Search

Vascular endothelial dysfunction (VED) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and is associated with insulin resistance and visceral obesity. We examined the predicting factors of VED in uncomplicated premenopausal obese women using analysis of endothelium-dependent vasodilation by radial artery pulse wave obtained through applanation tonometry.The subjects included a group of 33 obese women body mass index ((BMI)or = 25) and another age-matched control group of 25 nonobese women (BMI: 18.5-22.9) of Asian origin. All uncomplicated premenopausal (20-45 y) obese women were sedentary (1 h/week of physical activity). Anthropometric measurements were performed, and regional distributions of adipose tissue and metabolic variables were measured. Endothelial function was measured by pulse wave analysis after salbutamol administration, which reflects endothelium-mediated vasodilation, contributed partially by nitric oxide release from beta2-adrenergic stimulation. Radial artery wave forms were recorded and from a derived aortic wave forms augmentation index (AIx, defined as the pressure difference between the first and second peaks of the central arterial wave form, expressed as a percentage of the pulse pressure) was calculated. The subjects received sublingual nitroglycerine (NTG) (0.6 mg), followed by nebulized salbutamol (2.5 mg).AIx fell significantly after the administration of salbutamol, which causes endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. This value was significantly reduced in obese women compared with the controls (10.3+/-6.7 vs 17.2+/-6.8%, P=0.0003). NTG, which causes endothelium-independent vasodilatation, did not produce significant changes (P=0.917). As for our obese subjects, the visceral adipose tissue area was a significant predictor of VED independent of BMI, percent body fat, and other metabolic variables including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (beta = -0.141, P=0.002, Adj-R(2)=0.41).Increased abdominal adiposity is a powerful independent predictor of VED in uncomplicated obese women. Further studies are warranted to determine the pathophysiological link between visceral adipose tissue and VED.

Objective This study was designed to prospectively investigate the efficacy and cognitive adverse effects of stereotactic bilateral anterior cingulotomy as a treatment for refractory obsessive-compulsive (OCD) patients for 12 months. Method Patients were eligible if they had severe OCD and rigorous treatments had been unsuccessful. Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and neuropsychological tests were used to assess the efficacy and cognitive changes of cingulotomy before and 12 months after operation. Results The mean improvement rate of the Y-BOCS scores achieved from baseline was 36.0%. Out of 14 patients six met responder criteria; 35% or higher improvement rate on Y-BOCS and CGI improvement of very much or much better at 12-month follow-up. There was no significant cognitive dysfunction after cingulotomy. Conclusion Anterior cingulotomy shows few cognitive adverse effects, with about half of the OCD patients demonstrating significant symptomatic improvement.

11587 Background: Triple-negative breast cancers(TNBC) are defined as a lack of expression of estrogen, progesterone receptors and HER2. Recently gene expression analysis identified basal-like subg...

7573 Background: The clinical syndrome of radiation pneumonitis develops in 5–15% of patients receiving thoracic radiotherapy for lung cancer. In this study, we evaluated and identified the clinica...

Amiodarone is a potent antiarrythmic agent used in the treatment of refractory tachyarrythmias and premature ventricular contractions. Amiodarone may be responsible for the frequent and various side effects including corneal deposits, abnormal liver function test, hyperthyriodism or hypothyroidism, bluish discoloration of the skin, neuropathies, and the others. However, pulmonary toxicity is most serious adverse reaction limiting the clinical efficacy. Rescently, we experienced a case of pulmonary toxicity induced by low dose 10-month amiodarone treatment for atrial fibrilation with rapid ventricular response. Lung biopsy reveals interstitial inflammation, fibrosis, hyperplasia of pneumocytes, and foamy macrophages. Respiratory symptoms and abnormal chest X-ray findings were nearly complete cleared after using steroid and withdrawal of amiodarone. We report a case of amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity with literature review.