Serial changes in anxiety levels related to corticosteroid use: A single-center prospective study.

Patients with autoimmune diseases treated with corticosteroids sometimes display feelings of anxiety regarding corticosteroid use. In this single-center prospective study, we aimed to evaluate the serial changes in anxiety levels related to corticosteroid use in 18 patients with autoimmune diseases. The degree of anxiety toward corticosteroid use was assessed using the visual analogue scale.

Glomerulonephritis and Interstitial Nephritis Originating from Vasculitis of the Interlobular Arteries of the Kidney in a Patient with Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a type of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. Patients often present with peripheral neuropathy and purpura, suggesting impairment of small vessels, especially capillaries. However, medium-sized vessels and small vessels with a vascular diameter larger than that of capillaries may also be impaired, causing atypical findings.

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis complicated with diffuse alveolar haemorrhage and central nervous system vasculitis.

Diffuse alveolar haemorrhage and central nervous system vasculitis are life-threatening complications of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. The simultaneous occurrence of diffuse alveolar haemorrhage and central nervous system vasculitis is a rare presentation of antibody-associated vasculitis. Its diagnosis by histopathology is difficult because biopsy is difficult to perform, and urgent treatment is needed.

Establishment of a reborn MMV-microarray technology: realization of microbiome analysis and other hitherto inaccessible technologies.

Background: With the accelerating development of bioscience, the problem of research cost has become important. We previously devised and developed a novel concept microarray with manageable volumes (MMV) using a soft gel. It demonstrated the great potential of the MMV technology with the examples of 1024-parallel-cell culture and PCR experiments.

Tongue muscle-derived stem cells express connexin 43 and improve cardiac remodeling and survival after myocardial infarction in mice.

Background: Cell transplantation therapy for heart failure is hindered by poor differentiation into cardiomyocytes and arrhythmias caused by the poor expression of connexin 43 (Cx43). A new stem cell source for cardiac regeneration is needed.

Methods And Results: Tongue muscle-derived Sca-1(+) cells (TDSCs) were isolated from normal and green fluorescence protein (GFP)-transgenic mouse tongues using surface antigen Sca-1.

Effect of a contrast agent on long-term renal function and the efficacy of prophylactic hemodiafiltration.

Background: There have been few studies regarding the effect of contrast agent on long-term renal function and, moreover, there are still many uncertainties regarding the efficacy of prophylactic hemodiafiltration (HDF) for contrast-induced nephropathy.

Methods And Results: Patients with heart disease and a serum creatinine level (Scr) of less than 1.2 mg/dl were classified as Group N (20 patients), those with Scr of at least 1.

Pleiotropic effects of the beta-adrenoceptor blocker carvedilol on calcium regulation during oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in cardiomyocytes.

Carvedilol is a nonselective beta-adrenoceptor blocker with multiple pleiotropic actions. A recent clinical study suggested that carvedilol may be superior to other beta-adrenoceptor blockers in the treatment of heart failure. Despite numerous investigations, the underlying mechanisms of carvedilol on improving heart failure are yet to be fully established.

Carvedilol inhibits mitochondrial oxygen consumption and superoxide production during calcium overload in isolated heart mitochondria.

Background: The COMET study suggested the better effect of carvedilol to metoprolol in treating heart failure. However, its underlying mechanisms of action remain unclear. As a result, evaluation of the distinct effects of both drugs on the mitochondrial function and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during Ca(2+) overload was investigated.

NO donor-activated PKC-delta plays a pivotal role in ischemic myocardial protection through accelerated opening of mitochondrial K-ATP channels.

Nitric oxide (NO) can activate protein kinase C (PKC) and the activation of mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium (K-ATP) channels is cardioprotective. However, interactions among NO, PKC, and mitochondrial K-ATP channels remain vague. To clarify the cardioprotective mechanism induced by nicorandil, we compared its ability to activate PKC isoforms with that of the mitochondrial K-ATP channel opener, diazoxide.