A prediction model for 5-year cardiac mortality in patients with chronic heart failure using ¹²³I-metaiodobenzylguanidine imaging.

Purpose: Prediction of mortality risk is important in the management of chronic heart failure (CHF). The aim of this study was to create a prediction model for 5-year cardiac death including assessment of cardiac sympathetic innervation using data from a multicenter cohort study in Japan.

Methods: The original pooled database consisted of cohort studies from six sites in Japan.

A pooled analysis of multicenter cohort studies of (123)I-mIBG imaging of sympathetic innervation for assessment of long-term prognosis in heart failure.

Objectives: The study objectives were to create a cardiac metaiodobenzylguanidine (mIBG) database using multiple prospective cohort studies and to determine the quantitative iodine-123-labeled mIBG indices for identifying patients with chronic heart failure (HF) at greatest and lowest risk of lethal events.

Background: Although the prognostic value of cardiac mIBG imaging in patients with HF has been shown, clinical use of this procedure has been limited. It is required to define universally accepted quantitative thresholds for high and low risk that could be used as an aid to therapeutic decision-making using a large cohort database.

Comparative analysis of the therapeutic effects of long-acting and short-acting loop diuretics in the treatment of chronic heart failure using (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy.

Aims: Loop diuretics are essential for the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) but short-acting diuretics are reported to induce sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation. This study was performed to compare therapeutic effects of two loop diuretics, long-acting azosemide and short-acting furosemide, using (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-MIBG) scintigraphy.

Methods And Results: Twenty-two patients with New York Heart Association class II-III heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction, who required treatment with a loop diuretic, were included.

[Gross anatomy dissection and the legal control].

In Japan, dissection of human body is generally prohibited by the Penal Code, i.e. the criminal law.

Determination of the survival rate in patients with congestive heart failure stratified by ¹²³I-MIBG imaging: a meta-analysis from the studies performed in Japan.

Background: The goals of this meta-analysis were to determine survival rates in patients with heart failure (HF) assessed by ¹²³I-MIBG imaging results using recently published studies and to determine the prognostic value of ¹²³I-MIBG imaging.

Methods: We reviewed published cohort studies carried out in Japan that compared the prognosis of patients with their ¹²³I-MIBG activity quantified as late heart-to-mediastinum ratio (H/M) or washout rate by performing a PubMed search for articles in English up to December 2006. Studies were selected if they analyzed a clearly defined lethal outcome (cardiovascular death) using life tables to estimate the odds ratio at 24 months after enrollment.

Cellular dynamics of epithelial clefting during branching morphogenesis of the mouse submandibular gland.

We cultured the rudimental submandibular gland (SMG) of mice with a non-cell-permeable fluorescent tracer, and observed cell behavior during epithelial branching morphogenesis using confocal time-lapse microscopy. We traced movements of individual cells as shadowgraph movies. Individual epithelial cells migrated dynamically but erratically.

Significance of performing 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy at different times for the long-term prediction of cardiac events in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: Although it has been reported that (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy is useful for assessing the prognosis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), there have been no reports regarding how interval MIBG imaging should be performed during follow-up. We investigated the significance of performing MIBG at different times for the long-term prediction of cardiac events in DCM patients.

Methods: The participants were 36 DCM patients who did not sustain cardiac events for 2 years after beta-blocker induction.

Characterization of Japanese standards for myocardial sympathetic and metabolic imaging in comparison with perfusion imaging.

Objective: The standard patterns of myocardial radiotracer distribution of (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) and (123)I-beta-methyl-p-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) should be defined in a Japanese population. The purpose of this study was to present and provide data on the characteristics of MIBG and BMIPP with respect to myocardial single photon emission computed tomography.

Methods: The normal database included (123)I-MIBG and (123)I-BMIPP imaging and a (99m)Tc-sestamibi/tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion study.

Intercalated duct cells in the rat parotid gland may behave as tissue stem cells.

This study was conducted to determine whether intercalated duct cells in the rat parotid gland have the properties of tissue stem cells. After induction of cellular proliferation by repeated administration of isoproterenol (IPR), a beta-adrenergic agonist, proliferation activity in acinar, intralobular, and intercalated ductal cells was quantified using Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. The total number of each type of component cell in a gland was also estimated in the course of IPR treatment.

Evaluation of sympathetic activity by 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy in dilated cardiomyopathy patients with sleep breathing disorder.

Background: Because increased sympathetic nervous activity (SNA) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) associated with sleep breathing disorder (SBD) is known to deteriorate the prognosis of cardiac failure, (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy was used as the investigative tool in the present study.

Methods And Results: The study group comprised 53 patients (47 men, 6 women; mean age 56+/-3 years) with chronic stable DCM. Patients were divided into SBD(+) or SBD(-) group according to 24-h pulse oximetry results.

A novel cell-adhesive scaffold material for delivering keratinocytes reduces granulation tissue in dermal wounds.

Novel peptide-conjugated chitosan membranes were fabricated and used to deliver keratinocytes to dermal wounds in mice. Three active peptides of 12 or 13 amino acids each, RLVSYNGIIFFLK (A5G27), ASKAIQVFLLAG (A5G33), and AGTFALRGDNPQG (A99) were selected from a cell-adhesive peptide library of laminin, a major constituent of basement membrane. The peptides were synthesized and coupled to chitosan membranes, and the resulting peptide-chitosan membranes were tested for keratinocyte attachment.

Transcriptome-based systematic identification of extracellular matrix proteins.

