Gerardo Nigro | Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli (original) (raw)
Papers by Gerardo Nigro
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2014
The occurrence of ventricular fibrillation, induced by bipolar electrocautery during elective dua... more The occurrence of ventricular fibrillation, induced by bipolar electrocautery during elective dual chamber pacemaker implantation, is reported in a patient affected by Myotonic Distrophy type 1 with normal left ventricular ejection fraction.
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2014
P-wave dispersion is a non invasive indicator of intra-atrial conduction heterogeneity producing ... more P-wave dispersion is a non invasive indicator of intra-atrial conduction heterogeneity producing substrate for reentry, which is a pathophysiological mechanism of atrial fibrillation. The relationship between P-wave dispersion (PD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) in Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) patients is still unclear. Atrial Preference Pacing (APP) is an efficient algorithm to prevent paroxysmal AF in patients implanted with dual-chamber pacemaker. Aim of our study was to evaluate the possible correlation between atrial preference pacing algorithm, P-wave dispersion and AF burden in DM1 patients with normal cardiac function underwent permanent dual-chamber pacemaker implantation. We enrolled 50 patients with DM1 (age 50.3 ± 7.3; 11 F) underwent dual-chamber pacemaker implantation for various degree of atrioventricula block. The study population was randomized following 1 months stabilization period to APP algorithm features programmed OFF or ON. Patients were assessed every 3 mon...
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2013
Lamins (LMNA) are the main proteins of the nuclear lamina considered to be the ancestors of all i... more Lamins (LMNA) are the main proteins of the nuclear lamina considered to be the ancestors of all intermediate filament proteins. They form complex protein assemblies with integral proteins of the inner nuclear membrane, transcriptional regulators, histones and chromatin modifiers. During recent years, interest in lamins has greatly increased due to the identification of many distinct heritable human disorders associated with lamin mutations. These disorders, collectively termed laminopathies, range from muscular dystrophies to premature aging. They may affect muscle, fat, bone, nerve and skin tissues. The workshop was addressed to understand lamin organization and its roles in nuclear processes, mutations in lamins affecting cell and tissues functions, the biology of the nucleus and laminopathic disease mechanisms, all aspects important for designing future therapies.
Giornale italiano di cardiologia, 1999
Idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia is a rare arrhythmia whose electrophysiological basis is ... more Idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia is a rare arrhythmia whose electrophysiological basis is not yet well-defined. We report a case of idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia caused by a reentrant circuit limited exclusively to the two fascicles of the left bundle branch.
In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has been reported and attribu... more In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has been reported and attributed both to altered loading conditions and to RV involvement in the myopathic process. The aim of the study was to detect RV myocardial function in DCM using two-dimensional (2D) strain echocardiography and to assess the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on RV myocardial strain during a 6-month follow-up.
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2014
Aim of the present study was to investigate far field R-wave sensing (FFRS) timing and characteri... more Aim of the present study was to investigate far field R-wave sensing (FFRS) timing and characteristics in 34 Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (DM1) patients undergoing dual chamber pacemaker implantation, comparing Bachmann's bundle (BB) stimulation (16 patients) site with the conventional right atrial appendage (RAA) pacing site (18 patients). All measurements were done during sinus rhythm and in supine position, with unipolar (UP) and bipolar (BP) sensing configuration. The presence, amplitude threshold (FFRS trsh) and FFRS timing were determined. There were no differences between both atrial sites in the Pmin and Pmean values of sensed P-wave amplitudes, as well as between UP and BP sensing configurations. The FFRS trsh was lower at the BB region in comparison to the RAA site. The mean BP FFRS trsh was significantly lower than UP configuration in both atrial locations. There were no significant differences in atrial pacing threshold, sensing threshold and atrial lead impedances at t...
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2014
We report the case of a 32-year-old man with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 showing adenosine-induced ... more We report the case of a 32-year-old man with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 showing adenosine-induced sinus tachycardia during transesophageal electrophysiological evaluation.
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 2015
The aim of our study was to identify the early hemodynamic predictors of head-up tilt test (HUTT)... more The aim of our study was to identify the early hemodynamic predictors of head-up tilt test (HUTT) outcome in healthy patients with recurrent unexplained syncope. The study involved 95 patients (mean age 38 ± 15; 42 male) who were referred for the evaluation of the syncopal episodes from October 2012 to May 2013. According to the nitroglycerin-potentiated diagnostic tilt test response, the study population was divided into two groups: HUTT+ Group (61 patients, mean age 37 ± 10; 27 male) and HUTT- Group (34 patients, mean age 38 ± 11; 15 male) with no tilt-induced syncope. Finger arterial blood pressure (BP) was recorded during tilt testing. Left ventricular stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were computed from the pressure pulsations. After nitroglycerin administration, the HUTT+ Group showed a significant increase in heart rate (92.0 ± 7.3 beats/min vs 68.9 ± 8.7 beats/min, P < 0.0001), with well-maintained systolic BP (111.6 ± 14.1 mm Hg vs 108.8 ± 11.5 mm Hg; P = 0.332) and diastolic BP (66.1 ± 8.5 mm Hg vs 63.1 ± 6.9 mm Hg; P = 0.0913); a significant decrease in SV (53.9 ± 8.0 mL vs 78.6 ± 8.2 mL; P < 0.0001) and CO (4.0 ± 0.5 L/min vs 5.8 ± 1.0 L/min; P < 0.001), and a significant increase in TPR (1.3 ± 0.3 U vs 0.9 ± 0.2 U, P < 0.0011). We tested three hemodynamic parameters (SV, CO, and TPR) as predictors of positive tilt test response with receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. Our results show that, 2 minutes after nitroglycerin administration, a statistically significant decrease of SV values (<67 mL) strongly predicts (area under the curve, 0.985; P < 0.0001) the HUTT-positive response in healthy patients with recurrent unexplained syncope.
Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE, 2012
The aim of the study was to assess the main determinant of the fall in blood pressure (BP) respon... more The aim of the study was to assess the main determinant of the fall in blood pressure (BP) responsible for the head-up tilt testing-induced syncope. The study involved 200 patients (mean age 42 ± 3; 81 male) with syncope of unknown origin after the first evaluation. According to the response to the diagnostic tilt test, the population study was divided into four groups: Group I with mixed vasovagal syncope; Group II with cardioinhibitory syncope; Group III with vasodepressive syncope; Group IV: 40 patients with clinical syncope but no tilt-induced syncope. Finger arterial BP (Portapres, TNO, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) was recorded during tilt testing. Left ventricular stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were computed from the pressure pulsations (Modelflow, TNO, Amsterdam, the Netherlands). During syncopal phase, the TPR decreased significantly in Group III, and increased in Group I and in Group II. CO decreased in Group I and in Group II ...
Kardiologia polska, 2012
The development of malignant ventricular arrhythmias is a possible feature in Emery-Dreifuss musc... more The development of malignant ventricular arrhythmias is a possible feature in Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) patients with normal left ventricular systolic function. This event may be the cause of sudden cardiac death in EDMD patients. QTc dispersion (QTc-D), JTc dispersion (JTc-D) and Tpeak-end dispersion (TDR) could reflect the physiological variability of regional and transmural ventricular repolarisation and could provide a substrate for life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. The current study was designed to evaluate the heterogeneity of ventricular repolarisation in EDMD patients. Echocardiograms and electrocardiograms from 40 EDMD patients (age 20 ± 13) were evaluated and compared to those of 40 healthy age-matched controls. The EDMD group, compared to the healthy control group, presented increased values of QTc-D (82.8 ± 44.1 vs. 53.3 ± 13.9, p = 0.003), JTc-D (73.6 ± 32.3 vs. 60.4 ± 11.1 ms, p = 0.001) and TDR (100.54 ± 19.06 vs. 92.15 ± 15.5 ms, p = 0.004). No...
Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology, 2015
Resuscitation, Jan 10, 2014
Kardiologia Polska, 2013
Paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias occur frequently in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients. ... more Paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias occur frequently in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients. Pacemakers, implanted for the treatment of bradyarrhythmias and including detailed diagnostic functions, may facilitate the diagnosis and management of frequent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) that may remain undetected during a conventional clinical follow-up. The effect of right ventricular pacing on AF incidence is still controversial. To evaluate the influence of a high percentage of right ventricular pacing on AF in MD1 patients during a 12-month follow-up period. We enrolled in the present study 70 MD1 patients (age 51.3 ± 5 years; 32 females) who underwent dual chamber pacemaker implantation. At 12 months of follow-up, the study population was divided into three groups according to the percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation: Group 1, the atrial sensing ventricular sensing group (ASVS; n = 22; age 52 ± 7.7; eight female) with a percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation lower than 50%; Group 2, the atrial sensing ventricular pacing group (ASVP; n = 24; age 50.5 ± 7.6; 13 female) with a percentage of atrial stimulation lower than 50% and percentage of ventricular stimulation higher than 80%; and Group 3, the atrial pacing ventricular pacing group (APVP; n = 24; age 56 ± 4.3; 11 female) with a percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation higher than 80%. We counted the number of episodes of atrial arrhythmia that occurred during the observation period and the duration of each episode. We found a statistically significant difference in the number and duration of AF episodes between the three groups at the 12-month follow-up. In particular, there were more episodes (253 ± 30 vs. 80 ± 27 vs. 53 ± 32; p < 0.03) and longer durations of AF (8,700 ± 630 vs. 4,480 ± 975 vs. 3,853 ± 870 min; p < 0.03) in the ASVP group than in the ASVS group and the APVP group. Lead parameters remained stable over time and there were no displacements of the electrodes after implantation. In a 12-month follow-up comparison, we showed a statistically significant increase in paroxysmal AF episodes in MD1 patients with a high percentage of right ventricular pacing and a lower percentage of atrial stimulation.
PLoS ONE, 2009
Background: The BIO14.6 hamster is an excellent animal model for inherited cardiomyopathy, becaus... more Background: The BIO14.6 hamster is an excellent animal model for inherited cardiomyopathy, because of its lethal and welldocumented course, due to a spontaneous deletion of delta-sarcoglycan gene promoter and first exon. The muscle disease is progressive and average lifespan is 11 months, because heart slowly dilates towards heart failure.
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 2009
In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has been reported and attribu... more In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has been reported and attributed both to altered loading conditions and to RV involvement in the myopathic process. The aim of the study was to detect RV myocardial function in DCM using two-dimensional (2D) strain echocardiography and to assess the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on RV myocardial strain during a 6-month follow-up.
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 2009
We performed a two-year follow-up comparative study of long-term electrical parameters between th... more We performed a two-year follow-up comparative study of long-term electrical parameters between the right atrial appendage (RAA) and Bachmann's Bundle (BB) stimulation in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients.
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 2008
The aim of this study was to identify the optimal site for atrial lead implantation in myotonic d... more The aim of this study was to identify the optimal site for atrial lead implantation in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients.
Obesity Surgery, 2009
In a recent issue of Obesity Surgery, we read with interest the report of Machado and colleagues ... more In a recent issue of Obesity Surgery, we read with interest the report of Machado and colleagues [1] about the effect of gastric bypass on cardiac autonomic activity, including influence of gender and age. The study showed, in 6 months follow-up after the gastric by-pass, a statistically ...
Neuromuscular Disorders, 2010
We report the case of 14-year-old boy with X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy who develop... more We report the case of 14-year-old boy with X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy who developed sick sinus syndrome and required placement of an implantable intracardiac cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to prevent sudden death. He demonstrated no significant risk factors for sudden death such as depressed left ventricular ejection fraction, or spontaneous or inducible ventricular tachycardia. One month after implantation, the patient experienced one appropriate ICD discharge.
Journal of Medical Genetics, 2005
Background: The limb girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are a heterogeneous group of Mendelian di... more Background: The limb girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are a heterogeneous group of Mendelian disorders highlighted by weakness of the pelvic and shoulder girdle muscles. Seventeen autosomal loci have been so far identified and genetic tests are mandatory to distinguish among the forms. Mutations at the calpain 3 locus (CAPN3) cause LGMD type 2A.
