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PubMed2006

Rapid fatty acid ethyl ester synthesis by porcine myocardium upon ethanol infusion into the left anterior descending coronary artery.

Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs), nonoxidative metabolites of ethanol, have been implicated in ethanol-induced heart injury. To assess the in vivo production of FAEEs by myocardial tissue, we used a modified ethanol ablation procedure in pigs. A controlled 60-minute ethanol infusion was administered into the distal left anterior descending coronary artery in seven swine; serial blood sampling of the coronary sinus and peripheral vein before, during, and after infusion allowed measurement of FAEE production and ethanol levels in the coronary sinus and the peripheral circulation. In a single animal, FAEEs were also quantified from nine different sites within the myocardium. FAEEs were produced by the heart within 5 minutes of exposure to ethanol, with very high concentrations of FAEEs detected in coronary sinus blood. Significant variability in amounts of FAEEs was detected in different regions of the heart tissue. A strong correlation was found between coronary sinus FAEEs and ethanol concentration (r = 0.9241, P < 0.00001). FAEE production by the heart after delivery of ethanol into the left anterior descending coronary artery was rapid, reaching levels in the coronary sinus blood 4 to 10 times greater than that found in peripheral blood after ethanol intake. These data demonstrate that FAEEs may be mediators of ethanol-induced cardiotoxicity.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Effects of traumatic brain injury on regional cerebral blood flow in rats as measured with radiolabeled microspheres.

To clarify the effect of experimental brain injury on regional CBF (rCBF), repeated rCBF measurements were performed using radiolabeled microspheres in rats subjected to fluid-percussion traumatic brain injury. Three consecutive microsphere injections in six uninjured control rats substantiated that the procedure induces no significant changes in hemodynamic variables or rCBF. Animals were subjected to left parietal fluid-percussion brain injury of moderate severity (2.1-2.4 atm) and rCBF values were determined (a) prior to injury and 15 min and 1 h following injury (n = 7); and (b) prior to injury and 30 min and 2 h following injury (n = 7). At 15 min post injury, there was a profound reduction of rCBF in all brain regions studied (p less than 0.01). Although rCBF in the hindbrain had recovered to near-normal by 30 min post injury, rCBF in both injured and contralateral (uninjured) forebrain areas remained significantly suppressed up to 1 h post injury. At 2 h post injury, recovery of rCBF to near-normal values was observed in all brain regions except the focal area of injury (left parietal cortex) where rCBF remained significantly depressed (p less than 0.01). This prolonged focal oligemia at the injury site was associated with the development of reproducible cystic necrosis in the left parietotemporal cortex at 4 weeks post injury. Our results demonstrate that acute changes in rCBF occur following experimental traumatic brain injury in rats and that rCBF remains significantly depressed up to 2 h post injury in the area circumscribing the trauma site.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Lactate extraction fails to accurately reflect regional lactate production in ischemic myocardium.

Lactate extraction (defined as arteriovenous lactate concentration difference divided by arterial concentration and expressed as a percent) is often reported as the indicator of anaerobic cardiac metabolism in studies dealing with myocardial ischemia. However, lactate extraction ignores the effect of regional blood flow and, therefore, fails to consider the total mass of lactate consumed or produced (lactate flux). This study examined the relationship between lactate flux and calculated lactate extraction. Fourteen anesthetized dogs were instrumented to allow sampling of blood from the left anterior descending coronary artery (LADa) and vein (LADv) and a circumflex coronary vein (CFXv), as well as measurement of regional myocardial blood flow (RMBF) using microspheres, and measurement of systemic hemodynamic variables. Complete data sets (before LADa occlusion, after 15 minutes of LAD occlusion, and after 1 hour of reperfusion) were obtained in nine dogs. Only minor systemic hemodynamic changes occurred during LADa occlusion when compared with "before" and "after" values. Likewise, LADa occlusion produced only minor alterations in blood gas tensions, pH, concentrations of glucose, lactate, and RMBF in samples from the CFX perfusion zone. In contrast, LAD occlusion decreased RMBF in the LADa perfusion zone and produced significant hypercarbia and acidemia, as well as an increased LADv lactate concentration. In the LAD zone, lactate extraction decreased significantly from 15.9% +/- 7.0% before LAD occlusion to -77.4% +/- 21.8% during LAD occlusion (P less than 0.05). However, lactate flux (arteriovenous concentration difference x RMBF) in the LAD zone before and during LAD occlusion was not statistically significantly different (1.3 +/- 0.8 mg/min/100 g and -1.5 +/- 0.8 mg/min/100 g, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Myocardial tissue velocities in the normal left and right ventricle: relationships and predictors.

