The study examined whether deficits in cardiac output and blood volume in a CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) cohort were present and linked to illness severity and sedentary lifestyle. Follow-up analyses assessed whether differences in cardiac output levels between CFS and control groups were corrected by controlling for cardiac contractility and TBV (total blood volume). The 146 participants were subdivided into two CFS groups based on symptom severity data, severe (n=30) and non-severe (n=26), and two healthy non-CFS control groups based on physical activity, sedentary (n=58) and non-sedentary (n=32). Controls were matched to CFS participants using age, gender, ethnicity and body mass. Echocardiographic measures indicated that the severe CFS participants had 10.2% lower cardiac volume (i.e. stroke index and end-diastolic volume) and 25.1% lower contractility (velocity of circumferential shortening corrected by heart rate) than the control groups. Dual tag blood volume assessments indicated that the CFS groups had lower TBV, PV (plasma volume) and RBCV (red blood cell volume) than control groups. Of the CFS subjects with a TBV deficit (i.e. > or = 8% below ideal levels), the mean+/-S.D. percentage deficit in TBV, PV and RBCV were -15.4+/-4.0, -13.2+/-5.0 and -19.1+/-6.3% respectively. Lower cardiac volume levels in CFS were substantially corrected by controlling for prevailing TBV deficits, but were not affected by controlling for cardiac contractility levels. Analyses indicated that the TBV deficit explained 91-94% of the group differences in cardiac volume indices. Group differences in cardiac structure were offsetting and, hence, no differences emerged for left ventricular mass index. Therefore the findings indicate that lower cardiac volume levels, displayed primarily by subjects with severe CFS, were not linked to diminished cardiac contractility levels, but were probably a consequence of a co-morbid hypovolaemic condition. Further study is needed to address the extent to which the cardiac and blood volume alterations in CFS have physiological and clinical significance.

The morphology of retinal ganglion cells which project to different parts of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (DLG) in the hooded rat has been investigated. Small amounts of a retrograde tracer (horseradish peroxidase) were injected into the DLG, then labelled retinal ganglion cells were examined in retinal wholemounts. After injections into different parts of the DLG, differences were noted in the size, morphology and retinal distribution of labelled retinal ganglion cells. Specifically, after injections into the antero-ventral part of the DLG labelled retinal ganglion cells were spread sparsely across the retina, had large cell somas, and many were identified with Class I or Class III morphology. After injections into the postero-dorsal part of the DLG, labelled cells were more densely packed, had smaller somas, and more were identified with Class IIa and Class III morphology. The density of labelled cells was estimated to be no more than 37% of the total retinal ganglion cell density at any retinal position examined. These results show that in the rat, as in other species such as the cat or monkey, the terminals of different classes of retinal ganglion cells are segregated within different subdivisions of the DLG. However, unlike these other species, only a minority of the total retinal ganglion cell population projects to the DLG.

Background-Little is known about the prevalence and severity of smoking in pregnant opioid dependent patients.

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The "eyebrow" sign is a powerful predictor of ostial SB damage after stent implantation in the MB in bifurcation coronary lesions without plaque involving the SB.

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