Bifurcation lesion treated with a single stent: a new technique.

Treatment of bifurcation lesions by percutaneous coronary interventions is one of the challenging issues for the interventional cardiologists. The overall complication rate is higher than nonbifurcation lesions. We describe a new stenting technique for the so-called true bifurcation lesions.     

Investigating the volume status before contrast nephropathy studies.

Sir, We read with great interest the original article by Drager etal. [1] about the mechanism of a protective effect of N-acetylcysteine(NAC) against contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patientsundergoing elective coronary angiography. This study assessedpre- and post-radiocontrast NAC effects on specific oxidativestress and renal tubular injury markers. CIN is one of the well-recognizedrisks of coronary     

Reduced hippocampal volume in unmedicated, remitted patients with major depression versus control subjects.

BACKGROUND: Hippocampal volumes obtained from a group of medication-free, remitted subjects with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) were compared against corresponding measures from healthy controls. METHODS: Thirty-one subjects with recurrent MDD in full remission, and 57 healthy controls underwent high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on a GE 3T scanner. Eight patients with MDD were medication-naive, and twenty-three MDD patients were off antidepressant medications for a mean of 30 months at the time of the MRI study. RESULTS: Patients showed smaller total and posterior hippocampal volume relative to controls. Anterior hippocampal volume did not differ between patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: Recurrent depression is associated with smaller hippocampal volume which is most prominent in the posterior hippocampus. Smaller hippocampal volume appears to be a trait characteristic for MDD.     

Prognostic significance of soft tissue deposits in laryngeal carcinoma

Introduction

Soft tissue deposits is tumorous islands apart from lymph nodes and occasionally diagnosed in neck dissection specimens. Their importance has begun to be recognized, however, their value has not been investigated in laryngeal cancer as a single tumor site.

Cellular and molecular mediators in common pathway mechanisms of chronic renal disease progression

Injury mechanisms activated by the hemodynamic adaptations to nephron loss are considered to represent a final common pathway that underlies the progressive nature of chronic renal disease. In this article, we review experimental evidence that the induction of cell adhesion molecule, cytokine and profibrotic growth factor gene expression and the resultant renal infiltration by inflammatory cells, especially macrophages, are important components of these common pathway mechanisms. Interventions aimed at inhibiting these mechanisms may offer new treatments for slowing or arresting the progression of chronic renal disease.     

Farnesyltransferase inhibitors and anti-Ras therapy

Summary The oncoprotein encoded by mutantras genes is initially synthesized as a cytoplasmic precursor which requires posttranslational processing to attain biological activity; farnesylation of the cysteine residue present in the CaaX motif located at the carboxy-terminus of all Ras proteins is the critical modification. Once farnesylated and further modified, the mature Ras protein is inserted into the cell's plasma membrane where it participates in the signal transduction pathways that control cell growth and differentiation. The farnesylation reaction that modifies Ras and other cellular proteins having an appropriate CaaX motif is catalyzed by a housekeeping enzyme termed farnesyl-protein transferase (FPTase). Inhibitors of this enzyme have been prepared by several laboratories in an effort to identify compounds that would block Ras-induced cell transformation and thereby function as Ras-specific anticancer agents. A variety of natural products and synthetic organic compounds were found to block farnesylation of Ras proteinsin vitro. Some of these compounds exhibit antiproliferative activity in cell culture, block the morphological alterations associated with Ras-transformation, and can block the growth of Ras-transformed cell lines in tumor colony-forming assays. By contrast, these compounds do not affect the growth or morphology of cells transformed by the Raf or Mos oncoproteins, which do not require farnesylation to achieve biological activity. The efficacy and lack of toxicity observed with FPTase inhibitors in an animal tumor model suggest that specific FPTase inhibitors may be useful for the treatment of some types of cancer.Presented at the symposium "New Approaches in the Therapy of Breast Cancer", Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC, October 1994, generously supported by an education grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb.     

Parathyroidectomy Decreases Insulin Resistance Index in Patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) has been considered a cause of insulin resistance (IR) and impaired glucose metabolism. However, there are conflicting results related with the recovery of insulin resistance in patients with PHPT following curative parathyroidectomy. Our aim is to evaluate the effects of curative parathyroidectomy on IR in patients with PHPT. This is a prospective interventional study. Twenty-one consecutive patients with symptomatic PHPT were included into the study. All patients underwent parathyroidectomy. Fasting serum glucose, calcium, phosphorous, parathormone, plasma insulin, and vitamin D levels were measured both at baseline and 2 months after parathyroidectomy. Insulin resistance was calculated by homeostasis of model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Two months after curative parathyroidectomy, serum levels of calcium (p?=?0.001), PTH (p?<?0.001), insulin (p?=?0.003), and HOMA-IR (p?=?0.003) decreased, while phosphorous levels increased (p?=?0.001). During this period, no changes were observed at vitamin D and glucose levels. We concluded that curative parathyroidectomy decreases HOMA-IR index in patients with PHPT. Studies with larger population and longer follow-up period are required to confirm our results.