Adrenal Cortex Hormones* ; Prospective Studies* ; Stents*

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of endothelium-dependent and independent responses to endothelins (ETs) in porcine coronary artery. METHODS: The vascular rings of left anterior descending artery or left circumflex artery from 7 pigs were suspended in conventional organ chambers for the measurement of isometric force. To evaluate relaxation responses, vascular rings with endothelium were exposed to ET-1 and ET-3. To evaluate contraction responses, vascular rings with and without endothelium were exposed to ET-1 and ET-3 in the presence or absence of BQ 123 (ET(A) receptor antagonist) or TAK-044 (ET(A) and ET(B) receptor antagonist). RESULTS: Transient relaxation responses of vascular rings occurred after exposure of ET-1 and ET-3. These transient responses disappeared after preincubation with N-nitro-L arginine. There was an increased contractions of vascular rings according to increasing concentration of ET-1 and ET-3. The initial responses were enhanced in vascular rings without endothelium in ET-1 and ET-3. In vascular rings with endothelium, the contraction responses were more reduced in vascular rings with preincubation of BQ 123 than in vascular rings without BQ 123 in ET-1. In vascular rings without endothelium, the contraction responses were more reduced in vascular rings with preincubation of TAK-044 than in vascular rings without TAK-044 in ET-1. CONCLUSION: ET(B) receptor on the endothelium might mediate the transient vasodilator responses to ET-1 and ET-3 through release of nitric oxide in porcine coronary artery. ET(A) and ET(B) receptor on vascular smooth muscle cells might mediate vasoconstrictor responses to ETs.
Arginine ; Arteries ; Coronary Vessels* ; Endothelins* ; Endothelium ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Nitric Oxide ; Receptors, Endothelin ; Relaxation ; Swine

No abstract available.
Mass Screening* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many studies have shown that coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery prolongs the life of patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCD). Recently, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been applied to treat LMCD, with good clinical results. However, a significant portion of patients decline any revascularization therapy, so receive medical treatment only. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long term clinical outcome in these patients with LMCD, according to the treatment strategies. SUBJECTS AND MEHTODS: The clinical outcomes of 281 consecutive patients, with significant LMCD, between January 1997 and December 2000, were evaluated. The patients were divided into three groups, according to their initial treatment strategies;1) CABG, 2) PCI and 3) medical treatment. The mean follow-up duration was 37.4+/-14.9 months. RESULTS: The 1- and 3-year survival rates in the CABG group (97.4+/-1.5% and 95.6+/-1.9%) were significantly higher than those of the medical group (89.8+/-3.9% and 76.1+/-5.9%;p=0.03). The survival rates in the PCI group (one year and 3-year survival rate, 98.1+/-1.3% and 93.8+/-2.5%) were similar to those of the CABG group (p=0.93). The incidence of 3-year MACE in the medical group (40.7%) was higher than those of the CABG (10.5%, p<0.001) and PCI groups (20.4%, p=0.007). There was no significant difference between the CABG and PCI groups (p=0.06). CONCLUSION: In patients with LMCD, a CABG remains the standard therapy for prolonging survival and lowering the incidence of MACE. PCI offers similar survival benefits in selected patients. Medical treatment is associated with a significantly higher mortality and MACE. Active revascularization therapy should be the treatment of choice for the patients with LMCD.
Angioplasty ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Disease* ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mortality ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Survival Rate ; Transplants

Cerebral arterial embolism which resulted in total occlusion of right proximal middle cerebral artery was occured in 33 years old female patients with severe mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation during percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty(PMV). The occluded artery could be detected by transfemoral carotid angiography and recanalized immediately by intra-arterial infusion of urokinase. There were no cerebral hemorrhage by CT scan after intra-arterial urokinase infusion and the patients discharged without any neurologic sequale 7 days after thrombolysis. We report a case of successful recanalization with intraarterial infusion of urokinase in patient with cerebral arterial embolism occurred during PMV.
Adult ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Embolism* ; Female ; Humans ; Infusions, Intra-Arterial* ; Intracranial Embolism ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Mitral Valve Stenosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator*

