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PubMed1991

Subcortical adaptive filtering in the auditory system: associative receptive field plasticity in the dorsal medial geniculate body.

Highly specific subcortical receptive field (RF) plasticity was found in the dorsal division of the guinea pig medial geniculate body during cardiac conditioning to a tonal frequency. There was increased response to the conditioned-stimulus (CS) frequency, and there were decreased responses to adjacent frequencies, especially at the pretraining best frequency (BF), which often resulted in a shift of tuning such that the CS became the new BF. Moreover, 1 hr later the effects were stronger, more sharply tuned, and centered on the CS frequency. A sensitization paradigm produced only broad, general increases of response across the RF. These findings reveal that the analysis of sensory RF dynamics is a valuable approach to understanding the neural mechanisms of information processing in learning and memory.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Supraventricular tachyarrhythmias after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: incidence, risk factors and outcomes.

Recent studies suggest that cancer patients may be at increased risk for supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVTA). We have observed clinically significant SVTA in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation occurring at a median of 6 days post transplant, manifesting as atrial fibrillation/flutter or regular narrow-complex tachycardia and persisting for a median of 3 days (range, 0-8). All patients received aggressive medical therapy and/or electrical cardioversion to restore sinus rhythm and to re-establish hemodynamic stability. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) was the most common diagnosis (53%), and a case control analysis in those patients demonstrated that SVTA occurred in 12% of patients and was associated with older age and pre-existing cardiac conditions. In conclusion, patients undergoing HSCT are at moderate risk for developing SVTA, particularly older patients with a diagnosis of NHL. These arrhythmias are clinically significant, and are a marker for increased mortality and prolonged hospital stay. Additional studies are needed to identify high-risk patients who may benefit from prophylactic anti-arrhythmic therapy.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Erectile dysfunction in the 21st century: whom we can treat, whom we cannot treat and patient education.

Erectile dysfunction affects 31-52% of American men. Although considerable advances have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction in the past decade, more than 80% of men with erectile dysfunction are not treated because they do not seek medical attention or their physicians do not initiate a dialogue about sexual problems during their visits. This despite patients' desires to confront sexual problems and receive treatment. Most subgroups of men can now be effectively treated for sexual dysfunction. Although men with severe cardiac disease may require stabilization of their cardiac condition before treatment, most can successfully return to an active sex life. Some men, however, do not respond to the use of oral agents. These men can be treated with second- and third-line treatment modalities or with the newer concept of combined-modality treatment. Despite excellent treatment alternatives, many men have low libido or hypoactive sexual desire disorder. In the ultimate resolution of a patient's sexual dysfunction, physicians must open a free and sympathetic dialogue and offer a full spectrum of treatment modalities tailored to the individual patient and partner. If initial treatment modalities fail, more invasive alternatives or combination therapy should be offered to cure the patient's erectile dysfunction.

Erectile Dysfunction↗

PubMed1981

Possible role of lipoprotein lipase in the regulation of endogenous triacylglycerols in the rat heart.

1. Adrenaline has a biphasic effect on intracellular lipoprotein lipase activity and on endogenous triacylglycerol content in heparin-perfused heart. 2. A high concentration of adrenaline (1 microM in the perfusion buffer) activated endogenous lipoprotein lipase activity and, at the same time, decreased intracellular triacylglycerol stores. 3. In contrast, a low concentration (0.005 microM-adrenaline) inhibited intracellular lipoprotein lipase activity. Under these conditions, cardiac triacylglycerol content was elevated above control values. 4. Perfusing the heart with high and low concentrations of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine elicited a biphasic effect on endogenous lipoprotein lipase activity and triacylglycerol content similar to that seen with adrenaline treatment. 5. The effect of adrenaline on intracellular lipoprotein lipase activity appears to be mediated by cyclic AMP through protein kinase. 6. A possible role for intracellular lipoprotein lipase in the regulation of endogenous triacylglycerol in rat heart is proposed.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

PubMed2003

Temporal complexity of repolarization and mortality in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

