Impact of spinal surgery on locomotive syndrome in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis in clinical decision limit stage 3: a retrospective study.

Background: Locomotive syndrome (LS) is characterized by reduced mobility. Clinical decision limit (CDL) stage 3 in LS indicates physical frailty. Lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSS) is one of the causes of LS, for which lumbar surgery is considered to improve the CDL stage.

Phase angle is related to physical function and quality of life in preoperative patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) can interfere with daily life and quality of life (QOL). Evaluating physical function and QOL and helping patients to improve is the focus of rehabilitation. Phase angle (PhA) assessment is widely used to measure body composition and is considered an indicator of physical function and QOL.

Risk Factors for Surgical Site Infection in Spinal Surgery and Interventions: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Surgical site infection following spinal surgery causes prolonged delay in recovery after surgery, increases cost, and sometimes leads to additional surgical procedures. We investigated risk factors for the occurrence of surgical site infection events in terms of patient-related, surgery-related, and postoperative factors.

Methods: This retrospective study included 1000 patients who underwent spinal surgery in our hospital between April 2016 and March 2019.

Disseminated infection with multiple abscesses on extremities in a woman with chronic corticosteroid therapy.

A 78-year-old Japanese woman with rheumatoid arthritis was admitted to our hospital due to fever. She had been prescribed prednisolone and bucillamine. Computed tomography revealed abscesses on extremities.

Clinical usefulness of a novel program "Heart Function View" for evaluating cardiac function from gated myocardial perfusion SPECT.

Objective: To investigate clinical usefulness of a novel program "Heart Function View (HFV)" for evaluating left ventricular (LV) function from myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS), we compared LV functional parameters (F(x)) calculated by HFV with those obtained by the other similar programs QGS and cardioGRAF or by ultrasound echocardiography (UCG) and examined their correlations with clinical markers of heart failure: plasma BNP concentrations (BNPs) and exercise capacity.

Methods: Studied patients (n = 60) underwent technetium-99m tetrofosmin quantitative gated MPS including treadmill exercise for examining heart disease. Myocardial stress images were acquired 30 min after the first tracer injection during maximal exercise.

Clinical significance of lung iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine uptake assessment in Parkinson's and heart diseases.

Objective: Decreased heart iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-MIBG) uptake [heart-to-mediastinum count ratio (H/M)] is reported in heart disease (HD) or Lewy body disease (LBD). When LBD is merged, therefore, information regarding HD severity may be ambiguous. We aimed to examine whether lung (123)I-MIBG uptake [lung-to-mediastinum count ratio (L/M)] assessment might be useful for differentiating two clinical conditions of HD and LBD, and to investigate whether L/M could reflect the grade of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction.

Effect of atorvastatin vs. rosuvastatin on cardiac sympathetic nerve activity in non-diabetic patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Effects of statin therapy on cardiac sympathetic nerve activity in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) have not previously been evaluated.

Methods And Results: To compare the effects of lipophilic atorvastatin and hydrophilic rosuvastatin on cardiac sympathetic nerve activity in CHF patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), 63 stable outpatients with DCM, who were already receiving standard therapy for CHF, were randomized to atorvastatin (n = 32) or rosuvastatin (n = 31). We evaluated cardiac sympathetic nerve activity by cardiac ¹²³I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy, hemodynamic parameters and neurohumoral factors before and after 6 months of treatment.

Lipocalin-type prostaglandin D synthase is associated with coronary vasospasm and vasomotor reactivity in response to acetylcholine.

Background: Lipocalin-type prostaglandin D synthase (L-PGDS) catalyzes the biosynthesis of PGD(2), which acts as an anticoagulant, vasodilator, and inflammatory mediator. We examined the serum L-PGDS level, coronary macro- and microvasomotor functions, and their relationship in patients with chest pain and angiographically normal coronary arteries.

Methods And Results: The study included 96 patients who underwent diagnostic coronary angiography and had angiographically normal coronary arteries.

Association between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and endothelium-dependent and -independent coronary vasomotor function.

1. Coronary endothelial function and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) are independent predictors of cardiovascular events. Thus, in the present study we examined the relationship between baPWV and endothelium-dependent and -independent coronary vasodilatory functions.

Clinical features of myocardial triglyceride in different types of cardiomyopathy assessed by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy: comparison with myocardial creatine.

Background: Myocardial lipid overstorage may produce cardiomyopathy, leading to dysfunction, but advanced heart failure may cause lipolysis via sympathetic nerve activation. In the failing heart, the creatine kinase system may also be impaired. The aims of this study were to assess myocardial triglyceride (TG) and creatine (CR) in different types of cardiomyopathy and to investigate whether they are related to the severity of cardiac dysfunction.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition augments coronary release of tissue plasminogen activator in women but not in men.

The renin-angiotensin system regulates the vascular fibrinolytic balance. In the human forearm vasculature, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (ACE-Is) increase the release of t-PA through endogenous bradykinin. We tested the hypothesis that ACE inhibition and sex modulate the endogenous coronary release of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in hypertensive patients.

Relationship between exercise capacity and cardiac diastolic function assessed by time-volume curve from 16-frame gated myocardial perfusion SPECT.

