Relation of atrial fibrillation to glomerular filtration rate

Although both atrial fibrillation (AF) and decreasing glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are strongly related to advanced age and share common associated vascular risk factors, few studies have explored the relation between AF and GFR. From residents (age >or=40 years) in Kurashiki City, a total of 41,417 subjects (median age 72 years; 13,956 men) were enrolled in the Kurashiki City Annual Medical Survey from May to December 2006. The estimated overall prevalence of AF was 1.6% (2.8% in the low-GFR tertile, 1.2% in the middle tertile, and 0.9% in the high tertile, p <0.001). After all subjects were categorized into age tertiles (age thresholds 68 and 76 years), AF was identified in 0.9% in the low-GFR tertile, 0.6% in the middle tertile, and 0.5% in the high tertile in the low-age tertile (p = 0.018); 2.6% in the low-GFR tertile, 1.2% in the middle tertile, and 1.1% in the high tertile in the middle-age tertile (p <0.001); and 3.9% in the low-GFR tertile, 2.4% in the middle tertile, and 1.7% in the high tertile in the high-age tertile (p <0.001). The odds ratio for AF adjusted for age, gender, vascular risk factors, cardiac disease, and hemoglobin was 1.91 (95% confidence interval 1.54 to 2.38, p <0.001) for the low-GFR tertile versus the high tertile and 1.12 (95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.42, p = 0.364) for the middle-GFR tertile versus the high tertile. The prevalence of AF gradually increased with decreasing GFR. In conclusion, AF appears to be associated with decreasing GFR.     

Thyroid hormone regulation of apoptosis induced by retinoic acid in promyeloleukemic HL-60 cells: studies with retinoic acid receptor-specific and retinoid x receptor-specific ligands.

3,5,3'-Triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) potentiates apoptosis during the all-trans-retinoic acid-induced differentiation of promyeloleukemic HL-60 cells. We examined whether the retinoid receptor-specific thyroid hormone action is present during differentiation of HL-60 cells in this study. We used two distinct retinoid receptor agonists. T3 potentiates G1 arrest induced by Am80, a retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-specific agonist, but had no effect on G1 arrest induced by HX600, a retinoid x receptor (RXR)-specific agonist. Am80 alone induces the apoptosis, and T3 enhances it. Although HX600 alone fails to increase the apoptotic fraction, T3 enables the compounds to induce apoptosis. Am80-induced expression of CD11b, a marker for the differentiation, is enhanced by T3. However, T3 or HX600 or both do not affect the expression of CD11b. T3 does not alter the amount of mRNAs of various members of the bcl-2 family. T3, however, enhances the Am80-induced expression of bfl-1 and suppression of bcl-2. In contrast, T3 does not alter either bfl-1 and bcl-2 expression in the presence of HX600. Our observations suggest that cooperative action of T3 with an RXR-specific ligand is different from that with an RAR ligand in cellular apoptotic regulation and that thyroid hormone may be available as a chemotherapeutic agent in acute leukemia.     

Metallic crown-induced occlusal trauma as a protocol to evaluate inflammatory response in temporomandibular joint and periodontal tissues of rats

Clinical Oral Investigations - The goal of this study is to propose a standard protocol of experimental occlusal trauma to evaluate the inflammatory hyperalgesia induced by metallic crowns on...     

Rapid Identification and Subtyping of Helicobacter cinaedi Strains by Intact-Cell Mass Spectrometry Profiling with the Use of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

Helicobacter cinaedi infection is recognized as an increasingly important emerging disease in humans. Although H. cinaedi-like strains have been isolated from a variety of animals, it is difficult to identify particular isolates due to their unusual phenotypic profiles and the limited number of biochemical tests for detecting helicobacters. Moreover, analyses of the 16S rRNA gene sequences are also limited due to the high levels of similarity among closely related helicobacters. This study was conducted to evaluate intact-cell mass spectrometry (ICMS) profiling using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) as a tool for the identification of H. cinaedi. A total of 68 strains of H. cinaedi isolated from humans, dogs, a cat, and hamsters were examined in addition to other Helicobacter species. The major ICMS profiles of H. cinaedi were identical and differed from those of Helicobacter bilis, which show >98% sequence similarity at the 16S rRNA sequence level. A phyloproteomic analysis of the H. cinaedi strains examined in this work revealed that human isolates formed a single cluster that was distinct from that of the animal isolates, with the exception of two strains from dogs. These phyloproteomic results agreed with those of the phylogenetic analysis based on the nucleotide sequences of the hsp60 gene. Because they formed a distinct cluster in both analyses, our data suggest that animal strains may not be a major source of infection in humans. In conclusion, the ICMS profiles obtained using a MALDI-TOF MS approach may be useful for the identification and subtyping of H. cinaedi.     

Short- and long-term clinical effects of primary directional coronary atherectomy for acute myocardial infarction

We performed primary directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) without antecedent thrombolytic therapy in 21 of 67 patients with acute myocardial infarction within 24 hr of onset between June 1993–March 1994. Reperfusion with primary DCA was successful in 18 patients (85.7%, group D). Results were compared with those of primary balloon angioplasty patients treated between June 1992–May 1993 (group P). Minimum lumen diameter (MLD) values both immediately after reperfusion and in predischarge angiograms were significantly larger in group D than in group P, but were similar in late follow-up angiograms. Although a larger MLD in group D than in group P contributed to the prevention of reocclusion of the coronary artery before discharge in DCA patients, a high rate of restenosis at late follow-up canceled the beneficial effects of primary DCA. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Primary mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the intrahepatic bile duct: A case report

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common salivary gland carcinoma; however, hepatobiliary MEC is extremely rare. A 74‐year‐old patient was diagnosed with hepatobiliary MEC after hepatectomy. We considered its origin could be the peribiliary glands. Its genome profile was similar to salivary MEC rather than standard biliary tract carcinoma.     

Semi-quantitative immunohistochemical studies on Thy-1 antigen expressed by thymic myoid cells

Thy-1 antigen expression in the rat thymic myoid cell line R615B2 (Thy-1(+] and R613Ad (Thy-1(-] was studied with a semi-quantitative immunohistochemical assay without disrupting the cell cultures. With this assay, the quantity of Thy-1 antigen on R615B2 cells was detected separately in the cytoplasm and on the cell surface by the use of appropriate fixatives such as chilled ethanol and methanol + 0.3% H2O2. Extracellular Thy-1 antigen was also found in the culture supernatant of R615B2 cells. More than half of extracellular Thy-1 antigen remained in the supernatant even after 100,000 X g centrifugation. No form of Thy-1 antigen was detected at significant levels in R613Ad cells.