Guidance of Post Myocardial Infarction Ventricular Septal Defect and Pseudoaneurysm Closure

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm and ventricular septal defect are rare but devastating complications of myocardial infarction. With medical treatment alone, the majority of patients will die from these complications. Until recently, the recommended treatment was surgical closure. These surgeries carried extreme risk due to abnormal hemodynamics, necrotic substrates and the comorbidities of these patients. Recently, trans-catheter closure was shown to be an acceptable alternative to open surgical intervention. 3D echocardiography identifies the location, size, and shape of the defect and can assess, guide, and follow up the closure procedure.     

Exposure to Family Violence of Israeli Inmates: Does Sex Make a Difference?

The purpose of the current study was to examine differences by sex (a) in history of child abuse and neglect (CAN) and exposure to parental partner violence (PPV); and (b) in the association of CAN and PPV with violent offenses, substance use, suicidal behavior, and psychiatric problems. This cross-sectional study investigated sex differences in CAN and exposure to PPV in a sample of 290 Israeli inmates (65 women and 225 men). Participants completed a self-report measures of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and the revised Conflict Tactics Scale to measure PPV. The findings indicated that the female inmates had experienced significantly more sexual abuse (p?<?.001), and more exposure to PPV (p?=?.030), compared with male inmates. Female inmates who had experienced CAN were at higher risk of committing violent offenses than male inmates and female inmates were also more likely than male inmates to have been engaged in suicidal behaviors (39.3% and 18.5%, respectively), and to have had psychiatric problems (40% and 14.2%, respectively). The findings also revealed that psychiatric problems and suicidal behavior can be predicted by CAN and family substance use. The findings highlight the effects of the adverse childhood experience of exposure to CAN and PPV on behavioral problems. Appropriate treatment requires simultaneous intervention that targets all three issues of childhood trauma, substance use disorders, and psychiatric problems for both sexes.

     

Pulse pressure is more susceptible to the white coat effect than is systolic blood pressure: observations from real-life ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

BACKGROUND: Pulse pressure is a derivative of arterial stiffness. We have previously demonstrated ambulatory pulse pressure to be relatively independent from the blood pressure (BP) lowering during sleep, and thus of a neurogenic effect. On the other hand, white coat BP effects are thought to involve neurogenic activation. The aim of this work was to analyze white coat induced variability in pulse pressure. METHODS: Percent clinic-awake differences in systolic BP (SBP) and pulse pressure (white coat effects) were calculated for 688 consecutive subjects (mean age 60 +/- 16 years, 58% female). Of the subjects, 23% had controlled hypertension, 45% uncontrolled hypertension, 8% normotension, and 4% isolated office hypertension; all were referred to our unit for 24 h ambulatory BP monitoring. RESULTS: Pulse pressure highly correlated with SBP (r = 0.82, P <.00001). We found a larger white coat effect on pulse pressure than on SBP (8.3% and 5.2%, respectively, P < or =.0001). This was true in all subgroups except in normotensive subjects. Specifically, the magnitude of the white coat effect on pulse pressure was greater than on SBP in subjects with treated hypertension, untreated hypertension, and isolated office hypertension, and in young hypertensive subjects, older subjects, and those with diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Although pulse pressure is related to the mechanical properties of large arteries, it is also influenced by the white coat effect, a neurogenic process. Furthermore, in hypertensive but not in normotensive subjects, the white coat effect on pulse pressure is significantly more pronounced than on SBP.     

No association between histo-blood group antigens and susceptibility to clinical infections with genogroup II norovirus

Noroviruses (NoVs) are a leading cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans. In the present study, the association between NoV susceptibility and the ABO histo-blood group was studied during 2 outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis in military units in Israel caused by genogroup II (GII) NoVs. The findings demonstrate that, unlike for genogroup I of NoV, there is no association between the ABO histo-blood group and clinical infection with GII NoVs. This is the largest study to test the association between NoVs, proven clinical infection with GII, and the ABO histo-blood group.     

Short-term course and outcome of treatments of pleural empyema in pediatric patients: repeated ultrasound-guided needle thoracocentesis vs chest tube drainage

BACKGROUND: Several reports have suggested that early chest tube drainage (CTD) may not be necessary in the treatment of severe pleural empyema (PE) in pediatric patients if appropriate antibiotic therapy and supportive care are provided. OBJECTIVES: A prospective open study to compare the short-term course of two treatment protocols of severe PE in pediatric patients. STUDY DESIGN: One group of 32 patients was treated with early insertion of a chest tube for CTD, and a second group of 35 patients was treated by a repeated ultrasound-guided needle thoracocentesis (RUSGT). The severity of the empyema was assessed by chest radiograph, the amount of fluid drained, the number of days the patient had experienced a fever, and the duration of antibiotic treatment. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the two groups (RUSGT vs CTD) in all of the following measurements: mean (plus minus SD) duration of a temperature > or = 39 degreesC, 6.2 +/- 2.4 vs 6.5 +/- 1.8 days, respectively; mean duration of a temperature > or = 38 degreesC, 9 +/- 3.9 vs 8.2 +/- 4.5 days, respectively; fluid drained, 35.1 + 23.8 vs 30 +/- 28.2 mL/kg, respectively; duration of antibiotic treatment, 30 +/- 13.2 vs 30.2 +/- 7.3 days, respectively; and length of hospitalization and home IV treatment, 22 +/- 7.6 vs 24.2 +/- 7.5 days, respectively. A failure to respond to treatment occurred in three patients in the RUSGT-treated group and in five patients in the CTD-treated group. The failure to respond occurred in the RUSGT-treated group only in those patients with very large empyemas that caused mediastinal deviation. CONCLUSION: The treatment of PE by RUSGT is as efficacious as CTD, unless PE causes mediastinal deviation.     

