In a randomized trial, patients with a history of myocardial infarction and spontaneous ventricular arrhythmia underwent defibrillator implantation with assignment to catheter ablation of arrhythmogenic tissue or no intervention. At 22 months, 12% of patients assigned to ablation and 33% of control patients had received appropriate defibrillator therapy at least once.

This trial tested the effect of adding bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor A, to the taxane paclitaxel for the initial treatment of metastatic breast cancer. As compared with paclitaxel alone, the combination increased progression-free survival but not overall survival. The results are a demonstration of the potential benefit of antiangiogenic treatment for breast cancer.

This study explored the safety, tolerability, and dystrophin-restoring effect of a single, intramuscular dose of an antisense oligonucleotide, PRO051, to induce specific exon skipping during messenger RNA splicing and to restore dystrophin expression in patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. Four patients, selected on the basis of mutational status, muscle condition, and a positive exon-skipping response to PRO051 in vitro, received the drug. Intramuscular injection of this compound induced local dystrophin synthesis.

The collagen genes COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5 have been implicated in inherited nephropathies. The authors show that glycine mutations in COL4A1, which encodes procollagen type IV α1, result in autosomal dominant hereditary angiopathy with nephropathy, aneurysm, and muscle cramps (HANAC). Thus, COL4A1 mutations should be sought in patients who have unexplained familial syndromes with these features.