Thromboangitis obliterans (TAO; Buerger's disease) and atherosclerosis obliterans (ASO) are associated with endothelial dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of circulating progenitor cells (CPCs) in endothelial function in patients with TAO and ASO. We measured flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD), nitroglycerine-induced vasodilation, and circulating CPCs in 30 patients w...

Acute- and convalescent-phase serum specimens were collected from 50 patients with group A streptococcal pharyngitis. The anti-streptolysin O (ASO) titer for each serum specimen was determined by using both the standard neutralization assay and the latex agglutination (LA) test (Rheumagen ASO; Biokit Inc., New Britain, Conn.). When the ASO titers derived by the two methods were compared, the co...

Chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) designed to mediate site-specific cleavage of RNA by RNase H1 are used as research tools and as therapeutics. ASOs modified with phosphorothioate (PS) linkages enter cells via endocytotic pathways. The mechanisms by which PS-ASOs are released from membrane-enclosed endocytotic organelles to reach target RNAs remain largely unknown. We recent...

BACKGROUND Transcatheter implantation of the Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO) is an alternative to conventional surgical closure of isolated secundum atrial septal defects (ASDs). Neither the clinical outcomes nor the costs of these procedures have been extensively compared. MATERIAL/METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study to evaluate cost-effectiveness in patients with secundum ASDs...

BACKGROUND Cyclin D1 overexpression exists in multiple types of cancer and is a potential chemopreventive or therapeutic target. MATERIALS AND METHODS Non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma cells were incubated with antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) to cyclin D1 (CD1) and evaluated for effects on cellular proliferation, apoptosis, expression of cell cycle-specific proteins, and protein ph...

Multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) and allele-specific oligonucleotide real-time quantitative PCR (ASO RQ-PCR) are the two most sensitive methods to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in multiple myeloma (MM). We compared these methods in 129 paired post-therapy samples from 22 unselected, consecutive MM patients in complete/near complete remission. Appropriate immunophenotypic and ASO RQ-P...

We examined the genetic status of human leucocyte antigens (HLA), human platelet alloantigens (HPA) and neutrophil-specific antigens (NA) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO). To our knowledge, the present study is the first report showing the relationship among three genetic factors in type 2 diabetes mellitus and ASO patients. HLA typing was...

BACKGROUND The transposition of the great arteries (TGA) is one of the most severe congenital heart diseases. The arterial switch operation (ASO) is the preferred procedure to treat TGA. Although numerous reports have shown good results after ASOs, some patients suffer from circulatory system problems following the procedure. One reason for problems post-ASO is the local changes in the curvatur...

A 64-year-old woman with a history of a large-sized secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) underwent successful percutaneous closure with a 34-mm Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO) without apparent complications on April 25, 2002. Transthoracic echocardiography immediately following the closing procedure revealed that her ASO was well wedged, with no residual shunt or murmurs (Figure 1). At the third...