Maria Giovanna Russo

Hemodynamic effects of a single oral dose of enalapril among children with asymptomatic chronic mitral regurgitation

BACKGROUNDnAngiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors have been shown to have beneficial effects in the short- and long-term treatment of adult patients with chronic mitral regurgitation. The safety and efficacy of such treatment have not been established for children. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril on the severity of valvar mitral regurgitation and the systolic performance of overloaded left ventricle of children.nnnMETHODSnTen patients 3 to 16 years of age (mean age 9.6 +/- 3.8 years) with moderate to severe chronic mitral insufficiency were examined by means of Doppler echocardiography before and 2 hours after receiving a single oral dose of enalapril (0.40 mg/kg). Effective regurgitant orifice area, regurgitant volume and fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes indexed for body surface area, left ventricular pump function (total ejection fraction), left ventricular contractility (stress-adjusted velocity of shortening) and afterload (peak systolic and end-systolic circumferential wall stress), and systemic vascular resistance were calculated before and after treatment.nnnRESULTSnThe following values decreased significantly compared with baseline values: effective regurgitant orifice area (36.2 +/- 17.4 versus 25.9 +/- 16.5 mm(2), P =.00008), regurgitant volume (53.6 +/- 27.4 versus 36.1 +/- 24.5 mL, P =.0002), regurgitant fraction (56.7 +/- 14.5% versus 39.9 +/- 17.0%, P =. 0009), left ventricular end-diastolic volume indexed for body surface area (81.3 +/- 17.4 versus 76.1 +/- 16.1 mL/m(2), P =.005), left ventricular end-systolic volume indexed for body surface area (26.7 +/- 9.1 versus 22.6 +/- 8.9 mL/m(2), P =.02), afterload (peak systolic circumferential wall stress 135.8 +/- 15.3 versus 123.5 +/- 19.7 g/cm(2), P =.005; end-systolic circumferential wall stress 57.8 +/- 12.4 versus 48.3 +/- 12.8 g/cm(2), P =.005), and systemic vascular resistance (2012.2 +/- 536.1 versus 1622.7 +/- 389 dyne. sec. cm(-5), P =.005). Left ventricular pump function increased (total ejection fraction 67.6 +/- 5.7% versus 71.7 +/- 6.5%, P =. 005) without significant changes in left ventricular contractility (stress-adjusted velocity of shortening -0.35 +/- 0.8 versus -0.21 +/- 1.3 SD, P not significant).nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe data showed that for pediatric patients single-dose treatment with oral enalapril reduces the severity of mitral regurgitation and improves left ventricular loading conditions and systolic performance without impairment of myocardial contractility. Persistence of these unloading effects in long-term therapy might slow the evolution of left ventricular dysfunction caused by overload-induced myocardial damage and possibly delay the time at which surgical repair or replacement of the mitral valve becomes necessary.

Increased dispersion of ventricular repolarization in Emery Dreifuss muscular dystrophy patients.

Summary Background Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is common in patients with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) and is attributed to the development of life-threatening arrhythmias that occur in the presence of normal left ventricular systolic function. Heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization is considered to provide an electrophysiological substrate for malignant arrhythmias. QTc dispersion (QTc-D) and JTc dispersion (JTc-D) are electrocardiographic parameters indicative of heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization. The aim of our study was to evaluate the heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization in patients with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy with preserved systolic and diastolic cardiac function Material/Methods The study involved 36 EDMD patients (age 20±12, 26 M) and 36 healthy subjects used as controls, matched for age and sex. Heart rate, QRS duration, maximum and minimum QT and JT interval, QTc-D and JTc-D measurements were performed. Results Compared to the healthy control group, the EDMD group presented increased values of QTc-D (82.7±44.2 vs. 53.1±13.7; P=0,003) and JTc-D (73.6±32.3 vs. 60.4±11.1 ms; P=0.001). No correlation between QTc dispersion and ejection fraction (R=0.2, P=0.3) was found. Conclusions Our study showed a significant increase of QTc-D and JTc-D in Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy patients with preserved systolic and diastolic cardiac function.

