Implant failure of the Compress prosthesis: a case report.

Background: The Compress is designed to achieve bone formation and stability by applying pressure at the bone-implant interface, minimizing the likelihood of aseptic loosening, which is a complication of stem implants. Herein, we report two cases of implant failure using the Compress.

Case Presentation: Case 1 describes a 36 year-old Japanese man who underwent extraarticular tumor resection, Compress arthroplasty, and reconstruction with a gastrocnemius flap after preoperative chemotherapy for a secondary malignant giant cell tumor in the right distal femur.

Selumetinib for symptomatic, inoperable plexiform neurofibromas in pediatric patients with neurofibromatosis type 1: the first single-center real-world case series in Japan.

Objective: In Japan, selumetinib is used in pediatric patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and symptomatic inoperable plexiform neurofibroma (PN). However, there have been no real-world reports on Japanese patients. In this study, we reported a single-center, short-term experience with selumetinib after its approval in Japan.

Tenderness over the Pes anserinus and Gerdy's tubercle before and after total knee arthroplasty.

Objectives: Several patients experience chronic pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), with the source of postoperative pain attributed to intra- and extra-articular factors. This study focused on the proximal tibia with either the Pes anserinus (PA) or around Gerdy's tubercle (GT) as the most common site of extra-articular pain.

Methods: This prospective study included 270 patients (360 knees) with advanced varus osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee scheduled for primary TKA and the patient population comprised 289 women and 71 men with a mean age of 74.

Conduction time from left bundle branch pacing to the left ventricular lateral wall in two patients in whom cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker was implanted.

Unlabelled: The efficacy of left bundle branch pacing (LBBP) as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been reported, but LBBP may not always improve conduction disturbance in the left ventricle (LV). To evaluate LV electrical conduction delay during LBBP, we measured conduction time from the pacing at left bundle branch to LV lead sensing (LBBP-LV) in two patients in whom left bundle branch-optimized cardiac resynchronization therapy (LOT-CRT) was attempted. Case 1 was a 77-year-old female with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and left bundle branch block.

Adverse plasma branched-chain amino acid profile mirrors fatty muscle degeneration in diabetic heart failure patients.

Aims: Elevated plasma branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are tightly linked to incident diabetes and its complications, while lower BCAAs are associated with adverse outcomes in the elderly and heart failure (HF) patients. The interplay between body compositions and plasma BCAAs, especially under the influence of co-morbid diabetes in HF patients, is not well understood. Here, we examined the impact of diabetes on the prognostic value of plasma BCAA and its association with body compositions in HF patients.

Relationship between serum iron level and physical function in heart failure patients is lost by presence of diabetes.

Aims: Iron deficiency (ID) is common in patients with heart failure (HF) and is reportedly associated with exercise intolerance and impaired quality of life. Iron supplementation therapy in HF patients with ID improves exercise capacity. Conversely, protective roles of iron depletion in the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications have been proposed.

Circulating level of β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), a novel myokine-like molecule, is inversely associated with fat mass in patients with heart failure.

Results of experimental studies have shown that β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), an exercise-induced myokine-like molecule, is an endogenous negative regulator of fat mass in mice, but it remains unclear whether that is the case in humans, though an enhanced BAIBA concentration in patients receiving sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors was found in our recent study. The objective of this study was to analyze the determinants of circulating BAIBA concentration in humans, with focus on the possible link between circulating BAIBA and body composition including fat mass. Data for 188 consecutive patients with heart failure (HF, 64 ± 13 years; 70% male) who received a dual energy X ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan for assessment of body composition including fat mass index (FMI) and appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) were used in this study.

Impact of Radar Chart-Based Information Sharing in a Multidisciplinary Team on In-Hospital Outcomes and Prognosis in Older Patients With Heart Failure.

A multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach is crucial for managing older patients with heart failure (HF). We investigated the impact on clinical outcomes of implementation of a conference sheet (CS) with an 8-component radar chart for visualizing and sharing patient information. We enrolled 395 older inpatients with HF (median age 79 years [interquartile range 72-85 years]; 47% women) and divided them into 2 groups according to CS implementation: a non-CS group (before CS implementation; n=145) and a CS group (after CS implementation; n=250).

Independent Association Between Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors and Muscle Wasting in Patients with Heart Failure: A Single-Center, Ambispective, Observational Study.

Background: Although proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) play a pivotal role in the prevention and treatment of gastric acid-related diseases and gastrointestinal adverse events caused by antiplatelet therapies, the safety of long-term use of PPIs has been questioned.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of use of PPIs on muscle mass and bone mineral density in heart failure (HF) patients.

Methods: This was a single-center, ambispective (combined retrospective and prospective), observational study.

Total Knee Arthroplasty Without Reduction of the Patella for Genu Valgum With Permanent Dislocation of the Patella: A Case of Nail Patella Syndrome.

