Left ventricular mass in normal children and its correlation with weight, height and body surface area / Masa ventricular izquierda en niños normales y su correlación con el peso, altura y área de superficie corporal

Echocardiographic measurement of left ventricular mass (LVM) is being used for the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy in children with various cardiovascular diseases. The purposes of this study was to establish normal values of LVM according to weight, height and body surface area (BSA) in children and to determine the sex differences. We evaluated 208 children (143 males and 65 females), aged 1 day to 14 years who had no cardiovascular disease. The end-diastolic left ventricular internal dimension (LVIDd), end-diastolic left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWd) and end-diastolic interventricular septum (IVSd) values were determined by M-mode echocardiographic examination. By using these values, left ventricular mass was calculated. The difference between LVIDd, LVPWd and LVM values of boys and girls were not statistically significant . We observed statistically significant differences between the sexes relative to IVSd and LVM/BSA values. The left ventricular mass and its components presented a good correlation with age, weight, height and BSA. The study let us know the lower and upper limits of cardiac dimensions and LVM obtained by echocardiography in normal Turkish children according to BSA. Also, as the LVM/BSA values show gender difference in children, sex should be taken in consideration while evaluating the left ventricular hypertrophy.

La medición ecocardiográfica de la masa ventricular izquierda (LVM) se utiliza para el diagnóstico de la hipertrofia ventricular izquierda en los niños con diversas enfermedades cardiovasculares. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron establecer los valores normales de MVI en función del peso, altura y área de superficie corporal (BSA) en niños y determinar las diferencias entre sexos. Se evaluaron 208 niños (143 varones y 65 mujeres), con edades entre 1 día a 14 años de edad que presentaban enfermedades cardiovasculares. Se determinaron los valores interno al final del diástole ventricular izquierdo (LVIDd), el espesor de la pared posterior (LVPWd) y el tabique interventricular (IVSd) mediante el examen ecocardiográfico en modo M. Utilizando estos valores, fue calculada la masa ventricular izquierda. Las diferencias de los valores LVIDd, LVPWd LVM entre niños y niñas no fueron estadísticamente significativas. Observamos diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los sexos en relación con los valores IVSd y LVM/BSA. La masa ventricular izquierda y sus componentes presentaron una buena correlación con la edad, peso, altura y BSA. Este estudio nos permitió conocer los límites superior e inferior de las dimensiones cardíacas, junto a la LVM obtenidas mediante ecocardiografía en niños turcos normales de acuerdo con el BSA. Además, como los valores LVM/BSA muestran diferencias entre sexos en los niños, el sexo se debería tomar en consideración al evaluar la hipertrofia ventricular izquierda.

Echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular morphology and function in young male football players and runners.

BACKGROUND: Long-term physical exercise leads to left ventricular morphological adaptations, which vary with the kind of sport and the intensity and extent of the training. Although the echocardiographic changes related to exercise in athletes participating in various sports have been well described, changes associated with football players have been less well documented. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological adaptations of the heart to athletic training and to compare by means of echocardiography the left ventricular dimensions, masses and systolic functions of runners and football players. METHODS: A total of 40 male football players, 18 male long and middle-distance runners and 25 sedentary males were enrolled to the study and M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms with Doppler analysis were performed in all subjects. RESULTS: The runners and football players were shown to have significantly greater left ventricular end-diastolic internal dimensions, left ventricular mass (corrected for body mass, height and body surface area), end-diastolic interventricular septum thicknesses and ejection fraction values than a control group. The present results show no significant difference between the left ventricular adaptations of runners and football players except when the left ventricular mass is indexed with body mass, the runners being thinner. CONCLUSIONS: The present results show that the echocardiographic findings of left ventricular adaptations in runners and football players are quite similar and lead to physiological enlargement of the heart. (Cardiol J 2007; 14: 37-43).

The effects of L-arginine on neurological function, histopathology, and expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha following spinal cord ischemia in rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of L-arginine (L-Arg) on neurological function, histopathology, and expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1alpha) following spinal cord ischemia in rats, and the interaction between therapy with the nitric oxide donor L-Arg and up-regulation of the expression of HIF-1alpha. Thirty Wistar rats weighing between 200 and 250 g were divided into three groups, each containing 10 rats: group 1, sham operation; group 2, untreated ischemia-reperfusion (I-R); group 3, I-R plus L-Arg treatment. Spinal cord ischemia was applied for 20 min. There were no significant differences in mean arterial pressures, temperatures, and blood gas levels among the groups. In group 2, malondialdehyde values were significantly increased compared with groups 1 and 3. The rats with aortic occlusion in group 2 had paraplegia or paraparesis. In group 3, all animals were neurologically intact. In group 3, spinal motor neurons did not decrease significantly, and little proliferation of microglia was observed compared with those in group 2. In group 2, spinal motor neurons in ventral gray matter decreased significantly compared with those in groups 1 and 3. HIF-1alpha-positive immunostaining was mildly detected in group 2 animals. The expression of immunoreactive cells was intensely increased in spinal cord tissue from I-R/L-Arg rats. In conclusion, our findings suggest that HIF-1alpha-positive immunostaining may be critical factors in the pathophysiology of inflammatory spinal cord injury induced by I-R. Nitric oxide may play an important role in the immunohistochemical expression of these molecules, and the neuroprotective benefit of L-Arg may be attributed to preventing neural cell necrosis.