Methods: All medically treated patients with acute type B aortic dissection observed in 4 cardiovascular referral centers between 1998 and 2011, with admission and follow-up computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans, were included. Aortic diameters of the

dissected aortas were measured at 4 levels on the baseline and follow-up scans, and annual growth rates were calculated. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to investigate the effect of false lumen thrombosis on aortic growth rate.

Results: A total of 84 patients were included, of whom 40 (47.6%) had a partially thrombosed false lumen, 7 (8.3%) had a completely thrombosed false lumen, and 37 (44.0%) had a patent false lumen. A total of 273 Compound C cell line of the 336 (81.3%) evaluated aortic levels were dissected segments. Overall, the mean aortic diameter increased significantly at all evaluated levels (P <. 001). Univariate analysis showed that annual aortic growth rates were significantly higher in those segments having a false lumen with partial thrombosis (mean, 4.25 +/- 10.2) when compared with the patent group (mean, 2.10 +/- 5.56; P = .035). In multivariate analysis, partial lumen thrombosis was an independent predictor of higher aortic growth (adjusted mean difference, 2.05 mm/year; 95% confidence interval, 0.10-4.01; P = .040).

Conclusions:

In patients with acute type B aortic dissection, aortic segments with a partially thrombosed false lumen have a Panobinostat significantly higher annual aortic growth rate when compared with those presenting with patent or complete thrombosis of the false lumen. Therefore, patients with partial

thrombosis require more intensive follow-up and may benefit from prophylactic intervention. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2013;145:S208-12)”
“Methamphetamine (MAP) dependence is a highly heritable and aberrant dopaminergic signaling that has been implicated in the disease. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), which plays an important role in the survival of dopaminergic neurons, may be involved in this disorder. In this study, we examined the association between GDNF and MAP dependence using a Japanese population-based sample.

We selected eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Coproporphyrinogen III oxidase the GDNF locus for the association analysis. When patients with MAP dependence were divided into two subgroups consisting of multi-substance and MAP-only users, we detected a significant association between these two groups and the tagging SNP, rs2910704 (after Bonferroni’s correction; allele P = 0.034). Thus, GDNF is likely to be related to the severity of MAP use in the Japanese population. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Objective: Open surgical replacement of the whole aorta in mega aorta syndrome remains a surgical challenge. We report our experience in the treatment of patients with mega aorta syndrome using a 3-stage hybrid repair.