Association between dynapenic obesity and risk of cardiovascular disease: The Hisayama study.

Background: Dynapenic obesity is a condition characterized by high adiposity levels combined with muscle dysfunction. Although high adiposity and muscle loss/dysfunction are thought to synergistically increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), few studies have addressed the association between dynapenic and sarcopenic obesity and CVD. We aimed to investigate the association of dynapenic obesity with incident CVD events using the data from a population-based prospective longitudinal study in Japan.

Association of sarcopenia with regional brain atrophy and white matter lesions in a general older population: the Hisayama Study.

Sarcopenia has been reported to be associated with cognitive decline and the risk of dementia. However, few studies have addressed the association between sarcopenia and brain morphological changes in the general population. A total of 1373 community-dwelling participants aged ≥ 65 years underwent brain MRI.

Association between masticatory function, frailty, and functional disability: an observational study.

Background: Increase in functional disability in aging societies is an international medical and public health issue. Masticatory function may be a potential risk factor for functional disability, but the role of frailty in the association has not been clarified.

Methods: Forty thousand five hundred sixty-two community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and over who were insured by public health insurance as of April 2018 were followed up for a median of 3.

Database profile of the Fukuoka-City Information Platform for Community-based Integrated Care.

Background: The Fukuoka-City Information Platform for Community-based Integrated Care is an advanced big data platform that aggregates information on the health and medical services of Fukuoka citizens. Fukuoka City is engaged in a joint project with Kyushu University to promote policy making through a large-scale real-world data analysis. This paper describes the framework for this cooperative effort and the features of the analytical platform.

Association of gait speed with regional brain volumes and risk of dementia in older Japanese: The Hisayama study.

Background: To investigate the association of gait speed with regional brain volumes and the risk of incident dementia.

Methods: A total of 1112 dementia-free Japanese residents aged ≥65 years who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging were followed for 5.0 years (median).

Deep peroneal nerve has a potential risk of injury during open-wedge high tibial osteotomy.

Purpose: To assess the risk of injury to the neurovascular bundle on the interosseous membrane of the leg during drilling for distal screw insertion in open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO), and to investigate the possible influence of the method of plate placement on the risk.

Methods: This retrospective study involved, 55 patients (32 with a TomoFix plate, 23 with a TriS plate) who underwent postoperative CT scanning of the knee following OWHTO between 2009 and 2018. The angle and position of the locking plate, and the direction of screw insertion relative to the interosseous membrane were analysed.

Computational prediction of plasma protein binding of cyclic peptides from small molecule experimental data using sparse modeling techniques.

Background: Cyclic peptide-based drug discovery is attracting increasing interest owing to its potential to avoid target protein depletion. In drug discovery, it is important to maintain the biostability of a drug within the proper range. Plasma protein binding (PPB) is the most important index of biostability, and developing a computational method to predict PPB of drug candidate compounds contributes to the acceleration of drug discovery research.

Mitral annulus displacement measured by tissue-tracking method with Doppler-tissue images is a useful marker of the severity of heart failure.

Objectives: This study investigated whether the measurement of mitral annulus displacement by the tissue-tracking method with Doppler-tissue images can provide more accurate information on the severity of heart failure compared to conventional methods, such as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Background: Impaired left ventricular function is an important predictor of poor prognosis. Although LVEF has been used to assess left ventricular function, such indicators do not necessarily correlate well to clinical variables such as New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class or plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration.

Postprandial increase in plasma concentrations of remnant-like particles: an independent risk factor for restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Postprandial increase in remnant lipoprotein concentrations has been suggested as an important atherogenic factor. However, the influence of these remnants on the development of restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains to be examined. The present study was designed to address this point.

Improvement of coronary vasomotion with eicosapentaenoic acid does not inhibit acetylcholine-induced coronary vasospasm in patients with variant angina.

Impaired function of the endothelium may be a mechanism of the coronary vasospasm induced by acetylcholine. We examined whether purified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a major component of fish oil, improves the coronary vasomotion in response to acetylcholine, and the effect of purified EPA on acetylcholine (ACh)-induced coronary vasospasm in 22 patients with variant angina. ACh was infused into the coronary artery both before and after 4 months of EPA treatment (EPA 1.

Effects of continuous intravenous infusion of isosorbide dinitrate on development of tolerance to vasodilating action in human epicardial coronary arteries.

This study was performed to determine the effects of long-term intravenous infusion on the coronary vasodilating actions of continuous intravenous and bolus intracoronary administration of isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN). With quantitative coronary angiography, the coronary diameter and the vasodilating response to intracoronary ISDN (1 mg) at angiographically normal segments were studied before and after intravenous administration of ISDN, 10 to 60 micrograms/min for 1 hour, 2 days, or 5 days. The vasodilating effects of intravenous ISDN were 72% +/- 13%, 65% +/- 21%, and 6% +/- 11% of the response to intracoronary ISDN in the baseline study in each group.

Prevalence and pathogenesis of silent myocardial ischemia following myocardial infarction.

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and pathogenesis of silent myocardial ischemia during exercise following myocardial infarction. Exercise-induced myocardial ischemia was assessed by 201Tl-SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) 4.5 weeks after acute myocardial infarction in 229 patients.

[Myocardial infarct size and left ventricular function in diabetic patients].

