Transcatheter closure of large patent ductus arteriosus with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension in adults: immediate and two-year follow-up results.

Background: Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a well established procedure and an accepted treatment modality for small to moderate-sized PDA. This study aimed to evaluate the immediate and follow-up results of transcatheter closure of large PDAs with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in adults.

Methods: After a complete hemodynamic evaluation differentiating from the reversibility of severe PAH, transcatheter closure of PDA was performed.

[Correlation of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 gene polymorphisms to essential hypertension and ischemic stroke].

Objective: To study the relationship between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene polymorphisms and the risk factor for essential hypertension (EH) with concurrent ischemic stroke in southern Chinese population.

Methods: The G9570A polymorphism in ACE2 gene were detected in 139 patients with EH and stroke using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Detailed clinical and biochemistrical data of the patients, including the pulse pressure, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), intima-media thickness (IMT), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and uric acid levels, were collected to study the relationship between ACE2 gene and the risk factor of EH and stroke.

[Relationship of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 gene polymorphism with the prognosis of hypertensive stroke patients].

Objective: To study the relationship between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene G9570A polymorphisms and the clinical outcome of stroke patients with essential hypertension (EH) in South China Han population.

Method: The ACE2 gene polymorphisms were detected in 141 stroke patients with EH and 156 patients with EH using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The genetic marker was tested for its association with the baseline measurements and clinical outcomes of the patients over a median follow-up period of 22 months.