Regional aortic distensibility and its relationship with age and aortic stenosis: a computed tomography study.

Aortic distensibility (AD) decreases with age and increased aortic stiffness is independently associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The association of severe aortic stenosis (AS) with AD in different aortic regions has not been evaluated. Elderly subjects with severe AS and a cohort of patients without AS of similar age were studied.

Evaluation of splenomegaly in the hepatosplenic form of mansonic schistosomiasis.

This study was aimed to evaluate splenomegaly in patients with the hepatosplenic (HS) form of mansonic schistosomiasis (MS), analyzing the size and weight of the spleen and their relationships with patients' gender and age. Between October, 1993 to July, 1998, 78 patients with the HS form of MS had undergone splenectomy as treatment of choice for bleeding due to portal hypertension, at Hospital das Clínicas, Pernambuco, Brazil. By means of abdominal palpation, the excess spleen felt below the left costal edge was measured, and the weight was obtained after splenectomy along with the histopathological analysis.