First-in-man study of dedicated bifurcation sirolimus-eluting stent: 12-month results of BiOSS LIM® Registry.

Objectives: The aim was to assess the effectiveness and safety profile of a new dedicated bifurcation stent - sirolimus-eluting BiOSS LIM® (Balton, Poland) in 12-month Registry.

Background: The optimal approach to coronary bifurcations treatment by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been still a subject of debate. Dedicated bifurcation stents are one of the proposed solutions.

Immunological differences between classical phenothypes of multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS), one of the most serious inflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions, is characterized by variable clinical courses - relapsing-remitting (RRMS), primary progressive (PPMS) and secondary progressive (SPMS). Although PPMS affects only 10-15% of the patient population, its course and pathophysiological and immunological background are distinct. In this review we present and discuss main differences between different types of MS, with particular focus on the underlying immunological mechanisms.

Increased innate and adaptive immune responses in induced sputum of young smokers.

Background And Objectives: It is known that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development process is imperceptible and can be asymptomatic for 20 or more years. It is of great importance to diagnose early inflammatory changes that can lead to COPD in young asymptomatic cigarette smokers. The aim of our study was to analyze the cell spectrum of induced sputum (IS) of young cigarette smokers, with emphasis on T-regulatory cells.

Concentration of Il-1β, Il-2, Il-6, TNFα in the blood serum in children with generalized epilepsy treated by valproate.

Background: The aim of the study was the comparison of concentrations of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6 and TNFα before and after valproate (VPA) treatment in blood serum in patients with generalized seizures diagnosed and treated in the Department of Developmental Neurology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences from January 2006 to May 2007.

Methods: The analysis was conducted in a group of 21 patients with well controlled, generalized seizures (mean age 7.7±4.

Usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging as a prognostic variable in myelodysplastic syndromes.

Background: Myelodysplastic syndromes are clonal disorders of stem cells, characterized by heterogeneous clinical presentation. Hematopoiesis is ineffective, characterized by abnormal differentiation, maturation and survival of hematopoietic cells.

Material And Methods: The examinations were conducted in the Hematology Ward and the Internal Medicine Ward of the Specialist Hospital No.

Heterogeneous phenotypic manifestations of maternally inherited deafness associated with the mitochondrial A3243G mutation. Case report.

The A3243G mutation is one of the most frequent mutations of mitochondrial DNA. The phenotypic expression of the A3243G mutation is variable and causes a wide range of syndromic and non-syndromic clinical disorders. Mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome is the most frequent syndromic manifestation of the A3243G mutation.

Nail fold capillary diameter changes in acute systemic hypoxia.

The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of arterial blood hypoxemia induced by acute systemic hypoxia (pO2=12%) on capillary recruitment and diameter, and red blood cell (RBC) velocity in human nail fold capillaries during rest, arterial post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PRH), and venous occlusion (VO) using intravital video-capillaroscopy. Capillary recruitment was unchanged in acute systemic hypoxia (H) versus normoxia (N). There was no difference in RBC velocity measurements between normoxia and hypoxia (P<0.

Effect of recurrent yohimbine on immediate and post-hoc behaviors, stress hormones, and energy homeostatic parameters.

Evidence from experimental models has suggested that acute activation of brain stress and anxiety pathways impacts subsequent behaviors that are mediated or modulated by limbic circuitry. There have been limited investigations of prior or chronic activation of these pathways on subsequent limbic-mediated behaviors. In this study, we tested whether recurrent administration of the anxiogenic compound yohimbine (YOH) could have post-injection effects on brain activation, stress hormones, and performance in sucrose self-administration and startle response paradigms.

The immune response to surgery and infection.

Surgical trauma affects both the innate and acquired immunity. The severity of immune disorders is proportional to the extent of surgical trauma and depends on a number of factors, including primarily the basic disease requiring surgical treatment (e.g.

Dedicated Bifurcation Drug-eluting Stent BiOSS® - A Novel Device for Coronary Bifurcation Treatment.

The Bifurcation Optimisation Stent System (BiOSS®) (Balton®, Poland) is a coronary, dedicated bifurcation, balloon-expandable stent made of 316 litre stainless steel tube with strut thickness of 120 micrometre (µm). It is covered with a mixture of a biodegradable polymer and an antiproliferative substance - paclitaxel (BiOSS Expert version) or sirolimus (BiOSS Lim version). The stent consists of two parts (the proximal with a larger diameter in relation to the distal one) connected with two connection struts (average 1.

Circulating adhesion molecules, matrix metalloproteinase-9, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and myeloperoxidase in coronary artery disease patients with stable and unstable angina.

Background: There are many pathophysiological mechanisms underlying reciprocal relationships between changes in cytokines and insulin resistance in metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate alterations in soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels, and their relation to insulin resistance in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with stable and unstable angina (SAP, UAP).

Methods: Non-diabetic CAD patients were classified into two groups: 22 patients with SAP and 22 patients with UAP.

Proteomic analysis of stromal cells derived from the dental pulp of human exfoliated deciduous teeth.

Human dental pulp derived from exfoliated deciduous teeth has been described as a promising alternative source of multipotent stem cells. While these cells share certain similarities with mesenchymal stem-like cells (MSC) isolated from other tissues, basically they are still poorly characterized. In this study, for the first time, a proteomic map of abundantly expressed proteins in stromal cells derived from the dental pulp of human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) was established.

