Elyiahu Stoupel

Are neutrons involved in the pathogenesis of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias?

Geomagnetic fields protect the earth from the adverse effects of cosmic rays, whose activity can be indirectly measured by monitoring the level of neutrons in the environment. The number and days of discharges from automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) in patients with cardiac arrhythmias are inversely correlated with the daily level of geomagnetic activity (GMA). The aim of the present was to determine whether neutron levels on days of AICD discharges are higher than average. Days on which discharges occurred were recorded in 31 patients bearing ICDs for managing ischemic cardiomyopathy. Daily neutron levels obtained from the monitoring data of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow were analyzed using Students t test. The mean (+/-SD) daily neutron level for the 1096-day period was 8299.29 +/- 294.236 imp/min (median 8252), and for days of ACID discharge, 8423.93 +/- 274.187 imp/min (median 8443) (p = 0.0002). The mean neutron activity on days of AICD discharges in response to ventricular disturbances was significantly higher than the mean level over the 1096-day study period. Whether this relation is a direct result of low GMA or due to an independent role of neutrons in the pathogenesis and timing of cardiac arrhythmias is unknown.

Birth month and longevity - monthly birth distribution in acute coronary events provoked by atherothrombosis in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Abstract Background: Human homeostasis is time related. Environmental physical factors also play a role. Recent studies published by the National Academy of Sciences (USA) describe human longevity links with the month of birth. The aim of this study was to check monthly birth distribution in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) related to atherothrombosis – one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the industrial world. Methods: A total of 4732 (3594 men) subjects were included in the study. Patients treated with PCI for AMI in the years 2000 to March 2010 were studied. The population registry specific to 1950 excluded 1024 patients, i.e., those registered as born on January 1 and they were replaced with patients with an average of births from January 2 to 31. A total of 3675 patients were finally studied (2839 men, 836 women). Results: The average monthly birth number was 306±60.38. Significant monthly differences in birth number (q2=21.077, p<0.03) were observed. A higher birth rate in the first four months of the year was revealed, with the exception of February. The number of births in these months exceeded the following two four-month data (q2=20.57, p<0.024). March births exceeded the monthly average by more than two standard deviations (SD) – 462, with an analogical increase for both genders. In May–December births were below average. Conclusions: Patients with AMI treated with PCI show differences in the month of birth with the majority being born in the first four months of the year and of those most were born in March. Possible implications on pathogenetic clues of atherothrombosis can be assumed.