[Intravital and postmortem morphological studies and magnetic resonance imaging of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia].

The authors conducted histological, immunohistochemical, and morphometric studies of 47 endomyocardial biopsies and 33 hearts with a high morphological criterion for the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia after F.I. Marcus et al. (2010), as well as intravital and postmortem cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The average residual cardiomyocyte area was 39.7 +/- 12.8%, and the average cardiomyocyte diameter was 10.4 +/- 1.5 microm. Muscle fiber atrophy, lipomatosis, and fibrosis in the right ventricle were detected in all cases, myocarditis in 44%, mitral valve prolapse in 42%, and muscle fiber dyscomplexation in the right ventricular in 33%. The most informative signs for the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia using MRI are right ventricular contraction dyssynchrony and those using a morphological study are a residual cardiomyocyte area and muscle fiber atrophy in the right ventricle. A decrease in or focal absence of gamma-catenin expression in the muscle fibers was observed only in 60% of the patients.

[Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia as a cause of sudden cardiac death].

The paper gives data on the prevalence of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia as one of the common causes of sudden cardiac death, achievements in its molecular genetics, possible causes and cause-and-effect relations, microscopic and morphometric features of diagnosis.

[Effects of long-term therapy with losartan on baroreflex regulation of cardiovascular system]. / Vliianie dlitel'noi terapii lozartanom na sostoianie baroreflektornoi reguliatsii serdechno-sosudistoi sistemy.

To assess dynamics of structural-functional parameters of the circulatory system including the state of the cardiopulmonary baroreflex (CPBR) in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cardiac failure (CF) on losartan treatment, we studied 14 IHD men with CF (NYHA functional class II-III), mean age 54.6 +/- 7.1 years. Before and after losartan treatment the patients were examined using echocardiography, radiocardiography with 131-I albumin, occlusion plethysmography, 131-I hippuran clearance. CPBP was estimated by the change in circulation flow rate in the forearm in low body rarefaction by means of low pressure camera. Losartan was given in maximal tolerance dose (25-100 mg/day). Examination in the end of the treatment demonstrated diminished venous tone, increased blood flow in the forearm, reduced volume of circulating plasm, elevated hematocrit, higher ratio of early to late filling peaks of the left ventricle, progression of baroreflex dysfunction. Thus, long-term losartan treatment promoted improvement in peripheral vascular tonicity, diastolic function of left-ventricular myocardium, reduction in circulating plasm volume, progression of baroreflex dysfunction.