Regenerative medicine in cardiovascular disease.

Owing to the rapid increase in the number of people with severe heart failure, regenerative medicine is anticipated to play a role in overcoming the limitations inherent in existing surgical interventions. There are essentially two types of cardiac regenerative therapies for a failing heart. Cellular regenerative therapies using various stem cells improve the functional recovery of the heart mainly by cytokine paracrine effects.

Early detection of pancreatic cancer by comprehensive serum miRNA sequencing with automated machine learning.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages, and early-stage diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult because of nonspecific symptoms and lack of available biomarkers.

Methods: We performed comprehensive serum miRNA sequencing of 212 pancreatic cancer patient samples from 14 hospitals and 213 non-cancerous healthy control samples. We randomly classified the pancreatic cancer and control samples into two cohorts: a training cohort (N = 185) and a validation cohort (N = 240).

Association between COVID-19 severity and relatively high serum adiponectin levels at the time of admission.

At the beginning of 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to epidemics worldwide. Obesity and visceral fat accumulation have been reported to be independent risk factors for severe COVID-19. Several reports have focused on the levels of adipocytokines/adipokines, including adiponectin (APN), which is exclusively secreted from adipocytes, although the importance of these factors in acute disease conditions remains unclear.

Restrictive annuloplasty or replacement on reverse remodeling for nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: For patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM), the indications for and results of mitral surgery remain controversial. We reviewed a strategy of mitral repair and replacement for clinically relevant secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) in patients with NIDCM.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 65 patients with advanced NIDCM (LVEF < 40%) who underwent mitral surgery.

Mitochondrial function and coronary flow reserve improvement after autologous myoblast patch transplantation for ischaemic cardiomyopathy: a case report.

Background: Autologous myoblast patch (AMP) transplantation has resulted in good clinical outcomes for end-stage ischaemic cardiomyopathy, but the mechanisms behind them are unclear. Herein, we report the relationship between mitochondrial function and coronary flow reserve (CFR) before and after AMP transplantation.

Case Summary: The patient was a 73-year-old man who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Safety confirmation of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte patch transplantation for ischemic cardiomyopathy: first three case reports.

Introduction: With the expected increase in patients with heart failure and ischemic 15 cardiomyopathy, the development of myocardial regenerative medicine using cell transplantation as a novel treatment method is progressing. This first-in-human clinical trial aimed to confirm the safety of cardiomyocyte patch transplantation derived from allogeneic induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells based on the results of several preclinical studies.

Study Design: The inclusion criteria were left ventricular ejection fraction of 35% or less; heart failure symptoms of New York Heart Association class III or higher despite existing therapies such as revascularization; and a 1-year observation period that included a 3-month immunosuppressive drug administration period after transplantation of iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte patches to evaluate adverse events, cardiac function, myocardial blood flow, heart failure symptoms, and immune response.

Impact of bench repair for donor mitral valve before orthotopic heart transplantation: a case report.

Background: The use of donor hearts with valvular disease has been considered debatable in heart transplantation for many years. However, few reports indicate successful heart transplantation using donor hearts with mitral regurgitation that underwent mitral valve repair on the back bench.

Case Presentation: We report two cases of a 38-year-old and a 48-year-old woman with implantable left ventricular assist devices who underwent heart transplantation at our institution.

RhoA rescues cardiac senescence by regulating Parkin-mediated mitophagy.

Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. RhoA, a small GTPase, governs actin dynamics in various tissue and cell types, including cardiomyocytes; however, its involvement in cardiac function has not been fully elucidated. Here, we generated cardiomyocyte-specific RhoA conditional knockout (cKO) mice, which demonstrated a significantly shorter lifespan with left ventricular dilation and severely impaired ejection fraction.

Total arch and descending thoracic aortic replacement for massive hemoptysis requiring CPR caused by intrapulmonary penetration of chronic dissecting aortic aneurysm: a case report.

Background: Intrapulmonary penetration of the thoracic aorta is a rare, life-threatening complication of a chronic dissecting aortic aneurysm. It causes massive hemoptysis requiring prompt intervention to prevent fatal airway bleeding. A surgical approach that enables diverse surgical maneuvers and intraoperative organ protection is crucial.

Case report: Transplantation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte patches for ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Despite major therapeutic advances, heart failure, as a non-communicable disease, remains a life-threatening disorder, with 26 million patients worldwide, causing more deaths than cancer. Therefore, novel strategies for the treatment of heart failure continue to be an important clinical need. Based on preclinical studies, allogenic human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte (hiPSC-CM) patches have been proposed as a potential therapeutic candidate for heart failure.

