Volume 9, Issue 6

The spatial QRS/T angle (QRS/T) has been identified as a strong and independent predictor of adverse cardiac events. QRS/T can be determined from the electrocardiogram (ECG) by matrix transformation methods or formula which uses a combination of net QRS and T-wave amplitudes (QRS/Tsimple). Amplitudes can be measured automatically by using dedicated software (QRS/Tauto) or can be manually measured on a computer screen (QRS/Tmanual). This latter method allows analysis of QRS/T, when digital ECGs are not available. The aim of the study was to determine the agreement in the measurements between automatically derived QRS and T amplitudes and manually measured on the computer screen amplitudes. The relative error of the QRS/T between the two methods was estimated in 73 patients. In the case of QRS/Tmanual the inter-observer as well as intra-observer variability was estimated. The relative error between QRS/Tauto vs. QRS/Tmanual was 3.51%. Inter-observer and intra-observer variability of the QRS/Tmanual was 1.19% and 1.18% respectively. Manual measurement of the QRS/T is reliable, however, the predictive value of this parameter should be tested in clinical trials, before QRS/Tmanual can be considered a useful tool in clinical practice or retrospective studies.

The long-term pathomorphological changes of the injured vessels under angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor are still not known. Therefore, we assessed the alternations of vascular architecture after three-month therapy with ACE inhibitor and identified new target cells for this medication. Carotid arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats underwent balloon angioplasty. 14 days prior intervention, half of the animals was treated with ACE inhibitor. After three months of vascular trauma, the injured vessels were explored by histomorphology and immunohistochemistry for angiotensin-II receptor (AT1R), dendritic and HSP47+ cells. The neointimal growth decreased significantly only up to 28 days under ACE inhibitor. In contrast, the reductive effect of ACE inhibitor on media area persisted up to three months after intervention. A significant fraction of early neointimal cells was of a dendritic cell type. The relevant portion of these cells showed an expression of AT1R and HSP47. AT1R was present in 70% and HSP47 in 18% of all early neointimal cells in both groups. ACE inhibitor may at least temporarily diminish remodelling processes in injured vessels. The detection of AT1R on dendritic cells identifies these cells as important targets for therapeutic strategies involving modulation of the renin-angiotensin system.

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is an unusual site for metastasis. The rate of GIT metastases detected clinically is very low because of unspecific symptoms and signs of GIT involvement, which include general weakness, tiredness, weight loss, unspecific abdominal pain, fatigue, and anemia. We report clinical, endoscopic, and pathological patterns of two patients (malignant melanoma and primary lung tumor) with metastatic lesions in the gastroduodenum. The first case is a 59-year-old man with unspecific symptoms as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. He underwent resection of skin melanoma on his back one year before. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed two melanotic polypoid masses with ulcerations at the tip, one in the stomach and one in the duodenal bulb. Endoscopic biopsy of these polypoid masses and immunohistochemical stains confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic malignant melanoma. The second case is a 73-year-old man with a two-day history of melena and unspecific abdominal pain. Three weeks before, the patient was operated on for the adenocarcinoma of the lung. Endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract revealed irregular polypoid mass with ulcerations at the tip: three of the stomach mucosa, two in the duodenal bulb and more than ten hemorrhagic polypoid masses at the desendent duodenum. Biopsies of these lesions confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. In patients with a history of malignant melanoma and lung cancer unspecific symptoms, like abdominal pain, anemia, and gastrointestinal bleeding gastroduodenal metastases should be suspected. The diagnosis requires careful endoscopic examinations of the mucosa for metastatic lesions and biopsy with special immunohistochemical stains.

