Ultrafast CT scanning is an noninvasive, non-exercise-dependent test with an excellent sensitivity for the detection of coronary artery disease. The presence of calcifications in multiple vessels and in younger populations correlates with higher specificities for obstructive disease, making ultrafast CT coronary scanning a very useful diagnostic test.

These data support previous reports demonstrating that the presence of CAC in a symptomatic cohort is a strong predictor of future cardiac events. This study supports the use of EBT in a symptomatic cohort with prompt discharge of those patients with negative scans. Furthermore, the absence of CAC is associated with a very low risk of future cardiac risk events in this population over the subsequent seven years (annual event rate <1%).

The use of uniform criteria and training sessions can substantially improve the consensus rate among pathologists in the diagnosis of MF.

No abstract

Abstract. Hypertrophy was produced in the anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) muscle of 5-wk-old chickens by application of a load to the humerus. After 4 wk, hypertrophied ALD muscles were >2.5 times heavier than contralateral control ALD muscles. Two isomyosins are distinguishable in normal ALD muscles by their different electrophoretic mobilities. It is shown here that the faster migrating SM-1 isomyosin decreases in abundance with age and that the application of an overload enhances both the rate and extent of this process. Monoclonal antibodies were selected by an immunotransfer technique that were specific for the heavy chains associated with either SM-1 or SM-2, or cross-reacted with both isoforms. The cellular distribution of the SM-1 and SM-2 isomyosins was analyzed by immunofluorescent technique using these antibodies. Anti-SM-1 and anti-SM-2 antibodies reacted with separate populations of cells, whereas the third antibody reacted with all myocytes in the normal ALD muscle. These data suggest that there is an exclusive cellular distribution of myosin heavy chains associated with SM-1 and SM-2 proteins. Immunofluorescent analysis of hypertrophied muscle showed the anti-SM-2-specific antibody reacting with all myocytes, whereas the anti-SM-l-specific antibody reacted with none. This is consistent with the elimination of the SM-1 isoform in hypertrophied muscles.

The application of a weight overload to the humerus of chickens induces a hypertrophy of anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) muscle fibers. This growth is accompanied by a rapid and almost complete replacement of one slow-tonic myosin isoform, SM-1, by another slow-tonic isoform, SM-2. In addition, a population of small fibers appears mainly in extrafascicular spaces and, concurrently, three additional myosin bands are detected by gel electrophoresis. Five antibodies against myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms were selected as immunocytochemical probes to determine the cellular location and nature of these myosins. The antibodies react with ventricular, fast skeletal muscle and either SM-1 or SM-2, or both the slow-tonic MHCs. The antifast and antiventricular antibodies react with myosin present in the 10-day embryonic ALD muscle but do not react with myosin in posthatch ALD muscle. The small fibers in overloaded muscle contain a myosin isoform characteristically expressed during the embryonic stage of ALD muscle development and therefore are named nascent myofibers. Some of the nascent myofibers do not react with the antibody to both slow-tonic MHCs, indicating the lack of the normal adult slow-tonic myosins which are expressed in 10-day embryos. In order to explore the origin of the nascent fibers, an electron microscopic study was performed. Stereological analysis of the existing fibers shows a stimulation of numbers and sizes of satellite cells. In addition, the volume occupied by nonmuscle and undifferentiated cells increases dramatically. Myotube formation with incipient myofibrils is seen in extrafascicular spaces. These data suggest that new muscle fiber formation accompanies hypertrophy in overloaded chicken ALD muscle and the process may involve satellite cell migration.

This prospective, blinded study indicates that EBCT detected CC accurately and can noninvasively distinguish between cardiomyopathy because of CAD and nonischemic causes of left ventricular dysfunction.

Electron beam computed tomography has a higher diagnostic ability than either treadmill-ECG or technetium-stress for the detection of obstructive angiographic CAD. Electron beam computed tomography is an accurate and noninvasive alternative to traditional stress testing for the detection of obstructive CAD in symptomatic patients.