A Neonatal Case of Mild Encephalopathy/Encephalitis with a Reversible Splenial Lesion.

The neurological symptoms of pediatric mild encephalopathy/encephalitis with a reversible splenial lesion (MERS) are mild and have a good prognosis. However, some aspects of neonatal MERS are unclear due to a lack of clinical knowledge. We present a neonatal case of MERS with features of poor activity and prolonged poor oxygenation after birth without asphyxia.

Vasospasms of the radial artery after the transradial approach for coronary angiography and angioplasty.

We examined vasospasms of the radial artery after a transradial approach was used for coronary angiography or angioplasty. In forty-eight patients (39 males and 9 females), arteriography of the radial artery was initially performed just after the transradial approach was used for coronary angiography and/or angioplasty. Then, five months later, a second arteriography of the radial artery was obtained after a transbrachial approach was used for coronary angiography.

Cyclic GMP production by ANP, BNP, and NO during worsening and improvement of chronic heart failure.

Cyclic GMP (cGMP) serves as an intracellular second messenger of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and nitric oxide (NO) and its peripheral blood concentration is an index of its biological activity. It has been reported that the plasma concentration of cGMP is correlated with the concentrations of ANP and BNP and is related to the prognosis of chronic heart failure patients, but the relation with NO has not been studied. Therefore, we investigated the roles of ANP, BNP, and NO in relation to cGMP in the blood during worsening and improvement of chronic heart failure.

Recurrent fulminant viral myocarditis with a short clinical course.

A 75-year-old man recovered from an episode of acute influenza. A myocarditis with a normalized level of serum cardiac troponin T, but less than 2 weeks after recovery, he rapidly fell into cardiogenic shock and died of fulminant myocarditis. The autopsied heart showed marked inflammatory cell infiltration that mainly consisted of mononuclear cells positive for CD8, suggesting that the second bout of myocarditis was caused by viral re-infection.

Health-related quality of life of Japanese patients with chronic heart failure: assessment using the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36.

Chronic heart failure is characterized by impaired cardiac function, but the relationship between clinical indices and subjective perception is not clear. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between cardiac function, exercise capacity and clinical classification, and the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in 91 outpatients with an left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 40%. Exercise capacity was evaluated by the Specific Activity Scale, and HRQOL by the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36.