OBJECTIVES: (1) To document, using tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE), the regional variations in myocardial velocities (MV) in the left and right ventricles (LV and RV) in healthy young adults. (2) To determine the factors predicting MV. BACKGROUND: The pattern of tissue velocities within the right ventricle have yet to be determined and their patterns compared to the left ventricular velocities have not yet been described. METHODS: Forty healthy subjects, mean age 29+/-6 years, were studied using TDE. Left ventricular long-axis velocities (V(LV-LX)) were obtained by sampling from anteroseptal, anterior, lateral, posterior, inferior and inferoseptal LV walls, and long-axis RV velocities (V(RV-LX)) from the free wall of the RV, in standard apical views. LV radial velocities (V(LV-RAD)) and RV radial velocities (V(RV-RAD)) were assessed from the parasternal long and short-axis views. Regression analyses were performed to assess for correlations of MV with the variables: age, sex, QRS duration, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, LV mass, width, LV or RV lengths, LA or RA areas. RESULTS: There were marked but consistent regional variations in systolic and diastolic tissue velocities in the LV and RV. Systolic (S') and early diastolic (E') velocities differed significantly around the left ventricular base, the highest velocities being located within the free wall at 6.4+/-2.2cm/s and 11.3+/-3.1cm/s, respectively. The E'/S'ratio remained constant and independent of position. V(LV-LX) were significantly higher than V(LV-RAD) (p<0.001). V(LV-LX)S' velocities were consistently lower than V(RV-LX)S' velocities (p<0.001). Age, heart rate, LV mass, width and length were significantly and independently associated with V(LV-LX)S' and V(LV-LX)E' values (p<0.01 for each). CONCLUSIONS: In healthy young adults, there is a consistent pattern of non-uniform MV throughout the heart, including differences in longitudinal and radial axis velocities both within the LV and between the LV and RV. Age, heart rate and LV structure are important determinants of MV. CONDENSED ABSTRACT: The patterns of left and right ventricular myocardial velocities and their relationships to each other are not well characterized. Furthermore, the determinants of myocardial velocities are not known. This study evaluated the myocardial longitudinal and radial axis tissue velocities in both the left (LV) and right (RV) ventricles and found that a consistent but non-uniform relationship exists between the LV and RV in both longitudinal and radial axes. Furthermore, age, heart rate and LV dimensions account for between 20% and 70% of the variability seen in LV systolic and diastolic velocities.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Unilateral posterior parietal lobe lesions disrupt kinaesthetic representation of forearm orientation.

OBJECTIVE: To apply the lesion method to assess neuroanatomical substrates for judgments of forearm orientation from proprioceptive cues in humans. METHODS: Participants were 15 subjects with chronic unilateral brain lesions and stable behavioural deficits, and 14 neurologically normal controls. Subjects aligned the forearm to earth fixed vertical and trunk fixed anterior-posterior (A-P) axes ("straight ahead"), with the head aligned to the trunk and with head and shoulder orientations varied on each trial. RESULTS: Most subjects with posterior parietal lobe lesions made larger variable errors than controls in aligning the forearm to the earth fixed vertical axis and the trunk A-P axes, whether the head was held upright or oriented in different positions. Lesion subjects and controls made similar constant errors for aligning the forearm to gravitational vertical. Variable error magnitude correlated positively with greater lesion volume of right and left superior parietal lobules (SPL), but not with lesions in other brain areas. Larger variable errors for aligning the forearm to the trunk fixed A-P axis were also correlated with the volume of SPL lesions, but constant error magnitude correlated with larger volume lesions in premotor areas, inferior parietal lobules, and posterior regions of the superior temporal gyri, but not with SPL lesion volume. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the right and left superior and inferior parietal lobules, posterior superior temporal gyri, and premotor areas play a role in defining higher level coordinate systems for specifying orientation of the right and left forearm.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Kinetics of 123I-MIBG after acute myocardial infarction and reperfusion therapy.

