Hypotension induced by the concomitant use of a calcium-channel blocker and clarithromycin.

In the elderly, calcium-channel blockers are the first-line treatment for hypertension, and macrolides are commonly prescribed antibiotics. Here we report a 78-year-old man taking nifedipine, diltiazem and carvedilol who presented with persistent hypotension and bradycardia after clarithromycin was prescribed. He was diagnosed with drug-induced hypotension and treated with fluid resuscitation and vasoactive agents.

Intracoronary Cardiac Progenitor Cells in Single Ventricle Physiology: The PERSEUS (Cardiac Progenitor Cell Infusion to Treat Univentricular Heart Disease) Randomized Phase 2 Trial.

Rationale: Patients with single ventricle physiology are at high risk of mortality resulting from ventricular dysfunction. The preliminary results of the phase 1 trial showed that cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) may be effective against congenital heart failure.

Objective: To determine whether intracoronary delivery of autologous CDCs improves cardiac function in patients with single ventricle physiology.

[Delayed Diagnosis of Aortic Dissection Following Thrombolytic Therapy in a Patient with Acute Ischemic Stroke;Report of a Case].

Diagnosis of aortic dissection complicating cerebral ischemic stroke is difficult. A 60-year-old patient presented at an emergency department of a hospital with a sudden development of left-sided weakness, but without chest pain. During administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator with diagnosis of cerebral infarction, he developed symptomatic hypotension and was transferred to our hospital.

Possible mechanisms of hypothermia after inhibition of the median or dorsal raphe nucleus of freely moving rats.

We previously reported that tetrodotoxin (TTX) perfusion into the median raphe nucleus (MRN), which contains the cell bodies of serotonin (5-HT) neurons, induced a considerable body temperature reduction under normal and low ambient temperatures (23 and 5°C, respectively) in freely moving rats but showed no such effect under high ambient temperature (35°C). In the present study, we aimed to determine the mechanism(s) of body temperature reduction after TTX perfusion into the MRN by measuring tail skin temperature (an index of heat loss), heart rate (an index of heat production), and locomotor activity (Act) under normal ambient temperature (23°C). We performed similar experiments in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), another area containing cell bodies of 5-HT neurons, to compare any functional differences with the MRN.

Congenital craniopharyngioma treated by radical surgery: case report and review of the literature.

Purpose: Craniopharyngiomas are 5-10 % of all pediatric tumors, but are seldomly encountered in the perinatal period. Only seven instances of a truly antenatal diagnosis of a congenital craniopharyngioma that subsequently underwent radical surgery have been reported. We present the case of a patient who received the diagnosis of a suprasellar tumor during the prenatal period and received radical surgery.

Determinant factors of postoperative recurrence of endometriosis: difference between endometrioma and pain.

Objective: Although the postoperative use of hormonal treatment for endometriosis is recommended in the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology guidelines to prevent the recurrence of endometriosis-associated dysmenorrhoea, hormonal treatment may not be necessary for all patients who undergo surgical treatment for endometriosis. The aim of this study was to clarify the determinant factors that predict the recurrence of endometriosis after surgery in order to develop personalized hormonal treatment recommendations. Factors associated with the recurrence of endometrioma and pain were investigated independently to identify the likelihood of recurrence in each individual patient.

Validation of the diagnostic utility of D-dimer measurement in patients with acute aortic syndrome.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of D-dimer measurements for the diagnosis of acute aortic syndrome in patients admitted to hospital with acute chest pain.

Methods: A retrospective observational study design was used. Consecutive patients ( n=887) admitted to a tertiary hospital with acute chest pain (acute aortic syndrome, 123; acute pulmonary embolism, 29; and other disease, 735) from the emergency department between January 2011 and April 2014 were assessed to validate the diagnostic value of D-dimer measurements.

A staged decompression of right ventricle allows growth of right ventricle and subsequent biventricular repair in patients with pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum.

Objectives: To achieve the growth of right-sided heart structures, our choice of the first palliation for patients with pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum (PA-IVS) includes a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (BTS) with pulmonary valvotomy. We sought to analyse the impact of the first palliation on the growth of right-sided heart structures and factors associated with a choice of definitive surgical procedure.

Methods: Fifty patients with PA-IVS who underwent a staged surgical approach from 1991 to 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.

Microvascular decompression for glossopharyngeal neuralgia using intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring: Technical case report.

Background: Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GN) is a rare functional disorder representing around 1% of cases of trigeminal neuralgia. Lancinating throat and ear pain while swallowing are the typical manifestations, and are initially treated using anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine. Medically refractory GN is treated surgically.

Neuromuscular regulation in zebrafish by a large AAA+ ATPase/ubiquitin ligase, mysterin/RNF213.

