Prasugrel effectively reduces the platelet reactivity units in patients with genetically metabolic dysfunction of cytochrome P450 2C19 who are treated with long-term dual antiplatelet therapy after undergoing drug-eluting stent implantation.

Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and P2Y inhibitor is administered following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with coronary stent implantation. Several studies have reported the effects of switching between P2Y inhibitors on platelet reactivity (P2Y reaction units: PRU), from acute to late phase after PCI. However, the effect of switching at very late phase is unknown.

Prolonged Inflation Technique Using a Scoring Balloon for Severe Calcified Lesion.

Percutaneous coronary intervention for the treatment of a severe calcified lesion is still one of the most technically challenging areas of interventional cardiology. Calcified lesions are a cause of stent underexpansion, which significantly increases the subsequent risks of in-stent restenosis and thrombosis, even when drug-eluting stents are used. In this report, we describe the usefulness of prolonged inflations using a scoring balloon catheter (Scoreflex) for severe calcified lesions.

Changes in P2Y12 reaction units after switching treatments from prasugrel to clopidogrel in Japanese patients with acute coronary syndrome followed by elective coronary stenting.

Patients with ischemic heart disease are administered a dual antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention. This consists of aspirin and thienopyridine, which can be switched from prasugrel to clopidogrel. However, the impact of switching is unknown.

[Preoperative S-1/CDDP combination chemotherapy was effective in a case of local advanced gastric cancer].

Introduction: The prognosis of type 4 advanced gastric cancer is extremely poor, even the use of multidisciplinary treatment cannot provide satisfactory results. Presented here is a case of highly advanced gastric cancer in which preoperative chemotherapy was effective and resection possible.

Case: A 64-year-old female complained of epigastric distress.

Early outgrowth EPCs generation is reduced in patients with Buerger's disease.

Background: Buerger's disease often shows poor collateral artery generation (i.e. neovascularization) in the ischemic limbs.

[A case in which intra-arterial chemotherapy for simultaneous hepatic metastases markedly improved AFP-producing gastric cancer].

The prognosis of most hepatic and lymph node metastases in AFP-producing gastric cancer is poor, and despite the use of multimodal therapy, the average survival period is reported to be approximately one year. Described here is one example in which intra-arterial chemotherapy for simultaneous hepatic metastases in AFP-producing gastric cancer achieved a marked improvement. The patient is a 65-year-old female.

Vitamin C reversed malfunction of peripheral blood-derived mononuclear cells in smokers through antioxidant properties.

Background: Smoking impairs neovascularization, possibly, through the impaired function of peripheral blood-derived mononuclear cells (PB-MNCs). Thus, the mechanism of impaired function of PB-MNCs caused by chronic smoking was examined, and whether vitamin C reversed the malfunction of PB-MNCs in smokers was investigated.

Methods And Results: The cohort comprised 27 healthy male volunteers (16 smokers and 11 age-matched non-smokers).

Management of refractory ascites by using a peritoneal dialysis system with extracorporeal ultrafiltration by hemodialysis dialyzer.

Background: The treatment of refractory ascites remains a challenge in cirrhosis with ascites and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Successful experiences with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for treatment of ESRD patients with ascites secondary to liver cirrhosis have been reported, but the CAPD modality has the drawback of protein loss and was observed to cause patients to become severely malnourished. We devised a CAPD method for treatment of ascites without protein loss.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) administration inhibits occlusive thrombus formation in rats: a possible participation of reduced intraplatelet PEDF in thrombosis of acute coronary syndromes.

Objectives: Although remarkable therapeutic advances in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) have been made with anti-platelet therapy, the therapeutic options may be limited by considerable side effects. Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has anti-oxidative properties and may play a protective role against atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigated whether PEDF prevented occlusive thrombus formation in rats.

Effect of autologous bone-marrow cell transplantation on ischemic ulcer in patients with Buerger's disease.

Background: Thromboangiitis obliterans, also known as Buerger's disease, is characterized by peripheral occlusive changes in the arteries of the upper and lower limbs and treatment is often ineffective. Intramuscular transplantation of autologous bone marrow-mononuclear cells (BM-MNC) has been recently reported as improving the symptoms and clinical manifestations in patients with severely ischemic limbs, mostly caused by arteriosclerosis obliterans. The present study focused on the patients with Buerger's disease presenting with rest pain and/or skin ulcer uncontrolled by conventional treatments.

[Two cases of inoperable gastric cancer successively treated with TS-1+CDDP as neoadjuvant chemotherapy].

CASE 1: A 30-year-old male with a loss of appetite and hematemesis was diagnosed with scirrhous gastric cancer upon detailed examination. Laparoscopic biopsy showed it to be Group V. Pre-operative diagnosis was T3N3P1HOM1, Stage V.

[Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in colorectal cancer with hepatic metastases].

We considered the appropriateness of RFA, which was performed in three cases of colorectal cancer with hepatic metastases accompanied by liver cirrhosis. Case 1 involved a patient with sigmoid colon cancer ss, n1 (+) with severe hepatic dysfunction and synchronous hepatic metastases (S5, S6, S8) in which RFA was performed. After 1 year and 6 months, recurrence (S3, S4) was detected in the residual liver, and the patient is currently undergoing the IFL (CPT-11/5-FU/Leucovorin) treatment.

[The use of radio frequency ablation (RFA) for colorectal liver metastases in one patient].

We studied one case in which the application of RFA was used for colorectal liver metastases with cirrhosis. The patient was a 51-year-old male. Sigmoid colon cancer and hepatocellular cancer (S5, S6, S8) were diagnosed before surgery.

Midpeliq reduces glucose load.

The rate of technique failure is still high in Japan for peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Of the dropouts who have been treated with PD for more than 6 years, about half suffer from ultrafiltration failure. That condition is supposedly related to the bioincompatible aspects of conventional acidic PD solutions.

[Evaluation of intraarterial infusion chemotherapy for liver metastasis from gastric cancer FEM: combination therapy of 5-FU, epirubicin and MMC].

Objective: We evaluated the effectiveness of FEM (5-FU, epirubicin, MMC) therapy.

Subjects: Data for 111 patients with liver metastasis from gastric cancer were collected from January 1977, until June 2003 (synchronous: 74 cases, asynchronous: 37 cases). Thirty patients were H1, 20 were H2 and 61 were classified as H3.

[Resection made possible following hepatic arterial infusion in 2 cases of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer].

Of 66 examples of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer, 30 cases in which resection was performed had 3- and 5-year cumulative survival rates of 66.7% and 56.8%, while in 36 cases in which resection was not possible, the percentages were 8.

[Evaluation of intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy for liver metastasis from gastric cancer FEM--combination therapy of 5 FU, Epirubicin and MMC].

Objective: We evaluated the effectiveness of FEM (5-FU, Epirubicin, MMC) therapy.

Subjects: One hundred ten cases of liver metastasis from gastric cancer were collected from January, 1977 until June, 2001 (synchronous: 74 cases, asynchronous: 36 cases). Twenty-nine cases were H1, 20 cases were H2 and 61 cases were H3.