Final Common Pathway of Aortic Dilation?

The final common pathway.

Cardiogenic shock remains the final common pathway to death in a substantial number of patients with acute myocardial infarction. We have learned a great deal about this syndrome which at its bottom line is characterized by a state of severe tissue hypoperfusion. Much of what we know has come from single centre observational experiences, from multicentre registries, from subsets of patients in ...

The final common pathway of schizophrenia.

The last 2 decades have been marked by concerted search for the gene or genes which would account for schizophrenia. It has become increasingly obvious to many investigators in the field that these genes are not going to be found. Schizophrenia is not likely a simple genetic disorder nor is it likely accounted for by a few major genes. Where does this leave us? Some have suggested that a more p...

No common final pathogenetic pathway in haemolytic uraemic syndromes.

There is a long standing and widely held view that the many sub-forms of the haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) share a common final pathogenetic pathway. This was expressed recently in a review article in this journal [1]. This is an assumption which deserves to be challenged. It appears to be based on the concept that the histological hallmark of t...

Amyloidosis: a final common pathway for protein deposition in tissues.

Pravastatin reduces Marfan aortic dilation.

BACKGROUND The sequelae of aortic root dilation are the lethal consequences of Marfan syndrome. The root dilation is attributable to an imbalance between deposition of matrix elements and metalloproteinases in the aortic medial layer as a result of excessive transforming growth factor-beta signaling. This study examined the efficacy and mechanism of statins in attenuating aortic root dilation i...