Comparison of coronary angioscopic findings 8 months after stent implantation between two kinds of biodegradable polymer-coated and one durable polymer-coated drug-eluting stent.

Background: The difference of chronic neointimal conditions of biodegradable polymer-coated and durable polymer-coated drug-eluting stent have not been well investigated.

Objective: We aimed to compare the angioscopic findings among SYNERGY biodegradable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stent (BP-EES), ULTIMASTER biodegradable polymer-coated sirolimus-eluting stent (BP-SES), and XIENCE Alpine durable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stent (DP-EES) 8 months after stent implantation.

Methods: Patients who underwent implantation of BP-EES (n = 30), BP-SES (n = 26), or DP-EES (n = 21) in Osaka Rosai Hospital from December 2015 to April 2017 were retrospectively enrolled.

Serial angioscopic evaluation of self-expanding stent graft implantation in superficial femoral artery.

We evaluated Viabahn stent-graft (W.L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, AZ, USA) implanted in the superficial femoral artery at 6 months and one year after implantation because the patient felt claudication due to repeated restenosis of bare nitinol stent which was implanted just proximal to the site of Viabahn stent-graft.

A case of a late fatal complication after atrial fibrillation ablation related to a prolonged QT interval unmasked by atrial fibrillation ablation.

A 79-year-old woman with a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation was referred to our hospital for ventricular fibrillation, which was terminated by an automated external defibrillator. The heart rate corrected QT interval was 489 ms. The electrocardiogram monitoring recorded a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) reproducibly induced by a single morphology premature ventricular contraction (PVC).

Clinical experience of uninterrupted oral anticoagulants during atrial fibrillation ablation in elderly patients: a comparison with non-elderly patients.

It is unclear whether uninterrupted oral anticoagulants (OACs) are acceptable in elderly patients as compared to non-elderly patients. This study aimed to assess the clinical impact of an uninterrupted OAC strategy during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in elderly patients. We enrolled 439 consecutive patients who underwent AF ablation with an uninterrupted OAC strategy at our institute.

Comparison of myocardial injury and inflammation after pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation between radiofrequency catheter ablation and cryoballoon ablation.

Backgrounds: Several studies have shown the serum high sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-TnI) a biomarker of myocardium injury, and C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of inflammation, are associated with worse cardiovascular outcomes. We evaluated the relationship between the hs-TnI level in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) and atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence.

Methods And Results: We enrolled 263 consecutive PAF patients who underwent PVI from May 2017 to April 2018.

Limited efficacy of a figure-of-eight suture for hemostasis after cryoballoon atrial fibrillation ablation with uninterrupted oral anticoagulants.

Introduction: There are limited data on the efficacy and safety of a figure-of-eight (FoE) suture technique after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation with uninterrupted oral anticoagulants (OACs). This study evaluated the predictors of bleeding complications at the femoral puncture site after placing a FoE suture to achieve hemostasis after AF ablation with OACs.

Methods: We enrolled 287 consecutive patients who underwent a 1st session of AF ablation using radiofrequency or cryoballoon ablation.

Predictors of recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation in patients with normal left atrial diameter.

Background: Enlarged left atrium (LA) is an established predictor of recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), but occasionally recurrences of AF/atrial tachycardia (AT) are experienced in patients with normal left atrial diameter. Therefore, the predictors of AF recurrence and AF triggers were evaluated in patients with normal LA.

Methods: We enrolled 168 patients with normal LA (<40 mm) who underwent PVI.

A case of a "pseudo jump-up phenomenon" caused by retrograde ventricular-His prolongation.

A 35-year-old woman was referred for treatment of a supraventricular tachycardia. The tachycardia was diagnosed as a slow-fast form of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. Radiofrequency ablation targeting the antegrade slow pathway was performed at the posterior septum of the right atrium.

Which factors are associated with length of stay in older patients with acute decompensated heart failure with preserved ejection fraction?: AURORA study.

Aim: In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), it is unclear which factors on admission are correlated with long stays. In contrast, acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in older patients is associated with a high risk of a long stay. To manage older ADHF patients with HFpEF, it is important to reveal the risk factors for a long stay on admission.

Successful ablation for premature ventricular contraction originating from moderator band of morphologic right ventricle in congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries.

A 54-year-old man with congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries (CCTGA) was referred to our hospital for palpitation. 24-hour Holter ECG showed frequent premature ventricular contraction (PVC) and we performed catheter ablation for this PVC. Pace-mapping was performed in morphologic right ventricle (RV) by transaortic approach.

Predictors of cardiac function in acute heart failure patients with mid-range ejection fraction: AURORA study.

Aim: The factors correlated with prognosis in heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) is unclear, especially for acute heart failure (AHF) with HFmrEF. Thus, we investigated the factors correlated with the improvement in the ejection fraction (EF) over 1 year in AHF patients with HFmrEF.

Methods And Results: In Acute Heart Failure Registry in the Osaka Rosai Hospital, we examined 159 consecutive HFmrEF patients out of 1051 HF patients who were admitted to our hospital for AHF from January 2015 to December 2017.

Characteristics of abnormal post-stent optical coherence tomography findings in hemodialysis patients.

Aim: Clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in hemodialysis (HD) patients are significantly worse than those in non-HD patients. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high resolution imaging modality and provides a detailed assessment of post-interventional abnormal findings that influence worse clinical outcomes. However, little is known about the abnormal post-stent OCT findings in HD patients.

Postmortem late phase histopathology after pulmonary vein isolation using a cryoballoon: A case report.

