Right ventricular myocardial infarction in the era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Right ventricular involvement (RVMI) is a relatively frequent complication in patients developing ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction. The initial diagnosis is most often established using electrocardiography or echocardiography. The gold standard among imaging techniques is cardiac magnetic resonance, which allows to distinguish between reversible and irreversible myocardial damage. The key treatment strategy is emergent revascularization by primary percutaneous coronary intervention whereas patients with hypotension and cardiogenic shock due to the RVMI require fluid replacement and catecholamine therapy. In cases where the shock state progresses despite an adequate management, short- or, possibly, long-term mechanical assist device should be implanted either percutaneously or surgically. Despite appreciable advances in the diagnosis and management, RVMI remains an independent predictor of early as well as late complications (Fig. 6, Ref. 62). Keywords: right ventricle myocardial infarction, primary PCI, CMR, mechanical circulatory support, echocardiography.

Association between the heart rate early after heart transplantation and the long term clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: A strong correlation between a lower heart rate and survival has been demonstrated in various patient populations. The optimal heart rate for heart transplant patients is still unknown. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between an early heart rate and survival after heart transplantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively analysed a group of 330 patients, who underwent heart transplantation in our institution from 1994 to 2014 and complete datasets, including 24-hour heart rate monitoring one month after the heart transplantation. Patients were divided in 2 groups: Group A (n = 278) with the average 24-hour heart rate <90 bpm, and Group B (n = 52) with ≥ 90 bpm. RESULTS: The average period of monitoring was 7.5 ± 5.3 years. No differences in baseline characteristics were observed in both groups of recipients and respective donors. One-year survival in groups A and B was 92 % and 81 %, respectively; 5-year survival was 79 % and 60 %, respectively; and 10-year survival was 66 % and 50 %, respectively (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Increased heart rate in the early post-transplant period was significantly associated with a poorer survival rate in patients after heart transplantation (Tab. 2, Fig. 1, Ref. 25).

[Overview of primary sternal closure techniques]. / Prehled metod primárního uzáveru strední sternotomie.

The aim of the overview study is to describe the currently used methods of primary median sternotomy closure in adult cardiac surgery. In the review of published literature, we draw on the data and focus on the methodology, indications, advantages, limitations, biomechanical and clinical results of the different methods in relation to the incidence of deep sternal wound complications after median sternotomy in adult cardiac surgery.Key words: sternum sternotomy adult cardiac surgery surgical procedures.

Cell Differentiation and Aging Lead To Up-Regulation of FTO, While the ALKBH5 Protein Level Was Stable During Aging but Up-Regulated During in vitro-Induced Cardiomyogenesis.

FTO and ALKBH5 proteins are essential erasers of N6-adenosine methylation in RNA. We studied how levels of FTO and ALKBH5 proteins changed during mouse embryonic development, aging, cardiomyogenesis, and neuroectodermal differentiation. We observed that aging in male and female mice was associated with FTO up-regulation in mouse hearts, brains, lungs, and kidneys, while the ALKBH5 level remained stable. FTO and ALKBH5 proteins were up-regulated during experimentally induced cardiomyogenesis, but the level of ALKBH5 protein was not changed when neuroectodermal differentiation was induced. HDAC1 depletion in mouse ES cells caused FTO down-regulation. In these cells, mRNA, carrying information from genes that regulate histone signature, RNA processing, and cell differentiation, was characterized by a reduced level of N6-adenosine methylation in specific gene loci, primarily regulating cell differentiation into neuroectoderm. Together, when we compared both RNA demethylating proteins, the FTO protein level undergoes the most significant changes during cell differentiation and aging. Thus, we conclude that during aging and neuronal differentiation, m6A RNA demethylation is likely regulated by the FTO protein but not via the function of ALKBH5.

[Borderline pathology: follow-up study. Preliminary report]. / Patologia borderline: studio di follow-up. Contributo preliminare.

The work is based on the frequent use of the term "borderline" in clinical practice, in spite of the fact that this word still tends to have a controversial and ambiguous meaning. Patients who were admitted to the Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Turin between 1974 and 1980 with diagnoses of borderline pathologies or marginal psychoneurosis were followed-up in the study. The subjects in question were reexamined after an interval of between 8 and 14 years (the majority between 10-12 years). An attempt was made to compare the two diagnoses using DSM III R criteria. Family status and employment were also taken into account. It was observed that the diagnosis of marginal syndromes recorded in the patient's clinical records did not correspond to the DSM III R borderline diagnosis, and rather than referring to a precise syndrome it reflected an area of diagnostic uncertainty. This raises various questions both with regard to the role of psychiatry, and in relation to the incidence of cultural factors in influencing observations.