Influence of folic acid on plasma homocysteine levels & arterial endothelial function in patients with unstable angina.

Background & Objective: High plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels are known to be associated with coronary artery disease, but the precise level associated with an increased risk is yet controversial. Whether the beneficial effects of folic acid on arterial endothelial function persist over longer periods is not known. This study was carried out to assess whether folic acid supplementation could produce improvements in Hcy levels and arterial endothelial function in the patients with unstable angina (UA) and hyperhomocysteinaemia.

Androgen receptor-dependent regulation of Bcl-xL expression: Implication in prostate cancer progression.

Background: Recently we reported that silencing the androgen receptor (AR) gene reduced Bcl-xL expression that was associated with a profound apoptotic cell death in prostate cancer cells. In this study we further investigated AR-regulated Bcl-xL expression.

Methods: Prostate cancer cell line LNCaP and its sublines, LNCaP/PURO and LNCaP/Bclxl, were used for cell proliferation assay and xenograft experiments in nude mice.

Acute myocardial infarction associated with myocardial bridging: a case report.

We describe a case of a 41-year-old woman with chest pain for 1 hour who was admitted to our emergency room with acute myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography and spiral computer tomography showed myocardial bridging and an intracoronary thrombus in the mid-segment of the left anterior descending artery. She felt better after taking aspirin, diltiazem and a beta blocker and was discharged 15 days later.

Lithium suppresses cell proliferation by interrupting E2F-DNA interaction and subsequently reducing S-phase gene expression in prostate cancer.

Background: Lithium is an existing drug for bipolar disorder and its uptake was recently linked to reduced tumor incidence compared to the general population. The major target of lithium action is glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3). Since GSK-3 expression and activation are associated with prostate cancer progression, the anti-cancer potential of lithium on prostate cancer was investigated in this study.

Effects of heparin on the production of homocysteine-induced extracellular matrix metalloproteinase-2 in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells.

Objective: To study the effects of heparin on the production of homocysteine-induced extracellular matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells.

Methods: The effects of different homocysteine levels (0 micromol/L to 1000 micromol/L) on MMP-2 production and the effects of different heparin concentrations (0 microg/mL to 100 microg/mL) on homocysteine-induced MMP-2 in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells were examined using gelatin zymography and Western blotting. The changes in MMP-2 were further compared with various treatments for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h.

Chinese yellow wine inhibits production of homocysteine-induced extracellular matrix metalloproteinase-2 in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells.

Background & Aims: Regular consumption of moderate amounts of Chinese yellow wine is associated with a reduced risk of coronary disease. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that participate in extracellular matrix degradation have been involved in atherosclerotic plaque growth and instability. The present research aimed to study the effects of Chinese yellow wine on the production of homocysteine (Hcy)-induced extracellular MMP-2 in cultured rats vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).

Delayed injury of autonomic nerve induced by radiofrequency catheter ablation.

Objective: Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) is the curative treatment of choice for many cardiac arrhythmias and may cause myocardial injury and inappropriate sinus tachycardia. This study aimed to determine the delayed injury of autonomic nerve after RFCA.

Methods: Spectral analysis of heart rate variation on 24-hour Holter electrocardiogram recordings was carried out in 86 cases (39 women, 47 men; mean age, 42 years; range, 17-67 years) with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia 1 hour before and 1 year after successful RFCA (WPW type A = 31; Wolf-Pakinson-White Syndrome type B = 9; atrioventricular [AV] nodal tachycardia = 46; group A: septal accessory pathway + AV nodal tachycardia [n = 52], group B: free wall accessory pathway [n = 34]).

Aberrant expression of SWI/SNF catalytic subunits BRG1/BRM is associated with tumor development and increased invasiveness in prostate cancers.

Background: Brahma gene (BRM) and Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1) are major components with ATPase enzymatic activities in the nucleosome remodeling SWI/SNF complex, and their expression pattern in human prostate cancers is unknown.

Method: We analyzed a published cDNA microarray data set of prostate cancers for the expression of SWI/SNF genes, and then we evaluated the expression levels of BRG1 and BRM proteins with a semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry (IHC) approach in a pairwise manner of malignant versus benign tissues from individual prostate cancers. The correlation of BRG1/BRM expression with clinical parameters was analyzed.

Loss of the guide wire: a case report.

A case of a lost guide wire extending from the vena cava to the back of the neck after central venous catheterization is presented. A trainee inserted a central venous catheter via the left subclavian vein in a 40-year-old male patient after surgery, but did not notice that a guide wire was completely inserted in the vein. After 6 months, the lost guide wire was seen extending from the saphenous vein through the vena cava, right atrium, right ventricle, pulmonary artery and lung tissue to the back of neck.