UNLABELLED: Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) washout from the myocardium has been thought to reflect sympathetic nerve tone. After acute myocardial infarction, however, little is known about this parameter. The aim of this study was to determine the significance of cardiac washout after myocardial infarction and early reperfusion by investigating MIBG kinetics and correlating those kinetics to clinical parameters. METHODS: Sixty patients with acute myocardial infarction underwent planar MIBG and thallium imaging within 14 d of early reperfusion therapy. Global uptake and washout in myocardium, lungs and liver were calculated from early and delayed images. A regional analysis of myocardial kinetics in normal and infarcted myocardium and in an infarct border zone was also performed. Scintigraphic data were correlated with heart-rate variability as an electrophysiologic marker for autonomic tone and prevalence of arrhythmia in 52 patients. Heart-rate variability was described by time-domain indices from long-term electrocardiogram recordings. An age-matched normal control group for MIBG consisted of 10 individuals without heart disease. RESULTS: The infarct patients had preserved left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (56% +/- 17%). Although late myocardial uptake was expectedly lower in infarct patients compared with healthy volunteers (2.36 +/- 0.66 versus 2.80 +/- 0.55; P = 0.04), global myocardial MIBG washout was faster (11.6% +/- 7.9% versus 0.2% +/- 10.2%, respectively; P = 0.002). Lung and liver kinetics did not differ in patients and healthy volunteers. Global MIBG washout showed a weak but significant positive correlation with the baseline heart rate (r = 0.28, P = 0.03) and an inverse correlation with LVEF (r = -0.28, P = 0.04). Washout was faster in a subgroup of 8 patients with reduced heart-rate variability (16.5% +/- 9.9% versus 10.3% +/- 8.3%; P = 0.04). Regional analysis revealed similar degrees of enhanced MIBG washout for infarcted (low perfusion, low MIBG uptake) and remote myocardium (normal perfusion, high MIBG uptake), whereas the border zone (normal perfusion, low MIBG uptake) showed a nonsignificant trend toward higher washout. CONCLUSION: After myocardial infarction, changes in MIBG kinetics occur specifically in the myocardium, whereas kinetics in lung and liver remain unchanged. Even in patients with left-ventricular function preserved by reperfusion therapy, MIBG washout is abnormal and globally increased. Enhanced washout may reflect increased sympathetic nerve tone and represent increased catecholamine turnover or impaired reuptake in the subacute phase of myocardial infarction.

3-Iodobenzylguanidine↗

PubMed1998

Validation of Doppler FloWire for measurement of coronary flow reserve in humans.

Previous studies have validated the 133Xenon (133Xe) method to assess regional myocardial blood flow and coronary flow reserve (CFR). Doppler FloWire (DFW) has been used recently for measuring CFR to assess the physiological significance of coronary stenosis. Data obtained by DFW has never been correlated to 133Xe. Our study compared data from DFW measurement of CFR to that obtained by 133Xe in 31 consecutive patients with variable coronary stenosis. Regional myocardial blood flow was measured by assessing the rate constants of 133Xe washout using multicrystal gamma camera after injection (20 millicuries) in the right or left coronary artery. CFR was assessed by measuring resting and hyperemic coronary blood flow by 133Xe and DFW using i.v. adenosine (140 mcg/k/min x 3 min). CFR was also measured by DFW giving intracoronary (i.c.) adenosine (12 microg in the right coronary, 18 microg in the left). In both methods--133Xe and DFW--coronary flow reserve was defined as the ratio of maximal hyperemic-to-baseline flow. DFW and 133Xe assessment of CFR correlated highly, whether adenosine was used i.c.(r=0.87; P=0.0001) or i.v.(r=0.78; P=0.0001). CFR obtained by DFW following i.c. and i.v. adenosine correlated well (r=0.79; P=0.0001). i.c. adenosine has fewer side effects. Both DFW and 133Xe are comparable in measuring CFR in humans.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Reproducibility of measures of neurophysiological activity in Wernicke's area: a magnetic source imaging study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of estimates of neurophysiological activity obtained with Magnetic Source Imaging. METHODS: Split-half data sets were obtained from 14 healthy volunteers during performance of a continuous recognition task for spoken words. The concurrent validity of spatiotemporal activation maps obtained with this task has been previously verified through comparisons with the Wada test and electrocortical stimulation mapping. Consecutive late activity sources (> 200 ms after stimulus onset) were modeled independently as equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) and used to identify the location of language-specific cortex in the left hemisphere (Wernicke's area). RESULTS: Linear displacement of the geometric center of the cluster of ECDs in this region ranged between 2 and 8 mm across subjects. Intraparticipant variability (range) in the onset latency of activity was +/-50 ms, while the range of change in global field power for the entire set of ECDs in Wernicke's area was less than 17% in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that despite its many conceptual limitations the ECD model can provide reliable estimates of regional cortical activity associated with the engagement of linguistic processes. SIGNIFICANCE: The results highlight the need for reproducibility studies when research questions pose particular requirements for precision of estimates of regional neurophysiological activity.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Echocardiographic prediction of complications in patients with chest pain.

