The Incidence of Atypical Femoral Fractures in Patients with Rheumatic Disease: Yamagata Prefectural Committee of Atypical Femoral Fractures (YamaCAFe) Study.

Atypical femoral fractures (AFFs) have been reported to occur with minimal or spontaneous subtrochanteric and femoral shaft fractures with a characteristic transverse pattern, compared with typical femoral fractures in young patients with high-energy trauma. AFFs are related to long-term use of bisphosphonates (BPs), glucocorticoids and rheumatic diseases. We have estimated a blind analysis of AFFs in rheumatic patients receiving BPs and glucocorticoids ordinary over a long time in all Yamagata prefectural area through radiographic examination.

[Successful High Flow Nasal Cannula Therapy in a Patient with Myotonic Dystrophy during Perioperative Period].

A 44-year-old woman (body mass index 32) with myotonic dystrophy was admitted for bilateral para- thyroidectomy. Her risk of post-operative respiratory complications was high due to respiratory muscle weakness (%VC 52.8%) and high sputum volume.

Interleukin-17A deficiency accelerates unstable atherosclerotic plaque formation in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Objective: Interleukin(IL)-17A, an inflammatory cytokine, has been implicated in atherosclerosis, in which inflammatory cells within atherosclerotic plaques express IL-17A. However, its role in the development of atheroscelrosis remains to be controversial.

Methods And Results: To directly examine the role of IL-17A in atherosclerosis, we generated apolipoprotein E (ApoE)/IL-17A double-deficient (ApoE(-/-)IL-17A(-/-)) mice.

Syndecan-4 deficiency limits neointimal formation after vascular injury by regulating vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and vascular progenitor cell mobilization.

Objective: Syndecan-4 (Syn4) is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan and works as a coreceptor for various growth factors. We examined whether Syn4 could be involved in the development of neointimal formation in vivo.

Methods And Results: Wild-type (WT) and Syn4-deficient (Syn4-/-) mice were subjected to wire-induced femoral artery injury.