Development of a gene panel for next-generation sequencing of clinically relevant mutations in cell-free DNA from cancer patients

Background:When tumour tissue is unavailable, cell-free DNA (cfDNA)can serve as a surrogate for genetic analyses. Because mutated alleles in cfDNA are usually below 1%, next-generation sequencing (NGS)must be narrowed to target only clinically relevant genes. In this proof-of-concept study, we developed a panel to use in ultra-deep sequencing to identify such mutations in cfDNA.Methods:Our panel (‘SiRe’) covers 568 mutations in six genes (EGFR, KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, cKIT and PDGFRα)involved in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), gastrointestinal stromal tumour, colorectal carcinoma and melanoma. We evaluated the panel performance in three steps. First, we analysed its analytical sensitivity on cell line DNA and by using an artificial reference standard with multiple mutations in different genes. Second, we analysed cfDNA from cancer patients at presentation (n=42), treatment response (n=12) and tumour progression (n=11); all patients had paired tumour tissue and cfDNA previously genotyped with a Taqman-derived assay (TDA). Third, we tested blood samples prospectively collected from NSCLC patients (n=79) to assess the performance of SiRe in clinical practice.Results:SiRe had a high analytical performance and a 0.01% lower limit of detection. In the retrospective series, SiRe detected 40 EGFR, 11 KRAS, 1 NRAS and 5 BRAF mutations (96.8% concordance with TDA). In the baseline samples, SiRe had 100% specificity and 79% sensitivity relative to tumour tissue. Finally, in the prospective series, SiRe detected 8.7% (4/46) of EGFR mutations at baseline and 42.9% (9/21) of EGFR p.T790M in patients at tumour progression.Conclusions:SiRe is a feasible NGS panel for cfDNA analysis in clinical practice.

Stenting of bilateral arterial ducts in complex congenital heart disease.

Bilateral arterial ducts serving nonconfluent pulmonary arteries is a very rare pattern of pulmonary blood flow in congenital heart disease with pulmonary atresia. In this setting, neonatal ductal closure might result in abrupt pulmonary hypoperfusion and life-threatening systemic hypoxia, thereby indicating emergent surgical palliation or repair. However, percutaneous arterial duct stenting might be an alternative to surgery, especially in high-risk patients. This article reports on two critical neonates with complex heart disease and discontinuous pulmonary arteries dependent on bilateral arterial ducts who successfully underwent transcatheter ductal stenting as first-step palliation toward lower-risk corrective surgery.

Pulmonary artery growth following arterial duct stenting in congenital heart disease with duct-dependent pulmonary circulation.

The aim of this study was to assess the pulmonary artery (PA) growth following arterial duct (AD) stenting in neonates with congenital heart disease (CHD) with duct‐dependent pulmonary circulation.

Symptomatic aorto-pulmonary collaterals early after arterial switch operation.

Enlarged bronchial arteries and/or systemic-to-pulmonary collaterals have been frequently demonstrated in association with transposition of the great arteries. They are usually clinically silent, although they might be large enough to cause accelerated pulmonary vascular obstructive disease or symptomatic cardiac volume overload after surgical repair. We report on a low-weight neonate with transposition of the great arteries and intact ventricular septum who showed a stormy postoperative course because of multiple aorto-pulmonary collaterals early after a successful arterial switch operation. Percutaneous coil embolization of these anomalous vessels resulted in sudden weaning from mechanical ventilation and hospital discharge in a few weeks.

Cytological and molecular diagnosis of solid variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma: A case report

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) composed by predominant solid areas is diagnosed as a distinct variant on histological samples. Here we present a case of PTC recognized preoperatively by fine needle cytology as a solid variant. This diagnosis was made by combining cytology with the detection of the BRAFVK600-1E mutation, the molecular hallmark of the solid variant of PTC. Histological and molecular evaluation of the surgical specimen confirmed this pre-operative diagnosis. Thus combining cytology to BRAF molecular analysis is useful to refine the cytological diagnosis of this variant also on FNC specimens.