The optimal role of Doppler echocardiography in the evaluation of patients with acute chest pain syndromes is unclear. We prospectively studied a cohort of 466 patients admitted with acute chest pain syndromes to clarify the relation between echocardiographic data and the risk of serious predischarge complications, and to determine if echocardiographic data can provide incremental prognostic information beyond clinical and electrocardiographic variables. Doppler echocardiograms, performed an average of 21 hours after presentation, were independently analyzed by 2 echocardiographers for information on global left and right ventricular function and valvular disease. Regional function was assessed by a wall motion index (WMI). A composite complications end point was positive if significant recurrent myocardial ischemia, heart failure, or arrhythmia developed after the echocardiogram. In univariate analysis, left (odds ratio [OR] 2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6, 5.1) and right (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.2, 6.2) ventricular function, left ventricular end-diastolic (OR 1.6/cm, 95% CI 1.1, 2.3) and end-systolic (OR 1.4/cm, 95% CI 1.1, 1.9) dimensions, and WMI (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.8, 4.8) predicted complications that developed after the echocardiogram. In multivariate analysis, WMI remained an incremental predictor of risk with an OR of 2.2/unit (95% CI 1.2, 3.9) scaled from 1 to 4. Even in the subset of 403 patients without acute myocardial infarction, WMI was associated with an OR of 1.9 (95% CI 1.0, 3.7). We conclude that early echocardiography provides incremental prognostic information concerning risk of subsequent complications in patients hospitalized with chest pain.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Cerebral hypoperfusion in medication resistant, depressed patients assessed by Tc99m HMPAO SPECT.

Functional imaging studies generally show decreased cerebral metabolism and perfusion in depressed patients relative to normal controls, although the location of the deficits varies. We used Tc99m HMPAO SPECT to compare cerebral blood flow in medication resistant, depressed patients and a normal control group. HMPAO uptake ratios (adjusted for age) were significantly lower in the depressed patients in the transaxial slices 4 cm and 6 cm above the orbitomeatal line (OML) on the left side. Examining individual regions of interest (corrected for age and multiple testing), we found significantly lower perfusion in the left superior temporal, right parietal and bilateral occipital regions in the patient group. These findings are in limited agreement with previous HMPAO SPECT studies. Methodological differences between studies, particularly variability in adjusting data for age, lead to a divergence in findings. Future research should seek to standardize protocols and data analysis in order to generate comparable results.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Regional differentiation of neuron morphology in human left and right hippocampus: comparing normal to schizophrenia.

Regional differentiation based on size, form, and orientation angle of the soma of individual neurons in human post-mortem hippocampus was determined through correlations between pairs of hippocampal subfields in each side separately. The neurons were previously measured on a computer. In the normal cases, a left-right asymmetrical pattern of regional differentiation based on soma size emerged, while for form and orientation angle, the patterns appeared symmetrical. In schizophrenia, regional soma size, form, and orientation variability were expressed largely symmetrically. Regional correlations based on neuronal density revealed an asymmetrical hemispheric pattern in the normal cases versus a nearly symmetrical pattern in schizophrenia. Taken together, the inter-regional correlations favor a hippocampal landscape that deviates in each side from connectivity based on the canonical trisynaptic hippocampal circuitry. It is proposed that during morphogenesis, rudimentary inter-regional networks are formed through specific interactions between regional neurons; these networks are present in the adult hippocampus and may be vulnerable in brain diseases.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Visuoconstructive performance and regional cerebral glucose metabolism in Alzheimer's disease.

