Background: As the shortcomings of the Bentall operation and its variants in the Marfan syndrome have become apparent, the recent cusp-sparing techniques (remodeling or reimplantation) bear promise of better mid-term and long-term outcomes.

Objective: To examine the results of aortic root surgery in patients with Marfan syndrome.

Methods: During the period March 1994 to September 2007, 220 patients underwent aortic valve-sparing surgery; 20 were Marfan patients (group 1) who were compared with another 20 Marfan patients undergoing composite aortic root replacement (group 2). Fourteen patients had aortic dissection and 26 had thoracic aortic aneurysm. There were 31 males and 9 females with a mean age of 37.9 ± 13.8 years. In group 1, reimplantation was used in 13 patients, remodeling in 4, and aortic valve repair with sinotubular junction replacement in 3. In group 2, a mechanical valve conduit was used. Mean logistic Euroscore was 12.27 ± 14.6% for the whole group, five of whom were emergent cases

Results: Group 2 had more previous cardiac procedures compared to group 1 (9 vs. 2, P = 0.03) and shorter cross-clamp time (122 ± 27.1 vs. 153.9 ± 23.7 minutes, P = 0.0004). Overall mortality was 10%. Early mortality was 10% in group 2 and 5% in group 1(NS). Mean follow-up time was 25 months for group 2 and 53 months for group 1. Three patients were reoperated; all had undergone the remodeling. Five year freedom from reoperation and death was 86% and 90% in group 2 and 70% and 95% in group 1 (P = 0.6, P = 0.6), respectively.

Conclusions: Late survival of patients with Marfan syndrome was similar in both groups. Root reconstruction tends towards a higher incidence of late reoperations if the remodeling technique is used. We now prefer to use the reimplantation technique.
 

The antiphospholipid syndrome is characterized by recurrent fetal loss, venous and/or arterial thrombosis, and thrombocytopenia associated with elevated titers of lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies. Although thrombosis is the characteristic vascular involvement in APS[1], the development of vascular aneurysms in patients with APS has been reported. We describe four patients with established APS, who developed abdominal aortic aneurysm, and review the literature on previous published cases of arterial aneurysms developing in patients with APS. In addition, we discuss the possible pathophysiological association between APS and the development of this vascular abnormality.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a heterogeneous disorder with unknown pathogenesis and etiology, characterized by disabling fatigue, difficulty in concentration and memory, and concomitant skeletal and muscular pain. Several mechanisms have been suggested to play a role in CFS[1], such as excessive oxidative stress following exertion, immune imbalance characterized by decreased natural killer cell and macrophage activity, immunoglobulin G subclass deficiencies (IgG-1[2], IgG-3) and decreased serum concentrations of complement component. Autoantibodies were also suggested as a possible factor in the pathogenesis of CFS. Recent studies indicate that anti-serotonin, anti-microtubule-associated protein 2 and anti-muscarinic cholinergic receptor 1 may play a role in the pathogenesis of CFS. It has been demonstrated that impairment in vasoactive neuropeptide metabolism may explain the CFS symptoms

Background: Fanconi anemia complementation group C and Bloom syndrome, rare autosomal recessive disorders marked by chromosome instability, are especially prevalent in the Ashkenazi* Jewish community. A single predominant mutation for each has been reported in Ashkenazi Jews: c.711+4A→T (IVS4 +4 A→T) in FACC[1] and BLM^Ash in Bloom syndrome. Individuals affected by both syndromes are characterized by susceptibility for developing malignancies, and we questioned whether heterozygote carriers have a similarly increased risk.

Objectives: To estimate the cancer rate among FACC and BLM^Ash carriers and their families over three previous generations in unselected Ashkenazi Jewish individuals.

Methods: We studied 42 FACC carriers, 28 BLM^Ash carriers and 43 controls. The control subjects were Ashkenazi Jews participating in our prenatal genetic screening program who tested negative for FACC and BLM^Ash. All subjects filled out a questionnaire regarding their own and a three-generation family history of cancer. The prevalence rates of cancer among relatives of FACC, BLM^Ash and controls were computed and compared using the chi-square test.

Results: In 463 relatives of FACC carriers, 45 malignancies were reported (9.7%) including 10 breast (2.2%) and 13 colon cancers (2.8%). Among 326 relatives of BLM^Ash carriers there were 30 malignancies (9.2%) including 7 breast (2.1%) and 4 colon cancers (1.2%). Controls consisted of 503 family members with 63 reported malignancies (12.5%) including 11 breast (2.2%) and 11 colon cancers (2.2%).

Conclusions: We found no significantly increased prevalence of malignancies among carriers in at least three generations compared to the controls.