Background: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases; however, its role in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains unclear.
Aim: To investigate the hypothesis that the Lp(a) levels are altered by various conditions during the acute phase of ACS, resulting in subsequent cardiovascular events.
Methods: From September 2009 to May 2016, 377 patients with ACS who underwent emergent coronary angiography, and 249 who completed ≥ 1000 d of follow-up were enrolled.
Key Clinical Message: Marchiafava-Bignami disease, a rare condition often associated with alcoholism, shows myelin degeneration with tissue necrosis specifically in the corpus callosum. Urgent application of magnetic resonance imaging could lead to prompt diagnosis.
Abstract: A 66-year-old male with habitual alcohol drink complained acute deterioration of left-side muscle weakness as initial presentation.
Aim: To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of inclisiran in Japanese patients with high cardiovascular risk and elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).
Methods: ORION-15 was a phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial. Patients with hypercholesterolemia, including heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), were randomized to inclisiran sodium 100, 200, or 300 mg, or placebo and dosed subcutaneously on Days 1, 90, and 270.
Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), formed through glyceraldehyde (GA) as an intermediate in non-enzymatic reactions with intracellular proteins, are cytotoxic and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Despite their significance, the mechanisms underlying the degradation of GA-derived AGEs (GA-AGEs) remain unclear. In the present study, we found that N-terminal checkpoint kinase 1 cleavage products (CHK1-CPs) and their mimic protein, d270WT, were degraded intracellularly post-GA exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 54-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis treated with interferon-β (IFN-β)-1b for 15 years presented with sustained hypertension (240/124 mmHg) and retinal bleeding. She had proteinuria, anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated serum creatinine levels, and haptoglobin depletion. Intravenous nicardipine stabilized her blood pressure, but her renal function and platelet count deteriorated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) circulates as mature and furin-cleaved forms, but their biological functions are uncertain. We investigated whether their levels associate with prognosis in patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
Methods: We enrolled 160 statin-naïve patients with acute STEMI and followed for 3 years.
Clin Med Insights Case Rep
November 2022
Vaccination is important for the prevention of coronavirus-induced disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and to protect persons with a high risk for complications. There have been reports of myopericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, especially in adolescent males and young adults. Breakthrough infections, such as the Delta or Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, have raised great concern about the necessity for repeated doses of the vaccine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the determinants of target lesion revascularization (TLR) after drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty for small coronary artery lesions.
Methods: This retrospective study enrolled consecutive lesions from patients that were in a stable condition and had undergone successful DCB treatment for small coronary artery lesions. The study endpoint was TLR and major adverse cardiac events at 12 months.
Introduction: Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an autosomal-dominant inherited genetic disease. It carries an extremely high cardiovascular risk associated with significantly elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. The diagnostic rate of this disease in some European nations is quite high, due to the presence of multiple prospective registries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFactor Xa (FXa) inhibitors are recommended for use in fixed doses without laboratory monitoring. However, prior studies reported the importance of establishing biomarkers representing anticoagulation intensity related to bleeding or thrombotic events. To test the hypothesis that prothrombin activation fragment 1 and 2 (F1 + 2), a non-specific marker of thrombin generation, could be altered during FXa inhibitor treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Coronary sinus ostial atresia is rare and usually not clinically relevant, but it should be noted in cases of cardiac resynchronization therapy. A rare case of successful left ventricular lead implantation for cardiac resynchronization therapy via the left superior vena cava in a patient with coronary sinus ostial atresia is reported. The persistent left superior vena cava associated with these cases tends to be smaller than usual in its diameter and difficult to identify, since the direction of venous drainage is reversed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: In patients with hyperlipidemia, intolerance to statins presents a challenge in reducing the risk of events associated with cardiovascular disease. This phase 3, randomized, double-blind trial in Japanese patients with statin intolerance aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of evolocumab vs. ezetimibe in lowering low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study investigated whether the clinical pharmacokinetics of atorvastatin can be predicted from the results of microdosing study in Japanese patients with hypercholesterolemia whose SLCO1B1 and ABCG2 polymorphisms were analyzed. Forty seven statin-naive patients clinically indicated to LDL cholesterol-lowering therapy with atorvastatin were enrolled in a two-period crossover study. Microdose (100 μg) of atorvastatin was orally administered followed by therapeutic dose (10 mg) administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe presented an unusual arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) case of a late-60s elderly man's death, due to severe pericardial/pleural effusion and ascites, and arrhythmic events, with unique pathological features. The hypertrophic heart grossly displayed yellowish to yellow-whitish predominantly in the variably thinned wall of the dilated right ventricle. Microscopic findings showed diffuse fatty/fibrofatty replacement in not only the right but left ventricular myocardium, together with an outer lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Statins are generally well-tolerated but some patients develop adverse events and down-titrate or discontinue statins. It is important to understand the frequency of dyslipidemia patients with the inability to continue statins. The aim of the present study was to identify the frequency of high-risk dyslipidemia patients who are unable to take or not taking statins for any reason using Japanese hospital claims database.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study examined treatment patterns, possible statin intolerance, and incidence of cardiovascular events (CVEs) in 2 cohorts of patients with high cardiovascular risk (i.e., patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease [ASCVD] and patients with diabetes mellitus).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Despite advances in the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD), cardiovascular events and death rates remain high. This study aimed at identifying markers of outcome in patients with PAD undergoing endovascular therapy (EVT).
Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing EVT were recruited.
Background: Selexipag is an orally available prostacyclin receptor (IP receptor) agonist with a non-prostanoid structure. In this open-label Phase II trial, the efficacy and safety of selexipag in Japanese patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is examined.Methods and Results:Selexipag was administered at 200 μg twice daily and titrated up to 1,600 μg by increments of 200 μg in 37 subjects to reach the individual maximum tolerated dose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrug Metab Pharmacokinet
December 2016
Statin-related myopathy (SRM) is a clinically important adverse reaction. Recent pharmacogenetic research, mainly in non-Asian populations, have indicated clinical relevance of some of genetic biomarkers to SRM, but predictive markers for SRM in Asian populations including Japanese has not yet been established. This study was aimed to identify clinically important genetic markers associated with SRM in Japanese patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Glucose fluctuation (GF) is a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it remains unknown whether specific indices of GF are risk factors for CAD. Therefore, we evaluated the relationship between GF, as determined by a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) or the glucose level at 2h after a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (75g OGTT 120), and the severity of CAD in prediabetic patients.
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