Extracellular matrix (ECM), which provides critical scaffolds for all adhesive cells, regulates proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Different cell types employ customized ECMs, which are thought to play important roles in the generation of so-called niches that contribute to cell-specific functions. The molecular entities of these customized ECMs, however, have not been elucidated.

Scintigraphic studies on the etiology of Ampulla Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Although there are many reports on Ampulla Cardiomyopathy, its etiologic mechanisms are not well known.

Aim: Etiology of Ampulla Cardiomyopathy was investigated by myocardial scintigraphy with various nuclear tracers.

Subjects And Methods: In nine patients with Ampulla Cardiomyopathy, myocardial scintigraphy was performed at acute, subacute and chronic phases.

[Significance of percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention for chronic total occlusions assessed as non-viable by myocardial scintigraphy].

Objectives: The effectiveness of percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention (PCI) was evaluated for chronic total occlusion (CTO) assessed as non-viable by myocardial scintigraphy.

Methods: In the period from January 2003 to October 2006, 17 patients who had successful reopening of the artery through revascularization by PCI for CTO assessed as non-viable were classified as the P group, and 30 patients whose course was observed while undergoing medical therapy after being assessed as nonviable formed the M group. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and SD/chord were measured in both groups before the procedure and at the chronic phase (mean 6.

Creation and characterization of Japanese standards for myocardial perfusion SPECT: database from the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine Working Group.

Objective: Standards for myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) adapted for a Japanese population were not available. The purpose of this study was to create standard files approved by the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine and to make known the characteristics of the myocardial perfusion pattern of this population.

Methods: With the collaboration of nine hospitals, a total of 326 sets of exercise-rest myocardial perfusion images were accumulated from subjects with a low likelihood of cardiac diseases.

Rat pancreatic islet is formed by unification of multiple endocrine cell clusters.

The organogenesis of islets in rat pancreas was studied by three-dimensional reconstructions from serial section micrographs. On embryonic day (E) 12, an endocrine cluster consisting mainly of glucagon-expressing cells maintained connection with the pancreatic endoderm at several regions. On E15-E17, the cluster enlarged by fusion of newly formed buds.

Prediction of cardiac events in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy using 123I-BMIPP and 201Tl myocardial scintigraphy.

Objective: Various clinical trials for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) have demonstrated that the prognosis as well as cardiac function is improved by the administration of beta-blocker therapy. On the other hand, 123I-betamethyl-p-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) reflects myocardial fatty acid metabolism and is considered to be a more sensitive tracer than perfusion tracers. In this study, the efficacy of DCM for the evaluation of myocardial damage and the prediction of cardiac events was studied using 123I-BMIPP and 201TI (Tl) myocardial scintigraphy.

MARCH-XI, a novel transmembrane ubiquitin ligase implicated in ubiquitin-dependent protein sorting in developing spermatids.

A mechanism by which ubiquitinated cargo proteins are sorted into multivesicular bodies (MVBs) from plasma and trans-Golgi network (TGN) membranes is well established in yeast and mammalian somatic cells. However, the ubiquitin-dependent sorting pathway has not been clearly defined in germ cells. In this study we identified a novel member of the transmembrane RING-finger family of proteins, termed membrane-associated RING-CH (MARCH)-XI, that is expressed predominantly in developing spermatids and weakly in brain and pituitary.

[Recurrent ampulla cardiomyopathy showing prolonged sympathetic nerve function disorder: a case report].

A 58-year-old woman with chronic renal failure had been undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. Ampulla cardiomyopathy recurred in association with prolonged sympathetic nerve function disorder. Periodical evaluation of the patient's condition using 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy was continued since the first attack at age 55 years.

Neuronal imaging using SPECT.

(123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy is one of only a few methods available for objective evaluation of cardiac sympathetic function at the clinical level. Disorders of cardiac sympathetic function play an important role in various heart diseases, and MIBG provides an abundance of useful information for the evaluation of severity, prognosis and therapeutic effects; this is particularly useful in cases of heart failure, ischaemic heart disease and arrhythmic disease. On the other hand, the quantitative indices for MIBG differ between institutions, and evidence has not been sufficiently well established for MIBG scintigraphy when compared with myocardial perfusion imaging in ischaemic heart diseases.

[Left ventricular dysfunction without brain natriuretic peptide elevation: two case reports].

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is an useful marker for the differential diagnosis of dyspnea and pleural effusion of unknown origin. BNP elevation indicates myocardial overload. Two patients were admitted to our hospital with abnormal electrocardiogram or dyspnea.

Neuronal imaging using SPECT.

Background: 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy is one of only a few methods available for objective evaluation of cardiac sympathetic function at a clinical level. Disorders in cardiac sympathetic function play an important role in various heart diseases, and MIBG provides an abundance of useful information for evaluation of disease severity, prognosis, and therapeutic effects; this information is of particular value in patients with heart failure, ischemic heart diseases, or arrhythmic disorders. On the other hand, the quantitative indices for MIBG differ between institutions, and evidence has not been sufficiently well established for MIBG, compared with myocardial perfusion imaging, in ischemic heart diseases.

Recruitment of a prostaglandin E receptor subtype, EP3-expressing bone marrow cells is crucial in wound-induced angiogenesis.

E-type prostaglandins have been reported to be proangiogenic in vivo. Thus, we examined prostaglandin receptor signaling relevant to wound-induced angiogenesis. Full-thickness skin wounds were created on the backs of mice, and angiogenesis in wound granulation tissues was estimated.