BACKGROUND Surgical edge-to-edge repair has been used in the treatment of mitral regurgitation. We evaluated the ability of a catheter-delivered clip (Evalve, Inc) to achieve edge-to-edge mitral valve approximation without cardiopulmonary bypass and the healing response of this technique. METHODS AND RESULTS Twenty-one pigs underwent general anesthesia and left thoracotomy. A 10F flexible del...

OBJECTIVES We sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pulmonary vein (PV) isolation using transvenous cryoablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). BACKGROUND Although electrical isolation of PVs with radiofrequency energy for the treatment of AF is feasible, it is associated with a significant risk of PV stenosis. Cryoablation is a new alternative therapy allowing ablatio...

Previous spectroscopic studies of the major adduct formed by reaction of (±)-7r,8f-dihydroxy-9f,10f-oxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (BPDE-I) with linear DMA have been interpreted to suggest that the adduct is not intercalated in the double helix. However, studies of the electrophoretic mobility of supercoiled DMA treated with BPDE-I suggest that the adduct is intercalated. To resolve the...

AIM To investigate endoscopic therapy efficacy for refractory benign biliary strictures (BBS) with multiple biliary stenting and clarify predictors. METHODS Ten consecutive patients with stones in the pancreatic head and BBS due to chronic pancreatitis who underwent endoscopic therapy were evaluated. Endoscopic insertion of a single stent failed in all patients. We used plastic stents (7F, 8....

BACKGROUND Little is known about cardiorespiratory and metabolic response in healthy children during progressive maximal exercise test. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that children show different responses in cardiorespiratory and metabolic parameters during progressive maximal exercise test when compared with adults. METHODS Twenty-five healthy children (gender, 15M/10F; age, 10.2 +/- 0....

OBJECTIVES We sought to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and feasibility of bedside pacing stress echocardiography (PASE) as a potential substitute for pharmacologic stress echocardiography in patients admitted to the hospital with new-onset chest pain or worsening angina pectoris. BACKGROUND Accurate and rapid noninvasive identification and evaluation of the extent of coronary artery disease...

OBJECTIVE In this study, we evaluated clinical and epidemiologic features of our giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) patients. METHODS We retrospectively recorded down the general features of patients with GCA and PMR diagnosed at our center within the last 6 years. The incidence rates per 100000 aged > or =50 were calculated. In addition, we reported the frequencies o...

BACKGROUND The outcome of temporary biliary stent placement for postoperative bile duct stenosis was retrospectively evaluated with the main aim of assessing long-term complications after stent removal. METHODS ERCP was performed between 1981 and 1991 in 74 patients with postoperative bile duct stenoses. Two 10F stents were inserted for a maximum of 12 months with stent exchange every 3 month...

BACKGROUND To investigate the feasibility of contouring the planning risk organ volume (PRV) for the heart, and to determine the probability of evaluating radiation dose to the heart using kilovoltage-cone beam computed tomography (kV-CBCT) in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, who received stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventeen NSCLC pati...

The impact of exercise training on vascular health in adolescents with type 2 diabetes has not been previously studied. We hypothesized that exercise training would improve micro- and macrovascular health in adolescents with type 2 diabetes. Thirteen adolescents (13-21 years, 10F) with type 2 diabetes were recruited from Princess Margaret Hospital. Participants were randomized to receive either...