Although increases in cTnI (cardiac troponin I) and cTnT (cardiac troponin T) always indicate myocardial damage, the test is not able to identify the mechanisms responsible for this damage, which may not be due to ischaemia, but rather to other clinical conditions. In the present issue of Clinical Science, Filusch and co-workers have assessed cTnT using a high-sensitive assay in patients with p...

The maximum cardiac output that can be achieved during exercise might be limited either by extracardiac factors influencing ventricular filling, or by the heart itself. In order to investigate this problem, the effect on the cardiac response to maximum exertion of an acute expansion of blood volume was studied in six men with essentially normal cardiovascular systems. Augmentation of blood volu...

Primary cardiac tumour is a rare entity as secondaries in the heart are more common. A 2-year-old child was having repeated respiratory tract infection with poor oral intake and poor activity for 3 months. His symptoms progressed from New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II to IV. On evaluation he had an intracardiac mass with extracardiac extension. Emergency tumour excision under deep hypo...

Dural sinus malformation is an extremely rare congenital cerebrovascular malformation. We report serial antenatal sonographic findings in two patients with dural sinus malformation. Sonography can reveal dural sinus malformation at 24 weeks' gestation. Correct and early diagnosis may help determine the appropriate place, timing, and mode of delivery, which may result in a better therapeutic cou...

valproic acid is one of the main antiepileptic drugs. there is an increased risk of neural tube defects and axial skeletal malformations among infants born to women who had received valproic acid. there is a hypothesis that one biochemical abnormality underlying the teratogenicity of valproic acid is a drug-induced reduction in maternal plasma zinc .in the present experimental study mated rats ...

central nervous system infection is a rare complication of endovascular procedures. we report a 21-year-old woman presented with headache, nausea, vomiting, and right-sided hemiparesis 4 months after endovascular embolization of cerebral arteriovenous malformation. investigations led to the diagnosis of multiple brain abscesses. this is the sixth case report of brain abscess following endovascu...

hyper - immunoglobulin e syndrome is a rare primary immunodeficiency disease characterized by recurrent abscess formation, respiratory tract infections and very high titers of serum ige associated with peculiar face and skeletal features. we report a seven-year old  girl  presenting with persistent productive cough and  history of chronic eczematoid facial lesions since infancy  and  two episod...

Dandy-Walker malformation is a rare congenital malformation, characterized by agenesis or hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis, cystic dilatation 4th ventricle and enlargement posterior fossa. Postnatal hydrocephalus develops in approximately 70-90% patients. The relationship with postaxial polydactyl has been defined as possible autosomal recessive syndrome (OMIM 220220). Here, we present an in...

The majority of congenital heart defects (CHDs) occur as isolated malformations, while approximately 25-30% of them are associated with extracardiac anomalies, in the setting of large or submicroscopic chromosomal anomalies, mendelian disorders, and malformation associations. Some types of CHD, such as atrioventricular canal defect and interrupted aortic arch, are more frequently found in assoc...

Congenital cystic Adenomatoid malformation is a rare developmental abnormality of the lung occuring in 1-4/100000 live births.In most cases the outcome with CCAM in fetus is very good,while in some cases the outcome is very bad and can be life threatning for the fetus.we report here a case of 40 day old female infant who presented with worsening respiratory distress since birth and x ray and CT...