Thalamic integrity underlies executive dysfunction in traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To quantify the effects of traumatic brain injury on integrity of thalamocortical projection fibers and to evaluate whether damage to these fibers accounts for impairments in executive function in chronic traumatic brain injury.

Methods: High-resolution (voxel size: 0.78 mm x 0.

The Latest Update on Over-the-Counter Cough and Cold Product Use in Children.

The use of over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold products in children has become a hot topic in the news in the past year due to the potential risk associated with using these products in children. The most recent recommendations were announced in October 2008 from The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) which stated that OTC cough and cold medications should not be used in children less than 4 years old.(1) Because of this, parents and healthcare professionals have many questions and concerns.

Current status of the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects several million patients worldwide and is associated with a number of heart conditions, particularly coronary artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, hypertension, and congestive heart failure. The treatment of AF and its complications is quite costly. Atrial fibrillation usually results from multiple macro-re-entrant circuits in the left atrium.

The effects of Omega-3 fatty acids on growth regulation of epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines.

Objective: Omega-3 fatty acids (OM-3FAs) have been shown to possess anti-carcinogenic properties. We investigated the effect of OM-3FAs on epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines to determine if a growth suppressive effect existed and to gain a better insight on the potential molecular mechanisms that may be involved.

Methods: Three epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines (SKOV-3 [p53 null], TOV-21G [wt p53] and OVCAR-3 [mutant p53]) and one immortalized ovarian surface epithelial cell line (IOSE-29 [wt p53]) were treated with OM-3FAs and evaluated for cellular proliferation (WST-1 assay), apoptosis (Annexin V-FITC/PI method) and VEGF expression (VEGF ELISA assay).

Mitral valve surgery in patients with ischemic and nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic, progressive disease and its central element is the remodeling of the cardiac chamber associated with ventricular dilatation. Secondary mitral regurgitation is a complication of end-stage cardiomyopathy and is associated with a poor prognosis. It is due to progressive mitral annular dilatation and alteration in the geometry of the left ventricle.