Background:Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of mortality in hemodialysis patients. The aim was to assess the relationship of various invasive cardiovascular procedures (ICP) to clinical ...outcome in hemodialysis patients.Methods and Results:A total of 5,813 patients at 76 facilities were on maintenance hemodialysis in Kumamoto Prefecture. Of these, 4,807 patients at 58 institutions were enrolled. Of 4,807 patients, 212 ICP (4.4%) were performed for various cardiovascular diseases in 189 patients (3.9%). ICP included PCI (n=80), endovascular treatment (n=59), radiofrequency catheter ablation (n=8), implantation of permanent pacemaker (n=15) and ICD (n=5), thoracotomy for valvular diseases (n=16), CABG (n=14), bypass surgery for peripheral artery disease (PAD; n=8), and artificial vessel replacement for aneurysm or aortic dissection (n=7). The overall mortality rate was 10.1% (19/189 patients). The mortality rate was highest in patients who underwent ICP for PAD, compared with other ICP (PAD, 18.2%; non-PAD, 6.7%, P=0.017). Infection and PAD were significant predictors of mortality (infection: OR, 8.30; 95% CI: 1.29–65.13, P=0.027; PAD: OR, 3.76; 95% CI: 1.35–10.48, P=0.012). The presence of inflammation/malnutrition factors was associated with high mortality (OR, 15.49; 95% CI: 3.22–74.12, P=0.0006).Conclusions:In this community-based registry study of 4,807 hemodialysis patients, the mortality rate of PAD patients was high despite ICP. (Circ J 2015; 79: 1269–1276)
DNA fragmentation is one of the most characteristic features of apoptotic cells and caspase-activated DNase (CAD) is considered to be a major nuclease responsible for DNA fragmentation. CAD forms a ...complex with its inhibitor (ICAD), which is also required for the functional folding of CAD, leading to CAD stabilization in cells. In this paper, we investigated the involvement of the ubiquitin–proteasome system in CAD stability. The expression and ubiquitination of CAD was remarkably increased by MG132 treatment in the absence of ICAD. These results suggest that CAD protein may be preferentially degraded by the ubiquitin–proteasome system in the absence of ICAD to maintain protein quality control.
Cryptosporidium Outbreak in a Sports Center Yokoi, Hajime; Tsuruta, Miyoshi; Tanaka, Toshimitsu ...
Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases,
2005/10/28, Letnik:
58, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Rotenone, an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I, induces apoptosis in a variety of cells. However, little is known about endogenous endonucleases involved in rotenone-induced DNA fragmentation, a ...biochemical hallmark of apoptosis. We used a chemically modified siRNA which is thought to be more effective than a non-modified siRNA to study whether caspase-activated DNase (CAD) contributes to this phenomenon. Western blot analysis showed that CAD protein decreased to 8% of control levels in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells after a 48
h transfection of siRNA. Consistent with the reduction of the protein level, the siRNA was found to inhibit rotenone-induced DNA fragmentation. These results suggest that CAD is the endogenous endonuclease that mediates internucleosomal DNA degradation in rotenone-induced apoptosis.
We performed a multicenter study in order to clarify the present conditions of the childhood allergic rhinitis treatment in many departments of otorhinolaryngology and pediatrics/internal medicine in ...the Tohoku region, northern Japan.
We performed a questionnaire survey about patient backgrounds, nasal symptoms, QOL disturbance, and treatment agents, for childhood allergic rhinitis patients under age 12.
The total number of cases was 814, the mean age of the patients seen in pediatrics/internal medicine departments was significantly lower than that in otorhinolaryngology. The merger rate of bronchial asthma of the patients seen in pediatrics/internal medicine was significantly higher, and nasal symptoms and QOL disturbance of the patients seen in otorhinolaryngology were significantly more severe. For therapeutic agents, antihistamines were most prescribed, and the combination of LT receptor antagonist and intranasal steroids was used for the cases in which nasal symptoms were severe. The nasal symptoms in the combination group were significantly improved compared with the antihistamine monotherapy group.
It was indicated that the combination therapy was useful in the severe cases of childhood allergic rhinitis.
Nrf2 is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of antioxidant genes. This study aimed to investigate the association of Nrf2 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs35652124 ...(-653A/G) and rs6721961 (-617C/A), with laboratory data and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients.
Blood samples were obtained from 216 HD patients (119 males and 97 females; 60 diabetics and 156 non-diabetics) with mean age of 60.3±13.3 (SD) years, and mean HD duration of 9.10±8.28 years. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers (PCR-CTPP) assay.
As for rs35652124, diastolic blood pressure (BP) was significantly high in total AA carriers. β2-microglobulin was significantly low in male AA carriers. Systolic BP, diastolic BP and albumin were significantly high in female AA carriers. As for 6721961, systolic BP and diastolic BP were significantly high in female AA carriers. Cox proportional hazard analysis adjusted for age, HD duration, diabetes and Kt/V demonstrated that rs35652124 AA carriers showed higher cardiovascular mortality than (GG+GA) carriers.
Nrf2 SNPs were associated with BP in Japanese HD patients. More notably, rs35652124 was associated with cardiovascular mortality in these patients.
α-fetoprotein (AFP) is a tumor marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and has also been reported to reflect the effectiveness of long-term low-dose interferon (IFN) therapy in hepatitis C virus ...(HCV)-infected patients with chronic liver disease. The correlation between AFP levels and the incidence of HCC has been discussed over a long period. We investigated whether high levels of AFP at the time of diagnosis were associated with an increased incidence of HCC in patients with HCV. A total of 107 HCV patients with liver cirrhosis without other risks were evaluated for the predictive value of non-invasive risk factors for HCC, including age, gender, alcohol intake, aspartate and alanine aminotransferase levels, bilirubin, albumin, platelet count and AFP levels at study entry, as well as the IFN therapy received. During the follow-up period, HCC developed in 68 (63.6%) patients. Kaplan-Meier estimates were made to assess the cumulative risk of HCC. The 10-year cumulative incidence rate of HCC was 80%. Cox regression analysis was performed on several variables, including age, gender, alcohol consumption, experience of IFN therapy and biochemical parameters. The following factors were identified as exhibiting an increased risk of HCC by univariate analysis: aspartate transaminase (AST) ≥71 IU/l, alanine transaminase (ALT) ≥60 IU/l, AFP ≥6 ng/ml and IFN therapy. Multivariate analysis identified that the AFP level 6-19 ng/ml: hazard ratio (HR), 2.22; P=0.006 and ≥20 ng/ml: HR, 2.09; P=0.003 was an independent and significant risk factor for the development of HCC. A slightly elevated (6-19 ng/ml) AFP level may be a risk factor for HCC in certain cases. By contrast, AFP levels <6 ng/ml indicate a low risk of HCC development in HCV patients with liver cirrhosis.
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