Effect of first ventricular tachycardia cycle length on rate of ventricular arrhythmia recurrence in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

Background

Some controversies exist regarding the proper treatment of hemodynamically tolerated and slow ventricular tachycardia (VT). We intended to assess the effect of cycle length of first VT episode on total ventricular arrhythmia burden in a cohort of patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).

Method

Between March 2000 and March 2005, 195 patients underwent ICD implantation at our center. We included 158 patients (mean age, 58.3 ± 12.9 years) with follow-up of 3 months or more in this study. Clinical, electrocardiographic, and ICD-stored data and electrograms were collected and analyzed.

Results

During the follow-up of 16.7 ± 10.6 months, 45 (28.5%) and 20 (12.6%) patients received first appropriate ICD therapy for VT and ventricular fibrillation, respectively. We divided the 45 patients with VT (based on the median value of VT cycle length) into 2 groups. Although patients with VT cycle length of less than 350 had higher total mean number of appropriate ICD therapy (25 vs 6.3, P = .023), during multivariate regression analysis, only left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) of less than 25% (P = .020) was correlated with total number of appropriate ICD therapy. First VT cycle length (P = .341), QRS duration (P = .126), age (P = .405), underlying heart disease (P = .310), indication of ICD implantation (P = .113), and sex (P = .886) have failed to predict the total burden of ventricular arrhythmia during the follow-up period.

Conclusion

After adjustment for left ventricular EF, initial VT cycle length per se did not confer a lower risk for subsequent ventricular arrhythmia recurrence compared with those with faster VT. Left ventricular EF of less than 25% was correlated with higher ventricular arrhythmia burden in patients with ICD.     

Study of the chlorpyrifos neurotoxicity using neural differentiation of adipose tissue‐derived stem cells

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is the most commonly used organophosphorus insecticide which causes neurodevelopmental toxicity. So far, animals have been used as ideal models for neurotoxicity studies, but working with animals is very expensive, laborious, and ethically challenging. This has encouraged researchers to seek alternatives. During recent years, several studies have reported successful differentiation of embryonic and adult stem cells to neurons. This has provided an excellent model for neurotoxicologic studies. In this study, neural differentiation of mouse adipose tissue‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) was used as an in vitro model for investigation of CPF neurotoxicity. For this purpose, mouse ADSCs were cultured in a medium containing knockout serum replacement and were treated with different concentrations of CPF at several stages of differentiation. Cytotoxic effect of CPF and the expression of neuron‐specific genes and proteins were studied in the differentiating ADSCs. Furthermore, the activity of acetylcholinesterase was assessed by Ellman assay at different stages of differentiation. This study showed that up to 500 μM CPF did not alter viability of the undifferentiated ADSCs, whereas viability of the differentiating cells decreased with 500 μM CPF. CPF upregulated the expression of some neuron‐specific genes and seemed to decrease the number of β‐tubulin III and MAP2 proteins‐expressing cells. There was no detectable acetylcholine esterase activity in differentiated ADSCs. In summary, it was shown that CPF treatment can decrease the viability of ADSC‐derived neurons and dysregulate the expression of some neuronal markers through acetylcholinesterase‐independent mechanisms. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1510–1519, 2016.     

Evaluation of effectiveness of tranexamic acid as mesotherapy in improvement of periorbital wrinkling in a trial study

Background

Tranexamic acid is used to treat pigmented disorder in dermatology for a long time however there are limited data for effectiveness of tranexamic acid for rejuvenation and improvement of wrinkle. Here we want to find the effectiveness of tranexamic acid as mesotherapy in improvement of periorbital wrinkle in a clinical trial study.

Methods

Patients with melasma who were treated with 4 session of tranexamic acid mesotherapy at intervals on 1 week were evaluated with Visioface device before starting and 1 month after last course of treatment. The outcomes including volume, area, area percent, and depth were measured by Visioface device.

Results

Mean of periorbital wrinkles volume before and after procedure were 89 271 and 74 639 pixel³ (px³), respectively. Very significant difference with p-value of <0.001 was detected at volume of patient wrinkles before and after treatment. Moreover, the mean of area (and area percent) of their periorbital wrinkles before and after therapeutic method were 8481 Px³ (1.131%) and 7184 Px³ (0.646%), respectively, with significant differences (both have p-value of <0.001).Mean of periorbital wrinkles depth at before and after treatment were 9.8 and 9.6, respectively, without remarkable difference (p-value was 0.257).

Conclusion

Tranexamic acid mesotherapy significantly leads to reduced volume and area of wrinkles. Injection of tranexamic acid as mesotherapy seems to be effective in improvement of periorbital wrinkling.     

Recurrent urinary tract infection with antibiotic‐resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in a patient with Crohn's disease: A case report

Recurrent urinary tract infections with resistant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae are a potential complication of the long‐term use of immunosuppressive therapy in patients with Crohn''s disease.     

Lagophthalmos of the upper eyelid after rhinoplasty: A case report

Lagophthalmos is an inability to close the eyelids which can result from many causes. Septorhinoplasty surgery is an uncommon reason for that. This paper reports the lagophthalmos complication, after a septorhinoplasty surgery.     

The genetic factors contributing to the risk of cleft lip-cleft palate and their clinical utility

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery - Cleft lip and cleft palate (CL/P) are among the most common congenital malformations in neonates and have syndromic or nonsyndromic forms. Nonsyndromic forms of...     

The effects of postnatal erythropoietin and nano-erythropoietin on behavioral alterations by mediating K-Cl co-transporter 2 in the valproic acid-induced rat model of autism

In this study, based on the excitatory/inhibitory imbalance theory of autism, the time window of GABA switch, the role of K-Cl co-transporter 2 (KCC2) in adjustment GABA switch, and brain permeability to erythropoietin (EPO), the effects of postnatal -EPO and- nano- erythropoietin (NEPO) have been evaluated in the valproic acid (VPA) rat model of autism. The VPA was administered for animal modeling of autism at gestational day (GD) 12.5 (600 mg/kg). Male offsprings were injected with EPO and NEPO in a clinically proper postnatal dosing regimen on postnatal days (PND) 1–5, and autistic-like behaviors were tested at the end of the first month. Then animals were sacrificed, and neuron morphology and KCC2 expression were examined by Nissl staining and Western blot. According to our findings, high-dose NEPO improved autism-associated phenotypes. Neuroprotective effects of EPO and NEPO have been shown in the hippocampus. Postnatal NEPO treatment reversed KCC2 expression abnormalities induced by prenatal VPA. Our results might support the role of KCC2 in ASD and the excitatory/inhibitory imbalance hypothesis. We suggested Nano- erythropoietin and other KCC2 interventions as a new approach to the early treatment and prevention of autism.     

Green Synthesis and Antibacterial Effect of Fe3O4/Cu Nanocomposite Using Rosmarinus officinalis L. (Rosemary) Aqueous Extracts

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - In this paper, we describe utilizing sustainable chemistry for the synthesis of Fe3O4, Cu nanoparticles (NPs)...