We report the autopsy case of 68-year-old woman who received cryoballoon (CB) ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation 7 months before death. Both macroscopic and microscopic findings revealed no thrombus formation around pulmonary veins. Previous experimental studies have shown the lower risk of thrombus formation in CB ablation as compared to radiofrequency ablation.

Different Neoatherosclerosis Patterns in Drug-Eluting- and Bare-Metal Stent Restenosis - Optical Coherence Tomography Study.

Background: There are few reports about the differences between drug-eluting stents (DES) and bare metal stents (BMS) in neoatherosclerosis associated with in-stent restenosis (ISR), so we compared the frequency and characteristics of neoatherosclerosis with ISR evaluated by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the present study.

Methods and results: Between March 2009 and November 2016, 98 consecutive patients with ISR who underwent diagnostic OCT were enrolled: 34 patients had a BMS, 34 had a 1st-generation DES, and 30 had a 2nd-generation DES. Neoatherosclerosis was defined as a lipid neointima (including a thin-cap fibroatheroma [TCFA] neointima, defined as a fibroatheroma with a fibrous cap <65 µm) or calcified neointima.

Anti-HB-EGF Antibody-Mediated Delivery of siRNA to Atherosclerotic Lesions in Mice.

For atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ACD), gene therapy may be a potential therapeutic strategy; however, lack of effective and safe methods for gene delivery to atherosclerotic plaques have limited its potential therapeutic applications. To overcome this limitation, we developed a novel antibody-based gene delivery system (anti-HB-EGF/NA vector) by chemically crosslinking antibodies against human heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF). It has been shown to be excessively expressed in human atherosclerotic plaques and NeutrAvidin (NA) for conjugating biotinylated siRNA.

Impact of helical organization on the photovoltaic properties of oligothiophene supramolecular polymers.

Helical self-assembly of functional π-conjugated molecules offers unique photochemical and electronic properties in the spectroscopic level, but there are only a few examples that demonstrate their positive impact on the optoelectronic device level. Here, we demonstrate that hydrogen-bonded tapelike supramolecular polymers of a barbiturated oligo(alkylthiophene) show notable improvement in their photovoltaic properties upon organizing into helical nanofibers. A tapelike hydrogen-bonded supramolecular array of barbiturated oligo(butylthiophene) molecules was directly visualized by STM at a liquid-solid interface.

Ablation of IL-33 gene exacerbate myocardial remodeling in mice with heart failure induced by mechanical stress.

Background And Purpose: ST2 is one of the interleukin (IL)-1 receptor family members comprising of membrane-bound (ST2L) and soluble (sST2) isoforms. Clinical trials have revealed that serum sST2 levels predict outcome in patient with myocardial infarction or chronic heart failure (HF). Meanwhile, we and others have reported that ablation of ST2 caused exaggerated cardiac remodeling in both ischemic and non-ischemic HF.

Development of a novel one-step production system for injectable liposomes under GMP.

There are few methods available for injectable liposome production under good manufacturing practices (GMP). Injectable liposome production processes under GMP generally consist of liposome formation, size homogenization, organic solvent removal, liposome concentration control and sterilization. However, these complicated and separate processes make it difficult to maintain scalability, reproducibility and sterility.

Targeted Therapy for Acute Autoimmune Myocarditis with Nano-Sized Liposomal FK506 in Rats.

Immunosuppressive agents are used for the treatment of immune-mediated myocarditis; however, the need to develop a more effective therapeutic approach remains. Nano-sized liposomes may accumulate in and selectively deliver drugs to an inflammatory lesion with enhanced vascular permeability. The aims of this study were to investigate the distribution of liposomal FK506, an immunosuppressive drug encapsulated within liposomes, and the drug's effects on cardiac function in a rat experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) model.

Chemical Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone Alleviates Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction.

Rationale: Doxorubicin is an effective chemotherapeutic agent for cancer, but its use is often limited by cardiotoxicity. Doxorubicin causes endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dilation in cardiomyocytes, and we have demonstrated that ER stress plays important roles in the pathophysiology of heart failure.

Objective: We evaluated the role of ER stress in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and examined whether the chemical ER chaperone could prevent doxorubicin-induced cardiac dysfunction.

Liposomal amiodarone augments anti-arrhythmic effects and reduces hemodynamic adverse effects in an ischemia/reperfusion rat model.

Purpose: Although amiodarone is recognized as the most effective anti-arrhythmic drug available, it has negative hemodynamic effects. Nano-sized liposomes can accumulate in and selectively deliver drugs to ischemic/reperfused (I/R) myocardium, which may augment drug effects and reduce side effects. We investigated the effects of liposomal amiodarone on lethal arrhythmias and hemodynamic parameters in an ischemia/reperfusion rat model.

Successful catheter ablation to accessory atrioventricular pathway as cardiac resynchronization therapy in a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy.

A 55-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for further examination of the abnormalities of chest X-ray and electrocardiogram. He was diagnosed with type B Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome concomitant with dilated cardiomyopathy. Despite the medical therapy using enalapril and carvedilol for 20 months, his cardiac performance and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were not so improved.

Effect of sarpogrelate hydrochloride, a 5-HT2 blocker, on insulin resistance in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rats (OLETF rats), a type 2 diabetic rat model.

5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is closely related to pathogenesis of angiopathy in type 2 diabetes. Acute and chronic effects of sarpogrelate hydrochloride (sarpogrelate), a 5-HT2 blocker, on glucose tolerance and insulin resistance were examined. Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a model of type 2 diabetes, were randomly assigned to 2 groups; those with 30 mg/kg BW/d sarpogrelate treatment of 4 weeks (HTB group) and without (control group).