Publications by authors named "Hiroki Ueno"

To explore the potential efficacy of early initiation of intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVCPA), we reviewed consecutive four cases of super-refractory cryptogenic-new onset refractory status epilepticus (C-NORSE) between 2015 and 2023. We compared functional outcomes at 3 months and 1 year after the onset between patients who received IVCPA within 20 days (early-treated) and those who received it later (late-treated). All patients (median age: 43 years) had a prodromal fever.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Epicardial stenosis and coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) may coexist in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). Microvascular resistance reserve (MRR) has been demonstrated to be a valid cross-modality metric using continuous saline infusion thermodilution and intracoronary Doppler flow velocity methods. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and diagnostic concordance of CMD defined by MRR using two methods-stress transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (S-TDE) and the invasive bolus thermodilution method (B-Thermo)-in patients with functionally significant epicardial stenosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Punctate hippocampal hyperintensity (PHH) on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a well-known observation in patients with transient global amnesia (TGA), which is characterized by acute self-limiting episodes of anterograde and retrograde amnesia. These lesions occur unilaterally or bilaterally in the CA1 regions of the hippocampus, which are crucial for memory processes. PHH on DWI is well-documented in TGA but rare in other conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Myelin damage has recently been highlighted as a major causative factor of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although myelin damage has been pathologically identified in ALS, it has not been clinically evaluated. This study aimed to quantify myelin volume using synthetic MRI to evaluate myelin damage in patients with ALS, and determine its association with clinical parameters.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Global coronary flow reserve (G-CFR) impairment represents coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) and correlates with poor prognosis. Hyperemic coronary flow is reduced in conventional CMD, but normal or mildly reduced with elevated resting flow in endogenous-type CMD (E-CMD). This retrospective study assessed the prognostic value of post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) CMD, focusing on E-CMD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Coronary flow capacity (CFC) integrates quantitative assessment of hyperemic myocardial blood flow and coronary flow reserve. We aimed to evaluate the effect of elective percutaneous coronary revascularization (PCI) on CFC using serial stress transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (STDE). Overall, 148 stable patients underwent STDE of the left anterior descending arteries (LAD), before and after elective PCI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Impaired global coronary flow reserve (G-CFR), evaluated through phase-contrast cine cardiovascular magnetic resonance (PC-CMR), has been linked to worse outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of G-CFR improvement, as evaluated using PC-CMR imaging pre- and post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: In this single-center study, 320 patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) who underwent pre- and post-PCI PC-CMR measurements were followed up to determine major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCE) predictors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Stress-transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (S-TDE) provides a noninvasive assessment of coronary flow parameters in the left anterior descending artery (LAD). However, the association between morphological characteristics and coronary flow changes after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the relationships between periprocedural coronary flow changes observed on S-TDE and lesion-specific plaque characteristics obtained by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the interrogated vessels in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The dense nerve and thin vascular structure of the corneal tissue provide the refractive function in healthy eyes. Diabetes mellitus causes ocular complications including corneal opacification because of corneal nerve degeneration. Diabetic neurotrophic keratopathy is characterized by reduced corneal sensitivity, delayed corneal wound healing, and nerve degeneration.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI) on delayed-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (DE-CMR) and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) derived high-risk features provide prognostic information in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). The study aimed to assess the prognostic value of UMI and predictors of UMI using CCTA in patients with CCS who underwent elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: This study enrolled 181 patients with CCS who underwent DE-CMR and CCTA before elective PCI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study investigated the prognostic value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)-derived global coronary flow reserve (G-CFR) in addition to cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) variables in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We investigated 127 patients with AMI who underwent primary or urgent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and post-intervention CMR and CPET. The incidence of major cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), defined as all-cause death, recurrent non-fatal myocardial infarction, re-hospitalization due to congestive heart failure, and stroke, was evaluated (median follow-up, 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Recent studies suggest that the presence of calcified nodules (CN) is associated with worse prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We investigated clinical predictors of optical coherence tomography (OCT)-defined CN in ACS patients in a prospective multicenter registry.

Methods And Results: We investigated 695 patients enrolled in the TACTICS registry who underwent OCT assessment of the culprit lesion during primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Myocardial bridge (MB) is a common coronary anomaly characterized by a tunneled course through the myocardium. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) can identify MB. The impact of MB detected by CCTA on coronary physiological parameters before and after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A 41-year-old man with resting angina was diagnosed with a coronary vasospasm and subsequently with Fabry disease exhibiting low serum α-galactosidase A activity. High computed tomography (CT)-derived extracellular volume was detected in the apical inferior wall of the left ventricle suggesting myocardial fibrosis, potentially from vasospasm-related ischemia and/or microvascular dysfunction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A case report describes a 60-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) due to multiple factors associated with her SLE and immunosuppressive treatment.
  • The patient's condition included symptoms affecting brain function, low lymphocyte levels, and a vitamin B12 deficiency, leading to the diagnosis of SLE-associated PML.
  • Treatment adjustments, including stopping azathioprine and administering vitamin B12, improved her lymphocyte count and disease management, but MRI findings indicated fluctuating characteristics of PML lesions, highlighting the complexity of monitoring PML in SLE patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Coronary flow reserve (CFR) provides prognostication and coronary physiological information, including epicardial coronary stenosis and microvascular function. The relationship between stress transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TDE)-derived coronary flow velocity reserve (CFR) and thermodilution-derived coronary flow reserve (CFR) before and after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains unclear.

Methods: This single-center prospective registry study evaluated patients who underwent fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided elective PCI for left anterior descending artery (LAD) lesions with wire-based invasive physiological measurements and pre- and post-PCI stress TDE examinations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) can be measured noninvasively using stress transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (S-TDE). The prognostic significance of S-TDE-derived CFVR after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of post-PCI CFVR and its additional efficacy to fractional flow reserve (FFR) in patients undergoing elective PCI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study investigated the effectiveness of computed tomography myocardial perfusion (CT-MP) in identifying coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) in patients with significant epicardial artery blockages.
  • The research involved 68 patients with chronic coronary syndrome, comparing various heart flow metrics and plaque characteristics between those with and without CMD.
  • Findings indicated that patients with CMD had lower hyperemic myocardial blood flow and a higher prevalence of compromised coronary flow reserve compared to those without CMD, suggesting differences in microvascular health despite similar fractional flow reserve values.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to assess how effective preprocedural transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is in detecting unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
  • Researchers analyzed 138 patients with chronic coronary syndrome who had no prior heart attacks or surgeries, using late gadolinium enhancement cardiac MRI (CMR) to identify UMI.
  • Results showed that TTE, along with two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE), can successfully reveal UMI in patients, even when traditional ECG outcomes are normal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study assessed the prognostic value of post-PCI fractional flow reserve (FFR) and coronary flow reserve (CFR) in predicting target vessel failure (TVF) after coronary interventions.
  • The analysis included 466 patients with chronic coronary syndrome and demonstrated that 42.5% had discordant FFR and CFR results; 10.3% experienced TVF.
  • Optimal cutoff values for predicting TVF were found to be FFR ≤0.85 and CFR <2.26, both of which independently indicated increased risk for TVF after the procedure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: When treating distal-third humerus shaft fractures (HSFs) surgically, the optimal approach for plating is controversial. We conducted a retrospective multicenter study to investigate and compare the clinical outcomes of anterior and posterior plating in distal-third HSFs and the incidence of complications including iatrogenic radial nerve palsy.

Methods: We identified 116 patients from our multicenter trauma database who were diagnosed as having distal-third HSFs and who underwent surgical treatment, including intramedullary nailing between 2011 and 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF