Worldwide Experience With an Irrigated Needle Catheter for Ablation of Refractory Ventricular Arrhythmias: Final Report.

Background: We previously reported feasibility of irrigated needle ablation (INA) with a retractable 27-G end-hole needle catheter to treat nonendocardial ventricular arrhythmia substrate, an important cause of ablation failure.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to report outcomes and complications in our entire INA-treated population.

Methods: Patients with recurrent sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) or high-density premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) despite radiofrequency ablation were prospectively enrolled at 4 centers.

Vitality index is a predictor of the improvement in the functional independence measure score in subacute stroke patients with cognitive impairment.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of motivation on improvements in the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores in subacute stroke patients with cognitive impairment.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 358 consecutive subacute stroke patients with first-ever stroke and Mini-Mental State Examination score ≤23 at admission. We determined motivation and rehabilitation outcome using the vitality index and FIM-motor gain, respectively.

6-Hydroxydopamine induces secretion of PARK7/DJ-1 via autophagy-based unconventional secretory pathway.

Unlabelled: PARK7/DJ-1 is a Parkinson disease- and cancer-associated protein that functions as a multifunctional protein involved in gene transcription regulation and anti-oxidative defense. Although PARK7 lacks the secretory signal sequence, it is secreted and plays important physiological and pathophysiological roles. Whereas secretory proteins that lack the endoplasmic reticulum-targeting signal sequence are secreted from cells by way of what is called the unconventional secretion mechanism, the specific processes responsible for causing PARK7 to be secreted across the plasma membrane have remained unclear.

[Effectiveness and safety of long-term levetiracetam treatment in patients with refractory epilepsy].

Objective: To evaluate the long-term effects and tolerability of levetiracetam (LEV) in refractory epilepsy.

Methods: LEV was administered to 76 patients whose seizures were inadequately controlled by their current medications. The patients were followed for a minimum of 18 months but less than 2 years.

[Very late thrombosis of a drug-eluting stent presenting during the operation].

We report a case of very late thrombosis of sirolimus-eluting stent 38 months after implantation of a drug-eluting stent. An 81-year-old woman was suffering from acute cholecystitis and cholelithiasis and laparoscopic cholecystectomy was scheduled. Seven days before the operation, the patient's aspirin was replaced with heparin injection, which was discontinued 4 hours before the operation.