Increased repolarization variability has been observed in various cardiac conditions. However, data on its relation to heart rate variability and on its value in predicting adverse outcomes in high risk patients are limited. Forty-seven patients with decreased left ventricular function and ICDs had high resolution 10-minute ECG recordings and were followed for 781 +/- 258 days (mean +/- SD) on average. The interval from the R peak to the T wave peak with maximum amplitude (RTmax) and from the R peak to the T wave offset (RToff) were determined automatically on a beat-to-beat basis. Temporal beat-to-beat RTmax and RToff variability were analyzed using traditional summary statistics, a complexity measure (approximate entropy [ApEn]), and the short-term scaling exponent (alpha1). Eight (17%) patients died and 16 (34%) patients experienced death/appropriate ICD shock during follow-up. RTmax-ApEn was significantly higher in patients who died compared with patients who survived (1.24 +/- 0.13 vs 1.01 +/- 0.21, respectively, P=0.008). When RTmax-ApEn was tested together with the alpha1 of the RR intervals, occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias before ICD implantation, and beta-blockers usage in the Cox regression analysis, it still independently predicted mortality; hazard ratio=3.36 (1.28-8.83, 95% CI, P=0.014) for every 0.10-increase in RTmax-ApEn. None of the repolarization variability parameters independently predicted death/appropriate ICD shocks. Increased temporal complexity of repolarization (RTmax-ApEn) independently predicts mortality in ICD patients.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Comparison of automatic repolarization measurement techniques in the normal magnetocardiogram.

Multichannel MCG noninvasively measures cardiac magnetic field strength from many sites at the body surface, potentially providing useful regional information about ventricular repolarization. Previous work on ECGs has shown that automatic techniques for repolarization measurement are better than manual measurement at discriminating patients with cardiac conditions from normal subjects. Although automatic repolarization measurement techniques have been quantified for ECGs, no comparative data exists for the MCG. In this study four different automatic repolarization (QT) interval techniques for detecting T wave end in the MCG were compared. The influence of MCG filtering on the automatic algorithms was also quantified. MCGs were obtained at 49 sites over the heart from 23 normal subjects. Automatic measurements of the repolarization (QT) interval were made following the addition of different high pass (0.25, 0.5, 1 Hz) and low pass (100, 60, 40, 30 Hz) filters. There were consistent differences between automatic techniques in the unfiltered data amounting to greatest mean difference of 52.3 ms. Low pass filtering significantly increased the automatic repolarization (QT) interval relative to unfiltered measurement by 6.5 (3.2) ms (mean SD) for 100 Hz, 6.0 (3.0) ms for 60 Hz, 8.1 (3.2) ms for 40 Hz, and 8.8 (3.1) ms for 30 Hz across all techniques. High pass filtering significantly decreased the value by -2.6 (6.0) ms for 0.25 Hz, -5.5 (5.3) ms for 0.5 Hz, and -17.1 (7.8) ms for 1 Hz. Automatic measurements of repolarization (QT) in the MCG differ between techniques and are influenced by filtering. These effects should be considered when comparing results.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2001

Definite streptococcus bovis endocarditis: characteristics in 20 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the specific characteristics of Streptococcus bovis infective endocarditis (IE) by reviewing our own experience of S. bovis IE. METHODS: Twenty episodes of definite S. bovis IE were reviewed in 20 patients hospitalized from 1980 to 1996. RESULTS: The mean age was 62 +/- 14 years, and 14 (70%) patients had no known predisposing cardiac condition. The principal antimicrobials used were penicillin G (N = 10) and amoxycillin (N = 8). Surgery was required in four (20%) patients. Neurologic complications occurred in eight (40%) patients, after initiation of therapy in six (75%) (mean time: 14 days). An unfavorable outcome was observed in four of 20 patients and tended to be more frequent in patients who had had neurologic complications (P = 0.10). Colonic tumors were present in 11 of 16 (69%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced age, occurrence of IE on presumably normal valves, high rate of neurologic complications, associated gastrointestinal diseases and low mortality rate during initial follow-up are characteristic features of S. bovis IE observed in this study.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The role of sodium-hydrogen ion exchange in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

Sodium-hydrogen ion exchange (NHE) is one of the principal mechanisms of restoring intracellular pH following ischemia and reperfusion. However, up-regulation of the NHE process results in a compensatory increase in the activity of the sodium-calcium exchanger. Intracellular hypercalcemia, resulting from the exchange of sodium for calcium, precipitates myocardial stunning and cell death. It has been postulated that NHE inhibition can protect the ischemic/reperfused myocardium, and preclinical studies have uniformly supported this concept. The Guard During Ischemia Against Necrosis (GUARDIAN) trial suggested benefits of NHE inhibition in subjects undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The sodium-hydrogen eXchange inhibition to Prevent coronary Events in acute cardiac conDITIONs (EXPEDITION) trial will further explore the use of cariporide in a randomized, controlled trial of CABG subjects at risk of myocardial necrosis.

