Rare anatomic entity of quadricuspid aortic valve with aortic insufficiency: a case report.

Quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) is a rare congenital heart defect that often causes symptomatic aortic insufficiency in adulthood, imposing valve replacement. Herein, we describe one unusual case of QAV which underwent valve replacement uneventfully.

IgM-anticardiolipin antibody and vascular access thrombosis in chronic hemodialysis patients.

AIM: Vascular access failure is a major cause of morbidity in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients. Elevated immunoglobulin-M anticardiolipin antibody (IgM-aCL) titer is associated with stenosis of vascular access in HD patients. The clinical significance of elevated IgM-aCL titer relative to recurrent vascular access thrombosis (VAT) in patients with HD is less clear. However, little information has been available until now about the clinical influence of elevated IgM-aCL titer with recurrent VAT in HD patients from Western countries, and no report exists for Taiwan. This study attempted to determine whether elevated IgM-aCL titer was associated with recurrent VAT in HD patients. METHODS: This study enrolled 483 patients undergoing HD. IgM-aCL titer and hepatitis C marker were measured for all subjects. RESULTS: Elevated IgM-aCL titer was present in 17.4% (84/483) of patients. There was no association recurrent VAT between elevated and normal IgM-aCL titers (P=0.90). Presence of hepatitis C had significant differences between elevated and normal IgM-aCL titers (P=0.027). CONCLUSIONS: We found no significant differences in recurrent VAT between elevated and normal IgM-aCL titer in chronic HD patients. Our results suggest recurrent VAT of synthetic or native fistula may not be caused by elevated IgM-aCL titer in these patients. Presence of hepatitis C may be a cofactor.

Diabetes mellitus, hyperhomocystinemia and atherosclerotic vascular disease in Taiwanese chronic hemodialysis patients: a retrospective study.

AIM: Diabetic patients with hemodialysis (HD) have a high mortality rate from atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD). However, the extent of the role of hyperhomocystinemia as a risk factor of ASVD is uncertain in diabetic HD patients. We investigated whether there was an association with ASVD events in diabetics and non-diabetics where these were chronic hyperhomocystinemia HD patients. METHODS: Two hundred patients undergoing HD were included in the study. About 50% of the patients had diabetes mellitus (DM). They had predialysis blood work performed for total homocysteine. A history of DM was elicited using information from the patients' questionnaires and verified by careful inpatient and outpatient chart review. RESULTS: A total of 196 patients had hyperhomocystinemia and were enrolled this study. Mean homocysteine concentration was 29.7 +/- 6.6 micromol/L overall. DM was present in 50.0% of patients. The mean homocysteine concentration was 29.4 +/- 9.5 micromol/L and 29.9 +/- 9.7 micromol/L in diabetic HD patients (n=98) and non-diabetic HD patients (n=98), respectively (P=0.71). There was no association with hyperhomocystinemia between diabetic and non-diabetic in chronic HD patients. There were significant differences including age, sex, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, hypertension, smoking, serum creatinine, dialysis duration and glucose intolerance in the two groups (P<0.05). There were also significant differences in ASVD (P=0.0027) and CVD (P=0.0017) between diabetics and non-diabetics in cases of chronic hyperhomocystinemia HD patients. The adjusted odds ratio for ASVD was 3.02 (95%CI, 1.63 to 5.59) for those subjects with a DM in the highest quartile compared with the lowest 3 quartiles. CONCLUSIONS: There were associations with ASVD and CVD in diabetics and non-diabetics in cases of chronic hyperhomocystinemia HD patients. There was no association with hyperhomocystinemia between diabetic and non-diabetic in Taiwanese chronic HD patients. This study found that the presence of DM and advanced age were the major determinants for ASVD events in chronic HD patients, rather than the levels of homocysteine.

Hyperhomocystinemia and the prevalence of symptomatic atherosclerotic vascular disease in Taiwanese chronic hemodialysis patients: a retrospective study.

AIM: Hyperhomocystinemia is now recognized as an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in patients with normal renal function. Hyperhomocystinemia is common in patients with chronic renal failure. This aim of this study was designed to look for associations between hyperhomocystinemia and clinically symptomatic atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD) in Taiwanese chronic hemodialysis patients. METHODS: Two hundred patients undergoing hemodialysis were enrolled in the study. They had predialysis blood work performed for total homocysteine, serum folate, and vitamin B12 levels. A history of clinically significant ASVD was elicited using information from the patients' questionnaires and verified by careful inpatient and outpatient chart review. RESULTS: Mean homocysteine concentration was 29.0 micromol/L overall. A total of 196 patients had hyperhomocystinemia and were enrolled in this study. ASVD was present in 24.5% of patients. The mean homocysteine concentration was 31.9 micromol/L and 28.7 micromol/L in patients with (n = 48) and without (n = 148) ASVD, respectively (P = 0.04). There was association hyperhomocystinemia between chronic hemodialysis patients with ASVD and without ASVD. There were significant differences including age, homocysteine level, vitamin B12 level and glucose intolerance in the two groups (P < 0.05). Plasma homocysteine concentrations showed significant positive correlations with serum folate or vitamin B12 in majority patients. No patient had serum folate or vitamin B12 deficiency. The adjusted odds ratio for atherosclerotic disease was 2.8 (95% CI, 1.109-7.467) for those subjects with a homocysteine level in the highest quartile compared with the lowest 3 quartiles. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hyperhomocystinemia is 98% among hemodialysis patients. There is a significant association between hyperhomocystinemia and ASVD in Taiwanese chronic hemodialysis patients. There are also associations between homocysteine levels and serum folate/vitamin B12 levels in the majority of the patients. Clinical trials are needed to determine the optimal therapy of folic acid dose for hyperhomocystinemia in Taiwanese chronic hemodialysis patients in the future.