Detection and serotype distribution of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in cardiovascular specimens from Japanese patients

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, an important pathogen in periodontitis, has also been detected in cardiovascular tissues. Sixty heart valves were collected during valve replacement surgery from 60 patients (one from each), 10 were from patients with infective endocarditis (IE group) and 50 were from patients with other valvular diseases (non-IE group). In addition, 46 samples of aneurysmal tissue were taken from 46 patients with a thoracic or abdominal aneurysm (Aneurysm group, one from each). Dental plaque samples were taken from 54 of the patients, 31 in the IE and non-IE groups and 23 in the aneurysm group. First, the distribution of A. actinomycetemcomitans in all specimens was analysed using a polymerase chain reaction method, which resulted in a positive reaction in 33 (31.1%) of the cardiovascular specimens and 25 (46.3%) of the dental plaque samples. Next, using serotype-specific sets of primers, the serotype distribution of A. actinomycetemcomitans in the cardiovascular specimens and dental plaque samples was found to be significantly different compared to dental plaque samples from Japanese subjects reported previously.     

Endoscopic imaging modalities for diagnosing the invasion depth of superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review

Esophagus - Endoscopic diagnosis of the invasion depth of superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an important determinant of the treatment strategy. The three endoscopic imaging...     

Lithium therapy and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker levels in Alzheimer's disease

Recent studies suggest that lithium may retard pathological deterioration by inhibiting aberrant phosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we describe three cases of AD who were treated with lithium for agitation. However, there was no obvious improvement either in global cognition, agitation or cerebrospinal fluid markers that were thought to reflect Alzheimer's pathology. Increased dosages of lithium were not tolerated by the patients because of adverse effects. It is likely that AD patients do not benefit from lithium therapy as an alternative choice of treatment.     

Left ventricular dysfunction and remodeling in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

BACKGROUND: It is not fully clarified how diabetes mellitus (DM)-induced cardiac dysfunction is associated with histopathological changes of the heart in a long lasting period of DM. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eighteen weeks after a streptozotocin injection was given to Wistar - Kyoto rats (D rats), echocardiography and hemodynamic studies including the dobutamine infusion test were performed. After perfusion fixation, immunofluorescent staining and histopathology of the heart were analyzed, and analysis with electron microscopy was also conducted. Systolic blood pressure in the conscious state and left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction by 2-dimensional echocardiography were reduced in D rats. LV mechanical responses to dobutamine assessed by maximal LV pressure derivative (+LVdP/dt) also decreased with higher dobutamine doses in D rats. Although LV and right ventricular (RV) wall thickness were smaller in D rats, there were increased RV volumes, indicating LV and RV dilatational remodeling in D rats. The cardiomyocyte transverse diameter and actin staining in cardiomyocytes in both the LV and RV were significantly reduced, and capillary tortuosity and type IV collagen were increased, indicating microangiopathy in D rats. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced insulin-dependent DM incurred not only RV remodeling but also overt resting LV systolic dysfunction and decreased LV responsiveness to beta adrenergic stimulation with dilatational remodeling, accompanied by pathological changes of capillaries and cardiomyocytes including actin filaments.