[A Serious Case of Pseudomembranous Colitis in which Treatment with Endoscopic Vancomycin Sprinkling Got a Good Result].

We report herein on a 71-year-old man who developed pseudomembranous colitis (PMC). He was treated with oral metronidazole and vancomycin prescription, but deteriorated, and developed a toxic megacolon. Under paralytic ileus condition, per os and enema treatment efficacy was thought to be limited.

Double-dose pravastatin versus add-on ezetimibe with low-dose pravastatin - effects on LDL cholesterol, cholesterol absorption, and cholesterol synthesis in Japanese patients with hypercholesterolemia (PEAS study).

Aim: This study compared the effect of doubling the dose of pravastatin with that of adding ezetimibe to low-dose pravastatin on the LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) level and on cholesterol absorption and synthesis markers. The tolerability of the 2 regimens was also compared.

Methods: This was a multicenter, open-label, parallel-group trial.

A hypertriglyceridemic state increases high sensitivity C-reactive protein of Japanese men with normal glucose tolerance.

Both fasting and postprandial hypertriglyceridemia have been identified as risk markers for cardiovascular disease. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), known to independently predict future cardiovascular disease, has also been reported to be a direct participant in the progression of atherosclerosis. We evaluated whether or not fasting and/or postprandial hypertriglyceridemia influence hs-CRP of men with normal glucose tolerance.

[A case of AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma with systemic invasion].

Kaposi's sarocoma (KS) is a well-known complication of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). A 23-year-old man with AIDS complicated by multiple KS seen in January 2008 for anorexia and 10 kg weight loss had a CD4 cell count of 7/microL and a serum HIV RNA level of 29,000 copies/mL. Computed tomography (CT) and endoscopy showed multiple KS lesions in both lungs, the duodenum, small intestine, colon, liver, and both kidneys but not of the skin.

Prevalence and risk factors for diabetes: a ten year follow-up study of the Yaeyama district of Okinawa.

To clarify the prevalence and incidence of diabetes and to evaluate which risk factors are predictive of future diabetes in the general population of Okinawa, 1,690 residents were screened in 1989 and 758 were prospectively followed-up in 1999. Of the 1,690 residents surveyed in 1989 and 1, 163 in 1999, diabetes was found in 91 (5.4%) in 1989 and 52 (4.

Risk factors for and the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease and its relationship to carotid atherosclerosis: the Kyushu and Okinawa Population Study (KOPS).

Aim: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is associated with cerebrovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, and other cardiovascular disease. We investigated the prevalence of and factors related to PAD to clarify the relationship between PAD and carotid atherosclerosis in a cross-sectional population-based study.

Methods: The study included 2,402 (900 males and 1,502 females; mean+/-SD=64.

Excellent superiority and specificity of COBAS TaqMan HCV assay in an early viral kinetic change during pegylated interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin treatment.

Background: An early virological response (EVR) after the start of interferon (IFN) treatment for chronic hepatitis C leads to a successful virological outcome. To analyze an association between sustained virological response (SVR) and EVR by comparing TaqMan with Amplicor assays in HCV genotype 1-infected patients treated with pegylated (PEG)-IFN alpha-2b plus ribavirin (RBV).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a total of 80 HCV genotype 1 patients (39 SVR and 41 non-SVR patients), who received an enough dosage and a complete 48-week treatment of PEG-IFN alpha-2b plus RBV.

Efficacy and safety of ezetimibe for Japanese patients with dyslipidaemia: The ESSENTIAL Study.

Background: There are insufficient data available on the efficacy and safety of lipid-lowering therapy for patients with dyslipidaemia complicated by multiple metabolic abnormalities.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of ezetimibe 10 mg/day administered to Japanese patients with dyslipidaemia.

Methods: This was a prospective study carried out at Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.

Association of Chlamydophila pneumoniae DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and IgA antibody with atherosclerotic diseases.

An association has been demonstrated between Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) infection and atherosclerosis, but data on the relationship between C. pneumoniae DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and antibodies to this organism are lacking.

Protein-losing enteropathy during highly active antiretroviral therapy in a patient with AIDS-related disseminated Mycobacterial avium complex infection.

Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is defined as a condition in which excess protein loss into the gastrointestinal lumen, due to various causes, is severe enough to produce hypoproteinemia and hypoalbuminemia. We report a 28-year-old Japanese woman with PLE. She had been diagnosed with AIDS and disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection at age 26.

The association between fatal vascular events and risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis in patients on maintenance hemodialysis: plaque number of dialytic atherosclerosis study.