Electrical Low Frequency Stimulation of the Kindling Site Preserves the Electrophysiological Properties of the Rat Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Neurons From the Destructive Effects of Amygdala Kindling: The Basis for a Possible Promising Epilepsy Therapy

BackgroundDeep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy in the treatment of neurological disorders including epilepsy. However, the cellular mechanism responsible for the effects of DBS remains largely undefined. Therefore, using electrophysiological approach, we aimed to determine the antiepileptic effects and restorative potential of low frequency stimulation (LFS) on amygdala kindling-induced changes in electrophysiological properties of rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons.MethodsAnimals were kindled by electrical stimulation of amygdala in a rapid kindling manner (12 times per day). In one group of animals, immediately after termination of daily 12 rapid kindling stimulations, the kindling site was subjected to 4 packages of LFS at intervals of 5 min (each package contained 200 monophasic square-wave pulses, 0.1 ms pulse duration at 1 Hz). Whole cell patch clamp recording under current clamp conditions was performed on visually identified pyramidal neurons in hippocampal slice preparations obtained from amygdala-kindled rats and the rats receiving LFS.ResultsKindling of the right basolateral amygdala profoundly affected spontaneous firing behavior and repetitive discharge characteristics of pyramidal neuronal electrophysiological properties. Application of LFS at the kindling site almost completely prevented the development of epilepsy and the disruptive effects of kindling on neuronal electrical activity through restoration of the normal electrophysiological characteristics.ConclusionsThe results of this study implied that application of LFS during kindling acquisition prevents the kindling induced changes in functional electrical properties of CA1 pyramidal neurons, suggesting that this action may be involved in the antiepileptogenic mechanism of LFS.     

Anterior temporobasal sulcal morphology: development of a reliable rating protocol and normative data

The three anterior temporobasal (aTB) sulci, which are the collateral, rhinal, and occipitotemporal sulci, contribute to the morphology of memory-related structures and are important landmarks for neuroimaging. Prevalence of inter-connections among these sulci may distinguish healthy adults and individuals with memory-related disorders (Kim et al. Neurology 70:2159–2165, 2008; Zhan et al. Hum Brain Mapp 30:874–882, 2009). However, methods for quantifying the existence and nature of such connections are vague and varied, and normative frequencies are inconsistent across studies. Therefore, the goals of the current study are twofold: (1) to develop a reliable method of identifying aTB sulci and their interconnections based on surface renderings generated from serial magnetic resonance images (MRIs). This protocol includes training materials and a rating log (see supplementary materials) that can be disseminated and applied by other researchers. (2) To determine the prevalence of interconnections among the three aTB sulci in a large sample of healthy adults (200 undergraduate students), which can be used as normative data for future comparison with clinical samples. Notably, the resulting protocol, called the Sulcal Classification Rating Protocol for anterior Temporobasal sulci, distinguishes “clear” from “ambiguous” connections. When only clear connections are included, our prevalence rates are consistent with post-mortem findings of Ono et al. (Atlas of the Cerebral Sulci. Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., New York, 1990); when both clear and ambiguous connections are counted as a connection, our results largely replicate MRI-based findings (e.g., Kim et al. Neurology 70:2159–2165, 2008). We propose that systematic variations in rater classification of ambiguous connections could explain discrepancies in the literature.     

MicroRNA expression differentiates between primary lung tumors and metastases to the lung

For surgical pathologists, distinguishing whether a pulmonary neoplasm is primary or metastatic can be challenging, and current biomarkers do not always aid lung tumor classification. The tissue-associated expression of microRNA likely explains the remarkable finding that many tumors can be classified based solely on their microRNA expression signature. Here we show that microRNAs can serve as biomarkers for lung tumor classification. Using microRNA microarray data generated from 76 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples of either primary lung cancer or metastatic tumors to the lung, we have identified a set of microRNAs expressed differentially between these two groups. This set includes hsa-miR-182, which was most strongly over-expressed in the lung primary tumors, and hsa-miR-126, which was over-expressed in the metastatic tumors. The differential expression of this set of microRNAs was confirmed using qRT-PCR on a set of 54 samples. In light of our data, microRNA expression should be considered as a potential clinical biomarker for surgical pathologists faced with discerning the tumor type of an inscrutable lung neoplasm.