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents↗

PubMed2001

Effect of balloon-induced acute ischaemia on P wave dispersion during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

AIMS: P wave dispersion is a recent ECG marker that reflects discontinuous and inhomogeneous conduction of sinus impulses, which has been studied in a limited number of cardiac conditions. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of angioplasty induced-ischaemia on atrial conduction abnormalities as estimated by P maximum and P dispersion. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study consisted of 67 consecutive patients (41 men, mean age 58 +/- 11 years) with 1-vessel coronary artery disease who underwent elective single vessel coronary angioplasty (left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery in 28 patients, the right coronary artery (RCA) in 22 patients and the left circumflex coronary artery (LCx) in 17 patients. All patients underwent 12-lead surface ECG before the first inflation (baseline) and then 60 s after intra-coronary balloon inflation. The maximum P wave duration, the minimum P wave duration, and P wave dispersion (Pd=Pmax - Pmin) were calculated from 12-lead surface ECGs. Baseline P wave duration measurements were not significantly different among the patients with LAD, RCA and LCx coronary artery disease (P>0.05). P dispersion and P maximum were significantly higher during balloon occlusion compared with the baseline condition in all three types of coronary dilatation procedures. However, P minimum was not found to differ between baseline and during balloon occlusion (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The prolongation of P wave dispersion may be a useful and simple additional marker for myocardial ischaemia.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

Health care issues facing adolescents with congenital heart disease.

The number of children with congenital heart disease surviving beyond adolescence is rapidly increasing. Consequently, pediatric health providers not only have to address medical issues associated with the cardiac condition but must begin to develop programs that assist adolescents and their families in dealing with special health care needs for the young patient to successfully move into the adult world. Transitional health-related issues facing the adolescent with congenital heart disease including medical follow-up, insurability, employability, sexuality, and reproduction are described. Discussion about advising and counseling both patient and parents is included.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2000

Basic epidemiology and immunopathology of RSV in children.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most important cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children. Around 20 000 RSV-infected infants require hospitalization in the UK during each yearly epidemic, which is about 3% of the birth cohort. Most children are infected by 2 years of age. Risk factors for severe disease include young infants, prematurity, chronic lung and cardiac conditions or immunodeficiency. Humoral immunity is incomplete and short-lived, yet reinfections cause less severe disease. RSV infects infants despite the presence of specific neutralizing antibodies. RSV infection can be linked to the development of individual wheezing episodes. A competent cellular immune system is necessary to reduce disease severity. RSV infection provokes an RSV-specific T-lymphocyte response with the release of cytokines. There is a delicate balance between the protective and disease-enhancing effects of the host's immune response to RSV infection.

Child↗

PubMed2001

Bilateral fronto-occipital polymicrogyria and epilepsy.

We present a clinico-pathological case report in which both cortical dysplasia and epilepsy coexisted: a 30 year old male who was dead on arrival at hospital. One and a half hours earlier he had developed complex partial status with peri-oral cyanosis. At post mortem examination his brain showed bilateral occipital frontal polymicrogyria with unlayered neuronal migration disorder; in other parts there were fourth layer migration disorders. The white matter exhibited multicystic encephalopathy. In the heart there was chronic interstitial and perivascular fibrosis, although he died of a cardiac arrest. Bilateral frontal-occipital polymicrogyria is highly epileptogenic. This was a sporadic case and we cannot define a clear aetiology. There was a pathological cardiac condition without previous vascular risk factors which might be related to repetition of seizures and possibly to his sudden death during status epilepticus.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

D-Ribose as a supplement for cardiac energy metabolism.

