Effect of evolocumab therapy on coronary fibrous cap thickness assessed by optical coherence tomography in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Background: The addition of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, evolocumab, to statin therapy produced incremental regression of atherosclerotic plaques and a collaborative prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease. The effect on fibrous-cup thickness, or extension of the atherosclerotic plaque with PCSK9-inhibitor, for several weeks after onset of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has never been reported.

Methods: This study aimed to examine the effect of evolocumab on fibrous-cap thickness, as well as the extent of the atherosclerotic plaque, by serial optical coherence tomography (OCT) analysis in patients with ACS.

Five-year outcomes after first- and second-generation drug-eluting stent implantation in all patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Use of the everolimus-eluting stent (EES) instead of the sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) out to 3 years. However, it is not known whether the differences in efficacy and safety outcomes remain constant throughout 5 years.

Methods: This was a retrospective, non-randomized, observational study.

Comparison of the vessel healing process after everolimus-eluting stent and bare metal stent implantations in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stent (CoCr EES) is associated with a lower rate of stent thrombosis even in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, the time-serial changes of endothelial coverage of the stent struts in the extremely early period have never been reported, especially in patients with STEMI. The aim of this study was to compare the vessel healing process between CoCr EES and cobalt-chromium bare metal stent (CoCr BMS) implantations using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with STEMI.

Impact of everolimus-eluting stent length on long-term clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Even though longer stented lengths may increase the risk of restenosis, full coverage of diffuse long lesions with longer stents seems to be the optimal strategy for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the new drug-eluting stent (DES) era. However, it remains unclear whether this strategy will indicate favorable outcome or not. This study evaluated the impact of stent length on two-year clinical outcomes after PCI with the XIENCE Alpine everolimus-eluting stent.

Design and evaluation of an extended-release matrix tablet formulation; the combination of hypromellose acetate succinate and hydroxypropylcellulose.

The purpose of this study was to develop an extended-release (ER) matrix tablet that shows robust dissolution properties able to account for the variability of pH and mechanical stress in the GI tract using a combination of enteric polymer and hydrophilic polymer. Hypromellose acetate succinate (HPMCAS) and hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) were selected as ER polymers for the ER matrix tablet (HPMCAS/HPC ER matrix tablet). Oxycodone hydrochloride was employed as a model drug.

Early vascular responses after everolimus-eluting stent implantation assessed by serial observations of intracoronary optical coherence tomography.

A recent OCT study revealed that the lack of stent strut endothelial coverage is associated with late stent thrombosis after drug-eluting stent implantation. However, the sequential changes of stent strut endothelial coverage in the extremely early period have never been reported. Serial OCTs were performed in 35 patients with 35 EES (everolimus-eluting stent)-treated de novo lesions at 0, 2, 4, and 12 weeks after EES implantation.

Efficacy of everolimus-eluting stent implantation in patients with small coronary arteries (≤2.5 mm): outcomes of 3-year clinical follow-up.

Previous studies have demonstrated that patients with small coronary artery lesions are at increased risk for late cardiac events after percutaneous coronary intervention. It remains uncertain whether second-generation drug-eluting stents have an advantage over first-generation drug-eluting stents in patients with small vessel lesions. Our aim was to compare in the 3-year clinical impact between second-generation everolimus-eluting stents (EES) and first-generation sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) in small vessel lesions.

Effect of a newly-devised nutritional guide based on self-efficacy for patients with type 2 diabetes in Japan over 2 years: 1-year intervention and 1-year follow-up studies.

Aims/introduction: We devised a new system called "Educational Guidance" (E-Guide) for nutritional education based on self-efficacy. The present study aimed to examine the effects of E-Guide use on glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: We carried out an interventional and observational study that included 74 patients with type 2 diabetes.

The efficacy of everolimus-eluting stent implantation in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: outcomes of 2-year clinical follow-up.

First-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) demonstrated delay in vascular healing and increase in incidence of late and very late stent thrombosis compared with bare-metal stents (BMS). Second-generation DES, however, have shown a reduction of late and very late stent thrombosis compared with first-generation DES. Thus, we decided to evaluate whether the second-generation everolimus-eluting stent (EES) has an advantage over BMS in Japanese patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Comparison of inflammatory response after implantation of sirolimus- and paclitaxel-eluting stents in patients on hemodialysis.

