BACKGROUND The effect of sickle cell disease (SCD) on tumor growth is unknown. Sickled red blood cells may form aggregates within the microvasculature of hypoxic tumors and reduce blood flow leading to impairment of tumor growth. However, there is a paucity of data related to tumor growth in SCD. METHODS To investigate the effect of SCD on tumor growth in a melanoma model, we generated SCD an...

Genetic markers associated with meat quality may have adverse effects on reproduction performance, as shown for a variant in the leptin receptor (LEPR) gene. There is single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) gene that influences monounsaturated fatty acid content of pork. Here, we investigate and combined SCD (rs80912566 T>C) LEPR (rs709596309 C>T) SNP litter size wean...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, the effect of continued cigarette smoking and smoking cessation on SCD risk in patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD) is subject to controversy. We, therefore, evaluated the effect of cigarette smoking on SCD risk in a large cohort of patients with established CAD. METHODS The study p...

BACKGROUND Microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) testing in many studies has proven to be a highly accurate predictor of ventricular tachyarrhythmic events (VTEs) in patients with risk factors for sudden cardiac death (SCD) but without a prior history of sustained VTEs (primary prevention patients). In some recent studies involving primary prevention patients with prophylactically implanted cardiov...

BACKGROUND Decreases in direct maternal deaths in Jamaica have been negated by growing indirect deaths. With sickle cell disease (SCD) a consistent underlying cause, we describe the epidemiology of maternal deaths in this population. METHODS Demographic, service delivery and cause specific mortality rates were compared among women with (n = 42) and without SCD (n = 376), and between SCD women...

BACKGROUND Microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) is a recommended noninvasive diagnostic test for predicting the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, about 6% to 41% of MTWA results are indeterminate. The causes, interpretation and clinical significance of these results have not been not clearly established. AIM To assess frequency, causes, and prognostic significance of indeterminate MTW...

Another point with regard to the PASP measurement of the patients in this study was made of tricuspid regurgitant jet. At the same time, the mean tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity was 1.7 ± 0.5 m/s in the patient population. When this value was analyzed, it gave the impression that sufficient flow was not obtained over the tricuspid valve. For this reason, since guidelines recommend to use con...

Background: A study was undertaken to assess the reliability of the nasal mucociliary transport test using Tc-albumin colloid as a screening test for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and to compare it with the gold standard nasal biopsy for study of ciliary motility and ultrastructure. Methods : During a 4 year period both tests were performed in 55 children referred with persistent or recurren...

Bowel endoscopy referrals from primary care have increased steadily over recent years. However, most patients do not have significant colorectal disease (SCD). Therefore, strategies to select those who would benefit most from endoscopy are of current interest. A recent study developed a multivariable diagnostic model for SCD with routine clinical information, extended with quantitative faecal c...