Assessment of suitable antihypertensive therapies: Combination with high-dose amlodipine/irbesartan vs triple combination with amlodipine/irbesartan/indapamide (ASAHI-AI study).

Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) plus calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are a widely used combination therapy for hypertensive patients. In order to determine which combination was better as the next-step therapy for standard-dose combination of ARBs and CCBs, a combination with high-dose CCBs or a triple combination with diuretics, the authors conducted a prospective, randomized, open-label trial to determine which of the following combination is better as the next-step treatment: a combination with high-dose CCBs or a triple combination with diuretics. Hypertensive outpatients who did not achieve their target blood pressure (BP) with usual dosages of ARBs and amlodipine 5 mg were randomly assigned to treatment with irbesartan 100 mg/amlodipine 10 mg (Group 1: n = 48) or indapamide 1 mg in addition to ARBs plus amlodipine 5 mg (Group 2: n = 46).

The EXPAND study: Efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban in Japanese patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

Aims: The EXPAND study examined the real-world efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism (SE) in Japanese patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).

Methods And Results: This multicenter, prospective, non-interventional, observational, cohort study was conducted at 684 medical centers in Japan. A total of 7141 NVAF patients ≥20 years of age (mean, 71.

Study Design and Baseline Characteristics of the EXPAND Study: Evaluation of Effectiveness and Safety of Xa Inhibitor, Rivaroxaban for the Prevention of Stroke and Systemic Embolism in a Nationwide Cohort of Japanese Patients Diagnosed as Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation.

The use of rivaroxaban, a factor Xa inhibitor, has been increasing for prevention of ischemic stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) in Japan. We conducted the nationwide multicenter study, termed as the EXPAND Study, to address its effectiveness and safety in the real-world practice of patients with non-valvular AF in Japan. The EXPAND Study is a prospective, non-interventional, observational cohort study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban in non-valvular AF patients in a real-world clinical practice.

Visit-to-visit variability and seasonal variation in blood pressure: Combination of Antihypertensive Therapy in the Elderly, Multicenter Investigation (CAMUI) Trial subanalysis.

Background: Combination antihypertensive therapy with an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and a calcium channel blocker (CCB) or diuretics is common. This subanalysis investigated blood pressure (BP) variability in patients receiving ARB-based combination therapy.

Methods: In a prospective, randomized, open-label trial, hypertensive outpatients (≥65 years) who did not achieve their target BP with ARB monotherapy switched to losartan 50 mg/hydrochlorothiazide 12.

Combination of antihypertensive therapy in the elderly, multicenter investigation (CAMUI) trial: results after 1 year.

Objective: Combination therapy with angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and calcium channel blockers or diuretics is common for hypertensive patients. This study aimed to determine which combination is better for elderly hypertensive patients.

Methods: In this prospective, randomized, open-label trial, hypertensive outpatients aged at least 65 years who had not achieved their target blood pressure (BP) with standard ARB dosages were randomly assigned to receive either a fixed-dose combination of losartan (50 mg) and hydrochlorothiazide (12.

Evaluation of risk factors for the development of cirrhosis in autoimmune hepatitis: Japanese NHO-AIH prospective study.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic and progressive liver disease characterized by histological interface hepatitis and circulating autoantibodies. Our aims were to evaluate risk factors that contribute to the outcome and, particularly, the development of liver cirrhosis in a prospective multicenter cohort study of AIH. One hundred and seventy-four patients were enrolled.

IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis with and without hepatic inflammatory pseudotumor, and sclerosing pancreatitis-associated sclerosing cholangitis: do they belong to a spectrum of sclerosing pancreatitis?

Sclerosing cholangitis (SC) is a heterogeneous disease entity. Different etiologies such as choledocholithiasis, biliary tumor, or pericholangitis can manifest as SC. Hepatic inflammatory pseudotumor (IP) is rarely associated with SC (sclerosing cholangitis associated with hepatic inflammatory pseudotumor; SC-hepatic IP), but sclerosing pancreatitis (SP) is not infrequently associated with bile duct lesions (sclerosing pancreatitis-associated sclerosing cholangitis; SP-SC).

Autoimmune hepatitis associated with bile duct injury resembling chronic non-suppurative destructive cholangitis.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) are representative autoimmune liver diseases in which hepatocytes and intrahepatic bile ducts, respectively, are selectively damaged by autoimmune mechanisms. Bile duct injury and loss is characteristic of PBC and chronic non-suppurative destructive cholangitis (CNSDC), in particular, is a histological hallmark of PBC. In this report, we present an unusual case of AIH accompanied by CNSDC-like bile duct injury in a 46-year-old woman.

Massive hemorrhage in a patient with intestinal Behçet's disease: report of a case.

Major gastrointestinal bleeding is a rare manifestation of intestinal Behçet's disease. We report herein the case of a 64-year-old man with intestinal Beh,et's disease complicated by myelodysplastic syndrome who suffered massive hemorrhage. Colonoscopy demonstrated ulceration of the entire colon from the cecum to the rectum, characterized by punched-out ulcers.