Concomitant anterior ST-segment depression is a marker of severe prognosis in inferior myocardial infarction.
Prospective observational study in patients with inferior acute myocardial infarction and ...ST-segment depression > or = 4 mm in the anterior leads, who were treated with primary angioplasty. Angiography was performed at hospital discharge and at six months, and a clinical follow-up was obtained at one year after the infarction.
Sixty-three patients were included in the study. Pre-hospital and in-hospital delay were 147 +/- 70 minutes (20-355) and 54 +/- 11 minutes (18-80), respectively. Angioplasty was successful in all patients and 48 stents were implanted in 36 patients (57%). Angiography was performed at hospital discharge in 55 patients (87%) and showed a TIMI grade 3 coronary flow in the infarct-related artery in all cases. The left ventricular ejection fraction was 0.55 +/- 0.09 (0.4-0.8). One patient (1.6%) died before discharge, two (3.2%) had ischemic complications (one had non-fatal reinfarction, another had recurrent angina at rest), and three (4.9%) had local vascular complications. At the six-month follow-up, none of the patients had died. One had suffered reinfarction (1.6%) and another had been readmitted for recurrence of angina at rest (1.6%); none had symptoms of stable angina. The ejection fraction was 0.56 +/- 0.12 and eight patients (14%) showed angiographic restenosis. At twelve months, two patients had died (1.6%) and five (8%) had required readmission to hospital.
Primary angioplasty yielded favorable results in this group of patients. Our data confirm the efficacy of primary angioplasty for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, with a low rate of clinical (3.2%) and angiographic (14%) restenosis at six months, and a high rate (87%) of event-free survival at one year follow-up.
PrP alleles frequencies determination in Italian sheep breeds [scrapie] Blasi, M. (Laboratorio Gruppi Sanguigni s.c.r.l. (LGS), Cremona (Italy)); Lanza, A. (Laboratorio Gruppi Sanguigni s.c.r.l. (LGS), Cremona (Italy)); Sangalli, S. (Laboratorio Gruppi Sanguigni s.c.r.l. (LGS), Cremona (Italy)) ...
Atti della Società Italiana delle Scienze Veterinarie (Italy),
(2003), Letnik:
57
Journal Article
The preliminary results of a survey on PrP allele frequencies in 15 Italian sheep breeds are presented. PrP genotype was determined with Real Time PCR using the allelic discrimination technique. The ...VRQ allele, linked to the highest susceptibility to scrapie, generally shows very low frequencies (from 0 to 8%), except for two breeds (Merinizzata e Comisana), carrying 10% and 14% of that allele. By contrast, the ARR allele, associated to scrapie resistance, is highly represented in Italian breeds (from 24 to 57%), with the exceptions of two breeds of limited numerical relevance, Bergamasca and Biellese, carrying 9% and 19%, respectively
Sono presentati i risultati preliminari di un´indagine sulle frequenze alleliche del gene PrP in 15 razze ovine italiane. Il genotipo PrP è stato determinato mediante Real Time PCR, utilizzando la tecnica di discriminazione allelica. L´allele VRQ, legato alla più elevata predisposizione alla scrapie, presenta in generale frequenze molto basse (da 0 a 8%), eccetto che in due razze (Merinizzata e Comisana), in cui la frequenza è pari al 10% e al 14% dell´allele. Per contrasto, l´allele ARR, associato alla resistenza alla scrapie, è altamente rappresentato nelle razze italiane (da 24 a 57%), con l´eccezione di due razze di limitata rilevanza numerica, Bergamasca e Biellese, in cui la frequenza è pari, rispettivamente, al 9% e al 19%.
Serum carnitine is an essential cofactor for the transport of free fatty acids into the mitochondria. We determined the free and the total serum carnitine in 99 healthy blood donors and 58 patients ...with different forms of heart muscle disease. Thirty patients had dilated (DCM), 10 hypertrophic (HCM) and 8 alcoholic (ACM) cardiomyopathy and 10 patients had congestive heart failure of different etiology than cardiomyopathy (CHF). Free and total serum carnitine were determined by an enzymatic-spectrophotometric assay according to Pearson. Mean values for free and total serum carnitine were as follows: 47 and 74 mumol/l in controls (C; blood donors), 74 (P less than 0.01 vs. C) and 83 mumol/l in DCM, 66 (P less than 0.01 vs. C) and 89 mumol/l in HCM, 85 (P less than 0.01 vs. C) and 104 mumol/l (P less than 0.05 vs. C) in ACM and 86 (P less than 0.01 vs. C) and 129 mumol/l (P less than 0.01 vs. C) in CHF. Ten patients died during the mean observation time of 13 months, 8 patients with DCM and 2 with CHF; 9 of these 10 patients had initially a markedly increased serum carnitine. Patients with DCM were divided into two groups with normal (n = 15; 25-68 mumol/l) and increased (n = 15; greater than 68 mumol/l) free serum carnitine. Patients with increased serum carnitine showed a significantly higher mortality rate (47%) than patients with normal serum carnitine. It is concluded that free and total serum carnitine are elevated in patients with congestive heart failure, dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The etiology of this carnitine metabolism disturbance is unclear but it is probably due to a secondary phenomenon in patients with congestive heart failure or primary myocardial hypertrophy. An increased serum carnitine is a poor prognostic sign in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.
Background
Ovarian carcinoma is the seventh commonest female cancer worldwide and is responsible for the greatest number of deaths from gynaecological malignancy in Europe and North America. Although ...many studies have explored the use of chemotherapy in this disease, most individual trials have been too small to show clear benefit of any one type of chemotherapy.
Objectives
The type and intensity of chemotherapy used routinely for women with advanced ovarian cancer has varied because of uncertainty about the effectiveness of the different regimens. The objective of this review was to compare single drugs versus combinations of drugs, platinum versus non‐platinum, and carboplatin versus cisplatin‐based chemotherapy in women with advanced ovarian cancer.
Search methods
We searched MEDLINE, and CancerLit bibliographic databases and the National Cancer Institute and the UK Co‐ordinating Committee on Cancer Research registers of trials. We also handsearched the proceedings of meetings and contacted experts in the field and drug companies.
Selection criteria
Randomised trials of:
(1) single non‐platinum versus non‐platinum combination chemotherapy
(2) single non‐platinum versus platinum combination chemotherapy
(3) non‐platinum regimen versus the same regimen plus cisplatin
(4) single platinum versus platinum combination chemotherapy
(5) cisplatin versus carboplatin‐based chemotherapy
in women with advanced ovarian cancer.
Data collection and analysis
Individual patient data were obtained from the trial investigators, checked by the reviewers and verified by the trial investigator.
Main results
Forty‐nine trials involving 8763 women were included. The data were combined to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for survival on an intention‐to‐treat basis. For single non‐platinum versus platinum combination chemotherapy the overall HR for survival was 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83 to1.05 favouring platinum‐based combination chemotherapy. For non‐platinum regimens compared with the same regimen plus cisplatin the survival HR was 0.88, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.98 in favour of adding platinum to drug regimens. Single platinum compared with platinum combination gave a HR of 0.91, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.05 favouring combination chemotherapy. Cisplatin versus carboplatin gave a HR of 1.02, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.12. Sub‐group analyses for age, stage, grade, histology, resection, bulk of residual tumour and performance status were undertaken for cisplatin versus carboplatin only. No difference in effect was found.
Authors' conclusions
Available evidence, although not conclusive, suggests platinum‐based chemotherapy is better than non‐platinum therapy. There is some evidence that combination therapy improves survival compared with platinum alone. No difference in effect has been shown between cisplatin and carboplatin.
