Application of electrical field to the heart during the refractory period of the beat has been shown to increase the force of contraction both in animal models and in heart failure patients (cardiac contractility modulation, or CCM). A direct increase in intracellular calcium during CCM has been suggested to be the mechanism behind the positive inotropic effect of CCM. We studied the effect of ...

Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) are vascular lesions affecting the central nervous system. CCM occurs either sporadically or in an inherited, autosomal dominant manner. Constitutional (germline) mutations in any of three genes, KRIT1, CCM2 and PDCD10, can cause the inherited form. Analysis of CCM lesions from inherited cases revealed biallelic somatic mutations, indicating that CCM foll...

BACKGROUND Community case management (CCM) involves training, supporting, and supplying community health workers (CHWs) to assess, classify and manage sick children with limited access to care at health facilities, in their communities. This paper aims to provide an overview of the status in 2013 of CCM policy and implementation in sub-Saharan African countries. METHODS We undertook a cross-s...

Neurology 2012;78:614–615 Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) are comprised of vascular sinusoids lacking smooth muscle cells, elastic lamina, and tight junctions between endothelial cells, which renders them prone to intracranial hemorrhage.1 The magnitude of the risk of CCM hemorrhage and its predictors are of considerable concern to patients2 and care providers (Angioma Alliance [www.angi...

The disease known as cerebral cavernous malformations mostly occurs in the central nervous system, and their typical histological presentations are multiple lumen formation and vascular leakage at the brain capillary level, resulting in disruption of the blood-brain barrier. These abnormalities result in severe neurological symptoms such as seizures, focal neurological deficits and hemorrhagic ...

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Considering the World Health Organization recommendation to implement child contact management (CCM) for TB, we conducted a mixed-methods systematic review to summarize CCM implementation, challenges, predictors, and recommendations. We searched the electronic databases of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science ...

BACKGROUND A novel descriptor (Complex Correlation Measure (CCM)) for measuring the variability in the temporal structure of Poincaré plot has been developed to characterize or distinguish between Poincaré plots with similar shapes. METHODS This study was designed to assess the changes in temporal structure of the Poincaré plot using CCM during atropine infusion, 70° head-up tilt and scopolam...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Preliminary observations suggesting the presence of B and plasma cells and oligoclonality of immunoglobulin (Ig) G in cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) have motivated a systematic study correlating the infiltration of the immune cells with clinical activity and antigen-triggered immune response in surgically excised lesions. METHODS Infiltration of plasma, B, T, an...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Pathogenesis of cerebral venous malformation (CVM) is unknown. Because of coexistence of CVM and cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM), some studies have suggested that these 2 entities share a common origin and pathogenetic mechanism. METHODS We have identified and ascertained over 200 families with CCM. Among these, 1 unique family was found to have members affected ...