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Am J Perinatol 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Pediatrics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Objective:  To verify the prevalence of systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) and to identify possible early predictors of SAH at ages 2 and 4 years in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.

Study Design:  This is a prospective cohort study including inborn children with birth weight (BW) <1,500 g. Arterial blood pressure measurements were performed at 2 and 4 years. Read More

Kidney Blood Press Res 2018 Dec 7;43(6):1865-1877. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Internal Cardiology Medicine, Faculty Hospital Brno, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.

Background/aims: The rate of incidence and prevalence of acute kidney injury is increasing due to an increased number of patients with heart failure. Therefore it is very pertinent to early detect the level of renal injuries and to make necessary heart failure predictions. Thus the aim of this study is to determine renal functions and prognosis stratification in chronic heart failure patients and importance of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL), an early diagnostic marker of acute kidney injury, as well as stratification of cardiovascular risk in heart failure patients. Read More

Kidney Blood Press Res 2018 Dec 7;43(6):1852-1864. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Nephrology, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Key laboratory of Kidney disease and Blood Purification in Hunan Province, Changsha,

Background/aims: There is an increasing risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among Asian people with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). A computer-aided system for ESRD prediction in Asian IgAN patients has not been well studied.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed biopsy-proven IgAN patients treated at the Department of Nephrology of the Second Xiangya Hospital from January 2009 to November 2013. Read More

Cardiorenal Med 2018 Dec 11;9(2):69-82. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Harold Simmons Center of Kidney Disease Research and Epidemiology, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Orange, California,

Background: Residual kidney function (RKF) is often expected to inevitably and rapidly decline among hemodialysis patients and, hence, has been inadvertently ignored in clinical practice. The importance of RKF has been revisited in some recent studies. Given that patients with end-stage renal disease now tend to initiate maintenance hemodialysis therapy with higher RKF levels, there seem to be important opportunities for incremental hemo-dialysis by individualizing the dose and frequency according to their RKF levels. Read More

Exp Physiol 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Kinesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Background People with prediabetes have elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in part due to low insulin sensitivity mediated arterial stiffness. However, the effect of short-term exercise training intensity, and/or amount (i.e. Read More

J Paediatr Child Health 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Aim: To evaluate the clinical and echocardiography modulators of treatment response in hypoxemic preterm infants exposed to inhaled nitric oxide (iNO).

Methods: In this multicentre retrospective study, clinical parameters, including oxygenation, ventilation and haemodynamics, were collected for preterm infants <36 weeks gestation before and 2 h after initiation of iNO for acute hypoxemia. Comprehensive echocardiography, performed near the time iNO initiation, was analysed by experts blind to the clinical course. Read More

Pediatr Transplant 2018 Dec 9:e13329. Epub 2018 Dec 9.

Department of Pediatrics and Transplantation Center, University Hospital Motol, 2nd Medical Faculty Prague, Charles University Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.

Objectives: Strict BP control can retard progression of CKD in children. This prospective 3-year randomized controlled trial is aimed to investigate whether strict BP control can retard progression of chronic allograft dysfunction.

Methods: Twenty-three pediatric patients were randomly selected to the standard BP group (STAND, target 24-hour MAP 50-95th percentile, n = 11) or the intensified BP group (INTENS, target 24-hour MAP <50th percentile, n = 12). Read More

J Physiol 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

The British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, The Queen's Medical Research Institute, The University of Edinburgh, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, EH16 4TJ.

Key Points Summary: Type 1 diabetes mellitus increases cardiovascular risk: hypertension amplifies this risk. Pressure natriuresis regulates long-term blood pressure. We induced type 1 diabetes in rats by streptozotocin injection and after three weeks demonstrated a substantial impairment of pressure natriuresis: acute increases in blood pressure did not increase renal medullary blood flow, and tubular sodium reabsorption was not downregulated. Read More

Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018 Dec 10;12:CD010593. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Intensive Care Unit, Second Affiliated Hospital Medical College, Zhejiang University, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, China, 310009.

Background: Sepsis and septic shock are potentially life-threatening complications of infection that are associated with high morbidity and mortality in adults and children. Fluid therapy is regarded as a crucial intervention during initial treatment of sepsis. Whether conservative or liberal fluid therapy can improve clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis and septic shock remains unclear. Read More

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, New Jersey.

