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Biomedical subjects

N Munfakh

Publications and source records attributed to N Munfakh.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation with bipolar radiofrequency ablation: mid-term results in one hundred consecutive patients.

AIM: The Cox-Maze procedure was introduced nearly two decades ago for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Recently, our group has replaced most of the incisions of the Cox-Maze procedure with bipolar radiofrequency (RF) ablations (Cox-Maze IV procedure). The purpose of this study was to examine our midterm results with the Cox-Maze procedure using bipolar RF ablation. METHODS: From January 2002 to October 2005, 100 consecutive patients underwent a modified Cox-Maze procedure with bipolar RF ablation for AF; 32 were lone operations, and 68 were concomitant procedures. Follow-up was performed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, and then annually thereafter. Heart rhythm was confirmed by electrocardiography. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 62+/-13 years; 57% were male. Duration of AF was 6.3+/-7.6 years (0.1 to 40 years), 59% had paroxysmal AF, and 34% had permanent AF. Follow-up was complete for all patients with a mean follow-up of 13+/-10 months. At 12-month follow-up, 91% (49/54) of patients were free of AF. Cross-clamp time in the lone Cox-Maze IV procedure patients was 42+/-15 minutes, while it was 101+/-29 minutes for the Cox-Maze IV with a concomitant procedure (compared to 93+/-34 minutes and 122+/-37 minutes for the traditional procedure, P<0.05). There were four operative deaths. CONCLUSIONS: The Cox-Maze IV procedure had good mid-term efficacy. The use of bipolar RF energy significantly decreased operative time and simplified the procedure compared to the traditional Cox-Maze procedure, potentially increasing utilization of the procedure among cardiac surgeons.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Fatty acid block of the transient outward current in adult human atrium.

Fatty acids represent an essential source of fuel for the heart and play an important role in the mechanical, electrical, and synthetic activities of cardiac cells. Under pathological conditions, such as ischemia followed by reperfusion, the myocardium is exposed to very high levels of fatty acids, in particular the monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid. Elevated plasma fatty acids have been linked to an increased risk for cardiac arrhythmias. In other species, fatty acids have been shown to modulate several cardiac ion channels, most notably potassium channels. Virtually nothing is known about the actions of oleic acid on potassium channels in human heart. We therefore characterized the effects of oleic acid on the transient outward current, sustained current, and inwardly rectifying current, some of the major potassium channels present in human atrium, using the whole-cell patch clamp method. Exposure of cells to oleic acid (5 microM) reduced the transient outward potassium current to 3.7 +/- 0.8 pA/pF (n = 4) compared with 7.0 +/- 0.7 pA/pF (n = 4) (P <. 05) for cells not exposed. In contrast, oleic acid had little effect on either the sustained current (4.3 +/- 0.3 pA/pF, n = 4 for oleic acid versus 4.8 +/- 0.5, n = 5 for control) present after the decay of the transient outward current or on the amplitude of IK1 measured at -100 mV (1.4 +/- 0.4 pA/pF, n = 4 for oleic acid versus 1.3 +/- 0. 4 pA/pF, n = 6 for control). In addition, oleic acid significantly slowed the rate of recovery of the transient outward current, which is predicted to result in a use-dependent reduction in current amplitude in the beating heart. These results suggest a possible contributing role for oleic acid block of the transient outward current in the pathological consequences of myocardial ischemia.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Abdominal apoplexy.

We describe the case of a patient with abdominal apoplexy, the spontaneous rupture of a visceral vessel. Laparotomy revealed a hematoma arising from a ruptured gastroepiploic artery. We report the usefulness of preoperative abdominal computed tomography and transgastric ultrasonography and discuss the condition of abdominal apoplexy. An increased awareness of the condition is perhaps the most valuable aspect of the early preoperative diagnosis of this potentially fatal condition.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Development of hypothalamic opioid neurons: a combined immunocytochemical and [3H]thymidine autoradiographic study.

Using a combined technique of immunocytochemistry and [3H]thymidine autoradiography, we have determined the "birth-date" of opioid peptide containing neurons in three hypothalamic nuclei. These include proopiomelanocortin neurons (indicated by ACTH immunoreactivity) in the arcuate nucleus, dynorphin A neurons in the supraoptic nucleus, and [Leu]enkephalin neurons in the periventricular nucleus. Arcuate proopiomelanocortin neurons were born very early in embryonic development, with peak heavy [3H]thymidine nuclear labelling occurring on embryonic day E12. Supraoptic dynorphin A neurons were also labelled relatively early (peak at E13). By contrast, [Leu]enkephalin neurons in the periventricular nucleus exhibited peak heavy nuclear labelling on day E14. The results indicate a differential genesis of these three opioid peptide containing neuronal groups in three different hypothalamic nuclei.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1983

Ontogeny of opioid and related peptides in the rat cns and pituitary: an immunocytochemical study.

The development of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) derived peptides was compared to that of leucine-enkephalin ([Leu]ENK) and dynorphin A (DYN-A) immunoreactivity (i.r.) in the rat CNS and pituitary gland. POMC i.r. appeared first in hypothalamic neurons on embryonic day E12, in pituitary anterior lobe (AL) cells on E15, in pituitary intermediate lobe (IL) cells on E16, and in perikarya of the nucleus tractus solitarius on E17. In the fetal stages (E19-22), all POMC systems appeared adult-like; however, peak i.r. occurred between postnatal days P21-28. The development of alpha-MSH (a-MSH) i.r. was dissimilar to that of other POMC peptides including beta-endorphin (B-End). In contrast, both [Leu]ENK and DYN-A i.r. appeared in later embryonic stages (E16-17), and their maturation lagged behind that of POMC peptides. Peak i.r. for these latter peptides also occurred between P21-28.

Aging↗