Accumulation of p27(kip1) is associated with cyclin D3 overexpression in the oxyphilic (Hurthle cell) variant of follicular thyroid carcinoma

Background: The down regulation of protein p27kip1 (p27) in most cases of thyroid cancer has relevant diagnostic and prognostic implications. However, the oxyphilic (Hurthle cell) variant of follicular thyroid carcinoma expresses more p27 than benign oxyphilic lesions do. Aim: To evaluate the mechanism underlying this difference in expression of p27. Methods: Because high levels of cyclin D3 lead to p27 accumulation in cell lines and clinical samples of thyroid cancer, the immunocytochemical pattern of cyclin D3 in oxyphilic (nu200a=u200a47) and non-oxyphilic (nu200a=u200a70) thyroid neoplasms was investigated. Results: In the whole study sample, there was a significant correlation between p27 and cyclin D3 expression (Spearman’s r: 0.64; p<0.001). The expression of cyclin D3 and p27 was significantly higher in the oxyphilic variant of follicular carcinomas than in non-oxyphilic carcinomas (p<0.001). In the former, cyclin D3 overexpression and p27 accumulation were observed in a median of 75% and 55% of cells, respectively. In co-immunoprecipitation experiments, the level of p27-bound cyclin D3 was much higher in oxyphilic neoplasias than in normal thyroids and other thyroid tumours. Conclusion: These results show that increased p27 expression in the oxyphilic (Hurthle cell) variant of follicular thyroid carcinoma results from cyclin D3 overexpression.

Arterial Tortuosity Syndrome: homozygosity for two novel and one recurrent SLC2A10 missense mutations in three families with severe cardiopulmonary complications in infancy and a literature review.

BackgroundArterial Tortuosity Syndrome (ATS) is a very rare autosomal recessive connective tissue disorder (CTD) characterized by tortuosity and elongation of the large- and medium-sized arteries and a propensity for aneurysm formation and vascular dissection. During infancy, children frequently present the involvement of the pulmonary arteries (elongation, tortuosity, stenosis) with dyspnea and cyanosis. Other CTD signs of ATS are dysmorphisms, abdominal hernias, joint hypermobility, skeletal abnormalities, and keratoconus. ATS is typically described as a severe disease with high rate of mortality due to major cardiovascular malformations. ATS is caused by mutations in the SLC2A10 gene, which encodes the facilitative glucose transporter 10 (GLUT10). Approximately 100 ATS patients have been described, and 21 causal mutations have been identified in the SLC2A10 gene.Case presentationWe describe the clinical findings and molecular characterization of three new ATS families, which provide insight into the clinical phenotype of the disorder; furthermore, we expand the allelic repertoire of SLC2A10 by identifying two novel mutations. We also review the ATS patients characterized by our group and compare their clinical findings with previous data.ConclusionsOur data confirm that the cardiovascular prognosis in ATS is less severe than previously reported and that the first years of life are the most critical for possible life-threatening events. Molecular diagnosis is mandatory to distinguish ATS from other CTDs and to define targeted clinical follow-up and timely cardiovascular surgical or interventional treatment, when needed.

Repeat syncopal attacks due to postsurgical right ventricular pseudoaneurysm.

Pseudoaneurysm of the right ventricular outflow tract is a rare lesion caused by disruption of the ventricular wall that allows the blood to leak into the surrounding space. It often complicates surgery involving right ventriculotomy and progressively increases in size, therefore causing airway compression, pulmonary perfusion asymmetry, thromboembolism, and rupture. We report on a patient who developed right ventricular pseudoaneurysm early after surgery for atrio-ventricular septal defect with tetralogy of Fallot and needed emergency surgical repair due to low cardiac output and repeat syncopal attacks.