European journal of clinical investigation
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Jul 2009
SARS-coronavirus modulation of myocardial ACE2 expression and inflammation in patients with SARS.
Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a monocarboxylase that degrades angiotensin II to angiotensin 1-7, is also the functional receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and is highly expressed in the lungs and heart. Patients with SARS also suffered from cardiac disease including arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, and systolic and diastolic dysfunction. ⋯ Our data show that SARS-CoV can mediate myocardial inflammation and damage associated with down-regulation of myocardial ACE2 system, which may be responsible for the myocardial dysfunction and adverse cardiac outcomes in patients with SARS.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Jul 2009
Non-invasive foetal RHD genotyping via real-time PCR of foetal DNA from Chinese RhD-negative maternal plasma.
A majority of studies predicting the foetal RhD blood group in free foetal DNA from RhD-negative maternal plasma have been conducted in Caucasian populations, whereas limited data have been accumulated for Asian populations. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of prenatal genotyping of RHD in RhD-negative Chinese pregnant women. ⋯ The correct foetal RhD phenotype may be accurately predicted from RhD-negative maternal plasma in Chinese subjects. The RHD1227A allele proved to be an important genetic marker in the RhDel Chinese population.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Jun 2009
Relative seroprevalence of human herpes viruses in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Herpes virus infections may have a significant role in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) due to their ability to modulate the host's immune system. ⋯ CMV-seropositivity is associated with CLL in selected patient cohorts. However, the considerable variation in herpes virus-specific seropositivity between geographically distinct CLL cohorts indicates that seropositivity for any of the four human herpes viruses investigated is not generally associated with CLL.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Jun 2009
Comparative StudyA review of STRIDE-2 and STRIDE-2X: the case for selective endothelin receptor blockade.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension remains incurable and has previously required difficult parenteral therapy. Endothelin-1(ET-1) is an important mediator of pulmonary arterial hypertension. The recent availability of oral therapies, including endothelin receptor antagonists, has improved ease of use for patients, but most patients remain symptomatic to a significant degree. Two classes of ET-1 receptors have been described, ET(A) and ET(B). It has previously been unclear whether both receptors must be blocked in pulmonary arterial hypertension, or only the ET(A) receptor. ⋯ STRIDE-2 and its extension, STRIDE-2X, suggest significant benefit of sitaxsentan compared with bosentan, in terms of efficacy and reduced hepatotoxicity. The former may be related to the high ET(A) receptor selectivity of sitaxsentan.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · May 2009
Visceral fat accumulation is a significant risk factor for white matter lesions in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.
The presence of white matter lesions (WML) is an important prognostic factor for the development of stroke. The elevated visceral fat accumulation (VFA) has been reported to be closely related to the development of atherosclerosis. This preliminary study was therefore designed to test the hypothesis that the presence of WML correlates with VFA and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic patients not receiving insulin treatment. ⋯ The results of this preliminary study indicate that the presence of WML was associated with the high VFA and insulin resistance in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Further larger cohort studies are warranted to confirm these findings.