Article Abstract:
Balloon valvuloplasty seems to be very effective in opening blocked valves in the pulmonary artery, a condition called pulmonic stenosis. This technique involves threading a balloon-tipped catheter through a leg vein up to the heart. The balloon is inflated, which opens the valve. The technique was used on 53 adults with pulmonic stenosis and it opened the pulmonary valves significantly as well as reducing pressure in the artery. The benefits lasted up to 10 years. Part of the technique's success results from use of the Inoue balloon catheter, which is short and flexible.
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Article Abstract:
According to screening studies von Willebrand's disease is an inherited bleeding disorder with prevalence as high as 1 to 2 percent in the general populations. If the cytokine appears to be effective and safe in clinical trials, it may provide a new form of treatment that would complement desmopressin, with the choice of the latter when a short-tern hemostatic effect is needed and of interleukin-11 when a sustained effect is needed.
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Article Abstract:
A heart valve disorder called aortic stenosis can cause excessive bleeding because it damages a large blood clotting protein called von Willebrand factor. Patients with aortic stenosis have an aortic valve that does not close properly. This causes increased blood flow through the valve that damages von Willebrand factor. The only way to stop the bleeding is to replace the valve.
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