Disseminated Cryptococcosis in a 63-year-old Patient with Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Fingolimod.

We herein report the case of a 63-year-old man who presented with a 3-month history of a cutaneous nodular lesion of his jaw, low grade fever, lethargy and progressive cognitive impairment. He had a 30-year history of multiple sclerosis and had been treated with fingolimod for the previous 2 years. Laboratory data revealed CD4 lymphocytopenia and a tissue culture of the skin nodule was positive for Cryptococcus neoformans.

Congestive heart failure in the elderly--echocardiographic insights.

One hundred and seventy-two patients (110 were greater than or equal to 65 years and 62 were less than 65 years) with congestive heart failure (CHF) were prospectively evaluated to determine various pathophysiologic mechanisms of CHF. The incidence of CHF with normal left ventricular (LV) systolic function was higher in elderly (30% vs 12%, p less than 0.05).

Cardiac fibroma. Long-term fate after excision.

Between 1980 and July 1983 three infants and children with cardiac fibromas underwent surgical resection at Kobe Children's Hospital. Two of them survived and have an excellent clinical result 6 years and 7 years postoperatively. The results of late follow-up with the use of 24-hour dynamic electrocardiography, two-dimensional echocardiography, thallium-201 myocardial scintillation scan, and technetium 99m sodium pertechnetate-gated blood pool imaging have proved that the patients are free of arrhythmic episodes, free of recurrence of tumor, have no significant myocardial perfusion defect, and have normal left ventricular function.

[Clinical features of latent dilated cardiomyopathy].

To identify the evidence of presymptomatic manifestations of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), we studied 30 patients with latent DCM (mean 37 +/- 14 years) who satisfied the following criteria: 1) left ventricular (LV) systolic function was slightly reduced; 2) LV end-diastolic dimension (< 54 mm) and coronary arteries were normal. The incidence of ECG abnormalities was relatively high; nonspecific ST-T changes were the most common (90%). The incidence of grade 3 or 4 ventricular premature contractions according to Lown's classification on 24 hour ambulatory ECGs was 50%.

Rest-injected thallium-201 imaging for assessing viability of severe asynergic regions.

To evaluate the utility of rest-injected 201Tl initial and delayed images for assessing the viability of severe asynergic regions, we studied 17 patients with apparently prior infarcted myocardium in combination with 99mTc ventriculography before and after revascularization. In 51 regions with severe asynergy, the percent 201Tl uptake was calculated as the ratio of counts on the segment with asynergy to the maximum counts on the normal segment. Eleven of 14 regions with resting 201Tl redistribution (Group 1) had improved wall motion after revascularization.

[Pericardial effusion in acute myocardial infarction: clinical feature and significance].

To determine the incidence and clinical significance of pericardial effusion after acute myocardial infarction, two-dimensional echocardiography was serially performed in 137 consecutive patients. Pericardial effusion was observed in 45 patients (33%), of whom 22 were followed until they recovered and were discharged. Pericardial effusion was more frequent in patients with anterior acute infarction than those with inferior acute infarction, and so it was in non-recanalized patients than in recanalized ones.

[Progression from latent cardiomyopathy to dilated cardiomyopathy: a review of five cases].

We report 5 patients, who had no cardiac abnormalities at their initial evaluation but progressed to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) during a mean follow-up period of 8.2 years. Their echocardiograms revealed increases in left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic dimensions, deterioration of LV contractions, and reduction in the LV wall thickness.

[Effects of PTCR and PTCA on serial changes in left and right ventricular wall motion in acute myocardial infarction].

To evaluate the effects of early recanalization on left and right ventricular wall motion in acute myocardial infarction (AMI), we serially observed their degrees in 66 patients with AMI. The patients were categorized as Group 1:17 with spontaneous recanalization within 6 hours of onset of the chest pain; Group 2:34 with effective recanalization within 6 hours (10 by PTCR, 10 by PTCR+ PTCA, and 14 by direct PTCA), and Group 3:21 without effective recanalization. The Group 2 patients were classified in 3 subgroups according to the time intervals from onset of symptoms to recanalization; 11 patients with recanalization within 2 hours (Group 2a), 10 between 2 and 4 hours (Group 2b), and 13 between 4 and 6 hours (Group 2c).

Role of right ventricular asynergy and tricuspid regurgitation in hemodynamic alterations during acute inferior myocardial infarction.

To elucidate the role of right ventricular asynergy and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) in hemodynamic alterations occurring during right ventricular infarction, left and right ventriculography with pressure measurements were performed in 22 patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction. Twelve patients with a proximal right coronary artery (RCA) occlusion (Group I) had elevated right atrial pressure (16 +/- 4 vs 8 +/- 5 mmHg, p less than 0.01), low cardiac output (2.