The drawings of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and elderly control subjects were rated on a number of specific performance scales, such as attention to configuration, attention to detail, and stimulus boundedness. AD patients showed significantly poorer performance than controls on most drawing scales, and the drawing measures were differentially affected by disease severity. Regional cerebral glucose metabolism (rCMRglc) was assessed via positron emission tomography (PET, with 18FDG) in a subgroup of the AD patients. Partial correlations of rCMRglc with drawing measures (age, sex, and education served as control variables) were conducted. Five out of eight of the drawing measures were significantly correlated (p less than .005) with rCMRglc in occipital and/or temporal-parietal regions, for both left and right hemispheres. Only one of the eight drawing measures, attention to detail, was significantly correlated with rCMRglc in both frontal and posterior regions of interest, again for both hemispheres. Overall dementia severity showed no significant correlations with rCMRglc in any of the regions. These findings are suggestive of a posterior-anterior differentiation, but no left-right hemisphere differentiation, in the relationship between drawing performance and cerebral metabolism in AD, which cannot be accounted for by overall dementia severity. Differences between the drawing performance of AD and unilateral brain damaged patients are discussed, and further applications of the rating scales (provided in the Appendix) are suggested.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

A family of dispersed repeats in Mycobacterium leprae.

The genome of the causative agent of leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae, contains at least 28 copies of a dispersed repetitive sequence, RLEP. From nucleotide sequence analysis it was clear that the RLEP element consists of a 545 bp central domain flanked by a 100 bp left-end and a 44 bp right-end, sometimes associated with a 47 bp extension. The presence of the left and right ends is variable and this allowed three different RLEP configurations to be defined. When the polymerase chain reaction was used to study variation of the central region at least twelve different classes were detected, suggesting that no two RLEP sequences may be identical. Furthermore, they have few features in common with classical bacterial insertion sequences.

Blotting, Southern↗

PubMed2001

Quantitative contrast echocardiographic assessment of collateral derived myocardial perfusion during elective coronary angioplasty.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether myocardial contrast echocardiography can be used to quantify collateral derived myocardial flow in humans. METHODS: In 25 patients undergoing coronary angioplasty, a collateral flow index (CFI) was determined using intracoronary wedge pressure distal to the stenosis to be dilated, with simultaneous mean aortic pressure measurements. During balloon occlusion, echo contrast was injected into both main coronary arteries simultaneously. Echocardiography of the collateral receiving myocardial area was performed. The time course of myocardial contrast enhancement in images acquired at end diastole was quantified by measuring pixel intensities (256 grey units) within a region of interest. Perfusion variables, such as background subtracted peak pixel intensity and contrast transit rate, were obtained from a fitted gamma variate curve. RESULTS: 16 patients had a left anterior descending coronary artery stenosis, four had a left circumflex coronary artery stenosis, and five had a right coronary artery stenosis. The mean (SD) CFI was 19 (12)% (range 0-47%). Mean contrast transit rate was 11 (8) seconds. In 17 patients, a significant collateral contrast effect was observed (defined as peak pixel intensity more than the mean + 2 SD of background). Peak pixel intensity was linearly related to CFI in patients with a significant contrast effect (p = 0.002, r = 0.69) as well as in all patients (p = 0.0003, r = 0.66). CONCLUSIONS: Collateral derived perfusion of myocardial areas at risk can be demonstrated using intracoronary echo contrast injections. The peak echo contrast effect is directly related to the magnitude of collateral flow.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Multifocal rhabdomyosarcomas within the tongue and oral cavity of a dog.

