[The Effect of Bromocriptine on Clinical and Laboratory Parameters in Patients With Peripartum Cardiomyopathy].

Aim      To evaluate the effect of bromocriptine on clinical hemodynamic and functional indexes and to analyze life prognosis for patients with periportal cardiomyopathy divided into two groups: group 1, bromocriptine treatment (n=21) and group 2, standard treatment without bromocriptine (n=22). History was taken, examination and standard clinical evaluation were performed, the Clinical Condition Scale (CCS with V.Yu. Mareev, 2000, modification) was administered, and 6-min walk test (6MWT) was performed. Quality of life was determined with the Minnesota questionnaire. Standard 12-lead electrocardiography, echocardiography, and blood biochemistry with measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) and prolactin, were performed. Follow-up duration was one year.Results Heart rate was significantly decreased in group 1 (22.7%) compared to group 2 (18%); the 6-min distance was increased (61 and 50 %, respectively), the total CCS score was decreased (66 and 55 %, respectively, and the quality of life Minnesota questionnaire score was improved (from 68.4±12.4 to 26.4±12.4 and from 63.4±10.9 to 36.4±15.1, respectively). Also, left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic dimension was reduced from 66.82±7.07 to 60.67±3.79 mm (9.2 %) in group 1 and from 61.92±4.41 to 58.91±4.68 mm (5 %) in group 2, which was associated with increases in LV ejection fraction by 18.3 and 14.5 %, respectively. In both groups, CRP concentration was decreased from 8.3±4.1 to 4.3±1.2 mg/l and from 8.5±3.5 to 6.3±1.5 mg/l, respectively. The bromocriptine treatment was associated with a significant decrease in prolactin level (62 %). The LV function completely recovered in 66.6% of patients in group 1 and in 27% of patients in group 2.Conclusion      The bromocriptine treatment of periportal cardiomyopathy in combination with an optimal drug therapy was associated with an additional beneficial effect on the clinical functional status, intracardiac hemodynamics, blood concentration of CRP, and a potentiality for complete recovery of the LV function.

[T-wave inversion in the precordial leads: сardiac and non-cardiac causes].

The T-wave inversion (TWI) is a common electrocardiographic finding. Causes for TWI are numerous and sometimes TWI may appear in life-threatening conditions. The aim of this review was to provide an up-to-date analysis of TWI, including i) definition and prevalence; ii) causes, and iii) differential diagnosis in benign TWI, reversible myocardial ischemia of the left ventricular anterior wall; takotsubo cardiomyopathy; subarachnoid hemorrhage; pulmonary embolism; right ventricular arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy; and "cardiac memory". The review presents practical electrophysiological criteria, which allow suspecting in time a life-threatening condition to choose an up-to-date treatment.

[ECG Predictors of Prognostically Unfavorable Coronary Artery Lesions].

Medical treatment of most patients with ischemic heart disease is comparable to revascularization by the effect on major adverse cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, cardiovascular and overall mortality), and in the long term, on quality of life. However, revascularization of the left main coronary artery lesion and lesions in the proximal segment of the anterior descending artery leads to a significant increase in life expectancy. ECG methods of detection of such prognostically unfavorable lesions of the coronary arteries can significantly optimize the management, hasten revascularization of the myocardium. In this review we have analyzed ECG methods of diagnosis of prognostically unfavorable lesions of the coronary arteries.

The Eurasian heartland: a continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity.

The nonrecombining portion of the human Y chromosome has proven to be a valuable tool for the study of population history. The maintenance of extended haplotypes characteristic of particular geographic regions, despite extensive admixture, allows complex demographic events to be deconstructed. In this study we report the frequencies of 23 Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphism haplotypes in 1,935 men from 49 Eurasian populations, with a particular focus on Central Asia. These haplotypes reveal traces of historical migrations, and provide an insight into the earliest patterns of settlement of anatomically modern humans on the Eurasian continent. Central Asia is revealed to be an important reservoir of genetic diversity, and the source of at least three major waves of migration leading into Europe, the Americas, and India. The genetic results are interpreted in the context of Eurasian linguistic patterns.