Utility of three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in diagnosis of intermediate atrioventricular septal defect: report of an adult case.

We present the case of a 54-year-old male with an intermediate atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD). He was referred to our institute for treatment of shortness of breath. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated an ostium primum defect of the atrial septum, a common atrioventricular valve with mild regurgitations, and an interventricular communication, which are the features of complete AVSD.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes in super-elderly patients (>85 years) with heart failure: single center observational study in Japan.

Aim: The number of elderly patients with heart failure is increasing in Japan owing to the increase in the aging population. In the field of emergency medicine, the treatment and management of elderly patients with heart failure are key issues. We aimed to clarify the clinical characteristics and outcomes of these patients.

Delayed ventricular septal perforation caused by minimal branches occlusion during coronary artery stenting.

A 75-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with stable effort angina pectoris. The coronary angiogram showed 90 % stenosis at the left anterior descending artery and stenting was successfully performed. Three months later, a newly audible systolic heart murmur was heard.

The role of mitochondrial transition pores on bovine oocyte competence after heat stress, as determined by effects of cyclosporin A.

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects on the nuclear maturation and subsequent embryonic development of bovine oocytes exposed to heat stress (HS) when treating bovine oocytes before in vitro maturation (IVM) with 1 µM cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening. Mitochondrial activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and apoptosis levels of the oocytes were also assessed. Nuclear maturation rates of both the HS-exposed oocytes treated with or without CsA groups (HS + CsA or HS group) were significantly lower (P<0.

Comparison of long-term clinical outcome after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation in patients with and without hemodialysis.

Poor clinical outcomes for hemodialysis (HD) patients compared to non-HD patients after coronary intervention have been reported. Although coronary intervention using sirolimus-eluting stents (SESs) might be expected to reduce restenosis in HD patients, little is known about the efficacy of the SESs. The purpose of the present study was to compare the clinical and angiographic outcomes of HD patients with non-HD patients after SES implantation.

Influence of hypertension on the incidence of cardiovascular disease in two rural communities in Japan: the Tanno-Sobetsu [corrected] study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between hypertension and onset of cardiovascular disease in Japan. As part of an ongoing epidemiological survey of cardiovascular diseases in Hokkaido, Japan, 1,798 subjects (806 males and 992 females; mean age in the initial year of the survey, 58.6+/-11.

Relationship between visceral fat and cardiovascular disease risk factors: the Tanno and Sobetsu study.

We assessed the amount of visceral fat using ultrasonography (US) and studied its relationship to cardiovascular disease risk factors, particularly blood pressure. The subjects in the first study were 45 male and 61 female outpatients. We measured the visceral fat area (VFA) of each subject using abdominal CT and waist circumference (WC), and visceral fat distance (VFD) using US.

Effects of angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene polymorphisms on insulin resistance in a Japanese general population: the Tanno-Sobetsu study.

Although gene polymorphisms in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) are predisposing factors for cardiovascular diseases, the precise mechanisms and interactions among confounding factors have not been clarified. We investigated whether genetic variants of RAS are involved in insulin sensitivity in a Japanese general population. During a medical checkup in 2001, participants (n=550) were recruited from among the residents of the towns of Tanno and Sobetsu, and written informed consent was obtained to participate in the genetic analysis and the epidemiological study.

Impact of abnormal glucose tolerance, hypertension and other risk factors on coronary artery disease.

Background: The degree to which abnormal glucose tolerance contributes to the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been clarified in Japanese. The relationship between abnormal glucose tolerance and severity of coronary artery stenosis, as well as the contributions of hypertension, diabetes and other risk factors for CAD to recurrence of the disease, were investigated in the present study.

Methods And Results: The subjects were 474 consecutive patients (mean age: 63.

Relationship between hepatocellular carcinoma and impaired glucose tolerance among Japanese.

Background/aims: Both the incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and mortality from Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are increasing in Japan. As the association of overall cancer and HCC with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) has been studied rarely in the world including Japan, this study assessed their associations using cohort data of Hokkaido, Japan.

Methodology: After getting ethical consent, this study included 908 men and 1,081 women aged 30-77 years during 1977-78 and collected detailed information using the baseline survey.

Development and progression of atherosclerotic disease in relation to insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia.

It is unclear whether the role of insulin resistance in the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is similar in populations in which the incidence of atherosclerotic diseases significantly differs from that in Western countries. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between insulin resistance and the development of cardiovascular disease in the Japanese population. We conducted 75 g-oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) on 1,928 inhabitants of two towns in Hokkaido, Japan.

