BACKGROUND Phrenic nerve palsy remains the most frequent complication associated with cryoballoon-based pulmonary vein (PV) isolation. We sought to characterize our experience using a novel monitoring technique for the prevention of phrenic nerve palsy. METHODS AND RESULTS Two hundred consecutive cryoballoon-based PV isolation procedures between October 2010 and October 2013 were studied. In ...

A 56-year-old man admitted with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became severely ill, required ventilator support and intensive care unit management. After weaning, he was found to have quadriparesis. Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) suspected administration of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) considered. However, markedly prolonged compound muscle action potential (CMAP) duration ob...

To pursue a systematic approach to discovery of mechanisms of action of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), we used microarrays, bioinformatics and the "Connectivity Map" (CMAP) to examine TCM-induced changes in gene expression. We demonstrated that this approach can be used to elucidate new molecular targets using a model TCM herbal formula Si-Wu-Tang (SWT) which is widely used for women's hea...

Constructing a Concept Map (CMap) is not an easy and straight forward process even for a seasoned CMapper. In order to get a better understanding of the specific challenges that CMap creators experience we collected subjective reports of difficulties that novice CMappers experienced during construction of their first map and what they perceived to be the advantages of this form of representatio...

OBJECTIVES To determine the prognosis in patients with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) without small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and to analyse longitudinal clinical, electrophysiological, and immunological data on each patient to establish prognostic factors for long term outcome. METHODS The retrospective and part prospective study of 47 patients with LEMS was undertaken from data rec...

Small drug molecules usually bind to multiple protein targets or even unintended off-targets. Such drug promiscuity has often led to unwanted or unexplained drug reactions, resulting in side effects or drug repositioning opportunities. So it is always an important issue in pharmacology to identify potential drug-target interactions (DTI). However, DTI discovery by experiment remains a challengi...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the conduction parameters of nerve bundles of median and ulnar nerves that innervate proximal and distal muscles. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Thirty male and 30 female healthy volunteers between 18 and 70 years of age were enrolled in the study. The conduction parameters were recorded from the proximally located flexor carpi ulnaris, pro...

OBJECTIVE Intertrial variability (ITV) of motor responses to peripheral (CMAP) and transcranial (MEP) stimulation prevents their use in follow-up studies. Our purpose was to develop strategies to reduce and measure CMAP and MEP ITV to guide long-term monitoring of conduction slowing and conduction failure of peripheral and central motor pathway in the individual patient. METHODS Maximal compo...