Association of Serum Oxysterols with Cholesterol Metabolism Markers and Clinical Factors in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Covariance Structure Analysis.

Oxysterols have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Serum levels of oxysterols could be positively correlated with cholesterol absorption and synthesis. However, physiological regulation of various serum oxysterols is largely unknown.

Temporal Trends in Antithrombotic Therapy for Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention From 2014 to 2022 in Japan.

Recent revisions of clinical guidelines by the Japanese Circulation Society, American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology, and European Society of Cardiology updated the management of antithrombotic strategies for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, the extent to which these guidelines have been implemented in real-world daily clinical practice is unclear. We conducted surveys on the status of antithrombotic therapy for patients with AF undergoing PCI every 2 years from 2014 to 2022 in 14 cardiovascular centers in Japan.

Prognostic value of pre-treatment risk stratification and post-treatment neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio change for pembrolizumab in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Background: Pembrolizumab is effective in a limited number of patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC). Therefore, we evaluated the prognostic value of clinical biomarkers following pembrolizumab treatment in patients with advanced UC.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 121 patients with platinum-refractory advanced UC who received pembrolizumab.

Prognostic value of risk stratification using blood parameters for nivolumab in Japanese patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.

Background: Nivolumab is a standard treatment for previously treated advanced renal-cell carcinoma. However, nivolumab is effective in only a limited number of patients; therefore, we evaluated the prognostic value of several biomarkers, including inflammation-based prognostic scores and changes in these scores following nivolumab treatment in Japanese patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 65 patients with previously treated metastatic renal-cell carcinoma and who received nivolumab.

Identification of curable high-risk prostate cancer using radical prostatectomy alone: who are the good candidates for undergoing radical prostatectomy among patients with high-risk prostate cancer?

Background: Currently, there is no consensus regarding which patients with high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) would benefit the most by radical prostatectomy (RP). We aimed to identify patients with high-risk PCa who are treatable by RP alone.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data on 315 patients with D'Amico high-risk PCa who were treated using RP without neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy at the institutions of the Yamaguchi Uro-Oncology Group between 2009 and 2013.

Ezetimibe in Combination With Statins Ameliorates Endothelial Dysfunction in Coronary Arteries After Stenting: The CuVIC Trial (Effect of Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitor Usage on Target Vessel Dysfunction After Coronary Stenting), a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: We sought to investigate whether treatment with ezetimibe in combination with statins improves coronary endothelial function in target vessels in coronary artery disease patients after coronary stenting.

Approach And Results: We conducted a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-end point trial among 11 cardiovascular treatment centers. From 2011 to 2013, 260 coronary artery disease patients who underwent coronary stenting were randomly allocated to 2 arms (statin monotherapy, S versus ezetimibe [10 mg/d]+statin combinational therapy, E+S).

A case of coronary subclavian vertebral steal syndrome successfully treated with stenting to the stenosis of left subclavian artery.

Coronary subclavian vertebral steal syndrome (CSVSS) is a rare but important complication of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) when an internal mammary artery (IMA) is used. This syndrome is defined as a retrograde flow from coronary artery via the IMA and the vertebral artery to the subclavian artery due to a proximal subclavian artery stenosis. We describe a case of a 64-year-old female who underwent CABG, complaining of dyspnea and chest pain by exercise of left arm, and dizziness when she turned her face to the left.

Use of preoperative performance status and hemoglobin concentration to predict overall survival for patients aged ≥ 75 years after radical cystectomy for treatment of bladder cancer.

Background: The standard of care for treatment of localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is radical cystectomy (RC). The patient's condition may affect management of MIBC, especially for elderly patients with more comorbid conditions and lower performance status. We retrospectively evaluated the association between clinicopathological data and outcomes for patients with bladder cancer (BCa) treated by RC.

A case of Kounis syndrome associated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Kounis syndrome, which is known as allergic angina and allergic myocardial infarction today, was described as the coexistence of acute coronary syndrome with allergic reactions in 1991 by Kounis and Zavras. We report a case of a 79-year-old man with hypertension, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and no allergic history. He had received transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for treatment of HCC five times without allergic reactions.