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2014
The occurrence of ventricular fibrillation, induced by bipolar electrocautery during elective dua... more The occurrence of ventricular fibrillation, induced by bipolar electrocautery during elective dual chamber pacemaker implantation, is reported in a patient affected by Myotonic Distrophy type 1 with normal left ventricular ejection fraction.
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2014
P-wave dispersion is a non invasive indicator of intra-atrial conduction heterogeneity producing ... more P-wave dispersion is a non invasive indicator of intra-atrial conduction heterogeneity producing substrate for reentry, which is a pathophysiological mechanism of atrial fibrillation. The relationship between P-wave dispersion (PD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) in Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) patients is still unclear. Atrial Preference Pacing (APP) is an efficient algorithm to prevent paroxysmal AF in patients implanted with dual-chamber pacemaker. Aim of our study was to evaluate the possible correlation between atrial preference pacing algorithm, P-wave dispersion and AF burden in DM1 patients with normal cardiac function underwent permanent dual-chamber pacemaker implantation. We enrolled 50 patients with DM1 (age 50.3 ± 7.3; 11 F) underwent dual-chamber pacemaker implantation for various degree of atrioventricula block. The study population was randomized following 1 months stabilization period to APP algorithm features programmed OFF or ON. Patients were assessed every 3 mon...
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2013
Lamins (LMNA) are the main proteins of the nuclear lamina considered to be the ancestors of all i... more Lamins (LMNA) are the main proteins of the nuclear lamina considered to be the ancestors of all intermediate filament proteins. They form complex protein assemblies with integral proteins of the inner nuclear membrane, transcriptional regulators, histones and chromatin modifiers. During recent years, interest in lamins has greatly increased due to the identification of many distinct heritable human disorders associated with lamin mutations. These disorders, collectively termed laminopathies, range from muscular dystrophies to premature aging. They may affect muscle, fat, bone, nerve and skin tissues. The workshop was addressed to understand lamin organization and its roles in nuclear processes, mutations in lamins affecting cell and tissues functions, the biology of the nucleus and laminopathic disease mechanisms, all aspects important for designing future therapies.
Giornale italiano di cardiologia, 1999
Idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia is a rare arrhythmia whose electrophysiological basis is ... more Idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia is a rare arrhythmia whose electrophysiological basis is not yet well-defined. We report a case of idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia caused by a reentrant circuit limited exclusively to the two fascicles of the left bundle branch.
In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has been reported and attribu... more In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has been reported and attributed both to altered loading conditions and to RV involvement in the myopathic process. The aim of the study was to detect RV myocardial function in DCM using two-dimensional (2D) strain echocardiography and to assess the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on RV myocardial strain during a 6-month follow-up.
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2014
Aim of the present study was to investigate far field R-wave sensing (FFRS) timing and characteri... more Aim of the present study was to investigate far field R-wave sensing (FFRS) timing and characteristics in 34 Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (DM1) patients undergoing dual chamber pacemaker implantation, comparing Bachmann's bundle (BB) stimulation (16 patients) site with the conventional right atrial appendage (RAA) pacing site (18 patients). All measurements were done during sinus rhythm and in supine position, with unipolar (UP) and bipolar (BP) sensing configuration. The presence, amplitude threshold (FFRS trsh) and FFRS timing were determined. There were no differences between both atrial sites in the Pmin and Pmean values of sensed P-wave amplitudes, as well as between UP and BP sensing configurations. The FFRS trsh was lower at the BB region in comparison to the RAA site. The mean BP FFRS trsh was significantly lower than UP configuration in both atrial locations. There were no significant differences in atrial pacing threshold, sensing threshold and atrial lead impedances at t...
Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology / edited by the Gaetano Conte Academy for the study of striated muscle diseases, 2014
We report the case of a 32-year-old man with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 showing adenosine-induced ... more We report the case of a 32-year-old man with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 showing adenosine-induced sinus tachycardia during transesophageal electrophysiological evaluation.
