Croatian medical journal
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Croatian medical journal · Feb 2013
Development of the Croatian model of organ donation and transplantation.
During the past ten years, the efforts to improve and organize the national transplantation system in Croatia have resulted in a steadily growing donor rate, which reached its highest level in 2011, with 33.6 utilized donors per million population (p.m.p.). Nowadays, Croatia is one of the leading countries in the world according to deceased donation and transplantation rates. Between 2008 and 2011, the waiting list for kidney transplantation decreased by 37.2% (from 430 to 270 persons waiting for a transplant) and the median waiting time decreased from 46 to 24 months. ⋯ We analyzed the key factors that contributed to the development of this successful model for organ donation and transplantation. These are primarily the appointment of hospital and national transplant coordinators, implementation of a new financial model with donor hospital reimbursement, public awareness campaign, international cooperation, adoption of new legislation, and implementation of a donor quality assurance program. The selection of key factors is based on the authors' opinions; we are open for further discussion and propose systematic research into the issue.
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Croatian medical journal · Feb 2013
Red blood cell distribution width as a prognostic marker of mortality in patients on chronic dialysis: a single center, prospective longitudinal study.
To determine if red cell distribution width (RDW) is associated with all-cause mortality in patients on chronic dialysis and to evaluate its prognostic value among validated prognostic biomarkers. ⋯ RDW could be an additive predictor for all-cause mortality in patients on chronic dialysis. Furthermore, RDW combined with sound clinical judgment improves identification of patients who are at increased risk compared to RDW alone.
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Croatian medical journal · Feb 2013
Mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal profile of the Kazakh population from East Kazakhstan.
To study the genetic relationship of Kazakhs from East Kazakhstan to other Eurasian populations by examining paternal and maternal DNA lineages. ⋯ The results revealed different migration patterns in the population sample, showing there had been more migration among women. mtDNA genetic diversity in this population was equivalent to that in other Central Asian populations. Genetic evidence suggests the existence of a single paternal founder lineage in the population of East Kazakhstan, which is consistent with verbal genealogical data of the local tribes.
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Croatian medical journal · Feb 2013
Arsenic trioxide treatment of rabbit liver VX-2 carcinoma via hepatic arterial cannulation-induced apoptosis and decreased levels of survivin in the tumor tissue.
To investigate the role of tumor apoptosis-inhibitory protein survivin in arsenic trioxide-induced apoptosis in VX-2 carcinoma in the rabbit liver by means of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization. ⋯ Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization with arsenic trioxide induced apoptosis of VX-2 carcinoma, in which tumor apoptosis-inhibitory protein survivin may have played a role.