Single coronary artery incidence in 215,140 patients undergoing coronary angiography.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study is to determine the incidence of single coronary artery (SCA). SCA is a rarely seen coronary anomaly in which the right coronary artery and the left main coronary artery arise from single aortic sinus. Although SCA has a benign course in most cases and its clinical significance is unknown, in some autopsy studies it was shown to be related to sudden cardiac death. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SCA patients detected among 215,140 coronary angiographies (CAG) performed between 1998 and 2013 in SANKO Hospital were included in our study. The classification of CAG was made according to the two different classifications defined by Smith and Lipton and colleagues. RESULTS: A total number of 215,140 patients who underwent routine CAG were included in the study, and SCA was detected in 67 (0.031%) patients. There were 6 (9%) type R-I, 23 (34%) type R-II, 10 (15%) type R-III, 16 (24%) type L-I and 12 (18%) type L-II patients according to the angiographic classification. CONCLUSIONS: SCA is rarely seen during routine cardiac catheterisation and its incidence is 0.014-0.066% in angiographic series. In our study, the incidence was shown to be similar to the previous studies.

The relationship between microalbuminuria and isolated coronary artery ectasia.

AIM: Coronary artery ectasia (CAE), is at least 1.5 fold dilatation of at least one coronary segment due to congenital or acquired causes. In this study, we aim to investigate the relation of CAE with microalbuminuria, which is a marker of endothelial dysfunction shown to be associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with CAE detected during routine coronary angiogram (CAG) and individuals with normal CAG findings have been included in our study. Urine albumin levels were measured by immunoturbidimetric method from samples collected in the morning. Patients with an albumin/creatinine (A/C) ratio less than 0.03 were normal and the ones between values 0.03-0.3 were considered to be microalbuminuric. Patients whose A/C ratios > 0.3 had macroalbuminuria and were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 105 patients (60 with CAE and 45 with normal CAG) were included in the study. Serum creatinine, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and homocysteine levels were increased in the CAE group. Urine A/C ratio was 0.036 ± 0.040 in the CAE group and 0.018 ± 0.013 in the controls; the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Blood homocysteine levels and urinary albumin levels are significantly increased in patients with CAE when compared to individuals with normal CAG. Microalbuminuria and hyperhomocysteinemia, two markers of endothelial dysfunction might be associated with pathophysiologic processes leading to CAE.

The effects of organic pesticides on inner membrane permeability in Escherichia coli ML35.

We have tested whether some pesticides might cause inner membrane leakage in ML35 Escherichia coli cells, which express beta-galactosidase (lacZ; EC 3.2.1.23) constitutively but lack the permease (lacY) required for substrate entry. The activity of beta-galactosidase (indicative of substrate leakage through the inner membrane) was increased by various concentrations of pesticides, including the organometallic fungicides maneb and mancozeb, the insecticide Thiodan, and the herbicide Ally, as well as by antibiotics such as ampicillin, gramicidin D, and the calcium ionophore A23187. The enzyme activity was increased by up to approximately 30% when the E. coli ML35 strain was exposed to various concentrations (between 50 and 250 ppm) of both fungicides. Thiodan had only a slight effect on beta-galactosidase activity (increase of 12.8%), whereas, among the antibiotics, the calcium ionophore at 20 microg/ml caused a significant increase in enzyme activity by up to 61.8%. This effect is similar to that of sodium dodecyl sulfate, used as positive control ( approximately 70% increase). Accumulation of maneb and mancozeb by bacterial cells was also studied taking advantage of their metal content and using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. In parallel with the increase in enzyme activity, both fungicides accumulated in the cells as a function of their concentration. Time course experiments (3, 6, and 9 h) of fungicide accumulation and of bacterial growth at various pesticide concentrations were also carried out. Maneb seems to inhibit the bacterial growth better than mancozeb. In addition, maneb uptake increases with time up to 9 h at all tested concentrations, whereas the accumulation of mancozeb is similar at all the exposure times tested. This indicates a different uptake and/or metabolizing strategy by E. coli cells for the two fungicides.