Clinical utility of reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent in patients with heart failure.

Anemia and iron deficiency (ID) are common in patients with heart failure (HF) and intravenous (IV) administration of iron to patients hospitalized for decompensated HF with ID improves outcome. The diagnosis of ID in routine practice is based on serum ferritin and transferrin saturation (TSAT) but both have limitations; alternatives should be considered. Reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent (Ret-He) reflects iron content in reticulocytes but its clinical utility in patients with HF remains uncertain.

Successful withdrawal of catecholamine with ivabradine administration in catecholamine-dependent heart failure.

Ivabradine is a heart rate (HR)-lowering agent that blocks hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel in the sinus node without a negative inotropic effect on cardiac function. Here we report a case of catecholamine-dependent heart failure, who was intolerant to β blockers, and successfully withdrew catecholamine by administering ivabradine. A 39-year-old male acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patient with severe systolic cardiac failure, refractory to diuretic and dobutamine treatment was transferred to our hospital.

Anemia has an impact on prognosis in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction with mild chronic kidney disease.

Background: Anemia and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are common in patients with heart failure with preserved left ventricular fraction (HFpEF). However, it is entirely unknown about the impact of anemia on prognosis in HFpEF patients with CKD. In this study, we investigated the impact of anemia on prognosis and the optimal hemoglobin (Hb) levels to predict prognosis in HFpEF patients with CKD.

A novel single-strand specific 3'-5' exonuclease found in the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus furiosus.

Nucleases play important roles in all DNA transactions, including replication, repair, and recombination. Many different nucleases from bacterial and eukaryotic organisms have been identified and functionally characterized. However, our knowledge about the nucleases from Archaea, the third domain of life, is still limited.

Biochemical properties and base excision repair complex formation of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease from Pyrococcus furiosus.

Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites are the most frequently found mutagenic lesions in DNA, and they arise mainly from spontaneous base loss or modified base removal by damage-specific DNA glycosylases. AP sites are cleaved by AP endonucleases, and the resultant gaps in the DNA are repaired by DNA polymerase/DNA ligase reactions. We identified the gene product that is responsible for the AP endonuclease activity in the hyperthermophilic euryarchaeon, Pyrococcus furiosus.

Studies on the base excision repair (BER) complex in Pyrococcus furiosus.

We have been studying the functions of PCNA (proliferating-cell nuclear antigen) for the assembly and reassembly of the replisome during replication fork progression. We have identified the functional interactions between PCNA and several proteins involved in DNA replication and repair from Pyrococcus furiosus. We recently reported that the activity of UDG (uracil-DNA glycosylase) in P.