No abstract available.
Magnesium Sulfate* ; Magnesium* ; Torsades de Pointes*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite the dramatic reduction in restenosis conferred by drug-eluting stents (DES), restenosis remains a significant problem for real-world patients. Restenosis is a complex phenomenon, and a variety of stent-, drug-, patient- and lesion-related factors have been studied as the determinants of restenosis after DES implantation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The stent delivery system, the polymer and the drug are integral components of DES, and these are the device-specific factors that can affect restenosis. While the sirolimuseluting Cypher stent appears to provide better outcomes than the paclitaxel-eluting Taxus stent in high-risk patient groups with complex lesions, such differences between the two DES are not apparent in the low-risk groups. Diabetic patients are generally prone to restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention, but there are conflicting findings regarding the impact of diabetes mellitus on restenosis after DES implantation. The post-intervention final lumen area continues to be the most important determinant of restenosis after DES implantation, indicating that a greater stented area contributes to a decreased rate of restenosis even in the DES era. Non-uniform strut distribution and stent fracture also contribute to the development of restenosis after DES implantation. In addition, the risk of restenosis increases linearly according to lesion length, and a "full metal jacket" approach in small vessels is related to a high risk of DES failure. CONCLUSION: Small vessel disease, diffuse disease and the type of DES are important predictors of restenosis after DES implantation. However, predicting restenosis remains difficult, and this indicates the need for further studies in order to ultimately identify those patients who are at high risk for DES failure.
Coronary Restenosis ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Drug-Eluting Stents* ; Humans ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Polymers ; Risk Factors ; Stents ; Taxus

Kimura's disease is a granulomatous disease which develops in the skin, subcutaneous tissues and lymph nodes and is characterized histologically by the presence of lymphoid follicles, vascular proli- feration and infiltration with eosinophils. The disease shows geographical predilection to Japan, China and South East Asia. The exact etiology and pathogenesis remain uncertain. Some patients had proteinuria or nephrotic syndrome. We have recently experienced the superimposed oliguric acute renal failure associated with Kimura's disease in a male patient with chronic renal failure who had been managed conservatively. Inguinal lymph node biopsy revealed Kimura's disease. He recovered from acute renal failure after being treated with hemodialysis and prednisolone. Lymphadeno- pathy and fever subsided with steroid treatment. We report a case of Kimura's disease which was complicated by acute renal failure in the patient with chronic renal failure.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Biopsy ; China ; Eosinophils ; Far East ; Fever ; Humans ; Japan ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Prednisolone ; Proteinuria ; Renal Dialysis ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Tissue

The residual tense false lumen following surgical repair of aortic dissection remains one of the most difficult and challenging postsurgical problems. Percutaneous fenestration of the dissecting membrane under the guidance of intravascular ultrasound has been recently introduced to depressurize the tense false lumen. A 63-year-old woman who underwent repair of acute type I dissection was readmitted because of claudication and numbness of the left lower extremity. Angiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging clearly showed a dissection flap starting from the thoracic aorta distal to the left subclavian artery. Compressed true lumen by the markedly enlarged tense false lumen was also noted in the double-channeled descending thoracoabdominal aorta. Under intravascular ultrasound guidance, the intimal flap was punctured with a Brockenbrough needle advanced to the true lumen through a femoral artery, and then, a balloon catheter was introduced over the guidewire which was placed across the dissection flap. Desired fenestration was obtained successfully by inflation of the balloon without complications. After procedure, symptoms resolved promptly and she is currently(clinical follow-up of 12 months postfenestration) ambulating without claudication. In conclusion, percutaneous fenestration of the intimal flap is a technically feasible and an effective alternative procedure to surgical repair for restoration of perfusion to an ischemic extremity in selected patients complicated with aortic dissection.
Angiography ; Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Catheters ; Extremities* ; Female ; Femoral Artery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Inflation, Economic ; Ischemia* ; Lower Extremity ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Membranes ; Middle Aged ; Needles ; Perfusion ; Subclavian Artery ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
Constriction, Pathologic*