Averaged oxygen desaturation improves the prognostic value of the six-minute walk test in elderly patients with heart failure.

Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of hospitalization, and exercise capacity is a key prognostic marker. The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is widely used to assess exercise capacity, but six-minute walk distance (6MWD) varies among individuals, especially the elderly. This study aimed to assess the hypothesis that Δ[Formula: see text]-Ex, the average oxygen desaturation during the 6MWT, could enhance the prognostic value of 6MWD in elderly patients with HF for cardiovascular risk prediction.

Predictors of postoperative physical functional decline at hospital discharge in elderly patients with prolonged intensive care unit stay after cardiac surgery.

Background: A prolonged stay in the intensive care (ICU) is associated with physical function decline following cardiac surgery. To predict physical function decline after cardiac surgery, it may be important to evaluate physical function in the ICU.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine that physical function examination at ICU discharge was independently associated with physical functional decline at hospital discharge in elderly patients who had undergone cardiac surgery and prolonged the ICU stay.

Dimethyl Fumarate Ameliorated Cardiorenal Anemia Syndrome and Improved Overall Survival in Dahl/Salt-Sensitive Rats.

Cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and anemia are known to adversely affect each other. Inflammation is commonly involved in these diseases. Cardiorenal anemia syndrome (CRAS) is the name given to this mutually harmful condition.

The differences between conventional lead, thin lead, and leadless pacemakers regarding effects on tricuspid regurgitation in the early phase.

Purpose: Trans-venous pacemaker leads are associated with worsening of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after pacemaker implantation (PMI) in some cases. Recently, leadless pacemakers and thin ventricular pacemaker leads without a stylet lumen have become popular. However, the differences in the effects of these leads on TR are unclear.

Clinical utility of reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent in patients with heart failure.

Anemia and iron deficiency (ID) are common in patients with heart failure (HF) and intravenous (IV) administration of iron to patients hospitalized for decompensated HF with ID improves outcome. The diagnosis of ID in routine practice is based on serum ferritin and transferrin saturation (TSAT) but both have limitations; alternatives should be considered. Reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent (Ret-He) reflects iron content in reticulocytes but its clinical utility in patients with HF remains uncertain.

Successful withdrawal of catecholamine with ivabradine administration in catecholamine-dependent heart failure.

Ivabradine is a heart rate (HR)-lowering agent that blocks hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel in the sinus node without a negative inotropic effect on cardiac function. Here we report a case of catecholamine-dependent heart failure, who was intolerant to β blockers, and successfully withdrew catecholamine by administering ivabradine. A 39-year-old male acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patient with severe systolic cardiac failure, refractory to diuretic and dobutamine treatment was transferred to our hospital.

Juzentaihoto improves adenine-induced chronic renal failure in BALB/c mice via suppression of renal fibrosis and inflammation.

Renal inflammation and fibrosis are observed in underlying diseases associated with the pathological progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The inhibition of renal inflammation and fibrosis is one method to suppress the progression of CKD. Juzentaihoto (TJ-48), a Kampo medicine, effectively relieves chronic wasting diseases and fatigue and has been reported to decrease inflammation.

Low Quality of Warfarin Therapy is Associated With Female Gender but Not With Polypharmacy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

We examined the impact of polypharmacy on the quality of the anticoagulation therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation. We also examined the factors that affect the stability of warfarin therapy. This retrospective study was conducted using data from 157 consecutive outpatients with atrial fibrillation in a single tertiary referral hospital.

Reduced lifespan of erythrocytes in Dahl/Salt sensitive rats is the cause of the renal proximal tubule damage.

We studied the mechanisms of anemia and the influence of anemia on renal pathology in Dahl/Salt Sensitive (Dahl/SS) rat, a model of cardio-renal-anemia syndrome. Erythrocyte lifespan was shortened and associated with decreased hemoglobin level in the Dahl/SS rats given high-salt diet. Serum haptoglobin decreased, reticulocytes increased, and erythropoiesis in the bone marrow and extramedullary hematopoiesis in the spleen was markedly stimulated by increased serum erythropoietin in them.

Polypharmacy Is Associated With Accelerated Deterioration of Renal Function in Cardiovascular Outpatients.

Background: Polypharmacy is associated with poor prognosis of patients with various diseases. However, it has not been precisely addressed how polypharmacy affects the clinical characteristics of the cardiovascular outpatients. The aim of this study is to search for the clinical characteristics related to the number of prescribed drugs in the cardiovascular outpatients.

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Induced Radiation Sensitization Effects on Human Cancer Cells after Photon and Hadron Radiation Exposure.

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) is a histone deacetylase inhibitor, which has been widely utilized throughout the cancer research field. SAHA-induced radiosensitization in normal human fibroblasts AG1522 and lung carcinoma cells A549 were evaluated with a combination of γ-rays, proton, and carbon ion exposure. Growth delay was observed in both cell lines during SAHA treatment; 2 μM SAHA treatment decreased clonogenicity and induced cell cycle block in G1 phase but 0.

The major DNA repair pathway after both proton and carbon-ion radiation is NHEJ, but the HR pathway is more relevant in carbon ions.

The purpose of this study was to identify the roles of non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) or homologous recombination (HR) pathways in repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by exposure to high-energy protons and carbon ions (C ions) versus gamma rays in Chinese hamster cells. Two Chinese hamster cell lines, ovary AA8 and lung fibroblast V79, as well as various mutant sublines lacking DNA-PKcs (V3), X-ray repair cross-complementing protein-4 [XRCC4 (XR1), XRCC3 (irs1SF) and XRCC2 (irs1)] were exposed to gamma rays ((137)Cs), protons (200 MeV; 2.2 keV/μm) and C ions (290 MeV; 50 keV/μm).

Use of proton pump inhibitors is associated with anemia in cardiovascular outpatients.

Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are frequently prescribed in combination with aspirin for preventing peptic ulcer in patients with atherosclerotic diseases. In contrast, long-term use of PPI has been suggested to be associated with iron or vitamin B12 deficiency. The effect of PPI on hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, however, has not been clarified in cardiovascular outpatients.

Intravenous salt supplementation with low-dose furosemide for treatment of acute decompensated heart failure.

Background: Theoretically, salt supplementation should promote diuresis through increasing the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) during treatment of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) even with low-dose furosemide; however, there is little evidence to support this idea.

Methods And Results: This was a prospective, randomized, open-label, controlled trial that compared the diuretic effectiveness of salt infusion with that of glucose infusion supplemented with low-dose furosemide in 44 consecutive patients with ADHF. Patients were randomly administered 1.