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Percutaneous transcatheter renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) is a promising treatment for refractory hypertension (HT). RDN was found in one series of clinical studies to reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP) by as much as a mean of 30 mmHg with 85% of subjects experiencing sustained reductions of 10 mm or more out to two years after RDN. This degree of blood pressure reduction may reduce stroke and myocardial infarction rates and is anticipated to translate into improved life expectancy. The lowering of blood pressure by RDN has been shown to improve glycaemic control and reverse left ventricular hypertrophy. Beneficial effects on renal function, sleep apnoea and heart failure are suggested as well. This report describes the first patient treated using the OneShot™ Renal Denervation System (formerly Maya Medical now Covidien, Campbell, CA, USA).

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of single-breath-hold three-dimensional cine b-SSFP (balanced steady-state free precession gradient echo) sequence (3D-cine), accelerated with k-t BLAST (broad-use linear acquisition speed-up technique), compared with multiple-breath-hold 2D cine b-SSFP (2D-cine) sequence for assessment of left ventricular (LV) function. METHODS: Imaging was performed using 1.5-T MRI (Achieva, Philips, The Netherlands) in 46 patients with different cardiac diseases. Global functional parameters, LV mass, imaging time and reporting time were evaluated and compared in each patient. RESULTS: Functional parameters and mass were significantly different in the two sequences [3D end-diastolic volume (EDV) = 129 ± 44 ml vs 2D EDV = 134 ± 49 ml; 3D end-systolic volume (ESV) = 77 ± 44 ml vs 2D ESV = 73 ± 50 ml; 3D ejection fraction (EF) = 43 ± 15% vs 2D EF = 48 ± 15%; p

The clinical outcome of vascular stenting is limited by in-stent stenosis. Increased nitric oxide (NO)/cGMP signaling by l -arginine ( l -Arg) supplementation, the substrate for NO synthase (NOS), or NOS gene transfer may reduce in-stent neointima formation. After stenting, vascular cell proliferation in rat carotid arteries, as measured by 5′-bromodeoxyuridine (5′-BrdU) incorporation, indicated 15±8%, 28±5%, and 33±7% 5′-BrdU-positive vascular cells at 4, 7, and 14 days, respectively. Reporter β-galactosidase gene transfer efficacy was evidenced by 30% β-galactosidase-expressing medial smooth muscle cells at 14 days. The intima-to-media ratio (I/M) progressively increased to 2.32±0.24 at 14 days. To target in-stent neointima formation, animals were infected with adenoviral vectors (4×10 10 plaque-forming units per mL) expressing NOS2 (AdNOS2) or no transgene (AdRR5), or they received daily doses of l -Arg (500 mg · kg −1 · d−1 IP). The neointima at 14 days was smaller in l -Arg-treated than in untreated rats (I/M 1.25±0.35 vs 2.32±0.24, P P l -Arg was abolished by simultaneous administration of N G -nitro l -arginine methyl ester, an NOS inhibitor (2.03±0.39, P l -Arg). Inflammation was markedly less in l -Arg- and AdNOS2-treated than in AdRR5-infected rats. Supplemental l -Arg reduces neointima formation after stenting by way of an NOS-dependent mechanism and may be a valuable strategy to target in-stent stenosis.