Right ventricular outflow tract obstruction caused by a right coronary cusp prolapse: An unusual finding

Patients with large sub-pulmonic ventricular septal defect (VSD) present early as a results of their complications. Some present late, due to the restriction of VSD by the right coronary cusp (RCC) due to its prolapse. In this report, we present a rare case of sub-pulmonic VSD in a 33-year-old man who developed a sub-pulmonic stenosis due to the prolapse of the RCC into the right ventricular outflow tract.     

Unexpected mechanism of mitral regurgitation in a patient post ALCAPA repair: Added value of three-dimensional echocardiography

Accurate assessment of etiology of mitral regurgitation (MR) is one of the key steps in the decision-making process and further clinical management of patients with severe MR. Our clinical case illustrates the added value of three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) in assessment of mitral valve morphology and identification of an unexpected mechanism of MR which was not previously diagnosed using conventional echocardiography. 3DE helped to choose appropriate management strategy in this patient.     

Epstein-Barr virus lymphoproliferation after bone marrow transplantation

We review 15 cases of secondary B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders that occurred among 2,475 patients who received allogeneic bone marrow transplants (BMTs) at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle) between 1969 and 1987. The histopathologic findings in 14 of the 15 patients spanned a wide spectrum of lymphoproliferative lesions. One patient had features characteristic of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genomic sequences were identified by Southern blot analysis in each of the 13 patients evaluated. Ten of the 12 lesions evaluated originated in donor cells. In two patients, who had mixed chimerism after transplantation, the lesions originated in host cells. The combined evidence from immunoglobulin light chain staining and the analysis of immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement indicated that the lesions in most patients represented polyclonal proliferations that gave rise to clonal subpopulations. The results indicate an overall actuarial incidence of 0.6% for this complication in BMT recipients. Anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) treatment of acute graft-v-host disease (GVHD) and T cell depletion of the donor marrow were statistically significant risk factors, and GVHD appeared to play a contributing role, particularly in the setting of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) disparity. Two patients had no identifiable risk factors. Prophylaxis or treatment with acyclovir had no detectable effect in the patients; all but two died with uncontrolled lymphoproliferation.     

Increased chloride permeability of amphibian epithelia treated with aldosterone

The transepithelial flux of chloride was increased by aldosterone treatment of amphibian skin and bladder and this was reflected by increased shunt conductance. The hormonal effect depended on the presence of chloride on the epithelial side of the preparation. These changes in tissue conductance and chloride permeability appear to be a direct effect of aldosterone as they did not occur when sodium transport was stimulated with vasopressin or hypotonicity.Chloride efflux was reduced in magnitude by indacrinone and DIDS, as well as after removal of chloride from the solution on the epithelial side of the preparations. These results suggest that, rather than merely diffusing along (a) paracellular pathway(s), chloride flows through (a) cellular structure(s), notably mitochondria-rich cells. These cells can therefore be considered as targets for aldosterone.Presented in part before the Belgian Physiological Society (Beauwens et al. 1985)