Non-research payments to board-certified cardiologists from pharmaceutical industry in Japan from 2016 to 2019: a retrospective analysis.

Objectives: To evaluate the extent and trends of personal payments from pharmaceutical companies to cardiologists board-certified by the Japanese Circulation Society.

Design: A retrospective analysis study using data from a publicly available database.

Setting: The study focused on payments to cardiologists in Japan.

Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in Japan.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) offer disease management recommendations based on scientific evidence. However, financial conflicts of interest between CPG developers and the pharmaceutical industry could bias these recommendations, potentially affecting patient care. Proper management of these conflicts of interest is particularly crucial for maintaining the integrity of CPGs.

Ezetimibe decreases serum oxidized cholesterol without impairing bile acid synthesis in Japanese hypercholesterolemic patients.

Objective: Cholesterol and diet-derived oxidized cholesterol are absorbed in the small intestine and eliminated by bile acids. We determined whether ezetimibe, a selective cholesterol absorption inhibitor, changes serum oxidized cholesterol levels.

Methods: We measured levels of plant sterols, cholesterol precursors, and oxysterols by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in 47 hypercholesterolemics and 32 controls.