BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking is an established causal factor for atherosclerosis. However, the smoking effect on different echogenic components of carotid arterial wall measured by ultrasound is not well elucidated. METHODS Middle-aged men and women who had IMT measurement > or = 0.7 mm at baseline and follow-up were included (N = 413, age 40-60 years at baseline in 1995). Intima-media thickn...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the potential value of choroid plexus cyst, intracardiac echogenic focus, hydronephrosis and hyperechogenic bowel as markers of trisomy 21 at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks. METHODS We examined three-dimensional volumes from 228 fetuses with trisomy 21 and 797 chromosomally normal fetuses at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation. We looked for choroid plexus cysts with a minim...

To the Editor:—In their article, Kato et al. report about intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic findings in 46 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty, randomly assigned with or without a tourniquet around the thigh. The authors looked for abnormal echogenic findings in the right atrium during the tourniquet inflation phase, and they sought to identify the nature and compositi...

Objective(s): Drug delivery via mucosal routes has been confirmed to be effective in inducing strong immune responses. Liposomes could enhance immune responses and mucoadhesive potentials, make them useful mucosal drug delivery systems. Coating of liposomes by mucoadhesive polymers succeeded in enhancing immune responses. Our studies aim at preparation and characterization of trimethylchitosan-...

OBJECTIVE Ultrasound enhances thrombolysis when combined with a thrombolytic and a contrast agent. This study aimed to evaluate the thrombolytic effect of our tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-loaded echogenic liposomes (ELIP) in an in vivo clot model, with and without ultrasound treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS The femoral arteries of New Zealand White rabbits (n=4 per group) were cannulated....

Lipid stereochemistry was shown to drive cell internalization of liposomes through either clathrin or caveolae. Molecular dynamic simulations highlighted molecular interactions that affect physicochemical and biological features liposomes.

BACKGROUND Recent evidence showed that ultrasound-guided embryo transfer significantly increases successful implantation compared to the clinical touch method. It has been postulated that new echodense catheters which are more readily detectable by ultrasound may refine transfer techniques even more, thus improving IVF outcome. METHODS A prospective, randomized, controlled trial comparing IVF...