Objective: Echocardiographic studies have suggested an association between diastolic dysfunction and exercise intolerance. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between exercise capacity and left ventricular (LV) function during stress myocardial scintigraphy, and to investigate whether or not this relationship is caused by ischemia during exercise.

Methods: The studied patients underwent technetium-99m sestamibi quantitative gated SPECT, including treadmill exercise.

Clinical significance of diastolic function as an indicator of myocardial ischemia assessed by 16-frame gated myocardial perfusion SPECT.

Objective: Studies have suggested that ischemia-induced diastolic dysfunction persists longer than systolic dysfunction. We examined whether global left ventricular (LV) diastolic function during stress testing assessed by 16-frame gated myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is useful as an indicator of myocardial ischemia.

Methods: Thirty-nine patients underwent 16-frame technetium-99m (Tc-99m) quantitative gated SPECT (QGS), including treadmill exercise testing for suspected ischemic heart disease.

The role of impaired sympathetic nerve function in enhancing coronary vasoconstriction in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Coronary vasospasm and diminished coronary blood flow reserve have often been reported in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, the mechanism of coronary spasm in HCM is unknown. Thus, coronary endothelial function and sympathetic nerve function in 11 patients with HCM and 11 control patients matched for age and sex were examined.

A giant main pulmonary artery aneurysm associated with infundibular pulmonary stenosis.

We report a case of a giant pulmonary artery aneurysm associated with infundibular pulmonary stenosis. Echocardiography disclosed markedly enlarged main pulmonary artery, but no left to right shunt flow at levels of the atrial septum, ventricular septum and the pulmonary artery. Continuous wave Doppler revealed a maximum velocity of 1.

Beneficial effect of perindopril on cardiac sympathetic nerve activity and brain natriuretic peptide in patients with chronic heart failure: comparison with enalapril.

Background: In patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), it remains unclear whether perindopril is more cardioprotective than enalapril.

Methods And Results: Forty-five stable CHF outpatients undergoing conventional therapy including enalapril therapy were randomized to 2 groups [group I (n=24): continuous enalapril treatment; group II (n=21): enalapril was changed to perindopril]. Cardiac sympathetic nerve activity was evaluated using cardiac 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy, hemodynamic parameters and neurohumoral factors before and 6 months after treatment.

Augmentation index and pulse wave velocity as indicators of cardiovascular stiffness.

The authors examine the clinical significance of radial augmentation index (rAI) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). In 78 hypertensive patients, rAI correlates inversely with pulse rate (PR; r = -0.57, P < .

Prognostic value of normal stress myocardial perfusion imaging in Japanese population.

Background: In Japan, Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) of hospitalization health-care costs has been introduced since 2004, and its introduction has been recently expanded also to general hospitals. In such situations, the role of nuclear cardiology as a gatekeeper for the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease is increasingly important. Thus, the present study was designed to determine which clinical risk for hard events after normal single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images, identify the predictors of increased risk in patients with normal SPECT images based on the J-ACCESS study.

Whole-body periodic acceleration enhances brachial endothelial function.

Background: Periodic acceleration in the direction of the spinal axis through repetitive movement increases the shear stress on the vascular endothelium. In the present study it was assessed whether whole-body periodic acceleration with a new device would enhance endothelial function in sedentary adult volunteers.

Methods And Results: Twenty-six sedentary subjects (44+/-3 years) were randomly assigned to remain sedentary or perform exercise training for 4 weeks, followed by crossover.

Assessment of cardiac function in patients with heart disease by quantitative gated myocardial perfusion SPECT.

Objective: We examined the cardiac function of patients who underwent Tc-99m sestamibi quantitative gated myocardial single photon emission computed tomography with 16-framing data acquisition between January 1, 2004 and March 31, 2006 for an evaluation of suspected or known heart disease in our hospital.

Methods: In 192 patients aged >or=40 years, the left ventricular (LV) systolic function [parameter: ejection fraction (EF)] and diastolic function [first third filling fraction (1/3FF), peak filling rate (PFR), and time-to-peak filling (TPF)] were estimated by volume curve analysis. In 51 (age >or=60 years) of 192 patients, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was also measured.

A novel clinical indicator using Tc-99m sestamibi for evaluating cardiac mitochondrial function in patients with cardiomyopathies.

Background: Technetium 99m sestamibi (MIBI) is a technetium-labeled myocardial perfusion agent that is taken up by the myocardial cell in proportion to myocardial regional blood flow and remains fixed in the myocardial cell over a long period of time. Previous studies have suggested that MIBI shows very slow myocardial clearance after its initial uptake in an animal model, which is related to mitochondrial function. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that MIBI washout can be used to evaluate the severity of congestive heart failure in comparison to other clinical parameters in patients with cardiomyopathies.

Cigarette smoking impairs bradykinin-stimulated tissue plasminogen activator release in human coronary circulation.

Background: Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for acute coronary thrombosis. Bradykinin (BK) can induce the release of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) from the coronary vasculature. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether smoking reduces BK-stimulated tPA release in human coronary circulation.

Evaluation of cardiac resynchronization therapy in drug-resistant dilated-phase hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by means of Tc-99m sestamibi ECG-gated SPECT.

This case describes a 65-year-old male with drug-resistant heart failure. Cardiac resynchronization therapy was performed. We evaluated cardiac function with volume curve differentiation software (VCDiff) from QGS data with Tc-99m sestamibi.