Interleukin-8 [IL-8] in acute myocardial infarction: correlation with chlamydia pneumonia antibody seropositivity

This study was conducted to determine the relation between the chlamydia pneumoniae [CP] seropositivity and the serum levels of interleulcin-8 [IL-8] in patients with acute myocardial infarction [AMI]. The study included 77 Egyptian patients having AMI and 13 control healthy subjects of matched age and sex. CP antibody testing [IgM and IgG] was performed using indirect immunofluorescence test, together with IL-8 immunoassay in both patients and control. High titers of CP IgG antibodies were found in 55.8% of AMI patients [43 patients], while only one positive case [7.69%] was found in control group. Higher concentrations of IL-8 were found in AMI patients when compared with the control group. Also, the levels of IL-8 were higher among CP positive AMI patients when compared with negative cases. It was concluded that a high prevalence of anti-Chlamydia IgG antibodies was found among a group of AMI patients and also higher levels of IL-8 among CP positive cases was found. It can be suggested that CP chronic infection is implicated in these cases and it could be considered as a contributing factor for the persistence of elevated levels of the chemokine IL-8 in some of those patients

Closed mitral valvotomy in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis and associated aortic regurge

This work comprised 300 patients with tight mitral stenosis [MS] who underwent closed mitral valvotomy [CMV] operation and subdivided into two main subgroups: Subgroup A with MS and without associated aortic regurge [AR] [MS group] and comprised 100 patients and subgroup B with MS and associated AR [MS-AR group] and comprised 200 patients [130 patients had AR grade up to I/IV and 70 had AR grade ranged from >1/IV to II/IV; 180 patients had normal preoperative left ventricular, LV, dimensions and 20 patients had mild increased LV dimensions] [end systolic diameter, ESD, up to 4.2 cm and end diastolic diameter, EDD, up to 6.2 cm]. All patients were subjected to CMV operation, preoperatively and postoperatively [within three months, one year and three years]; clinical and Doppler echocardiographs evaluation. The study concluded that CMV operative can be done safely for patients with tight MS and associated AR up to grade II/IV and even among those patients having mild increased LV dimensions [ESD up to 4.2 cm and EDD up to 6.2 cm]. A longer follow up period [up to ten years] was recommended for these patients to evaluate the rate of the progression of AR and the need of AV replacement among them