Efficacy and safety of single-dose ivermectin in mild-to-moderate COVID-19: the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled CORVETTE-01 trial.

Background: To investigate whether ivermectin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 proliferation in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 using time to a negative COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.

Methods: CORVETTE-01 was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study (August 2020-October 2021) conducted in Japan. Overall, 248 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 using RT-PCR were assessed for eligibility.

Clinical Implication and Optimal Management of Myocardial Bridging: Role of Cardiovascular Imaging.

Myocardial bridging (MB) was historically considered a benign structure as most people with MB are clinically asymptomatic. Recently, however, mounting evidence indicates that MB can cause adverse cardiac events owing to arterial systolic compression/diastolic restriction, atherosclerotic plaque progression upstream from MB, and/or vasospastic angina. In MB patients with refractory angina, the optimal treatment strategy should be determined individually based on versatile anatomic and hemodynamical assessments that often require multidisciplinary diagnostic approaches.

Autopsy Case Report of Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia at a General Municipal Hospital.

We present the autopsy procedure and findings of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia in an 85-year-old man. The patient required intubation immediately after admission for severe COVID-19 pneumonia. He had severe hypoxia that did not improve despite treatment with remdesivir, corticosteroids, and appropriate mechanical ventilation.

Very late stent thrombosis lacking findings of the typical causes on optical coherence tomography in a patient with SARS-CoV-2.

Unlabelled: A 50-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with sudden-onset chest pain. He was a current smoker with severe obesity and diabetes. He had a history of drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and had continuously taken clopidogrel.

Lower levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol are associated with a lower prevalence of thin-cap fibroatheroma in statin-treated patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels with statins slows the progression of atherosclerotic plaques and reduces cardiovascular events. The 2019 European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society guidelines recommend absolute LDL-C treatment targets of <100 mg/dL, <70 mg/dL and <55 mg/dL according to coexisting patient risk factors.

Objective: To clarify the difference in the plaque characteristics of coronary lesions associated with these LDL-C levels in statin-treated patients.

Impact of triglyceride levels on plaque characteristics in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: High triglyceride (TG) levels have been demonstrated to be a risk factor for coronary artery disease. This study aimed to clarify the impact of TG levels on the characteristics of coronary plaques.

Methods: A total of 850 consecutive patients who underwent optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the culprit lesion were included.

Intravascular ultrasound predictors of long-term outcomes following ABSORB bioresorbable scaffold implantation: A pooled analysis of the ABSORB III and ABSORB Japan trials.

Background: The long-term prognostic impact of IVUS findings following Absorb BVS implantation remains uncertain. This study aimed to identify the IVUS predictors of long-term clinical outcomes following ABSORB bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) implantation from the pooled IVUS substudy cohorts of the ABSORB III and Japan trials.

Methods: A total of 298 lesions in 286 patients were enrolled with 2:1 randomization to ABSORB BVS vs.

Clinical and Microbiological Features of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Mild COVID-19 in Seven Crewmembers of a Cruise Ship.

Objective To describe the clinical features and clinical course of individuals diagnosed with asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or mild coronavirus disease (COVID)-19. Patients The study participants consisted of 7 crewmembers of the passenger cruise-liner, Diamond Princess, who were admitted to our hospital after becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 aboard the ship. Methods The data on patient background and biochemical test results were obtained from the patients' medical records.

Invasive assessment of myocardial bridging in patients with angina and no obstructive coronary artery disease.

Aims: Angina and no obstructive coronary artery disease (ANOCA) is common. A potential cause of angina in this patient population is a myocardial bridge (MB). We aimed to study the anatomical and haemodynamic characteristics of an MB in patients with ANOCA.

Scaffold underexpansion and late lumen loss after bioresorbable scaffold implantation: Insights from ABSORB JAPAN trial.

Background: Device underexpansion is associated with late adverse outcomes after bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) implantation. This study, representing official IVUS results of the ABSORB Japan trial, aimed to characterize IVUS findings, focusing specifically on acute device expansion, and to investigate its impact on late lumen loss (LLL) with Absorb-BVS compared with cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stents (CoCr-EES).

Methods: ABSORB Japan enrolled 148 patients (2:1 randomization) in the IVUS cohort.

Achilles tendon thickening is associated with higher incidence of adverse cardiovascular event in patients with coronary artery disease.

Achilles tendon thickening (ATT) is a marker of high risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the association between the presence of ATT and the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with CAD is unclear. A total of 406 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and ATT assessment were analyzed.

Accuracy of a novel stress echocardiography pattern for myocardial bridging in patients with angina and no obstructive coronary artery disease - A retrospective and prospective cohort study.

