OBJECTIVE Although the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) increases with age, the cellular electrophysiological changes that render the atria of aged individuals more susceptible to AF remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that dispersion of atrial repolarization increases with aging, creating a substrate for initiation of AF. METHODS Four groups of dogs were studied: adult and old dog...

BACKGROUND Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) is one of the fastest growing dialysis modalities. It is unknown whether sleep and mood are disturbed while performing repeated overnight exchanges. OBJECTIVES In this report, we aim to describe and compare the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), periodic limb movements (PLMS), poor sleep quality (SQ), and depression among APD patient...

OBJECTIVES Although previous studies in dogs have indicated a minimal role for changes in I(K1) in the shortening of action potential duration (APD) associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), in humans, there is evidence for significant AF-induced up-regulation of this current. In this computer model study, we investigated the relative contributions of the remodeling of I(K1), L-type calcium cur...

BACKGROUND Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) has been increasingly used in recent years. Our purpose was to investigate whether the good preservation of residual renal function (RRF) that has been reported in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is also observed in APD. METHODS RRF was determined and compared prospectively over 1 year in two groups of peritoneal dial...

Acquired perforating dermatosis (APD) is an uncommon skin disorder seen in majority among patients with chronic kidney disease and also in those with diabetes mellitus. We present the clinicopathological features of APD in a 65-year-old patient with diabetes mellitus and end-stage kidney disease on hemodialysis and review the recent advances in the management of APD, as well as the mechanisms o...

We present a silicon avalanche photodetector (APD) fabricated with standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology without any process modification or special substrates. The CMOS-APD is based on N+/P-well junction, and its current-voltage characteristics, responsivity, avalanche gain, and photodetection frequency response are measured. Gain-bandwidth product over 1 THz is ac...

Sympathetic influences on ventricular repolarization are not yet fully elucidated, despite their relevance to arrhythmogenesis. The sympathetic control of repolarization, measured from an endocardial monophasic action potential duration (APD) and from the QT interval, was investigated in 24 anesthetized cats. The effects of right and left stellectomy and of subsequent bilateral stellectomy or b...

Hyperthyroidism has been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF); however, hyperthyroidism-induced ion channel changes that may predispose to AF have not been fully elucidated. To understand the electrophysiological changes that occur in left and right atria with hyperthyroidism, the patch-clamp technique was used to compare action potential duration (APD) and whole cell currents in myocytes f...

We investigated the effects of a hot-water extract of Artemisia iwayomogi, a plant belonging to family Compositae, on cardiac ventricular delayed rectifier K(+) current (I(K)) using the patch clamp technique. The carbohydrate fraction AIP1 dose-dependently increased the heart rate with an apparent EC(50) value of 56.1+/-5.5 microg/ml. Application of AIP1 reduced the action potential duration (A...

To date, no consensus exists on the key factors for diagnosing advanced Parkinson disease (APD). To obtain consensus on the definition of APD, we performed a prospective, multicenter, Spanish nationwide, 3-round Delphi study (CEPA study). An ad hoc questionnaire was designed with 33 questions concerning the relevance of several clinical features for APD diagnosis. In the first-round, 240 neurol...