A 75-year-old woman presented with progressive bilateral knee pain and severe genu valgum. She could walk utilizing braces and T-canes, with a 20° flexion contracture and 150° of maximum flexion. During knee flexion, the patella laterally dislocated.

Frequent coexistence of early repolarization pattern, J-point elevation, and high Sokolow-Lyon voltage in young men.

Background: Earlier studies have shown male dominance of an early repolarization (ER) pattern and frequent coexistence with high Sokolow-Lyon voltage. Although possible involvement of androgen is speculated, the underlying mechanism has not been clarified yet. Previous studies were conducted in adult populations or only in children, and there has been no study in which the ER pattern was investigated in a series of individuals ranging from children before puberty to adults.

Elevated circulating level of β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA) in heart failure patients with type 2 diabetes receiving sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors.

Aims: The mechanism by which a sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitor (SGLT2i) induces favorable effects on diabetes and cardiovascular diseases including heart failure (HF) remains poorly understood. Metabolomics including amino acid profiling enables detection of alterations in whole body metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine whether plasma amino acid profiles are modulated by SGLT2i use in HF patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Enhanced nuclear localization of phosphorylated MLKL predicts adverse events in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Aims: The role of necroptosis in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) remains unclear. Here, we examined whether phosphorylation of mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL), an indispensable event for execution of necroptosis, is associated with the progression of DCM.

Methods And Results: Patients with DCM (n = 56, 56 ± 15 years of age; 68% male) were enrolled for immunohistochemical analyses of biopsies.

Pulmonary actinomycosis mimicking lung cancer on F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography: a case report.

Background: Pulmonary actinomycosis is a chronic disease characterized by abscess formation, draining sinuses, fistulae, and tissue fibrosis. It can mimic other conditions, particularly malignant and granulomatous diseases, and is perhaps extremely challenging to diagnose.

Case Presentation: A 64-year-old Japanese man presented with 6-week history of a painful solid lump in the chest wall.

High defibrillation threshold with right-sided ICD implantation was resolved by a dual coil lead via persistent left superior vena cava.

Persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) can be problematic when device implantation is scheduled from the left side because of the technical difficulty in delivering leads. Right-sided implantation is an alternative method, but there is a risk of a high defibrillation threshold (DFT). Transvenous implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) was scheduled for a 54-year-old man with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and monomorphic non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, but computed tomography revealed the presence of a PLSVC.

Early Detection of Cardiac Amyloidosis in Transthyretin Mutation Carriers.

Diagnostic strategies for symptomatic transthyretin (ATTR) cardiac amyloidosis showing typical morphological features such as increased ventricular wall thickness and myocardial injury such as an elevation in serum troponin T level have been established, but those for subclinical cardiac amyloidosis are limited. In the era when effective therapies to suppress/delay progression of ATTR cardiac amyloidosis are available, early detection of cardiac involvement plays a crucial role in appropriate decision-making for treatment in TTR mutation carriers who have a family history of heart failure and death due to ATTR amyloidosis. Findings of three cases with known pathogenic transthyretin (TTR) mutations (p.

Barthel Index Score Predicts Mortality in Elderly Heart Failure - A Goal of Comprehensive Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Background: A strategy to predict mortality in elderly heart failure (HF) patients has not been established.

Methods and results: We retrospectively enrolled 413 HF patients aged ≥65 years (mean age 78 years) who had received comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CR) during hospitalization. Basic activities of daily life were assessed before discharge using the Barthel index (BI).

Plasma amino acid profiling improves predictive accuracy of adverse events in patients with heart failure.

Aims: The clinical outcome of heart failure (HF) is complicated by the presence of multiple comorbidities including malnutrition and cachexia, and prediction of the outcome is still difficult in each patient. Metabolomics including amino acid profiling enables detection of alterations in whole body metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine whether plasma amino acid profiling improves prediction of clinical outcomes in patients with HF.

Revaluation of the Significance of Demonstrable Exit Block After Radiofrequency Pulmonary Vein Isolation.

Demonstration of exit block from the pulmonary vein (PV) to the left atrium after PV isolation (PVI) is not always possible after demonstration of entrance block. We examined factors associated with demonstrable exit block and the relationship between demonstrable exit block and subsequent PV reconnection. The subjects consisted of 227 patients (908 PV; mean patient age, 59.

Is Incomplete Left Atrial Posterior Wall Isolation Associated With Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation After Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation?

Complete left atrial posterior wall isolation (LAPI) is not always achieved. We examined whether incomplete LAPI has an effect on outcomes after catheter ablation (CA). This study enrolled 75 consecutive patients (mean [±SD] age 62.

High percent body fat mass predicts lower risk of cardiac events in patients with heart failure: an explanation of the obesity paradox.

Background: Although high body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor of heart failure (HF), HF patients with a higher BMI had a lower mortality rate than that in HF patients with normal or lower BMI, a phenomenon that has been termed the "obesity paradox". However, the relationship between body composition, i.e.