Relation Between Severity of Anemia and Erythropoietin Titer in Human Beings

Patients with severe hematologic disorders may have elevated erythropoietintiters in plasma or urine at higher hemoglobin concentrations than those associated with elevated titers in experimental animals or patients anemic as aresult of simple blood loss. Patients with "primary" hematologic disease mayhave a measurable titer of erythropoietin in the plasma and urine at hemoglobinconcentrations up to 8 Gm./100 ml., but patients with iron-deficiency anemiashow elevated titers in the urine only with hemoglobin concentrations at orbelow 4 Gm./100 ml. and in the plasma below 5 Gm./100 ml. The abruptnesswith which the titer rises and the severity of the anemia required beforemeasurable titers appear are similar in man and in rabbits, sheep and dogs.The fact that no measurable erythropoietin titer can be demonstrated whenthe hemoglobin concentration is well below that required for intense stimulation of erythropoiesis and the abruptness of the rise at hemoglobin concentration of 4 Gm./100 ml. or less suggest that erythropoietin may not bean important factor in the control of erythropoiesis except in extreme circumstances. On the other hand, these facts may be explained more simply by theinsensitivity of the assay methods used.

Submitted on March 13, 1961 Accepted on May 6, 1961     

Sources of information about diet and health in a Mediterranean country: Comparison with other European member states

Background: A Pan-European survey was carried out to assessthe main sources of information about healthy diet in the Europeanpopulation and to assess whether these sources differ betweena Mediterranean country and other European populations. Methods:This study belongs to a Pan-European survey on Attitudes toFood, Nutrition and Health. A multistage sampling procedurewas used. Each subject was asked about the main sources of informationon healthy eating. The survey was completed between October1995 and February 1996 in the 15 member states of the EuropeanUnion. The questionnaire was completed by 14,331 persons, approximately1,000 from each member state. Data were quota controlled bysociodemographic factors and all results were weighted for thepurpose of maintaining national representativeness. The participantswere asked to indicate which sources they used more often outof a list with 22 options. They were allowed to select a maximumof two sources. Results: The source of information ‘televisionprogrammes or radio’ was more prevalent in the rest ofthe member states of the European Union (30.9%) than in Spain(25.7%). ‘Health professionals’ were mentioned withsimilar frequency as a source of information in Spain and inthe rest of the European Union. Conclusions: Our results confirmthat mass media play an important role in transferring messagesabout healthy eating to the general public. Increasing the circulationof newspapers in Spain, where a low level of newspapers readingexists, would probably improve the knowledge of the generalpublic.     

Time to First Shock in Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) Patients with Chagas Cardiomyopathy

The time to first ICD shock has been extensively studied in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, there are no published data on ICD shocks in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy (ChC). The occurrence of the first appropriate ICD shock during the first 6 months of follow-up in 20 patients with ChC (group 1) and 35 CAD patients (group 2) was analyzed retrospectively. All patients had received a third-generation pectoral ICD for ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (VT/VF). Indications for ICD implantation were refractoriness to drug therapy or noninducibility of VT/VF at EPS in cardiac arrest survivors. Results: The mean age, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and sex in groups I and II were 57.4 ± 7 years versus 64 ± 9 (P < 0.01), 30.9%± 10% versus 32.9%± 10% (P = NS), and 10 men versus 31 women (P < 0.005), respectively. Six months after ICD implantation, 85% (17/20) group I patients received appropriate ICD shocks versus 51 % (18/35) in group 2, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.02, RR: 1.65, OR: 5.35). Conclusions: The incidence of appropriate ICD shocks within the first 6 months postimplantation was significantly higher in ChC patients than in CAD patients. ChC patients were younger and more often women than CAD patients.     

Five Years of Catheter Ablation Procedures in South-Western Europe: Meta-Analysis of National Registries

Background: Radiofrequency catheter ablation is a well-established approach to treating several types of cardiac arrhythmias. The aim of our study was to provide data on the diffusion of catheter ablation procedures in clinical practice through a meta-analysis of National Registries of electrophysiological procedures performed over a 5-year period, from 2000 to 2005.
Methods: We found only two national registries of catheter ablation procedures published in the journals indexed in PubMed: The Spanish Catheter Ablation Registry and the Portuguese National Registry on Cardiac Electrophysiology. In addition, we included in our analysis the data from the Italian Registry of Electrophysiological Procedures.
Results and Conclusions: This meta-analysis revealed a steady increase in the total number of catheter ablation procedures, particularly for the ablation of atrial flutter, of tachycardia due to double nodal pathways, and of the left atrial substrate in atrial fibrillation. However, the progress of catheter ablation and the impetus for additional research and development of new approaches and technologic advances requires further data on clinical indications, methodologic approach, complications, and long-term success rate in the real world.