Increase in glycemic set point, alongside a decrease in waist circumference, in the non-diabetic population during the Japanese National Intervention Program for metabolic syndrome: A single-center, large-scale, matched-pair analysis.

Background: In 2008, the Japanese government implemented a National Intervention Program for metabolic syndrome. Low-risk individuals were not direct targets of this intervention. Nevertheless, they were indirectly enlightened by this massive campaign.

Successful surgical treatment of delayed left ventricular pseudoaneurysm related to infection after repair of ventricular septal rupture complicating acute myocardial infarction.

Left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication after postinfarction repair of ventricular septal rupture (VSR), and surgical treatment of this condition due to mycosis has rarely been reported. We report a rare case of successful surgical treatment of delayed LV pseudoaneurysm related to infection after repair of VSR due to myocardial infarction. A 75-year-old woman was admitted for fever and severe inflammatory reaction.

Unusual Case of Giant Nonthrombosed Right Coronary Artery Pseudoaneurysm With Coronary Artery Fistula.

Coronary artery aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm are rare and mainly result from atherosclerosis. We present a successfully treated case of a giant right coronary artery aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm with a coronary artery fistula, which might have developed after cardiac surgery for a right ventricular tumor 35 years earlier. ().

Long-term outcomes of autologous skeletal myoblast cell-sheet transplantation for end-stage ischemic cardiomyopathy.

We evaluated the cardiac function recovery following skeletal myoblast cell-sheet transplantation and the long-term outcomes after applying this treatment in 23 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. We defined patients as "responders" when their left ventricular ejection fraction remained unchanged or improved at 6 months after treatment. At 6 months, 16 (69.

Increase in Adiponectin Level Prevents the Development of Type 2 Diabetes in Japanese Men With Low Adiponectin Levels.

Context: Low serum adiponectin (Ad) level is an important risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Objective: To determine whether the changes in Ad in subjects with low baseline serum Ad levels can reduce the rate of development of T2DM.

Design/setting/participants: We performed a large-scale longitudinal study of 7052 healthy Japanese men who underwent general health checkups more than twice between April 2007 and May 2015 at the Physical Check up Center, Sumitomo Hospital.

Near-Infrared photoluminescence in the femtosecond time region in monolayer graphene on SiO₂.

We investigate the dynamical properties of photoexcited carriers in a single monolayer of graphene at room temperature in air using femtosecond time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. The luminescence kinetics are observed in the near-infrared region of 0.7-1.

Step-templated CVD growth of aligned graphene nanoribbons supported by a single-layer graphene film.

We present chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of a hybrid structure of aligned graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) supported by a single-layer graphene sheet. The step structure created on the epitaxial Co film is used to segregate arrays of aligned GNRs. Reflecting the highly ordered step structure of the Co catalyst, straight nanoribbons with high aspect ratio (>100) are formed.

Difference in serum complement component C4a levels between hepatitis C virus carriers with persistently normal alanine aminotransferase levels or chronic hepatitis C.

Certain hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers exhibit persistently normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (PNALT) (≤ 30 IU/l) accompanied by normal platelet counts (≥ 15 x 10(4)/µl); these individuals show milder disease activity and slower progression to cirrhosis. This study aimed to elucidate the characteristics of HCV carriers with PNALT using serum proteomics. The first group of subjects, who underwent clinical evaluation in the hospital, consisted of 19 HCV carriers with PNALT (PNALT-1) and 20 chronic hepatitis C (CHC-1) patients.

Epitaxial chemical vapor deposition growth of single-layer graphene over cobalt film crystallized on sapphire.

Epitaxial chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of uniform single-layer graphene is demonstrated over Co film crystallized on c-plane sapphire. The single crystalline Co film is realized on the sapphire substrate by optimized high-temperature sputtering and successive H(2) annealing. This crystalline Co film enables the formation of uniform single-layer graphene, while a polycrystalline Co film deposited on a SiO(2)/Si substrate gives a number of graphene flakes with various thicknesses.

Genome-wide association of IL28B with response to pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C.

The recommended treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C, pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG-IFN-alpha) plus ribavirin (RBV), does not provide sustained virologic response (SVR) in all patients. We report a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to null virological response (NVR) in the treatment of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 within a Japanese population. We found two SNPs near the gene IL28B on chromosome 19 to be strongly associated with NVR (rs12980275, P = 1.

Novel single nucleotide polymorphisms of the cytokeratin 19 pseudogene are associated with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is characterized by chronic inflammation and destruction of intra-hepatic bile ducts. However, the pathogenesis of PBC has not been fully delineated. We examined whether patients with PBC harbor genomic mutations of the cytokeratin 19 (CK19) gene since that gene is specifically expressed in biliary epithelial cells.