This study assessed the efficacy and safety of angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor sacubitril/valsartan vs olmesartan in Asian patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. Patients (N = 1438; mean age, 57.7 years) with mild-to-moderate hypertension were randomized to receive once daily administration of sacubitril/valsartan 200 mg (n = 479), sacubitril/valsartan 400 mg (n = 473), or olmesartan 20 mg (n = 486) for 8 weeks. Read More

J Intern Med 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Clinical Genetics, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76, Stockholm.

Pheochromocytomas (PCC) and paragangliomas (PGL), collectively abbreviated PPGL are rare tumours originating from the chromaffin cells in the adrenal medulla (PCC) or the sympathetic or parasympathetic extra-adrenal paraganglia (PGL) (1, 2), Figure 1. The enlarged cell volume leads to increased levels of catecholamines (adrenaline, noraderenaline and/or dopamine) and their metabolites which can be measured in plasma or urine for biochemical diagnosis. Hormone-producing PPGL commonly originate from sympathetic paraganglia in the adrenal glands, abdomen or pelvis (3). Read More

Nurs Forum 2018 Dec 9. Epub 2018 Dec 9.

Center of Innovation in Long-Term Services and Supports, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI.

Natural disasters impact people of every age in the communities where they occur, with older adults being a vulnerable subset of the population. Most disaster shelter volunteer nurses are experienced in addressing common health needs of older adult clients such as diabetes, hypertension, and pulmonary disease. These nurses also have the requisite training to respond to more acute medical events, including the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Read More

J Cell Physiol 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.

Cerebellum seems to be a specific target for both the decrease of estrogen and hypertension in menopause. The aim of this study was to investigate the hypertension and menopause-induced changes in rat's cerebellar cortex and the possible mechanisms of these changes. Rats were divided into four groups: the sham-operated control (SC-group), the ovariectomized (OVX-group), the hypertensive (H-group), and the ovariectomized-hypertensive (OVX-H-group) group. Read More

Laryngorhinootologie 2018 Dec 10;97(12):846-851. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie Göttingen, Klinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde.

Cerebrovascular insults and neurodegenerative diseases are the main causes of acquired speech and language disorders. A massive increase in the prevalence of both is evident from the age of 65 years. By the age of 90 years, more than 10 % of the population would have experienced a stroke and 30 % would have suffered from neurodegenerative diseases. Read More

Eur J Pediatr Surg 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Our Lady's Children's Hospital, National Children's Research Centre, Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland.

Introduction:  Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). PPH is characterized by increased vascular resistance and smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, leading to obstructive changes in the pulmonary vasculature. Nitric oxide (NO), generated by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), is an important regulator of vascular tone and plays a key role in pulmonary vasodilatation. Read More

Obes Surg 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde: Ginecologia e Obstetrícia, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Background: Obesity and its complications are prevalent in women and increase with age. Polyneuropathy (PNP) is a complication of obesity and bariatric surgery (BS). In subjects with severe (grades II and III) obesity and without DM who are candidates for BS, the prevalence of PNP and associated conditions are not well characterized. Read More

Obes Surg 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

General Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA.

Background: Indications and outcomes of bariatric surgery in the elderly remain controversial. We aimed to evaluate and compare safety and early outcomes of bariatric procedures in this age group.

Study Design: We performed a retrospective case-control study of Mayo Clinic bariatric surgery patients from January 1, 2016, to January 31, 2018. Read More

Acta Neurol Belg 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Neurology Clinic, Clinical Centre of Serbia, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 6, Dr Subotica Street, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.

Myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) is a slowly progressive, autosomal-dominant disease. This is a multisystemic disorder that affects the heart, which is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in DM2. The aim of the study was to define cardiac impairments in patients with DM2 and its association with sociodemographic and clinical features of patients. Read More

Obes Surg 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Department of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, China.

Background: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has been proved to be the most effective treatment strategy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with a body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m achieving high remission rates. However, there are few clinical studies on the treatment of T2DM patients with a body mass index less than 30 kg/m by LSG. This study aims to study the effect of LSG on type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) in patients with a body mass index (BMI) less than 30 kg/m. Read More

Clin Rheumatol 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.

Introduction: Our objective was to evaluate the pulmonary hypertension (PH) data for Spanish patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), define the PH types and determine the associated factors.

