Publications by authors named "Kenji Yoshioka"
Background And Aims: Upper limb muscle thickness assessed by ultrasound could be useful to estimate whole body muscle mass. We investigated the association between low upper limb muscle thickness and prognosis in older patients with heart failure (HF).
Methods And Results: This study was a post-hoc analysis of a prospective multicenter cohort, namely, the SONIC-HF study.
Introduction: Skeletal muscle mass and function are crucial for assessing physical frailty, sarcopenia, and cachexia, which significantly impact the prognosis of geriatric patients with heart failure (HF). Ultrasound-based assessment of skeletal muscles offers a non-invasive, real-time alternative to traditional methods. The study (SONIC-HF) aimed to evaluate the feasibility and prognostic impact of ultrasound-based muscle assessment in geriatric patients with HF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The prevalence and impact of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic (CKM) overlap on physical function and prognosis in older patients with heart failure (HF) remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the impact of overlapping CKM conditions on physical function and prognosis in older patients with HF.
Methods: This post-hoc analysis of the FRAGILE-HF (main cohort) and SONIC-HF (validation cohort), both prospective multicentre studies, included patients aged ≥65 years who were hospitalised for HF.
Aims: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between corticosteroid therapy and long-term outcomes in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis, stratified by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at diagnosis.
Methods And Results: This study conducted a analysis of the ILLUstration of the Management and prognosIs of JapaNese PATiEnts with Cardiac Sarcoidosis, a retrospective multicentre registry. Cardiac sarcoidosis was diagnosed based on the 2016 Japanese Circulation Society and 2014 Heart Rhythm Society criteria.
Aims: The prognostic role of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) as a biomarker in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) has yet to be fully determined, especially when compared with B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).
Methods And Results: In this post-hoc analysis of the ILLUMINATE-CS (ILLUstration of the Management and prognosIs of JapaNese pATiEnts with Cardiac Sarcoidosis), which is a multicentre retrospective observational study, we analysed 103 patients (62.2 ± 10.
Ultrasound-measured Quadriceps Muscle Thickness and Mortality in Older Patients With Heart Failure.
Can J Cardiol
December 2024
Article Synopsis
- Ultrasound measurements of quadriceps muscle thickness (QMT) can be effectively used to assess muscle mass in older heart failure patients, particularly those aged 65 and above.
- *The study involved 595 hospitalized patients, where QMT was measured with high reliability, demonstrating excellent agreement between different observers.
- *Findings indicate that lower height-adjusted QMT is linked to higher mortality rates, highlighting its potential as a prognostic tool in heart failure management.*
Cardiac sarcoidosis treated with nonsteroidal immunosuppressive therapy.
Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc
August 2024
Background: Nonsteroidal immunosuppressive therapy is a potential therapeutic strategy for cardiac sarcoidosis. However, it is not recommended as an established treatment option. This study aimed to demonstrate the clinical outcomes of patients with cardiac sarcoidosis using nonsteroidal immunosuppressants through the ILLUstration of the Management and PrognosIs of JapaNese PATiEnts with Cardiac Sarcoidosis multicenter retrospective registry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Ventricular arrhythmia (VA) is a life-threatening condition associated with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). Right bundle branch block (RBBB) is a common conduction disorder in CS; however, its association with VA remains unknown.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between RBBB and VA in patients with CS.
Article Synopsis
- Recent research has introduced new purine-based inhibitors for CK2α using virtual screening techniques, leading to the discovery of a crystal structure that showed a lack of crystalline water molecules often found in previous CK2α-inhibitor complexes.
- This elimination of water was identified as potentially harmful for inhibitor binding, prompting the design of new compounds that strategically retain these water molecules by modifying the carboxy group's position.
- Notably, compounds with specific substitutions at the purine scaffold demonstrated significantly improved inhibitory potency, achieving a remarkable 167-fold increase in activity through careful structural adjustments.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined how common bendopnea is in older heart failure patients and its impact on their prognosis.
- Bendopnea was found in 2.5% of patients in the main study group and 4.4% in the validation group, with a higher risk of death over two years for those with this condition.
- The results indicate that bendopnea is a meaningful predictor of all-cause mortality, even when accounting for other risk factors.
Background: Current guidelines recommend placing an implantable cardiac defibrillator for patients with cardiac sarcoidosis and a severely impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≤35%. In this study, we determined the association between mild or moderate LVEF impairment and fatal ventricular arrhythmic event (FVAE).
Methods And Results: We retrospectively analyzed 401 patients with cardiac sarcoidosis without sustained ventricular arrhythmia at diagnosis.
