Heart

Theaimof this studywasto assesswhethernitrateadministra tion improvesthe imagingcapabilitiesof @°‘Tc-MlBl tomogra phy in detectingviablemyocardiumin coronaryarterydisease (CAD). Methods: Thirty-one patients withangiographically proven CADand chronicLV dysfunction(ejectionfraction39% ±9%) underwenttwo @°‘Tc-MlBl studieson separatedays:oneunder rest conditionsand the other after nitroglycerine(0.005mg/kg per Os)administration.Within1 wk, all patientsalso underwent rest-redistribution 2o1@fl imaging. Eightpatients werealsostud ied by echocardiography before and 5 ±3 mo after coronary revascularization. Results: On resting 99mTc.MlBl im ages, 302 segmentshad normal uptake, 183 segmentshad moderatelyreduceduptakeand 197 had severelyreducedup take. Of the segmentswith severelyreduceduptake,54 (27%) had increased uptake after nitroglycerineand were viable on 201fl images. Of the 143 (73%) segmentswith severely reduced @°Tc-MlBl uptakeand no changeafternitroglycerine, 81% werenonvi...

Abstract—The cardiovascular signs and symptoms,of thyroid disease are some of the most profound and clinically relevant findings that accompany,both hyperthyroidism,and hypothyroidism. On the basis of the understanding of the cellular mechanisms of thyroid hormone action on the heart and cardiovascular system, it is possible to explain the changes in cardiac output, cardiac contractility, blood pressure, vascular resistance, and rhythm disturbances

SUMMARY The duration of electrocardiograph wave forms and intervals were determined in 179 Spanish-bred (Andalusian) horses aged from 1 month to 17 years. The values were compared with those of other breeds, and the relationship between electrocardiographic data and age was examined. High correlation coefficients were found between PR, ST and QT intervals and the age of the horses, and an inverted relation between heart rate and age was found. A multiple range analysis was made and the results suggest that significant changes in duration values and heart rate ocurred at the age of 6 months and in the second year of life.

Channichthyid icefishes of Antarctica are unique among adult vertebrates. All icefish species lack hemoglobin and red blood cells in their circulating blood. All icefishes examined to date also lack the intracellular oxygen-binding protein myoglobin (Mb) in their oxidative skeletal muscles. However, some icefish species do express Mb in their heart ventricles. It is unknown whether Mb in those species in which it is present represents an evolutionary relic or has functional significance. To address this problem, we compared mechanical performance of isolated, perfused hearts from two species of icefish in which Mb is either present (Chionodraco rastrospinosus) or is absent (Chaenocephalus aceratus). Hearts were challenged with increasing afterload (2.5-4.0 kPa) under conditions of defined basal flow (approximately 100 ml.min-1.kg-1), in both the presence and absence of 5 mM sodium nitrite, a Mb poison. Unlike hearts from C. aceratus, which were unable to maintain a constant cardiac ...

Femoral artery pseudoaneurysm is a significant complication in patients undergoing diagnostic or therapeutic catheterisation. First choice treatment for pseudoaneurysm is freehand ultrasound guided compression repair, which is time consuming and uncomfortable for the patient and operator. To explore a mechanical compression device (FemoStop) as an alternative treatment for iatrogenic femoral artery pseudoaneurysm. Fourteen patients with pseudoaneurysm were considered for treatment with FemoStop after a brief freehand ultrasound guided compression repair to confirm the compressibility of the lesion. The FemoStop compression was applied for 20 minutes. The result was controlled with colour Doppler ultrasound, and a second cycle of 20 minutes followed if necessary. FemoStop compression was successful in 13 of the 14 patients. The mean compression time was 33 minutes (range, 20-60). The mean number of compression periods was 1.6 (range 1-3). FemoStop compression was successful in all 11...

VentSim is a quantitative model that predicts the effects of alternative ventilator settings on the cardiopulmonary physiology of critically ill patients. VentSim is an expanded version of the physiologic model in VentPlan, an application that provides ventilator-setting recommendations for patients in the intensive care unit. VentSim includes a ventilator component, an airway component, and a circulation component. The ventilator component predicts the pressures and airflows that are generated by a volume-cycled, constant-flow ventilator. The airway component has anatomic and physiologic deadspace compartments, and two alveolar compartments that participate in gas exchange with two pulmonary blood-flow compartments in the circulatory component. The circulatory component also has a shunt compartment that allows a fraction of blood flow to bypass gas exchange in the lungs, and a tissue compartment that consumes oxygen and generates carbon dioxide. The VentSim model is a set of linked...

It is generally agreed that physiological levels of melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, are important in protecting against oxidative stress-induced tissue damage. We investigated the effects that pinealectomy and the administration of exogenous melatonin have on the brains, testes, duodena and stomachs of rats. Pinealectomized (Px) and sham-operated (non-Px) rats were used. We evaluated structural changes, and catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH), super oxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. The rats were divided into the following five groups (eight rats in each group): sham (non-Px), Px+ vehicle, Px+ melatonin (10 mg/kg given daily intraperitoneally for a week), melatonin and ethyl alcohol. The antioxidant levels in the tissue of Px rats were significantly lower than in those of the sham group. Administering melatonin significantly increased antioxidant levels (p < 0.05). The Px rats also showed a significant increase in MDA levels when com...

Vanadate, an inhibitor of tyrosine phosphatases, has insulin-mimetic properties. It has been shown that acute vanadate administration enhances glucose uptake independently of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase and p38 MAPK. However, therapeutic vanadate use requires chronic administration, and this could potentially involve a different signaling pathway(s). Thus, we examined the mechanisms by which chronic vanadate exposure (16 h) stimulates glucose uptake in primary cultures of adult cardiomyocytes. The effect of vanadate on the activation of insulin-signaling molecules was evaluated 60 min after its withdrawal and in the absence of insulin. We therefore evaluated the persistent effect of vanadate on the insulin-signaling cascade. Our results demonstrate that preincubation with low vanadate concentrations (25-75 microM) induces a dose-dependent increase in glucose uptake. The augmentation of this process was not due to alterations in GLUT1 or GLUT4 protein levels, transcription, or...

Abstract Abstract. The highly conserved basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Hand plays a crucial role in cardiogenesis, limb formation and other developmental processes of vertebrates. Humans, mice and other higher vertebrates have two related genes, dHand (also known as Hand2, Hed, Thing2) and eHand (also known as Hand1, Hxt, Thing1), whereas fish and Drosophila have only a single hand gene. We cloned Drosophila hand and studied the embryonic expression in detail by using various tissue-specific markers that allowed us to analyze the identity of hand-expressing cells. We found hand to be expressed in the entire heart, including all cardioblasts and pericardial cells, in the progenitors of the circular visceral muscles, the lymph gland and garland cells, and in a few cells in the CNS. The expression of Drosophila hand starts after the inductive activity of the early regulators in these tissues, e.g. Tinman and Bagpipe, suggesting a role of Hand in differentiation rather than in tissue determination. In many aspects the expression pattern of Drosophila hand resembles the patterns of its vertebrates orthologues, for instance in cardiac tissues. We assume that Hand proteins might play a highly conserved role throughout evolution. Electronic Supplementary Material is available if you access this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00427-002-0268-6. On that page (frame on the left side), a link takes you directly to the supplementary material.