Awake Fiberoptic Intubation (AFI) is a standard method of airway management in the case of anticipated difficult intubation. It is usually performed with the use of flexible fiberscopes. In this report we have described two methods in which alternative devices to the fiberscope were utilized for awake intubation in patients with severely restricted mouth opening scheduled for craniomaxillofacial surgery: TruView PCD and Levitan FPS. Information about the use of these devices in such conditions has not been previously published in the literature. Some of the possible advantages of these alternative methods for AFI result from the fact that they are easy to use, especially for anesthesiologists who are relatively inexperienced with fiberscope intubation procedures. Additionally, these alternatives are cheaper than fiberscopes and can be used for many AFI procedures.

Best vitelliform macular dystrophy (BVD) is a slowly progressive form of macular dystrophy. In most cases this disease begins in childhood although sometimes it can develop in later age. The diagnosis of BVD is based on family history, clinical and electrophysiological findings. Clinical signs are variable, yet the majority of patients have a typical yellow yolk-like macular lesion in the eye fundus. Lesions are usually bilateral, but in rare cases can be unilateral. Atrophy of the macula may develop after many years. The mutations responsible for Best vitelliform macular dystrophy are found in a gene called VMD2, which encodes a transmembrane protein named bestrophin-1 (hBest1) that is a Ca2+-sensitive chloride channel. Most reported cases causing the disease are in exons 2, 4, 6 and 8 in patients with BVD. In this article we discuss the etiology of Best’s vitelliform macular dystrophy, clinical presentation, diagnostics, genetic and current treatment possibilities.

Eosinophilia is characterized by more than 0.5 × 109 eosinophils per liter in the full blood count. A wide range of conditions, from asthma to parasitic infections, autoimmune diseases, and certain forms of cancer, have been known to trigger abnormally high amount of eosinophils. It is essential to reach the correct diagnosis and treat the underlying disease aggresively. Definition of the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome was offered in 1980s by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for surveillance purposes, and criteria were revised in 2001, with high specificity. We report a case of 59-year old female who started a special weight-reducing diet regimen that included excessive cashew nut ingestion. Several months after she has presented with periferal blood eosinophilia and constitutional symptoms. Detailed work-up has not found elements for haematological, systemic autoimmune, neoplastic or infectious disease. She was diagnosed with eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome due to extreme L-tryptophan intake, a compound found in the cashew nut’s oil. She responded well to cashew nut withdrawal and steroid therapy. In the follow-up period she remained stable with normal eosinophil count and there was not a need for any specific therapy.

Patient K.L., 32 years old. Menses started at thirteen years old, C 5/28. Patient had two vaginal deliveries in 2004 and 2010. Dysplasia cervicis uteri CIN2-3 was diagnosed in 2007, subsequently diathermoconisation cervicis uteri was performed. The woman was born with epispadia — extrophia of urethra to abdominal wall, without pubic bone. At the age of 8 she underwent an operation in Moscow. During the operation the neck of the bladder was formed as well as urethra, which opens in vulva, place of clitoris. When she was 8 years old, her bladder capacity was 30 ml, in teenage years — 90 ml. The patient also reported history of recurrent urinary tract infections. 2011.08.02 Patient took medical advice in out patient department Kaunas university hospital with a complaint of stress urinary incontinence: when going, coughing, sneezing, doing exercises, having sex and at rest of time. Also it was the sexual intercourse problems with orgasm. She was urinating 8 times per day but none at night. Gynecological examination: absence of pubic bone, vulva is abnormal: absence of labium major and clitoris. Urethra opens into the place of clitoris. Front and back walls of vagina are moving down (POP-Q II-III stage prolapsed). Cervix of uterus is short, epithelised (after diathermoconisation). Uterus is normal in size, in retro-versio-flexio position. — without pathology. Sonography: internal genital organs without pathology. Boney, Valsalva test are positive, Ulmstein test negative. Urodynamic study revealed a bladder capacity of 134 ml, voided volume 173 ml. Pressure of detrusor — 10cmH2O. Compliancenormal, max flow rate 13,8 ml/s, voiding time 24 s. Spontaneous contractions of detrusor were not observed. Surgical treatment: 2011.10.10 TOT (tension obturator tape). Anterior and posterior colporrhaphy and perineoplastic was performed. There were no complications during and after surgery. On the 2 day after operation patient was released from hospital.

