Determination of Standard Values for Knee Version in a Healthy Population.

Background: Different measures are used to describe relevant anatomic variations that can result in patellofemoral instability and disorders. Knee version, the relative rotational alignment between the femur and tibia in the axial plane at the level of the knee, may have a decisive effect on the kinematics of the patellofemoral joint. However, data regarding the values of knee version are currently lacking.

CAG repeats determine brain atrophy in spinocerebellar ataxia 17: a VBM study.

Background: Abnormal repeat length has been associated with an earlier age of onset and more severe disease progression in the rare neurodegenerative disorder spinocerebellar ataxia 17 (SCA17).

Methodology/principal Findings: To determine whether specific structural brain degeneration and rate of disease progression in SCA17 might be associated with the CAG repeat size, observer-independent voxel-based morphometry was applied to high-resolution magnetic resonance images of 16 patients with SCA17 and 16 age-matched healthy controls. The main finding contrasting SCA17 patients with healthy controls demonstrated atrophy in the cerebellum bilaterally.

Loss of diastolic time as a mechanism of exercise-induced diastolic dysfunction in dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Cardiac performance can be characterized in terms of the relative duration of left ventricular systole and diastole. Little is known about exercise-induced abnormalities of the systolic-diastolic phase proportion and its impact on hemodynamic variables in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM).

Methods: The phases of the cardiac cycle were derived with high temporal resolution from the left ventricular time-activity curve simultaneous with hemodynamic measurements.

From atherosclerotic coronary ectasia to aneurysm: a case report and literature review.

In contrast to Kawasaki syndrome the formation of coronary aneurysms caused by atherosclerosis has hardly been demonstrated. We report on a 56-year old patient, admitted to our hospital for cardiovascular evaluation before carotid surgery. He had no anginal pain, but a history of coronary artery disease with previous anterior myocardial infarction.