Background: Myocardial bridge (MB) may cause angina in patients with no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). We previously reported a novel stress echocardiography (SE) pattern of focal septal buckling with apical sparing in the end-systolic to early-diastolic phase that is associated with the presence of an MB. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of this pattern, and prospectively validated our results.

Age- and Gender-Related Differences in Coronary Lesion Plaque Composition on Optical Coherence Tomography.

Background: The pathophysiology and chronological course of atherosclerosis seems to be different between men and women due to biological differences, and age and gender differences in plaque composition of coronary lesions remain to be elucidated.

Methods and results: A total of 860 consecutive patients with a median age of 69 years (IQR, 60-78 years) who underwent optical coherence tomography (OCT) of culprit lesions was included. The composition of culprit plaque on OCT was compared between female (n=171) and male (n=689) subjects in younger (<70 years old) and elderly (≥70 years old) patients.

Vascular response and intrastent thrombus in the early phase after drug-eluting versus bare-metal stent implantation in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: An observational, single-center study.

Background And Objectives: Second-generation drug-eluting stents (G2-DES) are associated with a lower rate of acute and subacute stent thrombosis compared with bare-metal stent (BMS) in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In this study, our aim was to compare the vascular response and thrombus burden between G2-DES and BMS in early-phase STEMI.

Methods: Between May 2010 and August 2014, a total of 41 STEMI patients treated by either G2-DES (n = 26; everolimus-eluting stent [EES]: n = 15, zotarolimus-eluting stent [ZES]: n = 11) or BMS (n = 15) and, with multivessel disease requiring additional percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), were prospectively enrolled.

Lower Level of Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol is Associated with a Higher Increase in the Fractional Flow Reserve in Patients with Fixed-dose Rosuvastatin.

Aim: Fractional flow reserve (FFR) reflects on the diffuse atherosclerosis per coronary artery. It is unknown whether the statin therapy affects long term FFR after stenting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long term FFR after stent implantation in patients who are intaking fixed-dose rosuvastatin.

Effects on bone metabolism markers and arterial stiffness by switching to rivaroxaban from warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation.

In recent years, direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) of dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban, which are all alternatives to warfarin, have been released. The use of DOACs is becoming more widespread in the clinical management of thrombotic stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). In large-scale clinical trials of each drug, DOACs were reported to inhibit intracranial hemorrhage, stroke, and death compared to warfarin.

Duodenal stenting followed by systemic chemotherapy for patients with pancreatic cancer and gastric outlet obstruction.

Objectives: Endoscopic duodenal stenting has recently been proposed as a substitute for surgical gastrojejunostomy for the treatment of gastric outlet obstruction. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of duodenal stenting followed by systemic chemotherapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer with gastric outlet obstruction.

Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study, conducted at an academic medical center, of 71 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and gastric outlet obstruction (mean age: 67.

Ezetimibe enhances and stabilizes anticoagulant effect of warfarin.

Ezetimibe reduces plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by inhibiting Niemann-Pick C1-like protein 1 (NPC1L1). A recent study demonstrated that NPC1L1 plays an important role in absorption of fat-soluble vitamins including vitamin K. We evaluated whether the add-on treatment of ezetimibe affects anticoagulation in patients taking warfarin.

Rivaroxaban Inhibits Angiotensin II-Induced Activation in Cultured Mouse Cardiac Fibroblasts Through the Modulation of NF-κB Pathway.

Cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) play a central role in cardiac fibrosis. Factor Xa (FXa)-dependent protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1 and PAR-2 have been reported as important targets in proinflammatory and fibroproliferative diseases. From this viewpoint, we aimed to investigate whether treatment of rivaroxaban, an approved oral direct FXa inhibitor, attenuates functional changes in angiotensin (Ang) II-induced mouse CFs.

Teneligliptin improves left ventricular diastolic function and endothelial function in patients with diabetes.

Incretin hormones have been reported to have cytoprotective actions in addition to their glucose-lowering effects. We evaluated whether teneligliptin, a novel dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, affects left ventricular (LV) function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Twenty-nine T2DM patients not receiving any incretin-based drugs were enrolled and prescribed with teneligliptin for 3 months.

Clinical outcomes of chronic kidney disease patients treated with everolimus-eluting stents (EES) and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES).

Background: The target lesion revascularization of paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) has been reported to be lower than that of sirolimus-eluting stents in patients on hemodialysis (HD). However, the comparison of PES and second generation drug-eluting stents in CKD patients has not been fully investigated. We compared clinical outcomes of everolimus-eluting stents (EES) and PES in CKD patients.