Atherosclerotic vascular diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality for end-stage renal disease patients. We followed prospectively 226 hemodialysis patients by carotid ultrasonography to determine if ultrasonographic markers are predictive of the prognosis of these patients. The end-point was death or completion of the five-year follow-up period.

Epidemiological study of hepatitis E virus infection in the general population of Okinawa, Kyushu, Japan.

Background And Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in the general population of Japan by determining presence of the antibody to HEV (anti-HEV).

Methods: The prevalence of HEV infection was determined by positivity of serum antibody to HEV (anti-HEV).

Results: On retrospective analysis, a significant decrease in anti-HEV prevalence was found in Okinawa healthy residents from 1995 (15.

Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy for severe arthritis associated with human parvovirus B19 infection.

Symptoms caused by acute human parvovirus B19 (HPV-B19) infection can vary considerably, from asymptomatic to severely symptomatic. A 39-year-old Japanese woman complained of sudden, severe arthralgia with edematous limbs coincident with an outbreak of HPV-B19 infection at the elementary school attended by her daughter. A diagnosis of acute HPV-B19 infection was made by the detection of serum antibody to HPV-B19 IgM and HPV-B19 DNA.

[AIDS-related Mycobacterium avium infection dissemination in a patient with endobronchial lesions associated with immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome].

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has dramatically decreased the incidence of HIV-1-associated morbidity and mortality. During the initial months of HAART, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), an adverse consequence of restoration of the pathogen-specific immune response, often occurred in terminal-stage in patients, with MAC infection the most frequently implicated in IRIS. In August 2004, a 26-year-old Japanese woman with fever and general lymphadenopathy was diagnosed with AIDS (HIV-1 RNA 5.

Chronic Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with peripheral arterial disease.

It is reported that Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with coronary atherosclerosis both epidemiologically and pathogenetically, but no conclusions have yet been reached. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between H. pylori infection and peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Association of hyperhomocysteinemia and Chlamydia pneumoniae infection with carotid atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease in Japanese patients.

An elevated plasma level of homocysteine (Hcy) and infection by Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) have been suggested as independent risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis (CA) and coronary artery disease (CAD), but the mechanisms involved are unclear. We investigated the correlation between positivity for antibody to C.

[Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) onset during meningitis and sepsis].

A 39-year-old man with a high fever, headache, and stiff neck, and Kernig and Brudzinski signs admitted in June 2004 had a WBC of 10,680/microL and CRP of 10.5mg/dL. Streptococcus pneumoniae was detected in blood and spinal fluid culture, but brain CT was normal.

High molecular weight form of adiponectin levels of Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to clarify the correlation between serum adiponectin level and the properties of hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Methods: A meal test was carried out for insulin resistance assessment in 81 patients with chronic HCV infection. Blood samples were taken before and after the test to measure serum insulin and plasma glucose (PG).

Transient elastography for patients with chronic hepatitis B and C virus infection: Non-invasive, quantitative assessment of liver fibrosis.

Aim/methods: The aim of the present study was to compare the diagnostic performance of transient elastography (FibroScan) with that of serum fibrosis markers and stages of hepatic fibrosis by biopsy in 68 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and in 161 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Results: The serum levels of hyaluronic acid (r = 0.601) and type IV collagen (r = 0.

Effect on carotid atherosclerosis of probucol plus levofloxacin for Chlamydia pneumoniae infection.

To investigate the effect of levofloxacin on carotid atherosclerosis, patients with hypercholesterolemia whose carotid atherosclerosis was not improved by probucol therapy (500 mg/day) for 24 months were enrolled. All patients were seropositive for anti C. pneumoniae IgA and/or IgG.

Intrafamilial transmission of Helicobacter pylori among the population of endemic areas in Japan.

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a worldwide phenomenon related to several gastrointestinal diseases. However, because many aspects concerning the route of transmission remain unclear, we performed this epidemiologic study to clarify the route of intrafamilial transmission of H.

Impact of peripheral arterial disease and acute ischemic stroke.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke, but data on the relationship between PAD and acute ischemic stroke are lacking. Therefore, we investigated this relationship. A total of 101 patients were enrolled on admission to Harasanshin General Hospital (Fukuoka, Japan) with their first ischemic stroke.

Both hepatitis C virus and Chlamydia pneumoniae infection are related to the progression of carotid atherosclerosis in patients undergoing lipid lowering therapy.

Recent experimental and epidemiological findings suggest that infectious agents may play a role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. We previously reported that Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) infection reduces the effectiveness of lipid-lowering therapy for carotid atherosclerosis and that this micro-organism may play a role in the progression of atherosclerosis.