Method: Descriptive study of PH-related data from the multicentre RESCLE registry. Estimated systolic pulmonary artery pressure (esPAP), measured via echocardiogram was considered elevated if ≥ 35 mmHg. Read More

Indian J Gastroenterol 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of Gastroenterology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sheikhpura, Patna, 800 014, India.

Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

BC Cancer Vancouver Centre, 600-10th Ave W, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4E6, Canada.

Purpose: Regorafenib is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor that offers an OS benefit to patients with mCRC refractory to standard therapy (Grothey et al., in Lancet 381:303-312, 2013), but comes with potential significant toxicities including grade 3 hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR). The pathogenesis of regorafenib-induced HFSR is not well established, but may be related to alterations in the capillary endothelium. Read More

High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Radiology, University of Health Sciences-Adana Health Practice and Research Center, Dr. Mithat Özsan Bulvarı Kışla Mah, 4522 Sok, No: 1 Yüreğir, Adana, Turkey.

Introduction: There are conflicting results regarding the frequency of hypertension (HT) and values of related parameters in patients with acromegaly.

Aim: We aimed to determine the frequency of HT and values of its associated parameters in patients with acromegaly.

Methods: 57 patients with newly diagnosed acromegaly were included in this study. Read More

Heart Vessels 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Internal Medicine I, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is one of the most common manifestations of systemic atherosclerosis. The prevalence of unrecognized PAD is high, leading to a lack of opportunity to detect subjects at a high risk for cardiovascular events. Inflammatory processes play an important role in the disease initiation as well as in the disease progression. Read More

Ann Intensive Care 2018 Dec 10;8(1):124. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Multidisciplinary Epidemiology and Translational Research in Intensive Care (METRIC), Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.

Background: To examine the relationship between delta mean arterial pressure (ΔMAP; MAP change between pre-admission minus post-resuscitation) and acute kidney injury (AKI) among patients with septic shock. In this retrospective, single-center cohort study of adult patients pre-admission MAP is defined as the median MAP recorded from 365 to 7 days before admission. Post-resuscitation MAP was median MAP during the 7th hour after initiating resuscitation. Read More

Adv Ther 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.

Introduction: Orlistat is an inhibitor of pancreatic lipase and is used as an anti-obesity drug in many countries. However, there are no data available regarding the effects of orlistat on visceral fat accumulation in Japanese subjects. Therefore, this comparative, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of orlistat in Japanese participants with excessive visceral fat accumulation and without dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension ("metabolic diseases"). Read More

Eur Heart J 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Cardiovascular Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 82, Gumi-Ro 173 Beon-Gil, Bundang-Gu, Seongnam-Si, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea.

Aims: It is unclear whether a J-curve association exists in cardiovascular risk prediction and how independently systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) predict cardiovascular outcomes. This study evaluated the association of systolic and diastolic BP with major cardiovascular events to clarify these issues.

Methods And Results: Antihypertensive medication-naïve subjects with available BP measurements and no history of cardiovascular events were extracted from the National Health Insurance Services Health Screening Cohort. Read More

Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Du Cane Road, London, UK.

Aims: We sought to identify metabolic pathways associated with right ventricular (RV) adaptation to pulmonary hypertension (PH). We evaluated candidate metabolites, previously associated with survival in pulmonary arterial hypertension, and used automated image segmentation and parametric mapping to model their relationship to adverse patterns of remodelling and wall stress.

Methods And Results: In 312 PH subjects (47. Read More

JAMA 2018 Dec;320(22):2325-2334

Hemodialysis Center, Inoue Hospital, Soryu Medical Corporation, Osaka, Japan.

Importance: Patients with chronic kidney disease have impaired vitamin D activation and elevated cardiovascular risk. Observational studies in patients treated with hemodialysis showed that the use of active vitamin D sterols was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality, regardless of parathyroid hormone levels.

Objective: To determine whether vitamin D receptor activators reduce cardiovascular events and mortality in patients without secondary hyperparathyroidism undergoing hemodialysis. Read More

Eur Heart J 2018 Dec;39(46):4054-4055

Human Neurotransmitters Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia, Tel: +61 3 8532 1393, +61 409 178 058.

