Acute basilar artery occlusion in the Basilar Artery International Cooperation Study: does gender matter?

Randomized trials suggested a different benefit of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and intra-arterial thrombolysis (IAT) between men and women with anterior circulation stroke because of a worse outcome of women in the control group.

Synthesis, base pairing properties and trans-lesion synthesis by reverse transcriptases of oligoribonucleotides containing the oxidatively damaged base 5-hydroxycytidine

The synthesis of a caged RNA phosphoramidite building block containing the oxidatively damaged base 5-hydroxycytidine (5-HOrC) has been accomplished. To determine the effect of this highly mutagenic lesion on complementary base recognition and coding properties, this building block was incorporated into a 12-mer oligoribonucleotide for Tm and CD measurements and a 31-mer template strand for primer extension experiments with HIV-, AMV- and MMLV-reverse transcriptase (RT). In UV-melting experiments, we find an unusual biphasic transition with two distinct Tm's when 5-HOrC is paired against a DNA or RNA complement with the base guanine in opposing position. The higher Tm closely matches that of a C-G base pair while the lower is close to that of a C-A mismatch. In single nucleotide extension reactions, we find substantial misincorporation of dAMP and to a lesser extent dTMP, with dAMP almost equaling that of the parent dGMP in the case of HIV-RT. A working hypothesis for the biphasic melting transition does not invoke tautomeric variability of 5-HOrC but rather local structural perturbations of the base pair at low temperature induced by interactions of the 5-HO group with the phosphate backbone. The properties of this RNA damage is discussed in the context of its putative biological function.

Position paper on the management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension: joint recommendations by the European Society of Hypertension, by the European Respiratory Society and by the members of European COST (COoperation in Scientific and Technological research) ACTION B26 on obstructive sleep apnea

This article is aimed at addressing the current state of the art in epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic procedures and treatment options for appropriate management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in cardiovascular (particularly hypertensive) patients, as well as for the management of cardiovascular diseases (particularly arterial hypertension) in OSA patients. The present document is the result of the work done by a panel of experts participating in the European Union COST (COoperation in Scientific and Technological research) ACTION B26 on OSA, with the endorsement of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH). These recommendations are particularly aimed at reminding cardiovascular experts to consider the occurrence of sleep-related breathing disorders in patients with high blood pressure. They are at the same time aimed at reminding respiration experts to consider the occurrence of hypertension in patients with respiratory problems at night.

Extent of hypoattenuation on CT angiography source images in basilar artery occlusion: prognostic value in the Basilar Artery International Cooperation Study

The posterior circulation Acute Stroke Prognosis Early CT Score (pc-ASPECTS) quantifies the extent of early ischemic changes in the posterior circulation with a 10-point grading system. We hypothesized that pc-ASPECTS applied to CT angiography source images predicts functional outcome of patients in the Basilar Artery International Cooperation Study (BASICS).