EDITORIAL SYNOPSIS Ischaemic enterocolitis is often incorrectly called fulminant ulcerative colitis at necropsy and this paper sets out the evidence on which a correct diagnosis may be made. The condition may be precipitated by an episode of hypotension in a patient with some degree of bowel ischaemia, producing sudden hypoxia. Such hypotension imitating the disease reaction may be due to a var...

One major objective of the St. Vincent Declaration was to reduce excess risk of stroke in people with diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study is to estimate the trend of incidence and relative risk of stroke in the diabetic and the non-diabetic populations in Germany over a 17-year period. We estimated age-sex standardised incidence rates of all stroke and ischaemic stroke in people with and w...

BACKGROUND Several studies have demonstrated that atherosclerotic complications are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on dialysis. The allele epsilon 4 of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene has been associated with an increased risk for ischaemic cerebrovascular disease (ICVD) in general populations in recent preliminary cross-sectional studies. M...

AIMS Anti-platelet agents, such as dipyridamole, have several clinical benefits for peripheral artery disease with the speculation of angiogenic potential that could preserve ischaemic tissue viability, yet the effect of dipyridamole on ischaemic arteriogenesis or angiogenesis is unknown. Here we test the hypothesis that dipyridamole therapy augments arteriolar vessel development and function d...

BACKGROUND Ischaemic colitis has been associated with co-morbid conditions, medications, vascular surgery and advanced age in case reports and case series. Few data exist on the baseline incidence in the general population or on the increased risk imposed by these risk factors. AIM To systematically review the literature regarding the incidence, prevalence and risk factors for ischaemic colit...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Serum S100B has been widely studied as a biomarker in acute ischaemic stroke. The main objective of this review was to appraise the published literature on S100B and determine its clinical applicability. METHODS Medline was searched to identify studies on S100B (or S-100B) in acute ischaemic stroke. The authors have proposed the criteria for a clinically informative ser...

OBJECTIVE To review recent advances in the management of acute ischaemic stroke in a two part presentation. DATA SOURCES Articles and a review of studies reported from 1990 to 2000 and identified through a MEDLINE search of the English language literature on acute ischaemic stroke. SUMMARY OF REVIEW An acute ischaemic stroke of the vertebrobasilar circulation is investigated initially with ...

BACKGROUND The mechanisms explaining morphological electrocardiogram (ECG) changes and increased troponin T (TnT) in acute stroke are unclear. The aims of the present study were to assess the prevalence of ECG and TnT changes in acute ischaemic stroke, to investigate whether ischaemic-like ECG changes correlate to a rise in TnT and to examine whether ECG changes and elevated TnT predict a poor ...

The differentiation between differing regional ischaemic substrates is crucial for decision-making in patients with coronary artery disease. This study demonstrates that quantification of dobutamine stress echocardiography using ultrasonic strain measurement has the potential to identify three differing regional ischaemic substrates (ischaemic, stunned and scarred) in the same patient. The data...

Acute ligation of the common colic and caudal mesenteric artery in the dog led to ischaemic colitis, whereas the acute ligation of the common colic artery and gradual occlusion of the caudal mesenteric artery by an ameroid plastic device did not lead to ischaemic disease. These findings suggest that the collateral blood vessels do not open up rapidly enough to prevent ischaemic change when the ...