Initial results and long-term clinical follow-up of an amorphous hydrogenated silicon-carbide-coated stent in daily practice

The hemocompatibility and biocompatibility of a stent are determined by the physical and electrochemical properties of the stent surface. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of implantation of a stent coated with silicon carbide. Baseline characteristics were collected prospectively. The occurrence of cardiac adverse events and the angina score were assessed at clinical follow-up. A total of 193 Tensum stents were implanted in 174 patients. In hospital, one patient experienced stent thrombosis and in 6% of the patients a creatinine kinase elevation to 240 U/l or more occurred. Long-term follow-up was performed in 172 patients, with a mean follow-up of 454 +/- 181 days. Ninety-seven per cent were still alive, 15% had undergone target-vessel revascularization, and 2% had angiographic restenosis and were treated with medication only. Seventy-one per cent of the patients were free of anginal complaints, and 20% had anginal complaints in Canadian Cardiac Society class I or II. The Tensum coronary stent showed to be a safe and efficacious device in this study, with a high primary success rate and favorable long-term clinical followup.     

Phylogeny and expression of carbonic anhydrase-related proteins

Background  

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are found in many organisms, in which they contribute to several important biological processes. The vertebrate α-CA family consists of 16 subfamilies, three of which (VIII, X and XI) consist of acatalytic proteins. These are named carbonic anhydrase related proteins (CARPs), and their inactivity is due to absence of one or more Zn-binding histidine residues. In this study, we analyzed and evaluated the distribution of genes encoding CARPs in different organisms using bioinformatic methods, and studied their expression in mouse tissues using immunohistochemistry and real-time quantitative PCR.     

Effects of maternal food restriction during lactation on craniofacial growth in weanling rats

Adult Holtzman rats were submitted during suckling period to a food restriction with or without protein or carbohydrate restoration. Twenty-one-day-old weanling pups were compared with controls of 9, 13, 17, and 21 days of age. Lateral craniofacial roentgenographies were taken. The length in midsagittal plane of each bone and its angle with respect to the vestibular line were measured in males. In females, the brain and the left masseter muscle were weighed, and the muscle/brain ratios (neuromuscular index) were calculated. Food restriction altered skull size and shape. Size changes were due to arrested lengths in all studied skull bones. Shape variation was evident by orthocephalization changes, reflected in angulation changes of bones belonging to the frontoethmofacial (frontal, nasal, and maxillary bones) and to the occipitointerparietal (interparietal bone) complexes. Partial restorations by both protein or carbohydrate supplementation were found. Nutritional stresses during lactation affected orthocephalization through an altered growth ratio between two soft tissues functionally associated to the craniofacial complex: brain and masticatory muscles.     

Variations of rat skull bone robusticity evoked by malnutrition

Weanling Holtzman rats of both sexes were fed a control (25% protein), a 10% protein, and a 2% protein semisynthetic diet. Protein deficit (PD) and protein calorie malnutrition (PCM) were estimated from comparisons between control and 10% protein, and control and 2% protein-fed animals, respectively. Animals were killed when they were 56 days old and their skulls cleaned and disarticulated. Individual bones and incisors were ovendried to constant weight. Total weight (TW), maximal projected length (MPL), and robusticity index (RI) were determined on each bone and incisor. It was found that all the bones and incisors did not behave uniformly. They followed two main patterns: (1) Proportional variation. RI values were not affected by nutritional deficiencies. All basicranial bones and 4 of 10 facial bones followed this pattern. (2) Non-proportional variation. RI values were affected by nutritional deficiencies. This pattern was subdivided into two trends: (2a) PD-diminished RI values. Both upper and lower incisors and 1 of 10 facial bones followed this trend. (2b) PCM, but not PD, decreased RI values. All vault bones and the remaining five facial bones followed this trend. It was concluded that there was a differential robusticity response among cranial base, calvaria, and incisors. This response may be connected with the differences in both histogenetic characteristics of those components and the functional roles they have to perform. The nonvault intramembranous bones showed a nonspecific behavior. This fact precluded the classification of the facial region in some of the previously defined patterns.