A 10-year-old terrier crossbreed presented with a change in bark intonation of 3-4 month's duration and pronounced panting. Four variably sized masses were observed within the oral cavity. The largest mass was located within the parenchyma at the caudal region of the tongue. Others were located on the left arytenoid, within the soft palate, and in the oropharynx above the soft palate. Histopathologic specimens consisted of large round to polygonal cells occasionally containing multiple nuclei and rare faint cytoplasmic cross striations. Staining was weakly positive with periodic acid-Schiff. Immunocytochemistry was strongly diffusely positive for muscle-specific actin, myoglobin, and desmin and scattered positive for S-100 and vimentin. Phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin staining enhanced cytoplasmic cross striations. The cytoplasm of all neoplastic cells was filled with mitochondria on electron microscopy. The final diagnosis was multifocal/metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Comparing motion- and imagery-related activation in the human cerebellum: a functional MRI study.

Cerebellar activation during execution and imagination of a finger movement was compared. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to detect cerebellar activation during execution and imagination of an untrained self-paced finger-to-thumb movement (left and right hand separately). The four fingers were opposed to the thumb in changing sequences freely chosen by the subjects. The activation maps of 10 right-handed healthy subjects were averaged after transformation into a common coordinate space. Averaged activation maps revealed strong motion-related bilateral activation in the anterior lobe of the cerebellum and in the paravermal regions of the posterior lobe. Ipsilateral activity predominated significantly. Compared to motion, imagination of the same task produced lower signal changes, and foci were more variable in position and strength. The averaged activation maps showed activity in the same regions as in motion. Activation in the posterior cerebellar lobe was more prominent extending into the lateral hemispheres. Ipsilateral dominance was significant for right-hand imagery. The left-hand task only showed marginally stronger ipsilateral activation. The activation pattern observed during execution of the finger-to-thumb movement is in agreement with theories of functional cerebellar topography. For imagery, activation at a comparable location may reflect common functionality, e.g., motor preparation and/or timing. Additional activation in the lateral hemispheres may be related to an imagery-specific function.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Hemispheric differences in variability of fissural patterns in parasylvian and cingulate regions of human brains.

We have determined different patterns of fissurization in Broca's area, the gyrus of Heschl, the planum temporale, the inferior parietal lobe, and the cingulate sulcus. Such patterns were asymmetrically distributed, indicating increased folding on the left side in most cases. More folding can sometimes be related to a larger cortical area, resulting in increased processing capacities in the respective brain region. Furthermore, the brain regions associated with the asymmetrical sulci are involved in lateralized functions. Of special interest are the asymmetries observed in regions corresponding to the inferior parietal lobe (the accessory postcentral sulcus and the intraparietal sulcus), which, according to recent studies, is involved in linguistic working memory. We did not detect a tendency of distinct fissurization patterns in a given brain region to be associated with specific patterns in other fissures, indicating that the different fissure types develop independently in each brain region and can therefore be determined by local processes. These descriptions are of relevance to imaging studies that intend to establish correspondences between gross morphology and functional parameters such as behavior and brain activation.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Automatic backscatter analysis of regional left ventricular systolic function using color kinesis.

Assessment of regional wall motion by 2-dimensional echocardiography can be performed by either semiquantitative wall motion scoring or by quantitative analysis. The former is subjective and requires expertise. Quantitative methods are too time-consuming for routine use in a busy clinical laboratory. Color kinesis is a new algorithm utilizing acoustic backscatter analysis. It provides a color encoded map of endocardial motion in real time. In each frame a new color layer is added; the thickness of the color beam represents endocardial motion during that frame. The end-systolic image has multiple color layers, representing regional and temporal heterogeneity of segmental motion. The purpose of this study was to validate the use of color kinesis for semiquantitative analysis of regional left ventricular systolic function and quantitatively in measurement of endocardial excursion. Semiquantitative wall motion scoring was performed in 18 patients using both 2-dimensional echo and color kinesis. Scoring was identical in 74% of segments; there was 84% agreement in definition of normal vs. abnormal. There was less interobserver variability in wall motion scoring using color kinesis. Endocardial excursion was quantified in 21 patients. 70% of the imaged segments were suitable for analysis. Correlation between 2-dimensional echocardiographic measurements and color kinesis was excellent, r = 0.87. The mean difference in excursion as measured by the 2 methods was -0.05 +/- 2.0 mm. In conclusion, color kinesis is a useful method for assessing regional contraction by displaying a color map of systolic endocardial excursion. This algorithm may improve the confidence and accuracy of assessment of segmental ventricular function by echocardiographic methods.

Adult↗