Eur Heart J 2018 Dec;39(46):4053-4054

Am J Hypertens 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

Background: Coarse food grains are rich in dietary fiber and contain a wide range of nutrients with potential health benefits, such as blood pressure control. Coarse food grains are very popular in China, where hypertension is a major challenge. We evaluated the associations between coarse food grain consumption and blood pressure among young Chinese adults. Read More

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Cardiology Department, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain.

Pulmonary artery dissection is a rare entity, usually discovered post-mortem. In recent years, reported cases of living patients with a pulmonary artery dissection are growing and represent a challenging situation for clinicians. Read More

Cardiovasc J Afr 2018 Nov 30;29:1-4. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Near East University Hospital, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Introduction: Coronary tortuosity (CorT) is a common coronary angiographic finding. The aetiology, clinical implication and long-term prognosis are not well clarified. Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is one of the most common cardiac structural abnormalities on echocardiographic examination. Read More

Cardiovasc J Afr 2018 Nov 30;29:1-7. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa, South African Medical Research Council Cape Heart Centre, IDM, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) has progressively moved from an orphan disease to a significant global health problem with a major disease burden in limited7hyphen;resource countries, where over 97% of patients live. The aetiologies of PH differ between high- and low-income nations, but PH due to left heart disease is credited to be the most frequent contemporary form. Although a straightforward diagnosis of PH requires the use of right heart catheterisation (RHC), access to equipment for RHC is a deterrent. Read More

Rom J Morphol Embryol 2018 ;59(3):903-909

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Romania;

A 46-year-old female diagnosed several years ago with arterial hypertension and an ischemic stroke with significant recovery was admitted for dyspnea on usual physical activity and fatigue. Physical examination revealed signs of heart failure with crackles on both lung bases, distented jugular veins, accentuated pulmonic valve closure (P2) and tricuspid regurgitation murmur. Echocardiography identified a large tumor in the left atrium, suggestive of atrial myxoma, which caused a severe functional mitral stenosis and produced severe pulmonary hypertension. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2018 11;2018:7918091. Epub 2018 Nov 11.

Division of Angiology, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, 5 Bartla St., Wroclaw, 51-618, Poland.

Endothelial dysfunction is a common feature of early complications of hemato-oncologic therapy. The aim of our study was to assess the profile of endothelial function at diagnosis time, then during initial treatment phase of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and to verify the presence of its correlation with early clinical outcome (ECO). 28 ALL children and 18 healthy age-matched control ones were recruited. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2018 11;2018:2964816. Epub 2018 Nov 11.

Department of Basic Medical College, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1200 Cailun Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 201203, China.

Objective: In this study, machine learning was utilized to classify and predict pulse wave of hypertensive group and healthy group and assess the risk of hypertension by observing the dynamic change of the pulse wave and provide an objective reference for clinical application of pulse diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Method: The basic information from 450 hypertensive cases and 479 healthy cases was collected by self-developed H20 questionnaires and pulse wave information was acquired by self-developed pulse diagnostic instrument (PDA-1). H20 questionnaires and pulse wave information were used as input variables to obtain different machine learning classification models of hypertension. Read More

Cardiol Res Pract 2018 11;2018:3713897. Epub 2018 Nov 11.

Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.

Background: Fast progression of the transaortic mean gradient () is relevant for clinical decision making of valve replacement in patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis (AS) patients. However, there is currently little knowledge regarding the determinants affecting progression of transvalvular gradient in AS patients.

Methods: This monocentric retrospective study included consecutive patients presenting with at least two transthoracic echocardiography examinations covering a time interval of one year or more between April 2006 and February 2016 and diagnosed as moderate or severe aortic stenosis at the final echocardiographic examination. Read More

Stroke Res Treat 2018 11;2018:9589831. Epub 2018 Nov 11.

Division of Neurovascular-Neurosonology-Neurointervention, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Background And Purpose: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, with ischemic stroke as the highest prevalent cases in Indonesia. Ischemic stroke can be classified further into five subtypes according to TOAST classification. Numerous studies have revealed that stroke risk factor has variable correlation with different stroke subtype. Read More

J Geriatr Cardiol 2018 Nov;15(11):695-702

Department of Cardiology, Huadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Objective: To explore the effectiveness of renal denervation (RDN) on blood pressure with the appropriate dosage of phenol/ethanol solution in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).

