RNAi screening of human glycogene orthologs in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the construction of the C. elegans glycogene database.

In this study, we selected 181 nematode glycogenes that are orthologous to human glycogenes and examined their RNAi phenotypes. The results are deposited in the Caenorhabditis elegans Glycogene Database (CGGDB) at AIST, Tsukuba, Japan. The most prominent RNAi phenotypes observed are disruptions of cell cycle progression in germline mitosis/meiosis and in early embryonic cell mitosis.

Additive antihypertensive and antihypertrophic effects of long-acting Ca blockers in uncontrolled hypertensive patients with angiotensin-receptor blocker based treatment.

The aim of the present study was to examine the antihypertensive and antihypertrophic effects of combined treatment with a long-acting calcium antagonist on top of an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) in uncontrolled hypertensive patients. Patients with essential hypertension and a blood pressure > 140/90 mmHg on ARB monotherapy (losartan 50 mg/day or candesartan 8 mg/day) were randomly assigned to a nifedipine controlled release (CR) group (n = 15) or amlodipine group (n = 11). A significant additional antihypertensive effect was noted from 1 month with nifedipine and 2 months with amlodipine.

Prognostic factors for the long-term survival in patients with vasospastic angina--analysis of effects of patients' characteristics and therapeutic drugs.

Objectives: A retrospective study was conducted to elucidate contributing factors on the outcome of patients with vasospastic angina.

Subjects And Methods: Two hundred ninety-two patients with angina in whom coronary vasospasm was documented were followed up (mean 4.3+/-3.

Increased carotid artery plaque score is an independent predictor of the presence and severity of coronary artery disease.

Objectives: Carotid ultrasonography is noninvasive and effective for the assessment of atherosclerotic lesions. The relationship between carotid ultrasound findings and presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) was examined in Japanese patients.

Methods And Results: Subjects were 116 patients who underwent carotid ultrasonography and coronary angiography.

Left main coronary trunk connecting into right atrium with an aneurysmal coronary artery fistula.

Congenital coronary artery fistula (CAF) is an infrequent vascular anomaly that establishes a direct link between an epicardial coronary artery and a cardiac chamber, major vessels, or other vascular structures. In this case there was an aneurysmal-CAF between a left main trunk and the right atrium, which was initially diagnosed as a Kawasaki disease by transthoracic echocardiography and subsequently confirmed by coronary angiography and multi-slice CT angiography. A multi-slice CT angiography might well become the modality of choice for the characterization of these rare congenital anomalies.

Successful catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia originating from the idiopathic saccular apical left ventricular aneurysm.

Left ventricular (LV) aneurysm has been recognized to frequently become a substrate of ventricular tachyarrhythmias. We report a case of a 66-year-old woman with symptomatic sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (SMVT) originating from saccular apical LV aneurysm without definite underlying diseases. We performed catheter ablation using electroanatomical and conventional bipolar potential mapping.

Atrial septal defect in apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy associated with coronary spasm.

Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a well-known myocardial disease, but the additional coexistence of an atrial septal defect (ASD) and coronary spasm is quite rare. We report here on a 62-year-old man suffering from congestive heart failure due to apical HCM complicated by coronary spasm and secundum-type ASD. The transthoracic, transesophageal echocardiography and cardiac catheterization were useful for diagnosing and evaluating of the patient's status.