Publications by authors named "Hiroaki Irino"

Background: Nowadays, the endolymphatic space size can be evaluated by 3D-analysis of 3 T-MRI after intravenous injection of gadolinium enhancement.

Aims/objectives: In the present study, to elucidate the relationships between vertigo and endolymphatic hydrops (EH) volume after middle ear pressure therapy (MEPT), we investigated changes in EH volume after MEPT for intractable Meniere's disease (MD) by means of the inner ear MRI (ieMRI) in relation to clinical results.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 202 successive definite MD cases with intractable vertiginous symptoms from 2015 to 2020, assigning Group-I of MEPT, and Group-II of endolymphatic sac drainage (ELSD).

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We compared the effects of telmisartan and olmesartan in 20 patients with chronic heart failure and metabolic syndrome. The subjects underwent once-daily 40 mg telmisartan for at least 3 months before switching to once-daily 20 mg olmesartan for the next 3 months (post 1). They were then treated with 3 months of once-daily 40 mg telmisartan (post 2).

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Tortuous coronary arteries frequently make percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) difficult by causing less accessibility of guidewire toward the target lesion. After guidewire has been passed through the target lesion, it often assists a balloon catheter and stent system insertion along the stiff guidewire. However, artificial kinking and wrinkling might induce pseudo-narrowing of coronary arteries, which has been recognized as an "accordion phenomenon.

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This report describes a patient with a single coronary artery in whom the right coronary artery originated from the distal left circumflex artery. Single coronary artery is a rare congenital anomaly of the coronary circulation which is often associated with other congenital cardiac malformations. This anomaly is thought to be clinically significant especially in patients with atrial fibrillation, although no other associated cardiac anomaly was detected.

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Although many clinical trials have evaluated the use of long-acting angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF), there are no data regarding whether a once-daily or twice-daily regimen is preferable with respect to effects on the neuroendocrine system. To address this issue, the authors evaluated the comparative effects of the administration schedule on neurohumoral factors and autonomic nervous activity in patients with CHF. Thirty-two patients with mild compensated CHF received lisinopril (5-20 mg/d) orally either once a day (n = 17) or twice a day (n = 15) for more than 3 months.

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Cardiac involvement in progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) is common and has a strong negative impact on the prognosis, especially when autoantibodies are present. To determine whether ultrasonic tissue characterization can detect early ultrastructural changes in the sclerodermal myocardium, we analyzed the transmural heterogeneity in myocardial integrated backscatter (THIB). "A-THIB" was defined as the absolute difference in integrated backscatter between the left (subendocardial) and right (subepicardial) ventricular halves of the myocardium in the septum and posterior wall, and was measured in 11 patients with PSS and 10 age- and sex-matched healthy participants.

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