Metabolic syndrome and cardiac disease in Japanese men: applicability of the concept of metabolic syndrome defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III to Japanese men--the Tanno and Sobetsu Study.

Results of a 6-year follow-up study were used to determine whether the concept of and the criteria for metabolic syndrome as defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) can be applied to Japanese men for prediction of the occurrence of cardiac disease. The subjects were 808 men who underwent mass health check-ups in 1993 and who were not on medication for hypertension, diabetes or hyperlipidemia. Individuals who had hypertriglyceridemia, hypo-high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterolemia, high blood pressure, and/or high fasting plasma glucose levels were identified on the basis of the NCEP-ATP III criteria.

Influence of gender, age and renal function on plasma adiponectin level: the Tanno and Sobetsu study.

Design: The aim of this study was to determine the association between aging and adiponectin level from the aspect of the influence of renal function and sex hormones in humans.

Methods: Serum adiponectin and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were measured in 964 subjects (372 males) aged 60.3+/-12.

[Risk factors for heavy burden among family caregivers in a rural town in Hokkaido].

Objective: The present study was conducted in order to investigate risk factors for heavy burden of family caregivers.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: 51 pairs of the frail elderly and their family caregivers in one town in Hokkaido.

Correlations of adiponectin level with insulin resistance and atherosclerosis in Japanese male populations.

Objective: Adiponectin, which is secreted specifically by adipose tissue, has been shown to have an anti-atherosclerotic effect and to improve insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to determine the correlations of plasma adiponectin concentration with insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.

Design And Methods: We investigated the relationships of adiponectin concentration with insulin sensitivity, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hCRP) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in male inhabitants of rural communities in Japan.

Prevalence of asymptomatic arteriosclerosis obliterans and its relationship with risk factors in inhabitants of rural communities in Japan: Tanno-Sobetsu study.

Objectives: Since arteriosclerosis obliterance in the legs (ASO) causes deterioration of the prognosis of the elderly, prevention of ASO is important for maintenance of their quality of lives. We studied the prevalences of ASO in rural communities in Japan.

Methods And Results: We measured the ratio of systolic blood pressure in the leg to that in the arm (ABI) using a new device, Form PWV/ABI, in 1398 subjects of both sexes.

[Adiponectin levels and coronary risk factors in the elderly].

Aim: To determine the relationship between adiponectin level and coronary risk factors in men.

Methods: The subjects were 395 elderly men in two rural communities (Tanno, Sobetsu) in Japan. Blood pressure in the sitting position (SBP/DBP), after overnight fasting, plasma glucose level (FPG), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), HDL cholesterol (HDL) and serum adiponectin were measured.

[Relation of hypertension and glucose tolerance impairment in elderly people to the development of arteriosclerosis--investigation using pulse wave velocity].

Hypertension and diabetes are risk factors for arteriosclerosis and have a synergistic effect on the progression of arteriosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between complications of hypertension and diabetes and arteriosclerosis as assessed by pulse wave velocity (PWV) in elderly subjects. The subjects of this study were 186 people aged 60 years or older (mean age: 68.

A Review of Cohort Studies on the Association Between History of Diabetes Mellitus and Occurrence of Cancer.

We conducted a review of previous cohort studies on the association between a history of diabetes mellitus (DM) and the occurrence of cancer. We limited the papers to those concerning cohort studies on 9 cancer sites, i.e.

Pulse wave velocity as an indicator of atherosclerosis in impaired fasting glucose: the Tanno and Sobetsu study.

Objective: Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), as an indicator of atherosclerosis in impaired fasting glucose (IFG), was studied in 232 subjects randomly selected from inhabitants of two rural communities in Japan.

Research Design And Methods: BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting blood glucose (FBS), lipid parameters, ankle brachial pressure index (ABI), and baPWV were measured in each subject. ABI and baPWV were measured using the recently developed device, form ABI/PWV.

Hepatocyte growth factor and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

In recent years, many growth factors and cytokines have been shown to be related to arteriosclerosis, and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been reported to be associated with hypertension. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between HGF and hypertension by measuring the serum HGF concentration and performing 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in 47 randomly selected male and female subjects who underwent a medical examination for cardiovascular disease. The results were as follows.

Relationship between insulin-resistance and remnant-like particle cholesterol.

We investigated the relationship between insulin-resistance (IR) and remnant-like particle cholesterol (RLP-C) using 472 subjects (174 men and 298 women) randomly selected from inhabitants of two rural communities in Japan, Tanno and Sobetsu. The level of fasting immunoreactive insulin (FIRI), fasting blood glucose (FBS), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and RLP-C were measured in each subject. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-R) was used as an indicator of IR.