As soon as the distal anastomosis was completed, rapid rewarming was initiated by 40 degrees C blood perfusion.

Results: The durations of cerebral protection group 1, 75.8 minutes, vs group II, 18.8 minutes),

cardiopulmonary bypass (I, 201.2, vs II, 84.4 minutes), and overall operation (I, 425.6, vs II, 148.6 minutes) were significantly shorter in group II. In group 1, 5 patients had complications of cerebral damage and 5 required re-exploration for bleeding, 7 had pneumonia, 6 required hemodialysis for renal failure, and the hospital mortality rate was 24% (6 patients). On the other hand, ABT-888 in vitro no such complications or mortality were observed in group II (P < .0291). Postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter for the patients in group II than in group I (13.2 days vs 33.7 days; P <.000 1).

Conclusion: Less invasive quick replacement is safe and effective. It should be a standard surgical technique for octogenarians with type A acute aortic dissection.”
“The mainly glia-derived protein S100B has been shown to be involved in the pathophysiology of diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, schizophrenia or depression. These diseases go along with distinct changes of cerebral neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors.

Few and partly inconsistent data exist on the influence of cerebral S100B protein levels on different neurotransmitters. Therefore we investigated levels of serotonin (5-HT) and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic selleck compound acid (5-HIAA), noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the hippocampus, frontal cortex and residual neocortex in S100B knock out (S100B KO) mice compared to wildtype controls. There was a significant increase of hippocampal BDNF (+53%) and a decrease C-X-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CXCR-7) of hippocampal (-12%)

and residual neocortical (-15%) NA in 10-month-old S100B KO mice compared to wildtype mice whereas the other mediators investigated did not show genotype-dependent changes. The increased hippocampal BDNF may represent an endogenous attempt to compensate trophic effects of S100B protein especially on serotonergic neurons, which have been shown to be unaffected in S100B KO mice previously. As referred to changes in NA levels functional studies are warranted to elucidate the link between S100B protein and the noradrenergic metabolism. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Objective: This study investigated the effects of a quality improvement program and goal-oriented, multidisciplinary protocols on mortality after cardiac surgery.