Because systemic inflammation after coronary intervention places patients at increased risk of subsequent cardiac events, we aimed to compare clinical outcomes and chronic serum inflammation markers of paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) and sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) in hemodialysis patients. Paclitaxel-eluting stents and SES were implanted in 36 patients with 46 lesions, and 32 patients with 40 lesions, respectively. In addition to 1-year major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rates, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), neopterin, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) were also compared before and 9 months after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Improvement of dissolution behavior for poorly water-soluble drug by application of cyclodextrin in extrusion process: comparison between melt extrusion and wet extrusion.

The purpose of this study was to improve dissolution behavior of poorly water-soluble drugs by application of cyclodextrin in extrusion processes, which were melt extrusion process and wet extrusion process. Indomethacin (IM) was employed as a model drug. Extrudates containing IM and 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CyD) in 1:1 w/w ratio were manufactured by both melt extrusion process and wet extrusion process.

Association studies of variants in the genes involved in pancreatic beta-cell function in type 2 diabetes in Japanese subjects.

Because impaired insulin secretion is characteristic of type 2 diabetes in Asians, including Japanese, the genes involved in pancreatic beta-cell function are candidate susceptibility genes for type 2 diabetes. We examined the association of variants in genes encoding several transcription factors (TCF1, TCF2, HNF4A, ISL1, IPF1, NEUROG3, PAX6, NKX2-2, NKX6-1, and NEUROD1) and genes encoding the ATP-sensitive K(+) channel subunits Kir6.2 (KCNJ11) and SUR1 (ABCC8) with type 2 diabetes in a Japanese cohort of 2,834 subjects.

ATP-sensitive K+ channel-mediated glucose uptake is independent of IRS-1/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling.

We previously found that disruption of Kir6.2-containing ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels increases glucose uptake in skeletal muscle, but the mechanism is not clear. In the present study, we generated knockout mice lacking both Kir6.

Cyclodextrin conjugate-based controlled release system: repeated- and prolonged-releases of ketoprofen after oral administration in rats.

6(A)-O-[2-(3-Benzoylphenyl)propinoyl]-alpha-cyclodextrin (KP-alpha-CyD conjugate), in which an anti-inflammatory drug, ketoprofen (KP), is covalently bound to one of the primary hydroxyl groups of alpha-cyclodextrin, was prepared, and its release behavior in vitro and in vivo was investigated. Further, the CyD conjugate-based repeated- and prolonged-release systems were designed by combining the conjugate (used as a delayed-release fraction) with the KP-2-hydroxypropyl-beta-CyD (HP-beta-CyD) complex (used as a fast-release fraction) or with KP-ethylcellulose (EC) solid dispersion (used as a slow-release fraction), respectively. The conjugate released KP only in rat cecum and colonic contents, whereas it was stable in other biological fluids of rats.

Cblb is a major susceptibility gene for rat type 1 diabetes mellitus.

The autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes mellitus (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM) has a multifactorial etiology. So far, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the only major susceptibility locus that has been identified for this disease and its animal models. The Komeda diabetes-prone (KDP) rat is a spontaneous animal model of human type 1 diabetes in which the major susceptibility locus Iddm/kdp1 accounts, in combination with MHC, for most of the genetic predisposition to diabetes.

Identification, tissue expression, and functional characterization of Otx3, a novel member of the Otx family.

Transcription factors containing a homeodomain play an important role in the organogenesis of vertebrates. We have isolated a novel homeodomain transcription factor, Otx3, which is structurally and functionally related to Otx1 and Otx2, transcription factors that are critical in brain morphogenesis. Mouse Otx3 is a protein composed of 376 amino acids.

Colon-specific delivery of prednisolone-appended alpha-cyclodextrin conjugate: alleviation of systemic side effect after oral administration.

Prednisolone (PD), a typical glucocorticoid, has been widely used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, when PD is administered orally, a large amount of the drug is absorbed from the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract and causes systemic side effects. In this study, the anti-inflammatory effect and systemic side effect of the PD succinate/alpha-cyclodextrin (PDsuc/alpha-CyD) ester conjugate after oral administration were studied using IBD model rats.