We determined the relationship between myocardial infarct size (MIS) estimated by electrocardiographic measurements of infarct size (QRS score) and left ventricular function estimated by angiographically left ventricular ejection fraction (EF). MIS estimated by QRS score were the same in both DM and NDM (5.2 +/- 0.

[A mediating role of physiological arousal in social facilitation].

An experiment was conducted to examine the mediating role of physiological arousal in social facilitation. It was hypothesized that the elevation of arousal level by the presence of other persons or evaluative apprehension would facilitate task performance. Twenty-four male and 24 female college students performed simple task alone, with a cooperative person, or with a competitive person.

Preservation of endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the spastic segment of the human epicardial coronary artery by substance P.

The objective of this study was to determine if endothelium-dependent vasodilation is preserved in the spastic segment of the epicardial coronary artery. Segmental responses of the coronary artery to substance P were examined by the use of a quantitative angiographic technique in 21 patients with variant angina. Coronary diameter at the basal state did not differ between the spastic and the nonspastic segments (2.

IgG-kappa type multiple myeloma in alcoholic cirrhosis--a case report.

Transition from polyclonal to monoclonal gammopathy resulted in myeloma in the course of cirrhosis is rare but of interest. We treated such a case of multiple myeloma of IgG-kappa type associated with alcoholic cirrhosis. The case was a 72-year-old Japanese male patient who was admitted because of ascites and edema.

Early diastolic filling dynamics during experimental mitral regurgitation in the conscious dog.

Diastolic flow into the left ventricle during mitral regurgitation must increase as total stroke volume increases in response to the volume overload. The mechanisms that allow augmented diastolic filling are not fully defined. Accordingly, the left ventricle of five dogs was instrumented with a micromanometer and sonomicrometers and studied during the conscious state before (control) and after the creation of significant mitral regurgitation.

The usefulness of equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography in the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia and a report of cases of a familial occurrence.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) is a recently identified clinical entity and its diagnosis rests on documentation of ventricular tachycardia (VT) of right ventricular origin and morphologic changes of the right ventricle. However, the diagnosis of ARVD is difficult noninvasively and often requires angiography. The usefulness of equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography as a noninvasive method for the diagnosis of ARVD has not been fully evaluated.

Isolated right heart purulent pericarditis forming a large mediastinal mass.

A 40-year-old man developed cardiomegaly with protrusion of the right heart border following staphylococcal endocarditis. Computed tomography of the chest revealed a large anterior mediastinal mass. Hemodynamic pressure curves presented features similar to those of constrictive pericarditis.

The development of the entire end-systolic pressure-volume and ejection fraction-afterload relations: a new concept of systolic myocardial stiffness.

In this study we introduce a new concept of systolic myocardial stiffness that extends the Suga-Sagawa maximum ventricular elastance concept to the myocardium. End-systole is defined as the time of maximum systolic myocardial stiffness (max Eav), which we examined for its load independence and sensitivity to changes in the inotropic state and to heart rate. Seven adult mongrel dogs were instrumented with ultrasonic crystals for measurements of long and short axes and left ventricular wall thickness, and a high-fidelity micromanometer was inserted for measurement of left ventricular pressures.

A beat-to-beat calculator for the diastolic pressure time index and the tension time index.

We have developed a beat-to-beat calculator which can calculate in real-time the ratio of the diastolic pressure time index (DPTI), and the tension time index (TTI) as an index of the myocardial oxygen supply/demand balance. Physicians set up presumed value for the left ventricular endodiastolic pressure, a search area for the dicrotic notch, a threshold for the onset of the up-slope and the corresponding value of the calibration signal on the digital switches of the calculator. Next, the arterial pressure analog signal is input into the calculator.

Application of end-systolic pressure-volume and pressure-wall thickness relations in conscious dogs.

The usefulness of end-systolic measures of ventricular function was compared with that of standard contractility indexes in conscious dogs. End-systolic relations between left ventricular pressure and volume and between pressure and wall thickness were analyzed in dogs previously instrumented with ultrasonic crystals. Progressive angiotensin infusions were used to generate computer-averaged pressure-volume and pressure-wall thickness loops.

Experimental exercise-induced ischemia: drug therapy can eliminate regional dysfunction and oxygen supply-demand imbalance.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that moderately severe exercise-induced regional myocardial ischemia can be prevented by combined pharmacologic intervention. Eight chronically instrumented dogs were studied using an ameroid constrictor to produce critical stenosis of the left circumflex coronary artery. The dogs were studied during steady state treadmill exercise that induced regional myocardial dysfunction (reduced systolic wall thickening; sonomicrometers) and ischemia (reduced subendocardial blood flow; microspheres).

Preload reserve and mechanisms of afterload mismatch in normal conscious dog.

Preload reserve and mechanisms of afterload mismatch were examined in 10 normal conscious dogs. The left ventricular (LV) pressure, wall thickness, and external major and minor axis diameters (sonomicrometry) were measured during sinus rhythm, and beat-averaged pressure-volume loops were generated. With maximum angiotensin II infusion, LV end-diastolic volume (EDV) increased by 13 +/- 2% (SEM), LV peak pressure (LVSP) increased by 44 +/- 6%, and stroke volume decreased by 12 +/- 3% (P less than 0.