Radovan Starc | PubMed Health

PubMed2002

Equinatoxin II-induced lysis Of the cultured endothelial cell line ECV-304.

Equinatoxin II (EqT II) is a pore-forming actinoporin. Its lethality in rat tissue is due to cardio-respiratory effects. The toxin contracts the vascular smooth muscle only in the presence of intact endothelium. In our study, its effects on the endothelial cell culture ECV-304 were tested. The EqT II effects were dose-dependent and were influenced by calcium ions and sucrose. The obtained results support the conclusion that calcium ions are the intracellular messengers of the EqT II effects on the isolated endothelial cells.

Cell Line↗

PubMed2002

Constructing a coronary scale for ischemic heart disease: case-control study.

AIM: To develop a scale measuring proneness to ischemic heart disease. METHODS: Ischemic heart disease was angiographically documented in 187 men. In 187 matched controls the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease was ruled out by examination of medical records and history data, and when necessary, clinical examination and specialized diagnostic procedures. Item analysis of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) was performed on 100 men with ischemic heart disease and their male controls, and then a replication study was performed on the remaining 87 pairs. RESULTS: A Coronary Scale was constructed from 8 EPQ items significantly and consistently different between the groups. Most of these items were drawn from the neuroticism scale. The Coronary Scale yielded significant correlations with emotionally saturated psychological variables. CONCLUSION: Coronary Scale may be useful in everyday practice to select patients with ischemic heart disease and those who are at higher risk to develop disease. It could be used for detecting a high-risk group of emotionally labile subjects to concentrate efforts for prevention of coronary disease.

Adaptation, Psychological↗