Modified Rankin scale assessment by telephone using a simple questionnaire.

Purpose: The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) is widely used as a measure of post-stroke physical disability in clinical stroke trials; however, it is affected by inter-rater discrepancies. A Japanese version of the simplified mRS questionnaire (J-RASQ) has the potential to overcome the inter-rater discrepancies and might be feasible for clinical surveys. We aimed to determine the reliability of J-RASQ in a telephone survey administered by non-medical staff.

Validation of the obesity paradox by body mass index and waist circumference in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: The paradoxical association of obesity with mortality, named the "obesity paradox", has been inconsistent, possibly due to a difference between body mass index (BMI) and central obesity, estimated by waist circumference (WC) as patterns of adiposity.

Subjects/methods: We enrolled 8513 participants from the Kumamoto Intervention Conference Study, a multicenter registry that included consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at 18 centers between 2008 and 2017 in Japan. Patients were divided into quartiles in ascending order of the BMI or WC.

Impact of cerebrovascular comorbidity on prognosis in Japanese patients undergoing PCI: 1-year data from Japanese multicenter registry (KICS).

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are considered the principal cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; the effect of stroke-induced cardiac manifestations is well recognized; however, not enough clinical data have been found about the impact of stroke with underlying cardiac disease. This study's objective is to assess the impact of stroke on the prognosis of patients with underlying IHD, who underwent PCI treatment. This was a multicenter, 1-year observational study in patients undergoing PCI in one of the 17 participating centers across Japan.

Temporal trends in coronary intervention strategies and the impact on one-year clinical events: data from a Japanese multi-center real-world cohort study.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has significantly advanced over the last 40 years, but it is not clear whether there have been any changes in prognosis in recent years. The Kumamoto Intervention Conference Study Real-World Registry is a multi-center registry that enrolls consecutive patients undergoing PCI in 17 centers in Kyushu, Japan. To elucidate the clinical impact of recent changes in treatment strategies, 8841 consecutive participants (historical PCI: n = 4038, enrolled between January 2013 and December 2014, and current PCI: n = 4803, between January 2015 and March 2017) with 1-year follow-up data were analyzed.

Evaluation of the risk factors for neurological and neurocognitive impairment after selective cerebral perfusion in thoracic aortic surgery.

Purpose: Neurologic complications are seen often after the surgery of the thoracic aorta that uses selective antegrade cerebral perfusion. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of atherosclerotic risk factors on neurologic complications in patients who underwent surgery to the thoracic aorta using SCP.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively on 94 patients who underwent elective ascending aorta/aortic arch replacement.

Imaging-guided PCI for event suppression in Japanese acute coronary syndrome patients: community-based observational cohort registry.

Although there is accumulating evidence for the usefulness of imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), there are few studies for acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and the impact of the frequency of use has not been well addressed. From the Kumamoto Intervention Conference Study; a Japanese registry comprising 17 institutions, consecutive patients undergoing successful PCI from April 2008 through March 2014 were enrolled. Subjects were divided into two groups: imaging-guided PCI and angiography-guided PCI.

Prognostic Value of the CHADS Score for Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Coronary Artery Disease Patients Without Atrial Fibrillation-A Multi-Center Observational Cohort Study.

Background: The CHADS score has mainly been used to predict the likelihood of cerebrovascular accidents in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, increasing attention is being paid to this scoring system for risk stratification of patients with coronary artery disease. We investigated the value of the CHADS score in predicting cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events in coronary artery disease patients without atrial fibrillation.

Meningitis and Ventriculitis due to Nocardia araoensis Infection.

A 73-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with disturbance of consciousness, fever and headache. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed pleocytosis with neutrophil predominance, increased protein and low glucose. CSF and blood cultures yielded negative results.

A 1-year, prospective, observational study of Japanese outpatients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes switching from insulin glargine or detemir to insulin degludec in basal-bolus insulin therapy (Kumamoto Insulin Degludec Observational study).

