Cardiovascular pathology : the official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology
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Cardiovasc. Pathol. · Jan 2021
ReviewCurrent state of vaccine development and targeted therapies for COVID-19: impact of basic science discoveries.
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to two other coronaviruses that caused disease epidemic breakouts in humans in the last 2 decades, namely, severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The similarities have enabled the scientists to apply the basic scientific discoveries garnered from studying the structure and modus operandi of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV to develop therapies that specifically target SARS-CoV-2 and to develop vaccines to prevent COVID-19. ⋯ Likewise, complete sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 and identification of its structural and nonstructural proteins have enabled development of RNA-, DNA-, and peptide-based vaccines as well attenuated viral vaccines to instigate the host-immune responses. The clinical impacts of the basic science discoveries are amply evident on the rapid pace of progress in developing specific antiviral therapies and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. The progress emphasizes the merit of discovering the fundamental scientific elements, regardless of whether or not they have apparent or immediate clinical applications.
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Cardiovasc. Pathol. · Jul 2020
Review Case ReportsTakotsubo Cardiomyopathy presenting with different morphological patterns in the same patient: a case report and review of the literature.
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy is characterized by transient left ventricular systolic dysfunction, which often mimics a myocardial infarction and is usually triggered by emotional or physical stress. There are four variants of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, based on the affected left ventricular area. ⋯ Classical and reverse Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy due to different stressors have been reported in the literature individually, but up to our knowledge, both variants of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy occurring in the same patient has not been reported previously.
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Cardiovasc. Pathol. · Nov 2014
Review Case ReportsFibrosing mediastinitis due to Aspergillus with dominant cardiac involvement: report of two autopsy cases with review of literature.
Fibrosing mediastinitis (FM) is a rare condition characterized by extensive proliferation of fibrous tissue in the mediastinum resulting in mass like lesion. Histoplasma and Mycobacterium tuberculosis are the common infective causes of fibrosing mediastinitis, but Aspergillus infection is an extremely rare cause. Fibrosing mediastinitis due to Aspergillus usually occurs following Aspergillus bronchopneumonia. ⋯ Autopsy findings showed the granulomatous Aspergillus mediastinitis and extension into the heart with associated fibrosis. One case was proven to be due to Aspergillus flavus by fungal genomic sequencing. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Aspergillus FM with pancarditis.
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Cardiovasc. Pathol. · May 2014
Review Case ReportsMyocardial hydrophilic polymer emboli following cardiac catheterization: a case report and literature review.
Intravascular polymer emboli have been reported in the skin, lungs, and brain following vascular procedures utilizing hydrophilic polymer coated devices. The Cook arterial introducer sheath was the first of these devices to be introduced, after which case reports followed documenting sterile inflammation at the sheath access site, characterized histologically by perivascular granulomas containing hydrophilic polymer. More recently, hydrophilic polymer emboli have been reported in the vessels of the lungs and brain in association with ischemia and infarct following vascular procedures using polymer coated devices. ⋯ The emboli were most frequent in the area of acute infarction, suggesting that the emboli may have resulted in ischemia leading to the patient's death. This is the third documented case of intramyocardial polymer emboli following cardiac catheterization and the first case to our knowledge to document an association between intravascular myocardial polymer emboli and acute myocardial infarction.
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Cardiovasc. Pathol. · May 2014
ReviewStress cardiomyopathy: yet another type of neurocardiogenic injury: 'stress cardiomyopathy'.
Tako-tsubo syndrome pertains to rare acquired cardiomyopathies, characterized by left ventricular dyskinesia and symptomatology typical for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Despite its low incidence and relatively benign course, stress cardiomyopathy should be thoroughly differentiated from AMI. The importance of tako-tsubo consists of the fact that its manifestation initially resembles AMI. ⋯ Stress cardiomyopathy reflects merely a single aspect of a much wider range of neurocardiogenic injury, which encompasses cardiac dysfunction associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial hypertension and cerebral ischemia. Both psychological and physical insult to central nervous system may trigger a disastrous response of sympathetic nervous system, eventually leading to end-organ catecholamine-mediated damage. This review sought to delineate the phenomenon of tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy and deliver evidence for common pathophysiology of the broad spectrum of neurocardiogenic injury.