Infectious diseases represent an important group of medical disorder. This is still a public health problem for all countries around the world and the leading course of death. There are many epidemics of new emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases at present and this warrants the necessity to update our knowledge on infectious diseases. This requires fighting infectious diseases with new and more powerful and safer drugs as well as collaboration between health care workers and non-health care workers are required. The construction of the knowledge exchange via the Ebook series can be useful. The series of Ebooks in this area can be an invaluable integrated source of knowledge for experts and workers on several facets of infectious diseases.

Many viruses are known to persist in their host’s cells in a latent state without exhibiting virulence or symptoms of infection, hence, giving rise to the term ‘latent infections’. Vaccines for Latent Viral Infections is a clear and concise monograph which features a review of some well-known viruses that are capable of establishing latent infections in humans. These include herpes simplex virus (HSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).The book also highlights common features of each of these viruses and demonstrates how they are able to evade the host’s immune response. This brief monograph finally proposes a much needed shift in the approach to designing vaccines that will prevent establishment of virus latency. Vaccines for Latent Viral Infections serves as a handy reference for researchers interested in the basic virology of viruses capable of latent infections, the immune responses to these infections and the development of vaccines to tackle these pathogens.

Biomarkers are any measurable biochemical characteristics of an organism that reflect a particular physiological state. Biomarkers can take many different forms including particular proteins or peptides, antibodies, cell types, metabolites, hormones, enzyme levels, compounds related to genomics, etc. A biomarker can also be a substance introduced into a patient to assess the internal organ systems role. In medicine, biomarkers considered as compounds isolated from serum, urine, or other fluids, can be used as an indicator of the presence or severity of a particular disease state. The use of biomarkers is becoming a fundamental practice in medicine, Biomarker research involves a significantly greater scope of laboratory medicine. This monograph presents information on several types of biomarkers for general pathologies (preeclampsia, metabolic syndrome, iron metabolism, bone disease, liver function, renal function), cardiovascular pathology (including atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease, thrombotic disorders) and sepsis. Additional information on endocrine and salivary biomarkers is also presented. New Trends in Biomarkers and Diseases: An Overview is an ideal reference for medical students, pathology trainees and clinical researchers seeking information on biomarkers in medicine.

In recent decades, the prevalence of heart failure has steadily increased and can be considered a contemporary cardiovascular epidemic. Therefore, treatment of heart failure is a primary focus of cardiovascular disease management strategies. Cardiac resynchronization therapy: an established pacing therapy for heart failure and mechanical dyssynchrony provides basic knowledge about congestive heart failure and also covers the evolution of cardiac resynchronization therapy. State-of-the-art information and future directions of this therapeutic tool are explained. As cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a new therapy which still undergoes rapid advancement, it is imperative to provide updates on key issues. These include technological advances, the unique role of imaging to assess mechanical dyssynchrony, troubleshooting, recent key clinical trials, and the incorporation of monitoring capabilities into CRT or CRT plus defibrillation devices. Cardiac resynchronization therapy is an exciting new option for a growing number of heart failure patients, but CRT systems present special challenges to clinicians, even those accustomed to working with pacemakers.

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most frequent malformation in the human fetus and are the leading cause of mortality due to malformations in the first year of life. Despite its clinical importance screening performed by ultrasonographic examination during the second trimester of pregnancy has shown disappointingly low detection rates mainly due to the difficulties in obtaining an adequate examination of the fetal heart. Four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound of the fetal heart has been recently suggested as a tool to improve the detection rate of CHD by decreasing the dependency on operator skills required in two-dimensional ultrasound scans but up to now no practical manuals are available in describing its application in clinical practice for the study of fetal heart. The objective of this Ebook is to explain the role of 4D during second trimester examination and in fetuses with CHD. The technique of obtaining 4D volume of the fetal heart, how to navigate in the volume to obtain diagnostic planes and how to use semiautomatic and automatic software of analysis are described. We believe that after reading this book the standard fetal cardiac anatomy survey can be performed in the second trimester fetus by 4D in both normal and abnormal hearts. This approach may reduce the operator dependency in diagnosis CHD. This Ebook should prove to be a valuable resource for obstetricians, sonographers and pediatric cardiologists.

Frontiers in Myocardia is an eBook series which compiles information about the structure and function of myocardial (the heart muscles) and includes updated reviews on the recent developments in the treatment of associated diseases such as angina, cardiac arrhythmias and myocardial infarction. Advances in research on clinical sepsis in the last few decades have lead to the use of new concepts and treatment paradigms that have been tested and implemented in the clinical setting of Intensive Care Units around the world. An integrative approach towards understanding the pathophysiology of cardiac dysfunction in septic patients can, therefore, lead to better patient outcomes. The first volume of this series, Septic Cardiomyopathy: from bench-to-bedside, integrates new and old information about the molecular mechanisms, histopathological and electrophysiological alterations with novel findings for diagnosing treating septic cardiomyopathy. This eBook attempts to bridge the gap between basic and clinical scientists and presents new data on different aspects of cardiac physiology during critical illness in a single volume. Chapters in this volume also cover cardiovascular changes that occur as a consequence of sepsis including metabolic, mitochondrial arrhythmic changes. This eBook will add significant value to medical students, cardiac physicians and medical scientists engaged in the field of critical care medicine.

Nuclear cardiology is critical for the medical evaluation of patients with heart disease. Clinical Nuclear Cardiology: Practical Applications and Future Directions is the second volume of this series. The volume provides information about the clinical application of imaging techniques (such as SPECT and PET) in clinical practice with the goal of guiding health care professionals to make informed decisions for identifying cardiac risk in patients with heart disease. The information in the book covers four broad aspects of nuclear cardiology: - Myocardial Perfusion Scintigraphy - Fatty Acid Imaging - Neurotransmission imaging - Molecular Imaging and Preventive Medicine Readers will be equipped with information necessary for understanding the diagnosis and management of a variety of cardiomyopathies through various imaging technologies. This volume is a comprehensive reference for cardiologists and medical imaging technicians involved in clinical settings as well as medical students who require an understanding of the cardiovascular aspects of nuclear medicine.

Compendium on Cardiomyopathies provides an easily readable source of material for practicing physicians, clinicians, cardiologists, intensivists and emergency medicine specialists. It presents an overview of different cardiomyopathies with information known from the past to the present. Chapters cover different kinds of cardiomyopathies: hypertrophic cardiomyopathies, pediatric cardiomyopathies, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, inherited cardiomyopathies, Chagas disease, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and more. Readers will be informed about current research on different aspects of these cardiomyopathies such as etiology, important imaging methods used in diagnosis and treatment, genetics and clinical management. This compendium also introduces the reader to new terms describing groups of cardiomyopathies to enable them to apply modern clinical management principles while treating patients.

This e-book starts with a comprehensive overview of the basic principles in Electrocardiography (ECG) with just enough depth to lift the reader above the crowd when it comes to understanding the physics behind ECG. Subsequent chapters provide an approach to the analysis of the ECG. The most important followed by sections with insight into conduction abnormalities, arrhythmia, and myocardial ischemia. The e-book has a straightforward layout, a very clear format, and abundant ECG tracings for interested readers. The diagnostic algorithms provided in the volume prove to be very useful in daily medical practice. Overall, the e-book will help novice physicians, students and fellows to improve their knowledge in ECG interpretation. Electrocardiography (ECG) is, therefore, a very attractive book for all levels of physicians and health-care professionals interested in ECG and it is a welcome addition to the medical literature.