Coffee consumption is inversely associated with depressive status in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Depression has been reported to be more prevalent among diabetic patients than non-diabetic individuals. Although depression and diabetes are causally and bi-directionally related, the influence of food intake frequency on depressive symptoms in diabetic patients has not been fully evaluated. This cross-sectional study analyzed data obtained from 89 patients with type 2 diabetes who completed self-administered questionnaires regarding food intake frequency, diabetic variables, physical activity and depressive states.

Atorvastatin induces associated reductions in platelet P-selectin, oxidized low-density lipoprotein, and interleukin-6 in patients with coronary artery diseases.

The development and progression of atherosclerosis comprises various processes, such as endothelial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, thrombus formation, and lipid profile modification. Statins are 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors that have pleiotropic effects in addition to cholesterol-lowering properties. However, the mechanisms of these effects are not completely understood.

The echocardiographic Tei-index reflects early myocardial damage induced by anthracyclines in patients with hematological malignancies.

Anthracyclines are antineoplastic agents that are effective against solid tumors and hematological malignancies. However, drug-induced cardiotoxicity imposes dose limitations. Myocardial damage due to anthracyclines has been assessed by measuring left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) or fraction shortening (FS) by echocardiography and criteria for discontinuing treatment have been established based on these indexes.

Acute pulmonary embolism after an earthquake in Japan.

There have been no reports on acute pulmonary embolism (APE) after earthquakes. Our aim was to clarify the actual the occurrence of APE following the 2004 Mid Niigata Prefecture earthquake in Japan, and to assess the risk factors for APE after the event. We sent questionnaires to 122 hospitals in the Niigata Prefecture after the earthquake.

[Case of bronchial asthma complicated with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy after frequent epinephrine medication].

A 62-year-old man with non-topic severe persistent asthma and chronic obstructive disease suffered severe asthma exacerbation. Epinephrine was repeatedly injected subcutaneously (0.3mg x 8 times in four hours) in addition to intravenous methylprednisolone for his severe asthma.

Diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for acute pulmonary thromboembolism.

Background: The diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE) was published by the Japanese Circulation Society. But in Japan, there has been no report on how to improve the pre-test probability in APTE-suspected cases, to determine a practically available diagnostic strategy, nor has been a report that compares diagnostic methods and therapies for APTE by decision analysis.

Methods And Results: APTE was found in 66.

A case of asymptomatic fusiform aneurysm of the superior vena cava detected by magnetic resonance imaging.

A rare case of fusiform aneurysm of the superior vena cava (SVC) in a 65-year-old Japanese woman is presented herein. Aneurysm of the SVC was detected incidentally as widening of the upper mediastinum on chest radiography and was further defined using magnetic resonance imaging, venography and chest computed tomography. Based on previous reports, conservative management was planned with anticoagulation therapy as prophylaxis against thrombotic complications rather than surgical resection for aneurysm.

[A case of multiple pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae associated with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia that deteriorated during pregnancy].

A 29-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of persistent breathlessness on exertion after the delivery of her second child. Although at the age of 26 she had been given a diagnosis of multiple pulmonary arteriovenous fistula (PAVF), treatment was not done because of the absence of symptoms. An intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) due to hypoxemia occurred during the second pregnancy, and then she delivered a 1,283g baby by cesarean section in the 36th gestation week.

Risk factors of acute pulmonary thromboembolism in Japanese patients hospitalized for medical illness: results of a multicenter registry in the Japanese society of pulmonary embolism research.

Background: Although the prophylaxis of acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE) in hospitalized patients has been improving in Japan, there is no report concerning APTE of Japanese medical patients. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the characteristics of APTE in Japanese patients hospitalized for medical illness, through a retrospective study.

Methods: In a total of 1,438 registry patients with pulmonary thromboembolism for recent 10 years, 1,027 patients with APTE were analyzed with respect to underlying diseases or predisposing factors, and clinical course.

Intimal sarcoma of the pulmonary artery: report of an autopsy case.

Primary pulmonary artery sarcomas (PASs) are rare and lethal tumors. They are easily misdiagnosed as chronic pulmonary embolism, mediastinal mass or tumor emboli, which delay a proper treatment. Although the advanced technologies are now increasingly being used, their diagnosis is usually hard to establish preoperatively at the present time.

Clinical characteristics, diagnosis and management of patients with pulmonary thromboembolism who are not diagnosed in the acute phase and not classified as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Background: There have been many cases of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) that were not diagnosed in the acute phase and not classified as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The aim of the present study was clarify the clinical characteristics of chronic PTE.

Methods And Results: The study subjects were 601 patients (chronic PTE = 92, acute PTE = 456, CTEPH = 53) who were clinically diagnosed before their death.

Chest pain and ST segment depression caused by expansion of gastric tube used for esophageal reconstruction.

We describe a 76-year-old man in whom a gastric tube was used for esophageal reconstruction via the anterior mediastinum after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Stenosis of the tube resulted in fluid accumulation, which directly compressed the heart and caused angina-like chest pain associated with ST-segment depression in lead V(2-3) on the electrocardiogram (ECG). Coronary angiography revealed no stenosis.

Effectiveness and safety of the thrombolytic therapy for acute pulmonary thromboembolism: results of a multicenter registry in the Japanese Society of Pulmonary Embolism Research.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and safety of thrombolytic treatment for acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE), especially in the hemodynamically stable patients with right ventricular afterload stress.

