Clinical and laboratory changes were evaluated in rabbits after intoxication by Amorimia rigida, a plant that causes sudden death. Nine New Zealand male rabbits, averaging 3.54 kg, were categorized into three groups (n = 3) and received, for eight consecutive days, the equivalent of 30 g/kg dry matter of A. rigida water-soluble (SG) and water-insoluble (IG) extracts via nasoesophageal route. Th...

Exosomes secreted by mesenchymal stem cells have shown great therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine. In this study, we performed meta-analysis to assess the clinical effectiveness of using exosomes in ischemia/reperfusion injury based on the reports published between January 2000 and September 2015 and indexed in the PUBMED and Web of Science databases. The effect of exosomes on heart f...

The objective of the present study was to determine the relation between resting cardiac output in patients with sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome but without arterial hypertension or heart failure as measured indirectly by the carbon dioxide rebreathing method and left ventricular function evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography. We also compared the variability and reproducibility of the meas...

Fifty consecutive patients having had cardiac catheterisation for coronary artery disease also underwent testing by three non-invasive methods commonly employed for assessment of left ventricular function. These included the first pass radionuclide ejection fraction, fractional shortening of the M-mode echocardiographic left ventricular internal dimension, and pre-ejection period/left ventricul...

176 vascular web (fig. 1). The electrocardiogram showed sinus tachycardia and incomplete right bundle-branch block (fig. 2). The echocardiogram on hospital admission showed enlargement of the left chambers, in addition to high values of shortening fraction and ejection fraction (tab. I). The results of the complementary tests in addition to the clinical findings were compatible with a hyperdyna...

This study determined the molecular mechanisms of tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) in preventing cellular senescence of human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs). Primary culture of HDFs at various passages were incubated with 0.5 mg/mL TRF for 24 h. Telomere shortening with decreased telomerase activity was observed in senescent HDFs while the levels of damaged DNA and number of cells in G(0)/G(1) phase...

BACKGROUND In the senescent heart, the positive inotropic response to β-adrenoceptor stimulation is reduced, partly by dysregulation of β1- and β3-adrenoceptors. The multidrug resistance protein 4 (MRP4) takes part in the control of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentration by controlling its efflux but the role of MRP4 in the β-adrenergic dysfunction of the senescent heart rem...

OBJECTIVES Circumferential fiber shortening has been the dominant basis for conventional analysis by echocardiography of left ventricular systolic function during pregnancy. Results in the literature have been conflicting due mainly to the fact that geometric assumptions for the calculation of these indices are made that may not be valid due to changes in left ventricular shape during pregnancy...

Wang et al. provide novel pathophysiological information on patients with diastolic heart failure, by exploring the fourth dimension of cardiac function: left ventricular (LV) twist. The complex active and passive physiological events occurring during the heart cycle are related to the complex structure of the heart, which is a helix that contains an apex. Lower (17th century) described the car...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence, age distribution, and spectrum of cardiac involvement in a cohort of patients with Becker muscular dystrophy. DESIGN A prospective non-invasive study with clinical, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic assessment. PATIENTS 19 patients (age range 16-41 years) with Becker muscular dystrophy attending the Muscle Clinic at Hammersmith Hospital and...