiglitazone (8 mg) or placebo, and FMD was assessed at baseline as well as after 6 h and 24 h.

Vitamin C supplement use may protect against gallstones: an observational study on a randomly selected population.

Background: Animal experiments have shown a protective effect of vitamin C on the formation of gallstones. Few data in humans suggest an association between reduced vitamin C intake and increased prevalence of gallstone disease. The aim of this study was to assess the possible association of regular vitamin C supplementation with gallstone prevalence.

Cardiac involvement in a female carrier of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

A 42 year-old female carrier of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) was referred with suspected subacute myocarditis and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. Echochardiography and cardiac catheterization revealed severely reduced left ventricular function (LVF). Coronary artery disease was excluded.

Pregnancy is not a risk factor for gallstone disease: results of a randomly selected population sample.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and selection of the study population for cholecystolithiasis in an urban population in Germany, in relation to our own findings and to the results in the international literature.

Methods: A total of 2 147 persons (1,111 females, age 42.8+/-12.