[Myocardial perfusion assessed by dynamic computed tomography, with respect to viable muscle in the infarcted region].

To clarify the significance of regional myocardial perfusion, 31 patients of old myocardial infarction including 11 cases undergoing PTCA with a left anterior descending artery lesion were studied using dynamic transmission computed tomography with excellent time resolution. Serial one-second dynamic scans with an electrocardiographic triggering system were performed at the middle level of the left ventricle using a bolus injection of contrast medium via the inferior vena cava. The F/V (F = flow, V = volume) ratio, a parameter of perfusion per unit of myocardium, was calculated from gamma-variate fitted time density curves obtained in the myocardium and in the left ventricular cavity.

Increased 201Tl uptake by the chest wall following cardioversion.

A patient with acute inferior infarct is described who showed increased 201Tl uptake in the anterior chest wall following cardioversion which mimicked increased lung uptake of the tracer. The site of accumulation of 201Tl corresponded to that of 99mTc-pyrophosphate (PYP) and the right sided catheterization revealed almost normal hemodynamic data.

[Regression of mitral valve prolapse to a state masquerading as dilated cardiomyopathy: a case report].

A 40-year-old man was admitted to our hospital in May 1982 for evaluation of a heart murmur. A standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) showed an abnormal Q wave in lead III. Echocardiography revealed prolapse of the anterior mitral valve leaflet (MVP), but neither dilatation nor wall motion abnormalities of the left ventricle (LV) were observed.

[Myocardial perfusion assessed by dynamic computed tomography before and after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty].

A method for quantitatively and visually assessing myocardial perfusion using a new transmission computed tomography scanner and contrast media injection was devised. Myocardial perfusion was assessed before and after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Six patients with left anterior descending coronary artery stenosis undergoing PTCA were successfully studied.

Effects of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty on segmental left ventricular function in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

In order to investigate the usefulness of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) on subsequent left ventricular (LV) function in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), regional ejection fraction (REF) was calculated from the left ventriculogram and compared in the acute and chronic phases (4 weeks after infarction) in 19 successful cases of PTCA (group A). In addition, 15 successful cases of intracoronary thrombolysis (PTCR) (group R) and 14 unsuccessful cases (group U) were also analyzed in this study. From the results, the following points were elucidated.

Prognostic value and limitation of doughnut pattern of technetium-99m pyrophosphate myocardial uptake in acute anterior infarction.

The prognostic significance of the doughnut pattern of technetium-99m pyrophosphate myocardial uptake was evaluated in 140 patients with acute anterior infarction. There were significantly higher early complications, greater mortality and more severe hemodynamic abnormalities in the doughnut pattern group than in the non-doughnut pattern group. The former had a more depressed left ventricular ejection fraction and larger thallium-201 defect size (27.

201Tl and 67Ga uptake in malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the heart.

A patient with malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the heart is described who was initially presented with a left atrial tumor. Subsequent 201Tl and 67Ga scintigraphy showed massive uptake of the tracers by the tumor and the pattern of uptake was thought to reflect underlying necrosis and hemorrhage within the tumor.

[Clinical significance of early redistribution of the exercise-induced thallium-201 defect in ischemic heart disease].

This study clarified thallium-201 (Tl) kinetics in the early stage after exercise in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Tl was administered for 39 patients with IHD and eight normal subjects during maximal exercise. Immediately after exercise, dynamic data were obtained using a double slant-hole collimator at one frame/2 min for a 20 min period.

Exercise capacity correlating to exercise hemodynamics in coronary artery disease.

Forty-seven patients with coronary artery disease characterized by angina pectoris and/or old myocardial infarction underwent two maximal exercise tests, the supine ergometer test and the upright treadmill test, to study the relationship between exercise capacity and exercise hemodynamics. Subjects were divided into 3 groups: Group I (n = 19) achieved 25 or 50 watts, Group II (n = 15) achieved 75 watts and Group III (n = 13) achieved 100 or 125 watts. During ergometer exercise, the mean pulmonary capillary pressure elevated by 25.

[Clinical usefulness of exercise-nitroglycerin myocardial imaging using dual administration of thallium-201].

In order to differentiate transient myocardial ischemia from infarction, the delayed thallium-201 myocardial imaging (redistribution image) is widely utilized, however, the precise mechanism of redistribution remains unsolved. In the present study, we proposed a new method to elucidate myocardial ischemia on images. In normal subjects, patients with old myocardial infarction (OMI) without angina pectoris (AP) and patients with AP, 1.