Cardiovascular multimodality imaging in women: a scientific statement of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging of the European Society of Cardiology.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represent an important cause of mortality and morbidity in women. It is now recognized that there are sex differences regarding the prevalence and the clinical significance of the traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors as well as the pathology underlying a range of CVDs. Unfortunately, women have been under-represented in most CVD imaging studies and trials regarding diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics.

EACVI survey on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Aims: The European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) Scientific Initiatives Committee performed a global survey to evaluate current practice for the assessment and management of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Methods And Results: A total of 213 centres from 38 different countries (87% European) responded to the survey. One hundred twenty-one (57%) centres followed HCM patients in a general cardiology outpatient clinic and 85 (40%) centres in a specialized HCM/cardiomyopathy clinic.

EACVI survey on the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function.

Aims: The aim of this study is to analyse how current recommendations on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function assessment have been adopted. Identifying potential discrepancies between recommendations and everyday clinical practice would enable us to better understand and address the remaining challenges in this controversial and complex field.

Methods And Results: A total of 93 centres, mainly from tertiary care settings, responded to the survey.

EACVI survey on investigations and imaging modalities in chronic coronary syndromes.

Aims: The European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) Scientific Initiatives Committee performed a global survey to evaluate current practice for the assessment and management of patients with suspected and confirmed chronic coronary syndromes.

Methods And Results: One-hundred and ten imaging centres from 37 countries across the world responded to the survey. Most non-invasive investigations for coronary artery disease were widely available, except cardiovascular magnetic resonance (available 40% centres).

Imaging of Clinically Unrecognized Myocardial Fibrosis in Patients With Suspected Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) provides accurate assessment of both myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemia.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the incremental prognostic value of unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI), detected during assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD) by stress CMR, beyond cardiac function and ischemia.

Methods: In the multicenter SPINS (Stress CMR Perfusion Imaging in the United States) study, 2,349 consecutive patients (63 ± 11 years of age, 53% were male) with suspected CAD were assessed by stress CMR and followed over a median of 5.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Stress Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Stable Chest Pain Syndromes.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare, using results from the multicenter SPINS (Stress CMR Perfusion Imaging in the United States) study, the incremental cost-effectiveness of a stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)-first strategy against 4 other clinical strategies for patients with stable symptoms suspicious for myocardial ischemia: 1) immediate x-ray coronary angiography (XCA) with selective fractional flow reserve for all patients; 2) single-photon emission computed tomography; 3) coronary computed tomographic angiography with selective computed tomographic fractional flow reserve; and 4) no imaging.

Background: Stress CMR perfusion imaging has established excellent diagnostic utility and prognostic value in coronary artery disease (CAD), but its cost-effectiveness in current clinical practice has not been well studied in the United States.

Methods: A decision analytic model was developed to project health care costs and lifetime quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for symptomatic patients at presentation with a 32.

Criteria for surveys: from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging Scientific Initiatives Committee.

The European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of professional excellence in all aspects of cardiovascular imaging. The mission of the EACVI is to promote excellence in clinical diagnosis, research, technical development, and education in cardiovascular imaging with a particular focus on education, training, scientific initiatives, and research. The EACVI established the Scientific Initiatives Committee (SIC) in December 2018.

Continuous local analgesic therapy reduces pain after radical inguinal/iliacal lymph node dissection.

Background: To optimize postoperative pain therapy after a radical inguinal/iliacal lymph node dissection (RILND), we investigated the influence of a continuous application of a local anaesthetic via a subfascial wound catheter in the abdominal wall in addition to a standardized systemic analgesia.

Materials And Methods: Between July 2007 and December 2009, 50 patients with stage III/IV of melanoma disease received, in an observational study, a systemic analgesic therapy. Of these patients, 30 were additionally treated with a subfascial catheter.

Web-links as a means to document annotated sequence and 3D-structure alignments in systems biology.

Unlabelled: Reconstructed biological networks are the essence of knowledge originating from experiments, scientific literature, databases and modeling. Proteins are the major players in biological networks. If the function of a protein is not yet known, it can often be deduced from homologous proteins that are already experimentally characterized.

Computer aided optimization of carbon atom labeling for tracer experiments.

Isotopomer tracer experiments are indispensable for the determination of flux rates in already known pathways as well as for the identification of new pathways. The information gained from such experiments depends on the labeling of the feed tracer metabolite, i.e.

A randomized trial assessing the value of ultrasound-guided puncture of the femoral artery for interventional investigations.