Aims: This study aimed to determine whether there is a difference in the prognostic value of sarcopenia diagnosed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and that predicted by prediction equations in older patients with heart failure (HF).
Methods And Results: We included 269 patients (aged ≥65 years) who were hospitalized for HF. We used two appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) prediction equations: (i) Anthropometric-ASM, including age, sex, height, and weight, and (ii) Predicted-ASM, including sex, weight, calf circumference, and mid-arm circumference.
Characteristics and incidence of cardiac events across spectrum of age in cardiac sarcoidosis.
Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc
February 2024
Background: Clinical characteristics and the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) according to the age of initial diagnosis are unclear.
Methods: This study is a sub-analysis of the ILLUMINATE-CS registry, which is a retrospective, multicenter registry that enrolled patients with CS between 2001 and 2017. Patients were divided into three groups according to the tertile of age at the time of initial diagnosis of CS.
Background: Appropriate evaluation of hemodynamic status is vital in the management of acute heart failure (AHF). We aimed to investigate the changes in echocardiographic parameters during very acute phases of AHF and their association with clinical outcomes.
Methods: Patients who were admitted to four Japanese hospitals with AHF were prospectively enrolled.
Objectives: The discordant results between fractional flow reserve (FFR) and resting full-cycle ratio (RFR) and the influence of angiographic characteristics on their correlation have not been sufficiently investigated. We aimed to identify angiographic characteristics that can predict FFR and RFR correlations using a novel angiographic scoring system.
Methods: This retrospective analysis included 220 patients with 252 intermediate coronary lesions assessed using FFR and RFR.
Prevalence and prognostic value of atrial fibrillation in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis.
Eur Heart J Open
September 2023
Article Synopsis
- This study investigates how the presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) at the time of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) diagnosis affects patient outcomes.
- A post-hoc analysis was conducted on data from 445 patients, revealing that those with AF had worse prognoses, indicated by higher levels of brain natriuretic peptide and increased hospitalizations due to heart failure.
- The findings suggest that having AF during CS diagnosis significantly raises the risk of all-cause death and heart failure hospitalization over a median follow-up period of 3.2 years.
Article Synopsis
- This study focused on isolated cardiac sarcoidosis (iCS) to better understand its clinical features and prognosis compared to systemic cardiac sarcoidosis (sCS).
- The analysis included 475 patients, revealing that those with iCS had poorer heart function and a history of atrial fibrillation, but iCS did not show an independent risk factor for poor outcomes after considering other factors.
- Overall, while iCS patients faced more significant heart issues at diagnosis, their long-term prognosis was not worse than that of patients with sCS when adjusting for relevant health factors.
Protein kinase CK2 (CK2) is involved in the suppression of gene expression, protein synthesis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis, thus making it a target protein for the development of therapeutics toward cancer, nephritis, and coronavirus disease 2019. Using the solvent dipole ordering-based method for virtual screening, we identified and designed new candidate CK2α inhibitors containing purine scaffolds. Virtual docking experiments supported by experimental structure-activity relationship studies identified the importance of the 4-carboxyphenyl group at the 2-position, a carboxamide group at the 6-position, and an electron-rich phenyl group at the 9-position of the purine scaffold.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Owing to the paucity of data, this study aimed to investigate sex differences in clinical features and prognosis of patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS).
Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of the ILLUstration of the Management and prognosIs of JapaNese PATiEnts with Cardiac Sarcoidosis registry-a retrospective multicentre registry that enrolled patients with CS between 2001 and 2017. The primary outcome was potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmia events (pFVAEs)-a composite of sudden cardiac death, sustained ventricular tachycardia lasting >30 s, ventricular fibrillation or the requirement for implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates whether the angle of tines on the Micra leadless pacemaker affects their engagement with the heart muscle during implantation.
- Researchers analyzed data from 93 patients and found that tines with angles less than 10 degrees were always engaged, while higher angles made engagement unpredictable.
- The findings suggest that measuring the angle of the tines before testing can help predict whether they are securely anchored to the myocardium.
Background The prognostic role of BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis without evident heart failure is unknown. Methods and Results This is a post hoc analysis of ILLUMINATE-CS (Illustration of the Management and Prognosis of Japanese Patients With Cardiac Sarcoidosis), a multicenter, retrospective, and observational study that evaluated the clinical characteristics and prognosis of cardiac sarcoidosis. We analyzed patients with cardiac sarcoidosis without evident heart failure at the time of diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) without histological evidence remains controversial. This study aimed to compare characteristics and outcomes of histologically proven versus clinically diagnosed cases of CS, which were adjudicated using Heart Rhythm Society or Japanese Circulation Society criteria.
Methods: A total of 512 patients with CS (age: 62±11 years, female: 64.