Area Deprivation Index and Oral Anticoagulation in New Onset Atrial Fibrillation.

Objective: Oral anticoagulation is a standard of care for thromboembolic stroke prevention in individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF). Social determinants of health have had limited investigation in AF and particularly in access to anticoagulation. We examined the relation between area deprivation index (ADI) and anticoagulation in individuals at risk of stroke due to AF.

Society for Vascular Surgery clinical practice guidelines for management of extracranial cerebrovascular disease.

Management of carotid bifurcation stenosis in stroke prevention has been the subject of extensive investigations, including multiple randomized controlled trials. The proper treatment of patients with carotid bifurcation disease is of major interest to vascular surgeons and other vascular specialists. In 2011, the Society for Vascular Surgery published guidelines for the treatment of carotid artery disease.

Risk of hypertension and abnormal biomarkers in the first year postpartum associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy among overweight and obese women.

Objectives: Hypertension and obesity are common cardiometabolic risk factors in reproductive age women. The association of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy with later-life cardiovascular disease is well-established, however, it is unknown how obesity and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy converge to accelerate development of hypertension in the postpartum period. The aim of this study was to characterize rates of sustained hypertension at one year postpartum using the new American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Guidelines among overweight and obese women with a normotensive pregnancy or hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.

Polycations increase the efficiency of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer to epithelial and endothelial cells in vitro.

Recombinant adenoviruses are being developed for gene therapy for cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases, and for prevention and treatment of vascular thrombosis. A major limitation to the clinical utility of adenoviruses is the low efficiency of gene transfer achieved in vivo. In addition, little is known about the initial interactions between adenoviruses and the target cell.

Regulated expression of the mouse gamma 2b Ig H chain gene is influenced by polyA site order and strength.

Constructs with alterations in the normal order and spacing of polyadenylation sites of the mouse Ig-gamma 2b heavy chain gene were transfected into J558L cell tumor lines (myelomas) and A20 B cell tumor lines (lymphomas) representative of plasma and memory cells, respectively. When the membrane-specific (mb) polyA site was moved from its 3'-location to a position upstream (5') of the secretory (sec) polyA site, the mb site was used preferentially, even though the sec site was still efficiently transcribed. The relative strength of the mb polyA site seems to preclude efficient use of downstream elements.

Intrathecal baclofen for spasticity in cerebral palsy.

Seventeen patients with congenital spastic cerebral palsy and six patients with other forms of spasticity were injected intrathecally with doses of placebo or baclofen, 25 micrograms, 50 micrograms, or 100 micrograms, in a randomized, double-blind manner. Muscle tone in the upper and lower extremities was assessed by Ashworth scores both before the injections and every 2 hours afterward for 8 hours. Function of the upper extremities was evaluated before the injections and 4 hours afterward.