Metabolic support for the heart has been an attractive concept since the pioneering work of Sodi-Pallares et al. four decades ago.* Recently, interest has increased in the use of over-the-counter supplements and naturally occurring nutriceuticals for enhancement of cardiac and skeletal muscle performance. These include amino acids such as creatine, L-carnitine, and L-arginine, as well as vitamins and cofactors such as alpha-tocopherol and coenzyme Q. Like these other molecules, D-ribose is a naturally occurring compound. It is the sugar moiety of ATP and has also received interest as a metabolic supplement for the heart. The general hypothesis is that under certain pathologic cardiac conditions, nucleotides (particularly ATP, ADP, and AMP) are degraded and lost from the heart. The heart's ability to resynthesize ATP is then limited by the supply of D-ribose, which is a necessary component of the adenine nucleotide structure. In support of this hypothesis, recent reports have used D-ribose to increase tolerance to myocardial ischemia. Its use in patients with stable coronary artery disease improves time to exercise-induced angina and electrocardiographic changes. In conjunction with thallium imaging or dobutamine stress echocardiography, D-ribose supplementation has been used to enhance detection of hibernating myocardium. In this article, we review the biochemical basis for using supplemental D-ribose as metabolic support for the heart and discuss the experimental evidence for its benefit.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1979

Obstruction of the duodenal bulb caused by gallstone perforation.

Because of acute symptoms in the upper abdomen, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed in a 75-year-old female patient. A large (5 cm x 10 cm) perforated gallstone was embedded in the duodenum, causing complete obstruction of the duodenal bulb. The stone was removed via pylorotomy. A fistula remained between the gallbladder and the duodenum. Cholecystectomy was not carried out because of the unfavourable cardiac condition of the patients. There was no complications.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Prospective echocardiographic assessment of androgenic-anabolic steroids effects on cardiac structure and function in strength athletes.

Since the abuse of androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS) has been associated with the occurrence of serious cardiovascular disease in young athletes, we performed two studies to investigate the effects of short-term AAS administration on heart structure and function in experienced male strength athletes, with special reference to dose and duration of drug abuse. In Study 1 the effects of AAS were assessed in 17 experienced male strength athletes (age 31 +/- 7 y) who self-administered AAS for 8 or 12 - 16 weeks and in 15 non-using strength athletes (age 33 +/- 5 y) in a non-blinded design. In Study 2 the effects of administration of nandrolone decanoate (200 mg/wk i. m.) for eight weeks were investigated in 16 bodybuilders in a randomised double blind, placebo controlled design. In all subjects M-mode and two-dimensional Doppler-echocardiography were performed at baseline and after 8 weeks AAS administration. In the athletes of Study 1 who used AAS for 12 - 16 weeks a third echocardiogram was also made at the end of the AAS administration period. Echocardiographic examinations included the determination of the aortic diameter (AD), left atrium diameter (LA), left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), interventricular septum thickness (IVS), posterior wall end diastolic wall thickness (PWEDWT), left ventricular mass (LVM), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), ejection fraction (EF) and right ventricular diameter (RVD). For assessment of the diastolic function measurements of E and A peak velocities and calculation of E/A ratio were used. In addition, acceleration and deceleration times of the E-top (ATM and DT, respectively) were determined. For evaluation of factors associated with stroke volume the aorta peak flow (AV) and left ventricular ejection times (LVET) were determined. In Study 1 eight weeks AAS self-administration did not result in changes of blood pressure or cardiac size and function. Additionally, duration of AAS self-administration did not have any impact on these parameters. Study 2 revealed that eight weeks administration of nandrolone decanoate did not induce significant alterations in blood pressure and heart morphology and function. Short-term administration of AAS for periods up to 16 weeks did not lead to detectable echocardiographic alterations of heart morphology and systolic and diastolic function in experienced strength athletes. The administration regimen used nor the length of AAS abuse did influence the results. Moreover, it is concluded that echocardiographic evaluation may provide incomplete assessment of the actual cardiac condition in AAS users since it is not sensitive enough to detect alterations at the cellular level. Nevertheless, from the present study no conclusions can be drawn of the cardiotoxic effects of long term AAS abuse.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Results of pediatric cardiac transplantation -- long-term results of a 15-year experience.