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 2015
The aim of our study was to identify the early hemodynamic predictors of head-up tilt test (HUTT)... more The aim of our study was to identify the early hemodynamic predictors of head-up tilt test (HUTT) outcome in healthy patients with recurrent unexplained syncope. The study involved 95 patients (mean age 38 ± 15; 42 male) who were referred for the evaluation of the syncopal episodes from October 2012 to May 2013. According to the nitroglycerin-potentiated diagnostic tilt test response, the study population was divided into two groups: HUTT+ Group (61 patients, mean age 37 ± 10; 27 male) and HUTT- Group (34 patients, mean age 38 ± 11; 15 male) with no tilt-induced syncope. Finger arterial blood pressure (BP) was recorded during tilt testing. Left ventricular stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were computed from the pressure pulsations. After nitroglycerin administration, the HUTT+ Group showed a significant increase in heart rate (92.0 ± 7.3 beats/min vs 68.9 ± 8.7 beats/min, P < 0.0001), with well-maintained systolic BP (111.6 ± 14.1 mm Hg vs 108.8 ± 11.5 mm Hg; P = 0.332) and diastolic BP (66.1 ± 8.5 mm Hg vs 63.1 ± 6.9 mm Hg; P = 0.0913); a significant decrease in SV (53.9 ± 8.0 mL vs 78.6 ± 8.2 mL; P < 0.0001) and CO (4.0 ± 0.5 L/min vs 5.8 ± 1.0 L/min; P < 0.001), and a significant increase in TPR (1.3 ± 0.3 U vs 0.9 ± 0.2 U, P < 0.0011). We tested three hemodynamic parameters (SV, CO, and TPR) as predictors of positive tilt test response with receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. Our results show that, 2 minutes after nitroglycerin administration, a statistically significant decrease of SV values (<67 mL) strongly predicts (area under the curve, 0.985; P < 0.0001) the HUTT-positive response in healthy patients with recurrent unexplained syncope.
Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE, 2012
The aim of the study was to assess the main determinant of the fall in blood pressure (BP) respon... more The aim of the study was to assess the main determinant of the fall in blood pressure (BP) responsible for the head-up tilt testing-induced syncope. The study involved 200 patients (mean age 42 ± 3; 81 male) with syncope of unknown origin after the first evaluation. According to the response to the diagnostic tilt test, the population study was divided into four groups: Group I with mixed vasovagal syncope; Group II with cardioinhibitory syncope; Group III with vasodepressive syncope; Group IV: 40 patients with clinical syncope but no tilt-induced syncope. Finger arterial BP (Portapres, TNO, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) was recorded during tilt testing. Left ventricular stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were computed from the pressure pulsations (Modelflow, TNO, Amsterdam, the Netherlands). During syncopal phase, the TPR decreased significantly in Group III, and increased in Group I and in Group II. CO decreased in Group I and in Group II ...
Kardiologia polska, 2012
The development of malignant ventricular arrhythmias is a possible feature in Emery-Dreifuss musc... more The development of malignant ventricular arrhythmias is a possible feature in Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) patients with normal left ventricular systolic function. This event may be the cause of sudden cardiac death in EDMD patients. QTc dispersion (QTc-D), JTc dispersion (JTc-D) and Tpeak-end dispersion (TDR) could reflect the physiological variability of regional and transmural ventricular repolarisation and could provide a substrate for life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. The current study was designed to evaluate the heterogeneity of ventricular repolarisation in EDMD patients. Echocardiograms and electrocardiograms from 40 EDMD patients (age 20 ± 13) were evaluated and compared to those of 40 healthy age-matched controls. The EDMD group, compared to the healthy control group, presented increased values of QTc-D (82.8 ± 44.1 vs. 53.3 ± 13.9, p = 0.003), JTc-D (73.6 ± 32.3 vs. 60.4 ± 11.1 ms, p = 0.001) and TDR (100.54 ± 19.06 vs. 92.15 ± 15.5 ms, p = 0.004). No...
Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology, 2015
Resuscitation, Jan 10, 2014
Kardiologia Polska, 2013
Paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias occur frequently in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients. ... more Paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias occur frequently in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients. Pacemakers, implanted for the treatment of bradyarrhythmias and including detailed diagnostic functions, may facilitate the diagnosis and management of frequent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) that may remain undetected during a conventional clinical follow-up. The effect of right ventricular pacing on AF incidence is still controversial. To evaluate the influence of a high percentage of right ventricular pacing on AF in MD1 patients during a 12-month follow-up period. We enrolled in the present study 70 MD1 patients (age 51.3 ± 5 years; 32 females) who underwent dual chamber pacemaker implantation. At 12 months of follow-up, the study population was divided into three groups according to the percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation: Group 1, the atrial sensing ventricular sensing group (ASVS; n = 22; age 52 ± 7.7; eight female) with a percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation lower than 50%; Group 2, the atrial sensing ventricular pacing group (ASVP; n = 24; age 50.5 ± 7.6; 13 female) with a percentage of atrial stimulation lower than 50% and percentage of ventricular stimulation higher than 80%; and Group 3, the atrial pacing ventricular pacing group (APVP; n = 24; age 56 ± 4.3; 11 female) with a percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation higher than 80%. We counted the number of episodes of atrial arrhythmia that occurred during the observation period and the duration of each episode. We found a statistically significant difference in the number and duration of AF episodes between the three groups at the 12-month follow-up. In particular, there were more episodes (253 ± 30 vs. 80 ± 27 vs. 53 ± 32; p < 0.03) and longer durations of AF (8,700 ± 630 vs. 4,480 ± 975 vs. 3,853 ± 870 min; p < 0.03) in the ASVP group than in the ASVS group and the APVP group. Lead parameters remained stable over time and there were no displacements of the electrodes after implantation. In a 12-month follow-up comparison, we showed a statistically significant increase in paroxysmal AF episodes in MD1 patients with a high percentage of right ventricular pacing and a lower percentage of atrial stimulation.
PLoS ONE, 2009
Background: The BIO14.6 hamster is an excellent animal model for inherited cardiomyopathy, becaus... more Background: The BIO14.6 hamster is an excellent animal model for inherited cardiomyopathy, because of its lethal and welldocumented course, due to a spontaneous deletion of delta-sarcoglycan gene promoter and first exon. The muscle disease is progressive and average lifespan is 11 months, because heart slowly dilates towards heart failure.
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 2009
In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has been reported and attribu... more In dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has been reported and attributed both to altered loading conditions and to RV involvement in the myopathic process. The aim of the study was to detect RV myocardial function in DCM using two-dimensional (2D) strain echocardiography and to assess the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on RV myocardial strain during a 6-month follow-up.
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 2009
We performed a two-year follow-up comparative study of long-term electrical parameters between th... more We performed a two-year follow-up comparative study of long-term electrical parameters between the right atrial appendage (RAA) and Bachmann's Bundle (BB) stimulation in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients.
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 2008
The aim of this study was to identify the optimal site for atrial lead implantation in myotonic d... more The aim of this study was to identify the optimal site for atrial lead implantation in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients.
Obesity Surgery, 2009
In a recent issue of Obesity Surgery, we read with interest the report of Machado and colleagues ... more In a recent issue of Obesity Surgery, we read with interest the report of Machado and colleagues [1] about the effect of gastric bypass on cardiac autonomic activity, including influence of gender and age. The study showed, in 6 months follow-up after the gastric by-pass, a statistically ...
Neuromuscular Disorders, 2010
We report the case of 14-year-old boy with X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy who develop... more We report the case of 14-year-old boy with X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy who developed sick sinus syndrome and required placement of an implantable intracardiac cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to prevent sudden death. He demonstrated no significant risk factors for sudden death such as depressed left ventricular ejection fraction, or spontaneous or inducible ventricular tachycardia. One month after implantation, the patient experienced one appropriate ICD discharge.
Journal of Medical Genetics, 2005
Background: The limb girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are a heterogeneous group of Mendelian di... more Background: The limb girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are a heterogeneous group of Mendelian disorders highlighted by weakness of the pelvic and shoulder girdle muscles. Seventeen autosomal loci have been so far identified and genetic tests are mandatory to distinguish among the forms. Mutations at the calpain 3 locus (CAPN3) cause LGMD type 2A.