Relation of inflammatory chemokines to insulin resistance and hypoadiponectinemia in coronary artery disease patients.

Background: Although many studies have shown that the metabolic syndrome (MS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) both are associated with chronic inflammatory state and are risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD), it is still unclear which condition is a more important contributor to the increased production of inflammatory chemokines. The purpose of this study was to assess monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels and their association with insulin resistance and adiponectin concentrations in CAD patients, who were categorized as having T2DM, MS, or neither.

Methods: CAD male patients were categorized into three groups: 24 non-obese patients with T2DM (D), 24 obese patients with MS (M) and 24 patients without T2DM or MS (W).

Relationship between serum levels of TGF-beta1 and clinical parameters in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren's syndrome secondary to rheumatoid arthritis.

TGF-beta1 is a pleiotropic cytokine, which prevents inappropriate autoimmune responses and balances the requirements of proper immune cell levels during pathologic states that trigger the immune response. We assessed the serum levels of TGF-beta1 and determined the relationship between TGF-beta1 and clinical parameters in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) secondary to RA (SS + RA). Comparison of the serum levels of TGF-beta1 in patients with RA, SS + RA and NHD differed significantly (51.

Recurrent tonsillitis and tonsillectomy in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objectives: To compare the clinical and bacteriological features of recurrent tonsillitis between patients with and without juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

Methods: A total of 122 participants, aged 2-18 years, were consecutively recruited into four groups: (i) JIA and recurrent tonsillitis; (ii) JIA; (iii) recurrent tonsillitis; and (iv) healthy. All the patients with recurrent tonsillitis underwent tonsillectomy.

[Effect of a complex of corticosteroids with apolipoprotein A-I on protein biosynthesis in cultured hepatocytes].

A complex of apolipoprotein A-I with steroid hormones containing reduced Δ4, 3-ketogroup in the A ring was shown to increase the rate of protein synthesis in the cultured rat hepatocytes. The biological activity of the hormones depends on the position of the oxygroup of the third carbonic atom and hydrogen at the fifth position of a carbonic atom. The cis-position is more preferable for the biological effect.

Arterial wall dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Carotid-radial pulse wave velocity (PWV), aortic augmentation index (AIx) and endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) have been repeatedly showed to be related to premature atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases in different settings of population. The increased arterial stiffness and endothelium dysfunction may add to premature aging of the arteries in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Still data about arterial stiffness and endothelium function in inflammatory rheumatic diseases are not well described.

Vegetarian diets, chronic diseases and longevity.

Vegetarians form a non-homogenous group consisting of semivegetarians (plant food, dairy products, eggs and fish), lacto-ovo vegetarians (plant food, dairy products, eggs) and vegans (plant food only). According to pure vegetarian ideologists, people consuming vegetarian diet have better health and live longer than nonvegetarians, because persons consuming milk, dairy products, meat, eggs and fish are at health risk. In fact the most healthy people in Europe are inhabitants of Iceland, Switzerland and Scandinavia, consuming great amounts of food of animal origin.

The impact of systemic sclerosis on arterial wall stiffness parameters and endothelial function.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by thickening and fibrosis of skin and internal organs that is associated with vascular damage. SSc may lead to arterial dysfunction and premature aging of the arteries. However, its relationship with parameters of arterial wall dysfunction has not been fully explored.

Systemic assessment of arterial wall structure and function in metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is thought to increase cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the MetS and its components are associated with parameters of arterial stiffness, flow mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the presence of carotid plaques (CP) in middle-aged subjects. One-hundred eighty-six asymptomatic volunteers (40-65 years-old, 86 males and 100 females) without clinically overt cardiovascular disease were examined.

Non-invasive assessment of arterial stiffness indices by applanation tonometry and pulse wave analysis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with TNF-alpha blocker remicade (infliximab).

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is accompanied by long lasting inflammation, which may lead to arterial dysfunction and premature aging of the arteries. The purpose of this clinical work was to determine the modification of carotid-radial pulse wave velocity (PWV) and aortic augmentation index (AIx) in young-aged RA patients and the influence of treatment with anti-TNF-alpha (infliximab) on these measures. We examined 68 RA patients (mean age 40.

Looking for disease being a model of human aging.

This paper is a part of an introduction to authors' study on systemic laminopathies and their role in human aging. Of special interest is progeria--a type of systemic laminopathy associated usually with mutation 1824 C > T and presenting phenotype of preliminary aging. The authors analyse the differences between the progeria and other syndrome of preliminary aging--Werner's syndrome.

Prevalence survey of rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathy in Lithuania.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthropathy (SpA) in two Lithuanian cities, Vilnius and Kaunas.

Methods: The first step in this study involved the translation and validation of a telephone questionnaire developed by rheumatologists and epidemiologists in France. The second step comprised the prevalence survey.

Differences in WHOQOL-100 domain scores in Parkinson's disease and osteoarthritis.

Background: The aim was to compare health-related quality of life (QOL) in patients with Parkinson's disease, osteoarthritis, and persons of a matched control group.

Material/methods: The study was done in 178 patients (94 men and 84 women, 54 with Parkinson's disease and 58 with osteoarthritis) and 66 age- and sex-matched controls. The patients were randomly selected from a register of community health maintenance organizations.