INTRODUCTION: Heart transplantation (HTx) has increasingly become a therapeutic option for end-stage heart failure of any origin in children. Short- and mid-term results are promising. However, long-term outcome has been a matter of concern because of acute or chronic rejection and side effects of immunosuppression. We performed a retrospective study of up to 15-years of follow-up on this patient entity. METHODS: Between 1988 and 2004, 58 HTx were performed in 55 children (cardiomyopathy (DCM) 32, congenital heart disease (CHD) 23, Re-HTx 3). Mean age was 9.1 +/- 7.2 years (4 days - 17.9 years). Twenty-nine patients had a total of 51 previous operations. RESULTS: Operative mortality was 4/58 (6.8 %) due to primary graft failure. Late mortality was 7/54 (12.1 %) due to acute rejection (2), pneumonia (2), intracranial hemorrhage (1), suicide (1) and lymphoma (1). Mean follow-up was 5.2 +/- 4.2 years. One-, 5-, and 10-year survival was 86 %, 80 % and 80 %, respectively, and improved significantly after 1995 (92 % and 92 %; p = 0.04). Survival was comparable for DCM and CHD patients (1-year: 88 % vs. 82 %; p = 0.19; 5-years: 84 % vs. 77 %; p = 0.12). Three patients with therapy resistant rejection and assisted circulation required retransplantation and are alive. Freedom from acute rejection was 46 % with primary cyclosporine immunosuppression and 63 % with tacrolimus. Ninety-eight percent of the survivors are at home and in excellent cardiac condition. CONCLUSION: Pediatric heart transplantation is a curative treatment for DCM and CHD with excellent clinical mid-term results. However, further follow-up is necessary to evaluate long-term side effects of immunosuppressants. Donor shortage remains a problem.

Cardiomyopathy, Dilated↗

PubMed1997

[The reliability of a new 12-channel ECG with telephone transmission].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Different from the situation in the USA, Canada, Israel, Italy and Great Britain transmission of electrocardiograms (ECG) by telephone plays an unimportant part in Germany because existing technology is at best adequate for the diagnosis of arrhythmias. A new simple system, the size of a mobile phone (P12, Aerotel, Israel), was tested: for the first time in Europe it allows patients themselves to obtain a 12-lead ECG and transmit it via any telephone to a centre for analysis. This system was evaluated for its reliability when used by lay persons. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative parameters of a conventional 12-lead ECG obtained in 217 patients (86 women, 131 men) were compared with those of 12-lead ECGs recorded and stored by lay persons, transmitted via telephone to a computer and then printed out. RESULTS: All ECGs transmitted with the P12 were analysable: quality was good or very good in 86%. Heart rate, transmission time and the various durations agreed with the conventional leads, while P12 underregistered amplitudes by about 15%. This difference was correctable by a constant or by adjusting the ECG machine. Atrial fibrillation (in eight of eight cases), infarct changes (40 of 40), ST elevations or depressions (15 of 15) and T negativities (80 of 82) were also reliably recognized. CONCLUSIONS: The described method proved simple and reliable. Clinically significant information in the ECG can be transmitted within minutes and with high diagnostic reliability to a central station via any telephone. P12 is thus suitable for self-recording of ECGs by patients with potentially dangerous cardiac conditions. However a centre with cardiologically trained personnel should be available where telephone transmission of the ECGs and dialogue with the patients is possible around the clock.

Electrocardiography↗

PubMed1990

[Subtotal thyroid gland resection as therapy for thyrotoxic crises].

Thyrotoxic crises occurred in six patients (four women aged 51, 63, 72 and 76 years; two men aged 52 and 63 years). In four patients the crisis was triggered by a contrast medium containing iodine, and in one by amiodarone. The cause of the crisis in the 51-year-old woman remained uncertain. After a latent period of up to two months, T3 and T4 concentrations rose in all the patients, and abnormal findings such as tachycardia, increased blood pressure, dehydration, tremor, restlessness, hallucinations and coma ensued. Because of ineffective conservative treatment, five patients underwent subtotal thyroidectomy. In all five the symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism were promptly relieved, and the postoperative course was uneventful. The 76-year-old woman was considered unfit for surgery because of her cardiac condition, and she died of left ventricular failure resistant to therapy.

Aged↗