Methods: RDN was performed on the bilateral renal artery. Forty SHRs were divided into four groups according on the dosage of phenol (10% phenol in absolute ethanol): sham group, 0. Read More

Front Physiol 2018 26;9:1574. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

School of Basic Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Adiposity is one of the important determinants of blood pressure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between blood pressure and body composition indices throughout the whole lifespan of healthy adults. This study was from an ongoing cross-sectional survey of the Chinese health wherein data included basic physiological parameters. Read More

JB JS Open Access 2018 Sep 15;3(3):e0015. Epub 2018 Aug 15.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Japan.

Background: This prospective cohort study investigated the rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE) before and after spine surgery as determined with use of indirect multidetector computed tomography (MDCT).

Methods: We performed a prospective study of 105 patients (36 women and 69 men ranging in age from 38 to 88 years) undergoing spine surgery at 2 institutions. Indirect MDCT was performed before and 3 days after surgery. Read More

ACS Omega 2018 Nov 27;3(11):16005-16013. Epub 2018 Nov 27.

Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece.

The catalytic efficacy of silver nanoparticles was investigated toward the chemoselective reduction of nitro-tetrazole or amino acid-substituted derivatives into the corresponding amines in high isolated yields. This highly efficient protocol was thereafter applied toward the multicomponent reaction synthesis of heterocyclic dihydroquinoxalin-2-ones with high isolated yields. The reaction proceeds with low catalyst loading (0. Read More

Turk J Emerg Med 2018 Dec 14;18(4):158-161. Epub 2018 Jul 14.

Department of Cardiology, University of Health Sciences, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.

Objectives: Elevated red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is an independent prognostic factor for cardiovascular events that are major causes of mortality in patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Due to the limited number of studies, we aimed to investigate the relationship between RDW levels and long-term mortality for these patients.

Method: This retrospective study included patients with CO poisoning, who presented to the emergency department. Read More

Am J Med Case Rep 2018 26;6(9):169-172. Epub 2018 Sep 26.

Department of Internal Medicine, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A- 11203.

Marijuana is the most common drug of abuse in the United States. Marijuana has more than 460 active chemical compounds including δ-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It acts via the CB1 and CB2 receptors that are distributed in various tissues in the body. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2018 7;2018:1070151. Epub 2018 Nov 7.

Diabetology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, 6 viale Benedetto XV, 16132 Genoa, Italy.

Although essential for a successful pregnancy, a growing body of evidence suggests that maternal inflammation, when dysregulated, may represent a risk factor for both maternal and neonatal outcomes. Here, we assessed the accuracy of maternal C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations at the middle phase of pregnancy in the identification of maternal adverse outcomes (MAO) until delivery. A correlation between CRP and a complicated pregnancy including both maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes has been investigated, too. Read More

Front Pediatr 2018 23;6:342. Epub 2018 Nov 23.

Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States.

Between 4 and 16% of extremely premature infants have late pulmonary hypertension (PH) (onset >30 days of life), and infants with PH have a higher risk of tracheostomy and death. Atrial septal defects (ASD) increase pulmonary blood flow and may promote PH in at-risk infants. The objective of this study was to determine if infants with ASD develop PH sooner than those without ASD. Read More

Anim Cells Syst (Seoul) 2018 28;22(6):390-399. Epub 2018 Sep 28.

Department of Life Science, College of Natural Sciences, Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is the most common degenerative heart valve disease. Among the many risk factors for this disease are age, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, smoking, type-2 diabetes, rheumatic fever, and chronic kidney disease. Since many of these overlap with risk factors for atherosclerosis, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of CAVD development have been presumed to be similar to those for atherogenesis. Read More

Case Rep Cardiol 2018 8;2018:2041643. Epub 2018 Nov 8.

Department of Cardiovascular Services, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, WV, USA.

We report a case of cardiac catheterization that was done entirely by accidentally accessing the inferior epigastric artery (IEA) through an unintentional puncture of the U-shaped portion of the inferior epigastric artery. Luckily the patient did not have any trauma to the IEA and was d/c home with no complications. A 48-year-old female with history of hypertension and CAD S/P left circumflex stent many years ago who presented to our facility with persistent crescendo angina for which decision was made to proceed with LHC. Read More