Positive Predictors for Response to Ambrisentan Combination Therapy in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

The AMBITION study (NCT01178073) provided the first long-term clinical evidence for initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Nevertheless, predictors of treatment response were not assessed.To identify predictors for response to initial combination therapy, we examined data from 302 patients with PAH (World Health Organization Functional Class II or III) who received initial combination therapy from the modified intention-to-treat population of the AMBITION study (n = 605).

Three percent weight reduction is the minimum requirement to improve health hazards in obese and overweight people in Japan.

Objective: Adequate goal-setting is important in health counselling and treatment for obesity and overweight. We tried to determine the minimum weight reduction required for improvement of obesity-related risk factors and conditions in obese and overweight Japanese people, using a nationwide intervention programme database.

Methods: Japanese men and women (n=3480; mean age±standard deviation [SD], 48.

[Evaluation of sub-maximal aerobic capacity level determined by double product break point (DPBP) among Japanese adults].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine sub-maximal aerobic capacity levels evaluated by metabolic equivalents (unit is METs) at the double product break point (DPBP) and elucidate the safe and effective average exercise intensity among Japanese adults. A total of 438 subjects (123 males and 315 females) who participated in the exercise prescription course with measurement of the DPBP during a continuous incremental exercise test with a bicycle

Methods: ergometer were enrolled in this study. The DP (heart rate-systolic blood pressure product) featured rapid increase with increasing exercise load during the continuous incremental exercise test.

[Is whole body bone mineral density measured by the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry applied to evaluate risk of osteoporosis among Japanese adult females?].

To measure whole body fat accurately, the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is widely utilized. Simultaneously, bone mineral density (BMD) of the whole body can also be measured. BMD is one of important information to diagnose osteoporosis.

Relationship between obesity and physical fitness and periodontitis.

Background: Obesity and exercise are important elements associated with lifestyle-related diseases, and studies suggested that these factors may also be related to periodontitis. This study investigates the relationship between obesity and physical fitness and periodontitis.

Methods: One thousand, one hundred and sixty Japanese subjects, aged 20 to 77 years, who participated in health examinations at Fukuoka Health Promotion Center were analyzed.

Waist circumference is the main determinant of elevated C-reactive protein in metabolic syndrome.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. C-reactive protein (CRP) has been reported to be elevated in subjects with MetS. However, which component of MetS contributes mostly to the elevation has not been studied in detail.

Vasospastic angina and microvascular angina are differentially influenced by PON1 A632G polymorphism in the Japanese.

Background: Ethnicity and smoking are well-known risk factors for the pathogenesis of coronary vasospasm. Oxidative stress induced by smoking plays a crucial role in coronary vasospasm, but is not enough to account for the pathogenesis of coronary vasospasm, indicating that genetic factors are strongly involved.

Methods And Results: The study group comprised 162 vasospastic angina patients (VSAs), 61 microvascular angina patients (MVAs) and 61 non-responders (NRs) diagnosed by acetylcholine provocation test.

Disparity of MCP-1 mRNA and protein expressions between the carotid artery and the aorta in WHHL rabbits: one aspect involved in the regional difference in atherosclerosis.

Objective: This study was designed to examine why in WHHL rabbits, muscular arteries, such as the carotid artery, are relatively resistant to atherosclerosis compared with the aorta, with a special reference to monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1.

Methods And Results: MCP-1 mRNA expression was quantitated by Northern blot analysis, and its protein expression was quantitated by immunostaining and ELISA at the age of 1, 3, 6, and 12 months (n=5 to 6 each). In the aorta, atherosclerotic lesions were progressively developed with aging, and MCP-1 was highly expressed in endothelial cells and infiltrating macrophages.

Coronary revascularization in Japan. Part 4: coronary artery bypass surgery during 1997.

The Japanese Coronary Intervention Study (JCIS) has revealed that 17,667 coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures were performed at 477 facilities during 1997, and this report describes the demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment strategies, and the in-hospital and the long-term outcomes in patients treated with CABG in Japan. A total of 1,862 CABG cases, which corresponded to approximately 10% of the overall CABGs, were selected at random. The mean age was 65 years, and 76% of cases were males.

Coronary revascularization in Japan. Part 3: percutaneous coronary intervention during 1997.

A survey by the Japanese Coronary Intervention Study (JCIS) group revealed that 109,788 percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures were performed at 1,023 laboratories during 1997. The present study aimed to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment strategies, in-hospital outcomes, and long-term outcomes of these patients. A total of 10,642 PCIs performed in 8,814 patients, which corresponded to approximately 10% of the overall PCIs, were selected at random.

Severe pulmonary hypertension in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and minimal lupus activity.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) sometimes occurs in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report a case of 51-year-old-woman with PH associated with SLE. She had been diagnosed as SLE on the basis of pericardial effusion, hematological disorder, positive antinuclear antibody, and hypocomplementemia.