A case of effective intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy against severe COVID-19 infection after arteriovenous graft surgery.

Perioperative COVID-19 infections in patients suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are more likely to become severe, with a high mortality rate, than those in other patients. For such patients, corticosteroid therapy is one of the limited number of treatment options. We experienced a case of ESRD in which COVID-19 infection immediately followed arteriovenous graft surgery.

[Accessory Mitral Valve Tissue Combined with Double-orifice Mitral Valve in an Elderly Patient:Report of a Case].

A 73-year-old man underwent echocardiography in order to assess any cardiac risk prior to surgery for renal cancer, and a large mobile mass was incidentally identified in his left ventricular outflow tract. Since a metastatic cardiac tumor was suspected, surgical resection of the mass was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermic circulatory arrest. The mass had peduncles in the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve, the interventricular septum, and the papillary muscles.

Conservatively treated coronary malperfusion associated with acute type A dissection before aortic root replacement.

Coronary malperfusion associated with aortic dissection usually requires aggressive surgical treatment or catheter revascularization. Here, we report a case of conservatively treated coronary malperfusion associated with acute type A dissection before aortic root replacement. An 81-year-old woman was rushed to our hospital in a state of circulatory shock after developing chest pain.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm with periaortic malignant lymphoma differentiated from aneurysmal rupture by clinical presentation and magnetic resonance imaging.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) associated with periaortic malignant lymphoma is difficult to differentiate from aneurysmal rupture because of similarities in their clinical presentation and appearance on computed tomography images. We here report a case of AAA associated with periaortic malignant lymphoma diagnosed preoperatively with an absence of typical symptoms, showing that AAA in periaortic malignant lymphoma can present without any clinical correlates. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to confirm the diagnosis.

Targeted delivery of adipocytokines into the heart by induced adipocyte cell-sheet transplantation yields immune tolerance and functional recovery in autoimmune-associated myocarditis in rats.

Background: Clinical prognosis is critically poor in fulminant myocarditis, while it's initiation or progression is fated, in part, by T cell-mediated autoimmunity. Adiponectin (APN) and associated adipokines were shown to be immune tolerance inducers, although the clinically relevant delivery method into target pathologies is under debate. Whether the cell sheet-based delivery system of adipokines might induce immune tolerance and functional recovery in experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) was tested.

Improvement of cardiac stem cell sheet therapy for chronic ischemic injury by adding endothelial progenitor cell transplantation: analysis of layer-specific regional cardiac function.

The transplantation of cardiac stem cell sheets (CSC sheets) is a promising therapeutic strategy for ischemic cardiomyopathy, although potential ischemia in the transplanted area remains a problem. Injected endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) can reportedly induce angiogenesis in the injected area. We hypothesized that concomitant CSC sheet transplantation and EPC injection might show better therapeutic effects for chronic ischemic injury model than the transplantation of CSC sheets alone.

Impact of cardiac stem cell sheet transplantation on myocardial infarction.

Purpose: Myocardial infarction (MI) remains a major cause of mortality because of the limited regenerative capacity of the myocardium. Transplantation of somatic tissue-derived cells into the heart has been shown to enhance the endogenous healing process, but the magnitude of its therapeutic effects is dependent upon the cell-source or cell-delivery method. We investigated the therapeutic effects of C-Kit positive cardiac cell (CSC) cell-sheet transplantation therapy in a rat model of MI.

The first clinical case in Japan of destination therapy using the Jarvik 2000 left ventricular assist device.

A 73-year-old female with a history of surgical ventricular restoration for ischemic cardiomyopathy presented with biventricular heart failure symptoms. After a Toyobo paracorporeal left ventricular assist device (LVAD) was implanted as a bridge, she underwent successful implantation of a Jarvik 2000 LVAD. This device provided excellent symptomatic improvement.

Fulminant apical ballooning syndrome after replacement of a prosthetic aortic valve.

A 70-year-old woman was readmitted to our hospital with a fever of 39 degrees C on the 30th day after replacement of a prosthetic aortic valve. She required percutaneous cardiopulmonary support for her heart failure and was weaned after 7 days. Echocardiography revealed an akinetic and aneurysmally dilated left ventricular apex and hyperdynamic basal segments.