Aspirin-Free Prasugrel Monotherapy After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With Non-ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: In the presence of a potent P2Yinhibitor such as prasugrel, the additional clinical antithrombotic benefit of aspirin is unclear. The feasibility of prasugrel monotherapy without aspirin after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been demonstrated in chronic coronary syndrome, but is yet to be assessed in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) and low anatomical complexity.

Methods And Results: ASET-Japan is a single-arm study investigating the safety of prasugrel 12-month monotherapy with a locally approved dose (loading 20 mg; maintenance 3.

Tips for Hepatologist Referral of Patients with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease with Alanine Aminotransferase Levels ≤ 30 U/L.

The possibility of progressive liver fibrosis remains even when alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels are <30 IU/L. Therefore, we aimed to investigate factors that can predict fibrosis progression in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) with ALT levels ≤ 30 U/L. This multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted using data collected between December 1994 and December 2021.

Prediction of Advanced Fibrosis in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease by Type IV Collagen 7S.

Background And Aims: Type IV collagen 7S (COL4-7S) is a simple, noninvasive biomarker for liver fibrosis. However, whether COL4-7S can detect advanced fibrosis (AF) and predict the prognosis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is unclear. We examined the clinical efficacy of COL4-7S in diagnosing AF and determining MASLD prognosis.

Rationale and Trial Design of Feedbacks Using Behavioural Economic Theories on STEP Counts (FOOTSTEPS) Trial in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease.

Unlabelled: Physical activity is crucial for reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Interventions for nonsupervised exercise therapy have not been broadly implemented, and few patients with CVD achieve the recommended activity levels (eg, 8000 daily steps). Behavioural economics-based programs increased physical activity in the general population; however, their effectiveness-including the impact of gain vs loss framing-in patients with CVD remains unclear.

Efficacy of olanzapine as an antiemetic drug for transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Although the addition of olanzapine to conventional antiemetic therapy has been reported to be useful for systemic chemotherapy with highly emetogenic agents such as cisplatin, no studies have evaluated its efficacy in transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We evaluated the antiemetic efficacy of olanzapine in patients with HCC undergoing cisplatin-based TACE. This prospective study included 68 patients with HCC scheduled for cisplatin-based TACE between 2021 and 2022.

Endoscopic findings of gallbladder lesions evaluated with image-enhanced endoscopy: A preliminary study using resected gallbladders.

The diagnosis of gallbladder (GB) lesions relies on imaging findings. Transpapillary cholangioscopy can potentially be used to diagnose GB lesions; however, the images obtained remain unclear. This study aimed to characterize the endoscopic findings of GB lesions.

A Noninvasive Method of Diagnosing Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis Using Cytokeratin-18 Fragment and FIB-3 Index.

We aim to determine if cytokeratin-18 fragment (CK-18F) could be used to diagnose metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). A total of 289 patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) were enrolled in the analysis. To evaluate the association between CK-18F levels and the histological features of MASH, weighted receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed.

Cutting balloon versus standard balloon for lesion preparation of drug-coated balloon treatment in de-novo coronary artery lesions: Rationale and Design of the Randomized NATURE trial.

Background: Drug-coated balloons (DCBs) have emerged as an alternative to drug-eluting stents (DESs) for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in de novo coronary artery diseases (CADs). However, the optimal predilatation strategy prior to DCB dilatation has yet to be validated.

Methods/design: The NATURE (Non-stent PCI with an appropriate dilatation by means of cutting balloon and drug-coated balloon in de novo lesion) study is a prospective, multi-center, randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a cutting balloon compared to standard balloons (semi-compliant or non-compliant balloons) for lesion preparation prior to DCB treatment in normal-sized vessels.

Low HDL cholesterol levels in women and hypertriglyceridemia in men: predictors of MASLD onset in individuals without steatosis.

Background: Individuals with metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) have a worse prognosis compared to patients without steatosis, and its prevalence is increasing. However, detailed risk factors based on obesity and sex remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the impact of cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) on the risk of MASLD in individuals without pre-existing SLD.

Accuracy of instantaneous wave-free ratio and fractional flow reserve derived from single coronary angiographic projections.

Background: Angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR) software has been developed using pressure wire based FFR as the reference, however most software requires 2 angiographic views ≥25 degrees apart limiting their clinical utility. This study aims to validate in a prospective multi-center registry the diagnostic performance of a novel angiography derived instantaneous wave-free ratio (Angio-iFR, Royal Philips, Amsterdam) with pressure wire-based iFR as reference.

Methods: Coronary angiograms were obtained from patients with coronary artery lesions of between 40% and 90% severity and both iFR and FFR measurements.

Decompensated Cirrhosis with Hepatopulmonary Syndrome in a Patient with Interrupted Treatment for Hypopituitarism.

A 32-year-old man presented with cirrhosis. At 8 years of age, he underwent resection of a craniopharyngioma, which resulted in panhypopituitarism. He underwent self-interrupted hormone replacement therapy at 20 years of age.

Clinical Characteristics of Steatotic Liver Disease Categories in a Large Cohort of Japanese Health Checkup Participants.

Background And Aims: The clinical characteristics and risk factors involved in the development of liver fibrosis in the subtypes of steatotic liver disease (SLD) remain unknown. We examined the clinical characteristics of SLD subtypes using a large Japanese cohort.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis (total n = 108,446).

Tofogliflozin attenuates renal lipid deposition and inflammation via PPARα upregulation mediated by miR-21a impairment in diet-induced steatohepatitic mice.

We previously demonstrated hepatic, cardiac, and skin inflammation in a high-fat diet-induced steatotic liver disease (SLD) model. However, the molecular mechanism in the kidneys in this model remains unclear. It has been recently reported that SGLT2 inhibitors improve chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Time Course of Left Ventricular Strain Assessment via Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Myocardial Feature Tracking in Takotsubo Syndrome.

Although takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is characterized by transient systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle (LV), the time course and mechanism of LV function recovery remain elusive. The aim of this study is to evaluate cardiac functional recovery in TTS via serial cardiac magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT). In this Japanese multicenter registry, patients with newly diagnosed TTS were prospectively enrolled.

Cabozantinib inhibits the growth of lenvatinib-resistant hepatoma cells restoring FTCD expression.

Cabozantinib is a newly developed tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which is applied on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) unresponsive to conventional tyrosine kinase inhibitors, including lenvatinib. However, the mechanism of cabozantinib efficacy for lenvatinib-resistant tumor cells has not been well established in basic studies. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the mechanisms by which cabozantinib inhibits tumor growth of lenvatinib-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

Chronic Hepatitis B in Which HBs Antigen Seroclearance Was Induced by Pegpegylated-interferonα-2a after Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment with Nucleos(t)ide Analogues: A Five-year Follow-up.

We herein report a 40-year-old Japanese man with chronic hepatitis B genotype C (viral load 6.7 Log copies/mL) who developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) despite achieving undetectable hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA levels with nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) treatment (entecavir). Notably, his hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) level remained elevated at 388.

Hepatic inflammation and fibrosis are profiles related to mid-term mortality in biopsy-proven MASLD: A multicenter study in Japan.

Aims: A multi-stakeholder consensus has proposed MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease). We aimed to investigate the pathological findings related to the mid-term mortality of patients with biopsy-proven MASLD in Japan.

Methods: We enrolled 1349 patients with biopsy-proven MASLD.