Aims/introduction: The aim of the present prospective observational study was to assess long-term efficacy and safety of insulin degludec as a part of a basal-bolus therapy for Japanese patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in routine clinical practice.

Materials And Methods: In the present study, 93 type 1 diabetes patients and 135 type 2 diabetes patients treated with insulin glargine or detemir were switched from their basal insulin to insulin degludec. The primary end-points were the changes in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline at 3, 6 and 12 months.

Clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention for acute coronary syndrome between hospitals with and without onsite cardiac surgery backup.

Background: Based on the 2011 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guideline, it is recommended that PCI should be performed at hospital with onsite cardiac surgery. But, data suggest that there is no significant difference in clinical outcomes following primary or elective PCI between the two groups. We examined the impact of with or without onsite cardiac surgery on clinical outcomes following PCI for acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Comparison of the efficacy of sitagliptin and glimepiride dose-up in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes poorly controlled by sitagliptin and glimepiride in combination.

Aims/introduction: The goal of the study was to examine the effects of sitagliptin dose-up or glimepiride dose-up in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes who were controlled inadequately by sitagliptin and glimepiride in combination.

Materials And Methods: A multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label study was carried out in 50 patients with type 2 diabetes treated with sitagliptin and low-dose glimepiride. The patients were randomly assigned to receive the addition of 50 mg/day sitagliptin or 0.

Ezetimibe improves glucose metabolism by ameliorating hepatic function in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Unlabelled: Aims/Introduction:  Several experimental studies have shown that ezetimibe improves steatosis and insulin resistance in the liver. This suggests that ezetimibe may improve glucose metabolism, as well as lipid metabolism, by inhibiting hepatic lipid accumulation. Therefore, we compared HbA1c levels after 3 months ezetimibe treatment with baseline levels in patients with type 2 diabetes and examined the factors associated with reductions in HbA1c following ezetimibe administration.

Activation of PDGFr-β Signaling Pathway after Imatinib and Radioimmunotherapy Treatment in Experimental Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic cancer does not respond to a single-agent imatinib therapy. Consequently, multimodality treatments are contemplated. Published data indicate that in colorectal cancer, imatinib and radioimmunotherapy synergize to delay tumor growth.

[Successful internal jugular vein puncture with ultrasound guidance for a terminal life stage patient in sitting position].

We experienced an internal jugular vein cannulation of a terminal life stage patient suffering from serious peritonitis carcinomatosa with severely edematous limbs. He could not lie down on a bed because of dyspnea due to high abdominal pressure caused by massive ascites. We examined his internal jugular vein with ultrasound device, and found that it kept high venous pressure even in his inspiratory phase, although in sitting position.

[A case of inflammatory carcinoma, well-controlled by chemotherapy, especially, vinorelbine, S-1 and trastuzumab].

We experienced a case of inflammatory carcinoma, which has been well controlled by chemotherapy, especially, vinorelbine, S-1 and trastuzumab. A 54-year-old woman was diagnosed as inflammatory carcinoma with T4d, N3c, M0 in Stage III c. The lesion was diagnosed as invasive ductal carcinoma, scirrhous, ER(-), PgR(-), HER2(3+) by core needle biopsy, The skin lesion was diagnosed as dermal lymphatic carcinomatosis by skin biopsy.

What is artificial endocrine pancreas? Mechanism and history.

The artificial endocrine pancreas is a feedback control instrument that regulates insulin delivery on a minute-by-minute basis according to measured blood glucose levels. Only one type of bedside-type artificial endocrine pancreas is now available in Japan: STG-22 (Nikkiso Co. Ltd.

Detection of hepatocellular carcinoma using double-echo FLASH sequence during the hepatic arterial phase.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of in-phase and opposed-phase gradient-recalled echo (GRE) pulse sequences in paramagnetic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) during the hepatic arterial phase.

Material And Methods: Thirty-four patients with 84 lesions with known or suspected HCCs, nine of whom had a fatty liver, were examined with double-echo GRE techniques under 1.5T before and 30 s after injection of gadopentenate dimeglumine at a dose of 0.