Carotid arterial circumferential strain by two-dimensional speckle tracking: a novel parameter of arterial elasticity

Recently, the development of two-dimensional speckle-tracking (2DST) technology has allowed the direct measurement of the elastic parameters of the carotid arterial wall. The aims of this study were to determine the feasibility of measuring peak circumferential strain (CS) of the carotid arterial wall using 2DST and to compare this value with conventional arterial stiffness parameters in subjects with and without hypertension. The study included 90 healthy subjects and 40 age-and sex-matched patients with hypertension. The short-axis view of the right common carotid artery was recorded. The CS in the posterior region of the carotid artery was calculated by 2DST using special software and corrected by the following equation: ?(circ)=ln (systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure)/CS. We simultaneously measured the stiffness index β (β) at the same location and the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Sixty randomly selected healthy subjects were used to assess the inter/intra-observer variability of ?(circ) and β. In healthy subjects, ?(circ) was significantly correlated with β, age and baPWV. These correlations were slightly better than the corresponding correlations of β with age and baPWV. The hypertensive patients had a significantly larger ?(circ) than the healthy subjects (0.112±0.074 vs. 0.066±0.029/%, P<0.001). The inter/intra-observer variability for ?(circ) was significantly lower than that for β. Our data suggest that the measurement of carotid ?(circ) using 2DST is feasible and has better reproducibility than conventional carotid arterial stiffness.     

Insulin resistance in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether or not insulin resistance is present in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and also whether it is related to the clinical manifestations of HCM. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study group comprised 55 patients with HCM, 35 with essential hypertension (EHT) and 15 normotensive control subjects (NC). An insulin resistance index was estimated using the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) of fasting insulin - glucose interactions. In patients with HCM, prognosis and cardiovascular events were also checked. The HOMA-IR values in the HCM group (2.90+/-1.22) were significantly higher than those in the EHT (1.69+/-0.77) and NC groups (0.91+/-0.24). The HOMA-IR values in the EHT group were significantly higher than those in the NC group. Multiple regression analyses determined that left ventricular pressure gradient without provocation (p<0.0001), interventricular septal thickness (p=0.0143) and body mass index (p=0.0412) were independent determinants of insulin resistance in patients with HCM. During a mean follow-up of 105+/-50 months, 4 patients with HCM died suddenly and all of them had high HOMA-IR values. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that patients with HCM without apparent diabetes mellitus or hypertension have insulin resistance and that insulin resistance may be related to the manifestations of HCM.     

Evidence from large clinical trials for Japanese hypertensive patients

Large-scale clinical trials for the hypertensive patients have been carried out in Japan. Double-blind, placebo-controlled large clinical trials in Europe and USA showed that antihypertensive drugs prevented cardiovascular disease. Recently large clinical trials carried out in Japan. These clinical trials have shown that the onset rate of the heart vascular disease in Japanese hypertensive patients, the factor which influenced the onset of the cardiovascular disease, and the suppressant effect of cardiovascular disease of different antihypertensive drug class.     

Klotho predicts good clinical outcome in patients with limited-disease small cell lung cancer who received surgery

Background

The important role of surgery in early-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has been recognized, and curative surgical resection is recommended. However, the role of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage I SCLC has not yet been evaluated, and novel approaches focusing on the specific genomic characteristics of SCLC may be invaluable for customized therapy. In this study, we focused on the Klotho gene, which is an anti-aging gene known to be a potential tumor suppressor. We investigated whether the expression of Klotho, assessed by immunohistochemistry, can predict survival in patients with resected SCLC.

Methods

The medical records of patients diagnosed as having limited-disease (LD) SCLC and treated by surgical resection (n = 30) at Tokyo Medical University Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The expression status of Klotho, and of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters MRP1, MDR and breast cancer resistant protein (BCRP), which can cause resistance to anticancer drugs, including irinotecan, was assessed by immunohistochemical analysis in resected surgical specimens of patients with early-stage SCLC.

Results

Of the 30 patients, Klotho expression was seen in the specimens from 18 patients (60.0%), but not in those of the remaining 12 patients (40.0%). The immunostaining for Klotho was mostly localized in the cytoplasm. The expression of Klotho was significantly associated with the overall survival (OS) (ratio 0.088; 95% confidence interval 0.019-0.409; P = 0.002). The administration of perioperative chemotherapy had no significant effect in improving the survival, as assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. However, the patients showing Klotho expression in the resected specimens in p-stage I and II, may have benefited from perioperative chemotherapy. A multivariate analysis revealed no significant association between the expression status of MRP1, MDR or BCRP and the OS.

Conclusion

Expression of Klotho was predictive of a favorable outcome following resection in limited-disease SCLC patients, and the Klotho expression status may serve as a new biomarker for the need of additional therapies to be developed in the future.     

Myocardial fibrosis attenuates the effect of cibenzoline on left ventricular diastolic function in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and the effect of cibenzoline (CBZ) on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients. Echocardiography before and after intravenous CBZ (1.4 mg/kg over 5 minutes) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed in 22 consecutive patients with HCM [mean age: 65 ± 14 years, obstructive HCM: 14, nonobstructive HCM (HNCM): 8]. The extent of LGE (%LGE = LGE volume/total LV volume) was obtained by contrast-enhanced MRI using custom software. LGE was observed in 19 patients (mean %LGE = 5.1% ± 3.9%). The propagation velocity of LV early filling flow (Vp) increased significantly in patients with obstructive HCM (26 ± 7 to 36 ± 14 cm/s, P = 0.001) and nonobstructive HCM (25 ± 9 to 36 ± 16 cm/s, P = 0.007). A significant negative correlation was observed between the change in Vp and %LGE in patients with HCM (r = 20.542, P = 0.009). Less extensive myocardial fibrosis, as demonstrated by LGE on contrast-enhanced MRI, may predict the ability of CBZ to improve LV diastolic function in HCM.