Mysterin (also known as RNF213) is a huge intracellular protein with two AAA+ ATPase modules and a RING finger ubiquitin ligase domain. Mysterin was originally isolated as a significant risk factor for the cryptogenic cerebrovascular disorder moyamoya disease, and was found to be involved in physiological angiogenesis in zebrafish. However, the function and the physiological significance of mysterin in other than blood vessels remain largely unknown, although mysterin is ubiquitously expressed in animal tissues.

Surgical outcome of hypoplastic left heart syndrome with intact atrial septum.

Background: The surgical outcomes of hypoplastic left heart syndrome with intact atrial septum remains very poor in spite of the introduction of prenatal diagnosis before the Norwood operation. The hybrid operation consisting of bilateral pulmonary artery banding and balloon atrioseptectomy is one of the treatment strategies to potentially improve this patient population, however, the long-term outcomes are unknown.

Methods: Six consecutive patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome with intact atrial septum, who underwent the hybrid operation between October 2006 and July 2014, were retrospectively reviewed.

Source analysis of stimulus-preceding negativity constrained by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

The stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) is an event-related potential (ERP) reflecting anticipation. The anterior insular cortex is assumed to be one of the physiological sources of the SPN. However, the precise neural substrates of the SPN have yet to be confirmed.

Endoscopic Removal of Pedunculated Leiomyoma of the Sigmoid Colon.

Background: The large bowel is a rare site for leiomyomas. Furthermore, a colonic pedunculated leiomyoma is very rare. Complete endoscopic removal of a colonic leiomyoma can be problematic because of its submucosal origin.

Left Ventricular Myxoma Occluding the Suprarenal Abdominal Aorta in an Infant.

Myxoma is the most common primary cardiac tumor in adults; however, it is extremely rare in infants. Acute occlusion of the abdominal aorta by a cardiac myxoma is also rare. We report the case of an infant with acute occlusion of the suprarenal abdominal aorta by a left ventricular myxoma.

The Utility of Aortic Blood Flow Measurements in the Prediction of Pulmonary Artery Banding Outcome.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of intraoperative aortic blood flow measurements on clinical outcome in patients undergoing pulmonary artery banding (PAB).

Methods: We reviewed 12 patients who underwent a PAB between September 2008 and March 2013 who also had intraoperative aortic blood flow measurements. Diagnosis included biventricular physiology in 6, single-ventricle physiology in 4, and inadequate systemic ventricle in 2 patients.

Erythropoietin Receptor Antagonist Suppressed Ectopic Hemoglobin Synthesis in Xenografts of HeLa Cells to Promote Their Destruction.

The aim of this study is to explore a cause-oriented therapy for patients with uterine cervical cancer that expresses erythropoietin (Epo) and its receptor (EpoR). Epo, by binding to EpoR, stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of erythroid progenitor cells into hemoglobin-containing red blood cells. In this study, we report that the HeLa cells in the xenografts expressed ε, γ, and α globins as well as myoglobin (Mb) to produce tetrameric α2ε2 and α2γ2 and monomeric Mb, most of which were significantly suppressed with an EpoR antagonist EMP9.

Endoscopic evaluation of food bolus formation and its relationship with the number of chewing cycles.

It is known that solid food is transported to the pharynx actively in parallel to it being crushed by chewing and mixed with saliva in the oral cavity. Therefore, food bolus formation should be considered to take place from the oral cavity to the pharynx. In previous studies, the chewed food was evaluated after the food had been removed from the oral cavity.

Ultrahigh-spatial-resolution chemical and magnetic imaging by laser-based photoemission electron microscopy.

We report the first experiments carried out on a new chemical and magnetic imaging system, which combines the high spatial resolution of a photoemission electron microscope (PEEM) with a continuous-wave deep-ultraviolet laser. Threshold photoemission is sensitive to the chemical and magnetic structures of the surface of materials. The spatial resolution of PEEM is limited by space charging when using pulsed photon sources as well as aberrations in the electron optics.

Anatomical risk factors, surgical treatment, and clinical outcomes of left-sided pulmonary vein obstruction in single-ventricle patients.

Background: Patients with single-ventricle physiology frequently develop left-sided pulmonary vein obstruction (PVO), in which the pulmonary veins traverse the descending thoracic aorta. We hypothesized that a combination of cardiomegaly and an anteriorly positioned descending aorta is associated with PVO.

Methods: Among 494 consecutive single-ventricle patients, 15 were diagnosed with PVO by cardiac magnetic resonance, defined as anatomically localized narrowing of the pulmonary vein diameter.

Controlled doping of semiconducting titania nanosheets for tailored spinelectronic materials.

Ti₁-x-yFexCoyO₂ nanosheets are synthesized in which the (Fe/Co) content is systematically controlled in the range of 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4 and 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.2.