Introduction: Uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS) and uterine sarcomas (US) are rare but aggressive cancer with poor prognoses. The prognostic value of systemic inflammatory response (SIR) indicators, including the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), in predicting outcomes of UCS and US remains unclear. This study investigated the prognostic significance of SIR indicators for UCS and US.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFatty acids are known to have significant effects on the properties of cancer cells. Therefore, these compounds have been incorporated into therapeutic strategies. However, few studies have examined the effects of individual fatty acids and their interactions in depth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study examined the anti-inflammatory and endothelial function-enhancing effects of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor therapy in the early phase after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by assessing changes in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels and the L-arginine/asymmetric-dimethylarginine (ADMA) ratio. This retrospective, single-center cohort study included patients who underwent successful timely primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for first-onset AMI between September 2017 and March 2018. The PCSK9 inhibitor group comprised patients who received 75 mg alirocumab up to 7 days after AMI, while the standard therapy group comprised patients who did not.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: The short-term (within 6 weeks) effects of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors on lipid plaques have not been adequately evaluated. We aimed to investigate whether a single dose of a PCSK9 inhibitor before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) could reduce the abundance of lipid-core plaques identified via near-infrared spectroscopy intravascular ultrasound (NIRS-IVUS) at target lesions within a very short period.
Methods: This prospective, single-arm, single-center interventional study enrolled 27 consecutive patients with coronary artery disease.
Inferior mesenteric arteriovenous fistulas/malformations are rare, reported in only 40 cases as of 2021. Their main manifestations include portal hypertension and ischemic bowel disease. We report the case of a 50-year-old man with refractory esophageal varices caused by this condition that was successfully treated with transarterial embolization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSuccessful atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation can improve reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with AF, which is defined as arrhythmia-induced cardiomyopathy (AIC). However, it is difficult to pre-procedurally predict the presence of AIC. We aimed to explore the pre-procedural predictors of AIC in patients with AF and reduced LVEF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMutant cardiac ryanodine receptor channels (RyR2) are "leaky," and spontaneous Ca release through these channels causes delayed afterdepolarizations that can deteriorate into ventricular fibrillation. Some patients carrying RYR2 mutations in type 1 catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia exhibit QT prolongation and are initially diagnosed with long QT syndrome. However, none have been reported to cause drug-induced ventricular fibrillation in patients with RYR2 variants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis is frequently delayed because histological confirmation is often challenging. Few studies have attempted to clarify the utility and safety of abdominal fat pad fine-needle aspiration (FPFNA) for an initial screening test in patients with suspected cardiac amyloidosis.This study included 77 consecutive patients with suspected non-ischemic cardiomyopathy who had left ventricular dysfunction and/or hypertrophy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCavo-tricuspid isthmus (CTI) linear ablation is performed not only for atrial flutter (AFL) but empirically during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in real-world practice. PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate the safety and durability of the CTI ablation. METHODS: This retrospective study included 1078 consecutive patients who underwent a CTI ablation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Several studies have recently addressed the importance of glycemic variability (GV) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Although daily GV measures, such as mean amplitude of glycemic excursions, are established predictors of poor prognosis in patients with ACS, the clinical significance of day-to-day GV remains to be fully elucidated. We therefore monitored day-to-day GV in patients with ACS to examine its significance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlucose is the main source of energy for organisms, and it is important to understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of intracellular glucose. Single fluorescent protein-based glucose indicators, named "Red Glifons" have been developed that apply to live-cell and dual-color imaging. These indicators exhibited more than 3-fold increase in fluorescence intensity in the presence of 10 mM glucose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectve To assess the impact of glycemic variability on blood pressure in hospitalized patients with cardiac disease. Methods In 40 patients with cardiovascular disease, the glucose levels were monitored by flash continuous glucose monitoring (FGM; Free-Style Libre™ or Free-Style Libre Pro; Abbott, Witney, UK) and self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) for 14 days. Blood pressure measurements were performed twice daily (morning and evening) at the same time as the glucose level measurement using SMBG.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFew studies have examined the efficacy and safety of cardiac rehabilitation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent AF ablation. We explored the feasibility of additional cardiac rehabilitation after AF ablation in patients with a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Fifty-four patients with heart failure (HF) and a reduced LVEF (HFrEF) (LVEF < 50%; 67.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Interv Card Electrophysiol
August 2022
Background: A novel technology able to measure the local impedance (LI) during radiofrequency ablation has become available for clinical use. We investigated the change in the LI characteristics during superior vena cava isolations (SVCIs) using a novel catheter equipped with mini-electrodes.
Methods: Twenty paroxysmal atrial fibrillation patients (68 ± 9 years; 14 males) underwent an SVCI by targeting breakthroughs.
Background: Low voltage areas (LVAs) are most commonly observed on the left atrial (LA) septal/anterior wall.
Objective: We explored the mechanisms of LA septal/anterior wall reentrant tachycardias (LASARTs) using ultrahigh resolution mapping.
Methods: This study included seven consecutive LASARTs in six patients (75 [62.
Background Medical castration, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, and antiandrogens have been widely applied as a treatment for prostate cancer. Sex steroid hormones influence cardiac ion channels. However, few studies have examined the proarrhythmic properties of medical castration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The novel fourth-generation cryoballoon (4-CB) is characterized by a shorter-tip that potentially facilitates better time-to-isolation (TTI) monitoring. We sought to clarify the advantages and disadvantages of the 4-CB compared to the second-generation cryoballoon (2-CB) in pulmonary vein isolation (PVI).
Methods: Forty-one and 49 consecutive atrial fibrillation patients underwent 2-CB and 4th-CB PVIs using 28-mm balloons and short freeze strategies.
Reported mapping procedures of left atrial (LA) low-voltage areas (LVAs) vary widely. This study aimed to compare the PentaRay/CARTO3 (PentaRay map) and Orion™/Rhythmia™ (Orion map) systems for LA voltage mapping. This study included 15 patients who underwent successful pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: An association between early repolarization and ventricular fibrillation has recently been reported in patients with vasospastic angina (VSA). However, no studies have clarified whether the presence of early repolarization can predict VSA.
Methods: Participants comprised 286 patients (136 males) with clinically suspected VSA who underwent intracoronary provocation tests using acetylcholine or ergonovine.