Material and Methods: Between November 2008 and March 2011, 12 patients, aged 59 (42 to 78) years, were treated with a balloon-expandable PTFE-covered stent for a focal infrarenal aortic stenosis (n = 11) or occlusion (n = 1). Indications included disabling claudication (n Stem Cells inhibitor = 9), rest pain (n = 1), or minor tissue loss (n = 2) Follow-up consisted of clinical examination, ankle-brachial indexes, plain abdominal radiography and duplex ultrasonography.

Results: Eleven procedures were performed percutaneously and one in combination with an endarterectomy of the right common femoral artery. Technical

success was 100%, and clinical improvement was achieved in all but one patient, who needed additional femoropopliteal bypass surgery. The median follow-up was 18 months (range 2-30 months). During follow-up, all patients remained asymptomatic and ankle-brachial indexes had normalized. Duplex ultrasonography showed no re-stenosis, and there were no stent fractures on abdominal radiographs.

Conclusions: The primary use of PTFE-covered stents is a feasible, effective, and

safe treatment for focal atherosclerotic lesions in the infrarenal aorta. Comparative studies with traditional treatment modalities, however, are indicated before considering the use of covered stents as standard treatment. (J Vasc Surg 2012; 55: 674-8.)”
“Dysregulation of pain neurocircuitry and neurochemistry PRN1371 order has been increasingly recognized as playing a critical role in a diverse spectrum of diseases including migraine,

fibromyalgia, depression, and PTSD. Evidence presented here supports the hypothesis that alcohol dependence is among the pathologies arising from aberrant neurobiological substrates of pain. In this review, we explore the possible influence of alcohol analgesia and hyperalgesia in promoting alcohol misuse and dependence. We examine evidence that neuroanatomical sites involved in the negative emotional states of alcohol dependence buy EPZ-6438 also play an important role in pain transmission and may be functionally altered under chronic pain conditions. We also consider possible genetic links between pain transmission and alcohol dependence. We propose an allostatic load model in which episodes of alcohol intoxication and withdrawal, traumatic stressors, and injury are each capable of dysregulating an overlapping set of neural substrates to engender sensory and affective pain states that are integral to alcohol dependence and comorbid conditions such as anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. Published by Elsevier Ltd.”
“Background: Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; DHA) is absent from vegan diets and present in limited amounts in vegetarian diets.

Objective: To review DHA status in vegetarians and vegans. Design: To identify published studies and review their findings.