Considering the importance of the TGF-β signaling pathway for normal lung function and especially its roles in inflammation and tissue remodeling, key features of asthma pathology, it can be assumed that these molecules may harbor mutations in asthmatics. The aim of this study was to analyze the SMAD4 gene in patients with asthma. Analysis has encompassed exons 10, 11, 12 and 13 encoding the carboxy-terminal (MH2) domain of the SMAD4 protein, where mutations most frequently occur. The study included 50 patients (20 men and 30 women) with asthma aged between 17 and 73 years (average age 45.2±15.6 years). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify exons 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the SMAD4 gene and the obtained PCR products were subjected to direct DNA sequencing. No nucleotide changes were found in any of the analyzed exons in either of the subjects. Based on the results of this study, it seems that mutations in the carboxy-terminal (MH2) domain of the SMAD4 are not present in asthmatic patients. Future research should be directed at the analysis of the complete gene, including regulatory elements, in order to resolve the exact role of SMAD4 in asthma.

Quantification of upper extremity movement is a common objective in both research and clinical practice. Currently, methods based on angle-angle diagrams, also called cyclograms, seem to be promising. Nevertheless, compared to the study of lower limbs, the concept of angle-angle diagrams has not been systematically used to study upper limb movements during walking. The paper describes two examples of new methods based on angle-angle diagrams for application in rehabilitation and assistive robotics. The cyclograms represent information about the relationship between the angles and their changes over time. We used cyclograms as patterns for learning artificial neural networks and predicting the movement of upper-limb. Together with artificial intelligence, cyclograms offer wide scope of application in prosthesis control systems. Using bilateral cyclogram, the information about the relationship between the right and left arm joint angles is used to evaluate the symmetry of movements. The method based on the orientation of the bilateral cyclogram can be used as an additional method for determining the symmetry of movements of the upper limbs or exo-prosthesis.

In the present study, we investigated the relation between clinical parameters and levels of interleukin (IL) -4 and -5, and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the leukocyte incubation medium (LIM) obtained from 26 patients with chronic periodontitis (P) and 26 control group subjects (C). The levels of cytokines IL-4 and IL -5 produced by the LIM stimulated with non-opsonised E. coli were determined using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method and the levels of TNF-α were evaluated by applying Enzyme Amplified Sensitivity Immunoassay (EASIA). TNF-α levels in stimulated LIM were strongly positively correlated with clinical parameters such as the pocket probing depths (PPD), the clinical attachment level (CAL), the bleeding on probing (BOP) and oral hygiene index (OHI), whereas the IL-4 and IL-5 levels in the analogous medium were strongly negatively correlated with the clinical parameters. IL-4 and IL-5 levels in stimulated LIM of P group patients were significantly lower, whereas TNF-α levels were significantly higher than that in analogous medium of C group subjects. These differences were associated with the severity of periodontal disease.

The aim of the study was to map and analyze general practitioners` opinions of, attitudes towards and experiences with generic drugs and generic substitution (GS) in the Czech Republic. General practitioners (GPs) who took part in the annual and regional professional conferences of the Society of General Practice in the period from November 2008 until March 2009 were asked to complete the 28-item questionnaire concerning the issue of generic drugs and GS. Questions were organized in 5 sections aimed at assessing the attitude towards GS, understanding the legislation and opinions on statements related to GS. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations were tested by selected parametric and non-parametric tests. Total of 263 completed questionnaires were returned (mean age of 52.2 years (SD=13.7), 177 (67.3%) females and 248 (94.3%) GPs having a practice specialization). 99 (37.6%) respondents have considered generic drugs to be bioequivalent to the respective brand name drugs. 121 (46.0%) respondents believed that generic drugs are of lower quality than brand name drugs. None of respondent showed acquaintance with all the legal rules for GS. Awareness of the legislation and attitude towards GS correlated with the age (p<0.001). In conclusion, distrust among GPs in generic drugs derives from poor knowledge and personal experiences.

