High maternal vitamin E intake by diet or supplements is associated with congenital heart defects in the offspring

Objective  To study associations between maternal dietary and supplement intake of antioxidants vitamin E, retinol and congenital heart defects (CHDs).
Design  Case–control study.
Setting  Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Population  Participants were 276 case mothers of a child with CHD and 324 control mothers with their children.
Methods  Food frequency questionnaires covering the intake of the previous 4 weeks were filled out at 16 months after the index pregnancy. Data were compared between cases and controls using the Mann–Whitney U test. Risk estimates for the association between CHD and dietary intake of vitamin E and retinol were estimated in a multivariable logistic regression model.
Main outcome measures  Medians (5–95th percentile) and odds ratios with 95% CI.
Results  Dietary vitamin E intake was higher in case mothers than in controls, 13.3 (8.1–20.4) and 12.6 (8.5–19.8) mg/day ( P = 0.05). CHD risk increased with rising dietary vitamin E intakes ( P -trend = 0.01). Periconception use of vitamin E supplements in addition to a high dietary vitamin E intake above 14.9 mg/day up to nine-fold increased CHD risk. Retinol intakes were not significantly different between the groups and not associated with CHD risk.
Conclusions  High maternal vitamin E by diet and supplements is associated with an increased risk of CHD offspring.     

Malignant uveal melanoma and similar lesions studied by computed tomography

Forty-four patients with intraocular disease were studied by computed tomography (CT); in 19 cases malignant uveal melanoma was considered the likely diagnosis. CT proved to be accurate in determining the location and size of uveal melanomas, demonstrating scleral invasion, and differentiating melanoma from choroidal detachment or angioma, toxocariasis, and senile macular degeneration. Astrocytic retinal hamartoma and medulloepithelioma could not be distinguished from melanoma with CT. On CT, uveal melanomas appeared as hyperdense lesions with slight to moderate contrast enhancement. Tumors thinner than 2 mm could not be seen. Using dynamic CT, we noted moderate peak amplitude, normal or delayed tissue transit time, and persistently elevated washout phase (downslope), indicating increased permeability as the result of an impaired tumor blood barrier. Histological types of uveal melanoma could not be differentiated on the basis of circulatory patterns. Dynamic CT may be useful in distinguishing uveal melanoma from choroidal hemangioma or hematoma.     

Heart rate changes during sleep in normal two-month-old infants

Thirty-five normal two-month-old infants had nighttime followed by daytime polygraphic recordings. Heart rates were calculated every minute in active and quiet sleep states. A difference in mean heart rates was found between the two states and between the two recordings. Rates were lower at night than during the day (P < 0.0001), regardless of the sleep state. During nighttime or daytime recordings as a function of sleep cycles or during sustained sleep episodes, heart rates were minimal in the middle of recordings, but differences were statistically significant for only a few results (mainly in QS). Intrasleep awakening led to a marked increase in heart rate after sleep was resumed, although differences were only statistically significant when the awakened infant was fed. Infants with episodes of periodic breathing had lower mean heart rates throughout the recordings, but differences were not statistically significant. Respiratory and heart rates showed similar changes during the recordings, and a statistically significant correlation was found between the two measurements.     

Does diabetes increase cell death in the heart?

Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery -