Effects of azilsartan compared with telmisartan on insulin resistance in patients with essential hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus: An open-label, randomized clinical trial.

Background: Based on non-clinical data, it is expected that azilsartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, will help improve insulin resistance in addition to its hypotensive action. The present study is aimed to explore the effect of azilsartan compared to telmisartan on insulin sensitivity in hypertensive patients in the clinical setting.

Methods: This multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-group exploratory study was conducted in Japan.

Conservative Treatment for Idiopathic Adrenal Hemorrhage Tracked by a Long-term Series of CT Images.

A 55-year-old man was transported to our hospital after a sudden onset of left lower abdominal pain while driving. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdominal region revealed an extensive iso-intense signal region that had a maximum area of 14×15 cm, which we treated conservatively. A series of follow-up CT images showed the gradual decrease of the left peritoneal mass, while continuity with the left adrenal gland became apparent.

Osmotic demyelination syndrome complicating diabetes with anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies and Graves' disease: A case report.

ODS associated with hyperglycemia is rare, with few reports.Immune responses have been recently reported as a mechanism of ODS onset. In the present case, an autoimmune predisposition may have contributed to ODS pathogenesis.

Adipsia increases risk of death in patients with central diabetes insipidus.

Central diabetes insipidus (CDI) is caused by deficiency of arginine vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone. Patients with CDI manifest polyuria which is usually compensated for by increases in water intake. However, some patients are not able to sense thirst due to the destruction of osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus.

[Analysis of thyroid lesions in childhood recipients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation].

We performed a physical examination and ultrasonography of the thyroid gland in 24 patients who had received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with a total-body irradiation (TBI)-containing regimen during childhood. When ultrasonography revealed thyroid nodules larger than 1 cm in diameter, fine-needle aspiration biopsies were performed. Of 5 patients with palpable masses and thyroid nodules larger than 1 cm, adenomatous goiter was diagnosed in 4 cases and thyroid cancer in 1.

Genetic and epigenetic states of the GNAS complex in pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ib using methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assay.

Context: Pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ib (PHP-Ib) is a rare disorder resulting from genetic and epigenetic aberrations in the GNAS complex. PHP-Ib, usually defined by renal resistance to parathyroid hormone, is due to a maternal loss of GNAS exon A/B methylation and leads to decreased expression of the stimulatory G protein α (Gsα) in specific tissues.

Objective: To clarify the usefulness of methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA), we evaluated genetic and epigenetic changes of the GNAS locus in Japanese PHP-Ib patients.

Short-term effects of β-adrenergic antagonists and methimazole in new-onset thyrotoxicosis caused by Graves' disease.

Objective: β-adrenergic antagonists (β-blockers) are often used to attenuate the hyperadrenergic symptoms of Graves' disease (GD), including palpitation. Although β-blockers reduce the heart rate, cardiac output and oxygen consumption, no firm evidence exists regarding the effects of combined therapy with β-blockers and anti-thyroid drugs. The objective is to elucidate the effects of β-blockers on anti-thyroid drug therapy in GD.

Diurnal changes in arginine vasopressin gene transcription in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus.

The diurnal changes in arginine vasopressin (AVP) mRNA and heteronuclear (hn) RNA, an indicator for gene transcription, were examined in the hypothalamus of Sprague-Dawley rats using in situ hybridization. AVP hnRNA levels in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) varied during a 24-h cycle and showed a peak at day-time [Zeitgeber time (ZT) 5], which preceded the peak in AVP mRNA levels by 4 h. AVP hnRNA was undetectable at ZT 13 and 17, indicating that the gene transcription was almost shut down at these time points.