Depression symptom severity and reported treatment history in the prediction of cardiac risk in women with suspected myocardial ischemia: The NHLBI-sponsored WISE study.

Background: Depression is associated with clinical events and premature mortality among patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD). Typically, however, studies in this area focus only on baseline symptom severity and lack any data concerning symptom duration or symptom history.

Objectives: To describe and compare the relationships between 2 measures of depression-assessed in the form of depression symptom severity and reported treatment history-with atherosclerosis risk factors and major clinical events in a sample of women with suspected myocardial ischemia.

Clinical use of intracoronary gene transfer of fibroblast growth factor for coronary artery disease.

Anginal symptoms due to myocardial ischemia continue to affect millions of patients despite ongoing improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease. Revascularization therapy with percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass graft surgery can be highly effective in eligible subjects, but many patients are suboptimal candidates due to various factors, which include diffuse vascular disease, poor ventricular function and failure of prior procedures. Introduction of vascular growth factors to the heart to promote angiogenesis and collateral vessel formation has emerged as an alternative strategy for the relief of myocardial ischemia in these patients.

Effect of combining an ACE inhibitor and an angiotensin II receptor blocker on plasma and kidney tissue angiotensin II levels.

Increased angiotensin II (AII) activity has been recognized as a risk factor for progression of kidney disease. There is increasing clinical evidence that combining an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor with an AII receptor blocker (ARB) reduces proteinuria and blood pressure in patients with renal disease, although the mechanism of this synergistic effect remains poorly defined. This study tested whether the combination of an ACE inhibitor and an ARB reduces plasma AII (AIIp) and kidney tissue AII (AIIk) beyond what is observed with either of these two agents alone.

Genetic evidence for the role of the Lv locus in early susceptibility but not IL-10 synthesis in experimental coccidioidomycosis in C57BL mice.

Loci on chromosome 4 near Lv and on chromosome 6 near Tnfr1 are associated with resistance to coccidioidomycosis in mice. To assess the importance of the Lv locus, we compared C57BL/6 (B6) with C57BL/10 (B10), strains that are nearly congenic for the Lv locus. Fourteen days after intraperitoneal infection, B6 mice had nearly 100-fold more Coccidioides immitis in their lungs than did B10 mice (log 6.