Percutaneous collagen induction therapy: an alternative treatment for burn scars

This study aims to evaluate percutaneous collagen induction (PCI) in post-burn scarring.

Figulla PFO occluder versus Amplatzer PFO occluder for percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale

Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been shown safe and feasible using several devices. The Occlutech Figulla single layer PFO Occluder (FPO) constitutes an alternative to the Amplatzer PFO Occluder (APFO).

Percutaneous coronary interventions in Europe in 2006

This registry has aimed to collect data on cardiac catheterisation procedures in Europe in 2006.

All comers 5 french transfemoral percutaneous coronary intervention without sheath

There is an interest to keep the arterial access site for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) small. Using sheaths for introduction of arterial catheters is standard. The effective outer diameter of the usual introducer sheaths is about 1.5 French (F) larger than the labeled size. Omitting the sheath affords a smaller access without loss of working lumen.

PLAATO (Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Transcatheter Occlusion) for prevention of cardioembolic stroke in non-anticoagulation eligible atrial fibrillation patients: results from the European PLAATO study

The European PLAATO (Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Transcatheter Occlusion) study was performed to determine the safety and efficacy of left atrial appendage occlusion by catheter technique. Embolic stroke due to atrial fibrillation is a common observation, especially in the elderly. Most thrombi in atrial fibrillation form in the left atrial appendage (LAA), its occlusion may therefore reduce the incidence of stroke in these patients.

Impact of percutaneous patent foramen ovale closure on migraine course

Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by an increased individual susceptibility to respond to certain triggers by a propagating wave of neuronal depolarization that culminates in typical migraine headaches. Patients with a patent foramen ovale or any kind of right-to-left shunt are more likely to have migraine; and patients with migraine with aura are more likely to have a patent foramen ovale than patients without migraine. Nonrandomized reports of patent foramen ovale closure in divers, in patients with paradoxical embolism and in migraine patients with ischemic brain lesions have shown an impressive reduction in migraine headaches during follow-up. To date, the only double-blind, randomized controlled trial with a sham procedure in the control arm failed to show any benefit, probably owing to inadequate patient selection and maybe because of a high residual shunt rate. Two other randomized trials continue to enroll patients with migraine with aura and drug-refractory headaches and their results are awaited.

Trpv6 mediates intestinal calcium absorption during calcium restriction and contributes to bone homeostasis

Energy-dependent intestinal calcium absorption is important for the maintenance of calcium and bone homeostasis, especially when dietary calcium supply is restricted. The active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)], is a crucial regulator of this process and increases the expression of the transient receptor potential vanilloid 6 (Trpv6) calcium channel that mediates calcium transfer across the intestinal apical membrane. Genetic inactivation of Trpv6 in mice (Trpv6(-/-)) showed, however, that TRPV6 is redundant for intestinal calcium absorption when dietary calcium content is normal/high and passive diffusion likely contributes to maintain normal serum calcium levels. On the other hand, Trpv6 inactivation impaired the increase in intestinal calcium transport following calcium restriction, however without resulting in hypocalcemia. A possible explanation is that normocalcemia is maintained at the expense of bone homeostasis, a hypothesis investigated in this study. In this study, we thoroughly analyzed the bone phenotype of Trpv6(-/-) mice receiving a normal (approximately 1%) or low (approximately 0.02%) calcium diet from weaning onwards using micro-computed tomography, histomorphometry and serum parameters. When dietary supply of calcium is normal, Trpv6 inactivation did not affect growth plate morphology, bone mass and remodeling parameters in young adult or aging mice. Restricting dietary calcium had no effect on serum calcium levels and resulted in a comparable reduction in bone mass accrual in Trpv6(+/+) and Trpv6(-/-) mice (-35% and 45% respectively). This decrease in bone mass was associated with a similar increase in bone resorption, whereas serum osteocalcin levels and the amount of unmineralized bone matrix were only significantly increased in Trpv6(-/-) mice. Taken together, our findings indicate that TRPV6 contributes to intestinal calcium transport when dietary calcium supply is limited and in this condition indirectly regulates bone formation and/or mineralization.