PURPOSE To establish and to rank the performance of a corneal adaptive compensation (CAC) algorithm in enhancing corneal images with scars acquired from three commercially available anterior segment optical coherence tomography (ASOCT) devices. METHODS Horizontal B-scans of the cornea were acquired from 10 patients using three ASOCT devices (Spectralis, RTVue, and Cirrus). We compared ASOCT i...

BACKGROUND The absence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) in middle age is associated with very low short-term risk for coronary events. However, the long-term implications of a CAC score of 0 are uncertain, particularly among individuals with high cardiovascular lifetime risk. We sought to characterize the association between predicted lifetime risk and incident CAC among individuals with low sh...

BACKGROUND Coronary calcification (CAC) is found in early stages of CKD. Pulse pressure (PP) predicts CAC in dialysis patients. This study evaluates the accuracy of PP in predicting CAC in patients not yet on dialysis (CKD patients). METHODS CKD patients (n = 388) underwent coronary calcium score (CAC score) and abdominal x-ray (n = 128) for estimating aorta calcification (AAC). Biochemistry ...

Chronic inflammation is thought to be a major driving force for the development of colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). As one member of proinflammatory cytokine family, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has been identified to play a key role in CAC pathogenesis recently. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain largely unknown. In this study, we found that myel...

PURPOSE Coronary artery calcification (CAC) has been described in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and its presence is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death. However, it is unclear whether there is an independent relationship between renal function and CAC. Therefore, we evaluated the association between renal function and CAC. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retros...

BACKGROUND Fetuin-A is a hepatic secretory protein that inhibits arterial calcification in vitro. The association of fetuin-A with coronary arterial calcification (CAC) in the general population is uncertain. METHODS Among 2457 community-living individuals without cardiovascular disease (CVD), we measured serum fetuin-A concentrations by ELISA and evaluated the cross-sectional association of ...

BACKGROUND HIV infection increases cardiovascular risk. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) and mitral annular calcification (MAC) identify patients at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between MAC, CAC and mortality in HIV-infected individuals. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 152 asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals with transthor...

INTRODUCTION His Majesty's Government amended the Nepal Criminal Code (Muluki Ain)--for Liberalising abortion law in the month of Chaitra 2058 (March 2002) and Royal Assent was given on 10th Asoj 2059 (27th September 2002). Accordingly Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) Services was initiated in the country. Kathmandu Medical College after enlisting with Ministry of Health started this service f...

BACKGROUND Osteoprotegerin (OPG) and fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) are recognized as strong risk factors of vascular calcifications in non dialysis chronic kidney disease (ND-CKD) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between FGF23, OPG, and coronary artery calcifications (CAC) in this population and to attempt identification of the most powerful biomarker o...

AIM Coronary artery calcification (CAC), as a sign of atherosclerosis, can be detected and progression quantified using computed tomography (CT). We develop a tool for predicting CAC progression. METHODS AND RESULTS In 3481 participants (45-74 years, 53.1% women) CAC percentiles at baseline (CACb) and after five years (CAC₅y) were evaluated, demonstrating progression along gender-specific per...