Differences in pharmacological property between combined therapy of the vasopressin V2-receptor antagonist tolvaptan plus furosemide and monotherapy of furosemide in patients with hospitalized heart failure.

Background: Tolvaptan has been shown to improve congestion in heart failure patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmacology and clinical efficacy of combined tolvaptan and furosemide therapy.

Methods: This study included 40 patients with systemic volume overload who were hospitalized for heart failure.

Clinical significance of arterial stiffness as a factor for hospitalization of heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction: a retrospective matched case-control study.

Background: Previous studies have been conducted to identify characteristics of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), but the risk factors of HFpEF remain unclear. We investigated the associations between arterial stiffness and the risk of hospitalization for HFpEF patients.

Methods: For the case group, we enrolled patients with preserved EF who had been hospitalized for HF from April 2013 to March 2015 and examined the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI).

Effects of bFGF on the Modulation of Apoptosis in Gingival Fibroblasts with Different Host Ages.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) treatment on the proliferation and apoptosis of cultured gingival fibroblasts (GFs). Human GFs were isolated from the palatal gingival tissues of 16 healthy volunteers ranging in the age from 9 to 35 years old. Cultured GFs were subjected to the analyses for cell proliferation by ELISA assay, gene expression by RT-PCR analysis, and apoptosis potency by caspase-3 assay.

Amelogenin enhances the proliferation of cementoblast lineage cells.

Background: It is well known that enamel matrix proteins play a crucial role in tooth root formation and amelogenesis. Because amelogenin is a major enamel matrix protein, it is assumed that amelogenin also affects the metabolism of cementum. However, the biologic functions of amelogenin in cementoblasts remain unclear.

Applying an excessive mechanical stress alters the effect of subchondral osteoblasts on chondrocytes in a co-culture system.

Osteoarthritis (OA) sometimes occurs as a consequence of repeated microtrauma involved in parafunction, which may lead to microfracture in the subchondral bone. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of subchondral osteoblasts in loading with repeated excessive mechanical stress on the metabolism of overlying chondrocytes. A high-magnitude cyclic tensile stress of 15 kPa (30 cycles min(-1)) was applied to the cultured osteoblasts obtained from porcine mandibular condyles.

The mandibular cartilage metabolism is altered by damaged subchondral bone from traumatic impact loading.

Osteoarthritis (OA) in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a degenerative disease caused by excessive external loading. Recently, it was reported that the damage in the mineralized subchondral bone caused by traumatic impact-loading is responsible for the initiation and progression of cartilage degeneration. Thus far, we have hypothesized that cytokines released from damaged subchondral bone from impact-loading affect the cartilage catabolism under pathological conditions.

The effect of mechanical loading on the metabolism of growth plate chondrocytes.

It is well known that mechanical loading influences the endochondral bone formation essential for the growth and development of longitudinal bones. The question was, however, asked whether the effect of mechanical loading on the chondrocyte metabolism is dependent on the loading frequency. This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of tensile loadings with various frequencies on the proliferation of growth plate chondrocytes and extracellular matrix synthesis.