The A3243G mitochondrial mutation is the major cause of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). The severity of the disease is correlated with the heteroplasmy level of the mutation. Here we describe for the first time the validation of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with Taqman locked nucleic acid (LNA) fluorescent (FAM for mutant, HEX for wild type) probes for quantification of heteroplasmy levels in a total of 18 family members from 5 Vietnamese MELAS patients carrying A3243G. Almost no background of FAM signals was detected in normal samples, indicating that the probes were allele-specific. Standard curves indicate sensitive detection at 0.1% mutants and high reliability with R2 > 0.985. The correlation line between measured % mutant and expected % mutant was highly reliable, with a slope of 0.993 and R2 of 0.998. All positive A3243G mutant samples pre-screened by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were confirmed, and their heteroplasmy levels quantified to be from 3.68 to 80.85%. The heteroplasmy levels in patients were higher than in their family members and generally correlated well with the severity of their clinical symptoms. Overall, this work is the first demonstration of the application of LNA probes for sensitive and highly reliable quantification of heteroplasmy levels in human mitochondria.

The aim of this study is to improve treatment results and SSI prevention by differential usage of the contemporary suture materials and choice of proper suturing technique. To simulate suturing process and compared two suturing techniques, two FE models were developed. Finite-element analysis (FEA) was based on experimental data of contemporary commercial sutures and soft tissue properties. We applied obtained results for abdominal wall closure in rats and compared non-absorbable suture (capron) with absorbable suture (PDS Plus) for chosen technique. Cross-sections were examined by lighting electron microscope. Afterwards, the results of patients’ treatment are also presented. It was shown that running sew was more appropriate for aponeurosis suturing compared to interrupted sew. The optimal parameters of suturing techniques were computed. Single-row running sew by PDS Plus was proved to hold wound edges for 90 days with less inflammatory response compared to other suture in the result of histological analysis. Application of contemporary synthetic absorbable suture materials with antibacterial coating for laparotomic wounds closure and anastomosis decreases local inflammatory reaction and provides the successful tissue regeneration. Application of advanced SSI prophylactics algorithm was shown to decrease risk of post-operative suppurative complications from 14.2 to 1.6 %.

The composite allotransplant of tissues was recently introduced on the list of potential procedures for complex face reconstruction. To assess the technical and immunological aspects and the potential of the clinical applicability of this new approach in facial reconstruction, samples of total and hemifacial transplant with rats have been introduced. We have proposed in this study checking the versatility of the facial transplant sample in rats by performing the hemiface transplant between two neco-blood species of laboratory rats. Meanwhile, study included the verification of mono-therapy efficiency with A cyclosporine in inducing immune tolerance against the composite tissue graft, which consists of skin, subcutaneous tissue, blood vessels and ear cartilage, transferred against the hystocompatibility barriers, as well as the verification of the procedures adjacent to transplant: anesthesia and surgical technique. In this study,14 laboratory rats have been included and divided into 3 lots. Lot No. 1 was represented by 2 Brown Norway rats used for the anatomic study of the vascular formations which are going to be coopted during a facial transplant. Lot No. 2 consisted of 3 Brown Norway rats used as donors and 3 Wistar rats used as acceptors, with these transplants being associated immunosuppression protocols postop. Llot No. 3 consisted of 3 Brown Norway rats used as donors and 3 Wistar rats used as acceptors, which, after the intervention, did not receive an immunosuppression treatment. Conclusions. The experimental sample of the facial transplant is an essential and mandatory stage in preparing the clinical application of the face transplant. Our study confirms the good tolerance of the hemiface transplant against the major hystocompatibility complex granted by the immunosuppression with A Cyclosporine in rodents.