[Successful treatment with rituximab for type III cryoglobulinemia].

A 71-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis was referred to our hospital with complaints of face and leg edema and was admitted for management of acute renal failure. Type III cryoglobulinemia was diagnosed based on histopathological findings of a kidney biopsy which revealed cryoglobulinemic nephropathy. Immunofixation showed no serum M-proteins.

Impact of variant histology on disease aggressiveness and outcome after nephroureterectomy in Japanese patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Background: Patients with urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma (UC) with variant histology have features of more advanced disease and a likelihood of poorer survival than those with pure UC. We investigated the impact of variant histology on disease aggressiveness and clinical outcome after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in Japanese patients with upper tract UC (UTUC). Information on variant histology might guide appropriate patient selection for adjuvant therapy after RNU.

Risk group stratification based on preoperative factors to predict survival after nephroureterectomy in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma.

Background: After radical nephroureterectomy (RNU), substantial numbers of patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT-UC) are ineligible for adjuvant chemotherapy owing to diminished renal function. Accurate preoperative prediction of survival is considered important because neoadjuvant chemotherapy may be as effective for high-risk UUT-UC as for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. We performed risk group stratification to predict survival based on specific preoperative factors.

Can docetaxel therapy improve overall survival from primary therapy compared with androgen-deprivation therapy alone in Japanese patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer? A multi-institutional cooperative study.

Background: To verify the actual clinical benefit of docetaxel (DOC) therapy and to explore the prognostic factors that may predict overall survival in Japanese patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Methods: Baseline characteristics-matched CRPC patients who received conventional androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) or ADT plus DOC were compared retrospectively. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) from primary therapy.

Risk group stratification to predict recurrence after transurethral resection in Japanese patients with stage Ta and T1 bladder tumours: validation study on the European Association of Urology guidelines.

Objective: • To validate the European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines on risk group stratification to predict recurrence in Japanese patients with stage Ta and T1 bladder tumours.

Patients And Methods: • A cohort of 592 Japanese patients who were treated with transurethral resection (TUR) and histopathologically diagnosed with Ta and T1 urothelial carcinoma of the bladder were enrolled in this retrospective study. • The primary endpoint of the present study was recurrence-free survival, and the median follow-up duration was 37 months in recurrence-free survivors.

Thioredoxin1 upregulates mitochondrial proteins related to oxidative phosphorylation and TCA cycle in the heart.

Thioredoxin1 (Trx1) inhibits hypertrophy and exhibits protective functions in the heart. To elucidate further the cardiac functions of Trx1, we used a DNA microarray analysis, with hearts from transgenic mice with cardiac- specific overexpression of Trx1 (Tg-Trx1, n = 4) and nontransgenic controls (n = 4). Expression of a large number of genes is regulated in Tg-Trx1, with a greater number of genes downregulated, versus upregulated, at high-fold changes.

Cardiac-specific overexpression of AT1 receptor mutant lacking G alpha q/G alpha i coupling causes hypertrophy and bradycardia in transgenic mice.

Ang II type 1 (AT1) receptors activate both conventional heterotrimeric G protein-dependent and unconventional G protein-independent mechanisms. We investigated how these different mechanisms activated by AT1 receptors affect growth and death of cardiac myocytes in vivo. Transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of WT AT1 receptor (AT1-WT; Tg-WT mice) or an AT1 receptor second intracellular loop mutant (AT1-i2m; Tg-i2m mice) selectively activating G(alpha)q/G(alpha)i-independent mechanisms were studied.

Inhibition of endogenous thioredoxin in the heart increases oxidative stress and cardiac hypertrophy.

Thioredoxin 1 (Trx1) has redox-sensitive cysteine residues and acts as an antioxidant in cells. However, the extent of Trx1 contribution to overall antioxidant mechanisms is unknown in any organs. We generated transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of a dominant negative (DN) mutant (C32S/C35S) of Trx1 (Tg-DN-Trx1 mice), in which the activity of endogenous Trx was diminished.