Methods And Results: In a total of 221 patients with APTE, the association between thrombolytic treatment and the clinical outcomes were investigated. Thrombolysis was given to 121 patients (Thrombolytic Group), and the remaining 100 patients were treated with anticoagulation alone (Anticoagulation Group).

Chemistry and antioxidative activity of hot water extract of Japanese radish (daikon).

The comparison of antioxidative activity between the hot water extract and ambient water extract of Japanese radish (daikon) was carried out. The activity of the hot water extract was higher than that of the ambient water extract. One of the antioxidants was isolated as L-tryptophan that should no change in its amount that was determined between the hot water extract and ambient water extract.

Evaluation of venous thromboembolism and coagulation-fibrinolysis markers in Japanese patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Arterial or venous thromboembolism is rarely encountered clinically as an extradigestive tract complication in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, it is one of the important prognostic factors for IBD patients. The present study was designed to evaluate the relationship between pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with coagulation-fibrinolysis markers in patients with active IBD.

Antiapoptotic activity of Akt is down-regulated by Ca2+ in myocardiac H9c2 cells. Evidence of Ca(2+)-dependent regulation of protein phosphatase 2Ac.

Cell survival signaling of the Akt/protein kinase B pathway was influenced by a change in the cytoplasmic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) for over 2 h via the regulation of a Ser/Thr phosphatase, protein phosphatase 2Ac (PP2Ac), in rat myocardiac H9c2 cells. Akt was down-regulated when [Ca2+]i was elevated by thapsigargin, an inhibitor of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase, but was up-regulated when it was suppressed by 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetra(acetoxymethyl)ester (BAPTA-AM), a cell permeable Ca2+ chelator. The inactivation of Akt was well correlated with the susceptibility to oxidant-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells.

Inferior vena cava filter is a new additional therapeutic option to reduce mortality from acute pulmonary embolism.

Background: There are few reports that examine the current imaging and management techniques according to the severity of acute pulmonary embolism (APE) or that clarify whether the management strategy ameliorated the mortality from APE.

Methods And Results: The study group were 456 patients with APE who were clinically diagnosed before their death. The severity at diagnosis, and the imaging and management techniques were analyzed.

The use of a hydrophilic-coated catheter during transradial cardiac catheterization is associated with a low incidence of radial artery spasm.

Background: Radial artery spasm (RAS) is a common complication of transradial approach (TRA) to percutaneous coronary angiography (CAG) and coronary intervention. Lower friction resistance between catheter and RA wall may reduce RAS upon insertion, manipulation, and withdrawal of the catheter. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of a hydrophilic-coated (HC) catheter, which has lower friction coefficient, could reduce the incidence of RAS compared with a non-hydrophilic-coated (NHC) catheter.

Chronic visceral hypersensitivity renders defecation more susceptible to stress via a serotonergic pathway in rats.

Visceral hypersensitivity, intestinal dysmotility, and stress play major roles in irritable bowel syndrome. However, the significance of visceral hypersensitivity in stress-induced changes of colorectal motor function is not conclusive. A rat model of chronic visceral hypersensitivity was induced by mechanical colorectal irritation during postnatal development.

[Haemostatic molecular markers].

Because a significant number of the deaths caused by acute (massive) pulmonary thromboembolism occur within the hours after the onset of symptoms, its early diagnosis is very important. The gold standard diagnostic tests for venous thromboembolism (VTE), contrast venography and pulmonary angiography, respectively, are invasive, expensive, not readily available, and labor intensive. A diagnostic tool for VTE is needed that is noninvasive and highly accurate, allowing immediate treatment decisions to be made in most cases.

Oxidative modulation of NF-kappaB signaling by oxidized low-density lipoprotein.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) modifies macrophage inflammatory responses in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In the present study, we focused on gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-GCS), a rate limiting enzyme of glutathione synthesis, and examined whether inflammatory stimulation of gamma-GCS gene in macrophages by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is modified when the cells were exposed to oxLDL. We found that the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB)-mediated induction of gamma-GCS by LPS (100 ng/ml) was suppressed by a 48-h pre-treatment with oxLDL (50 micro/ml), and this was due to a decrease in the DNA-binding activity of NF-kappaB.

Role of autonomic nervous dysfunction in electrocardio-graphic abnormalities and cardiac injury in patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Electrocardiographic abnormalities, cardiac injury, and autonomic nervous function were investigated in patients with acute-phase subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) (42 patients with SAH related to ruptured aneurysm and 42 control subjects). Electrocardiogram and Holter electrocardiogram for spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded. Concentrations of cardiogenic enzymes (ie, creatine kinase-myocardial fraction [CK-MB], myosin light chain I, and troponin T), plasma concentrations of catecholamine (ie, noradrenaline, adrenaline, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylethylene glycol [MHPG]) and HRV were compared in the acute and chronic phase of SAH, and with the values in the controls subjects.

Recent developments in diagnostic imaging techniques and management for acute pulmonary embolism: multicenter registry by the Japanese Society of Pulmonary Embolism Research.

Objective: There are many reports on the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism (APE), but there have been no investigations concerning the actual conditions in which recent developments in diagnostic imaging techniques and therapies have been applied in clinical practice. The present study was designed to investigate the changes in diagnostic imaging techniques and therapies for APE.

Methods And Patients: Three hundred and nine APE patients diagnosed during January 1994-October 1997 (Group 1) were compared with 257 APE patients diagnosed during November 1997-October 2000 (Group 2) in terms of the diagnostic imaging techniques and therapies for APE.