Using a prospectively collected database of patients undergoing diagnostic or therapeutic angiography via transfemoral access, we sought to determine those patients who may benefit from ultrasound-guided puncture of the femoral artery. One-hundred-twelve patients with normal anticoagulation parameters were randomized in two groups. Fifty-six patients received ultrasound-guided puncture of the femoral artery, 56 patients underwent traditional palpation-guided vessel cannulation.

Statins inhibit reoxygenation-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis: role for glycogen synthase kinase 3beta and transcription factor beta-catenin.

Background: Statins may improve left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction. We tested whether statins inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis through glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta) inactivation and evaluated activation of downstream transcription factors.

Methods/results: Mevastatin and pravastatin activated serine/threonine kinase Akt in neonatal cardiomyocytes dose and time dependently with maximal activation at 15 min/10 microM.

CT-guided interstitial brachytherapy of liver malignancies alone or in combination with thermal ablation: phase I-II results of a novel technique.

Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of CT-guided brachytherapy alone or in combination with laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT) in patients with liver malignancies.

Methods And Materials: Thirty-seven patients presented with 36 liver metastases and two primary liver carcinomas. Twenty-one patients were treated with CT-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy alone using a 192Ir source.

Loops In Proteins (LIP)--a comprehensive loop database for homology modelling.

One of the most important and challenging tasks in protein modelling is the prediction of loops, as can be seen in the large variety of existing approaches. Loops In Proteins (LIP) is a database that includes all protein segments of a length up to 15 residues contained in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). In this study, the applicability of LIP to loop prediction in the framework of homology modelling is investigated.

An essential role for tripeptidyl peptidase in the generation of an MHC class I epitope.

Most of the peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules require processing by proteasomes. Tripeptidyl peptidase II (TPPII), an aminopeptidase with endoproteolytic activity, may also have a role in antigen processing. Here, we analyzed the processing and presentation of the immunodominant human immunodeficiency virus epitope HIV-Nef(73-82) in human dendritic cells.

Recent developments in the treatment of obesity-related hypertension.

Purpose Of Review: Obesity is a major public health issue, and hypertension is one of the most common associated co-morbidities. Here, recent developments in the treatment of obesity-related hypertension, published during the past year, are reviewed.

Recent Findings: Several recent studies have examined the effect of dietary and lifestyle changes on hypertension.

Emerging concepts in the pathophysiology and treatment of obesity-associated hypertension.

The dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity is a global phenomenon associated with increased risk of the development of cardiovascular and renal disease. Changes in renal structure and function that occur early in the development of obesity may lead to urine outflow obstruction and increased intrarenal pressure, mechanisms sufficient to shift the pressure-natriuresis relation to higher blood pressure levels. Another important alteration that may lead to hypertension with obesity is the increase in sympathetic nervous system activity.

Effect of gamma irradiation on human cortical bone transplants contaminated with enveloped and non-enveloped viruses.

In the production of bone grafts intended for transplantation, basic safety measures to avoid the transmission of pathogens are selection and serological screening of donors for markers of virus infections. As an additional safety tool we investigated the effect of gamma irradiation on the sterility of human bone diaphysis transplants and evaluated its impact on the virus safety of transplants. Model viruses were included in the study to determine the dose necessary to achieve a reduction factor for the infectivity titres of at least 4 log(10) at a temperature of -30+/-5 degrees C.

Comparison of different telepathology solutions for primary frozen section diagnostic.

In a retrospective study on a set of 125 cases we compared the following three telepathology solutions for primary frozen section diagnosis: ATM-TP (connection via ATM), TPS 1.0 (connection via LAN) and TELEMIC (connection via Internet), which represent different concepts of telepathological procedures. A set of 125 routine frozen sections (breast) was selected from the Charité cases of the year 1999.

Carotid atherosclerosis, vascular risk profile and mortality in a population-based sample of functionally healthy elderly subjects: the Berlin ageing study.

Objectives: Studies on extracranial carotid atherosclerosis have predominately been undertaken on middle-aged subjects. This study examines the prevalence of extracranial carotid atherosclerosis, its relation to vascular risk factors and its significance for survival in elderly subjects.

Design: Population-based cross-sectional survey.

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging in patients with facial haemiatrophy.

The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the use of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of facial haemiatrophy. A total of 14 patients with clinically suspected facial haemiatrophy were investigated using high-resolution MRI. The T1- (500/25) and T2- (2200/50) weighted images were analysed visually and numerically.

Custom-made cast titanium implants produced with CAD/CAM for the reconstruction of cranium defects.

Titanium implants for the reconstruction of bony skull defects, using data from three-dimensional spiral computer tomography, have been described by other authors. Instead of milling the implants from a titanium block, an advanced method of rapid prototyping for a fine casting process is presented. Casting vs milling offers several advantages.