57 research outputs found

    Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy Diagnosed during Hospitalization for Cardiac Arrest

    Get PDF
    Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a genetically mediated cardiomyopathy charac-terized by progressive myocardial loss of the right ventricle and its replacement by fibrofatty tissue, causing dyskinesia, aneurysm, and/or arrhythmia. The prevalence of ARVC is estimated to be 1 in 2,000-5,000, with the condition accounting for up to 20% of sudden cardiac deaths in individuals < 35 years old. This report describes the case of 61-year-old Japanese who was diagnosed with ARVC after cardiac arrest (CA) and successful resusci-tation. After the sudden CA, the restoration of spontaneous circulation was achieved with appropriate resusci-tation, followed by the introduction of target temperature management in the intensive care unit. He was diag-nosed with ARVC based on angiography and histology results. An ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) was implanted, and he was discharged without neurological sequelae 1 month post-CA. ARVC is an important cause of sudden CA, and successfully resuscitated patients with right ventricular dilation should undergo testing to rule out ARVC

    Role of Sphingomyelinase in Infectious Diseases Caused by Bacillus cereus

    Get PDF
    Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is a pathogen in opportunistic infections. Here we show that Bacillus cereus sphingomyelinase (Bc-SMase) is a virulence factor for septicemia. Clinical isolates produced large amounts of Bc-SMase, grew in vivo, and caused death among mice, but ATCC strains isolated from soil did not. A transformant of the ATCC strain carrying a recombinant plasmid containing the Bc-SMase gene grew in vivo, but that with the gene for E53A, which has little enzymatic activity, did not. Administration of an anti-Bc-SMase antibody and immunization against Bc-SMase prevented death caused by the clinical isolates, showing that Bc-SMase plays an important role in the diseases caused by B. cereus. Treatment of mouse macrophages with Bc-SMase resulted in a reduction in the generation of H2O2 and phagocytosis of macrophages induced by peptidoglycan (PGN), but no effect on the release of TNF-Ξ± and little release of LDH under our experimental conditions. Confocal laser microscopy showed that the treatment of mouse macrophages with Bc-SMase resulted in the formation of ceramide-rich domains. A photobleaching analysis suggested that the cells treated with Bc-SMase exhibited a reduction in membrane fluidity. The results suggest that Bc-SMase is essential for the hydrolysis of SM in membranes, leading to a reduction in phagocytosis

    Improvements in the degree of understanding the treatment guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder in a nationwide dissemination and implementation study

    Get PDF
    Background: To implement clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), it is necessary for psychiatrists to deepen their understanding of the CPGs. The Effectiveness of Guidelines for Dissemination and Education in Psychiatric Treatment (EGUIDE) project is a nationwide dissemination and implementation study of two sets of CPGs for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: A total of 413 psychiatrists (n = 212 in 2016; n = 201 in 2017) learned the two CPGs in the education program of the EGUIDE project, and clinical knowledge of these CPGs was evaluated at baseline and after the programs. To improve the correct answer rate for clinical knowledge after the programs, we revised the lecture materials associated with items that had a low correct answer rate in 2016 and used the revised lecture materials with the CPGs in 2017. The rates of correct answers after the programs between the 2016 and 2017 groups were compared. Results: The correct answer rate of one item on the schizophrenia CPG and one item on the MDD CPG tended to be improved (S-D5 and D-C6) and that of one on the MDD CPG was significantly improved (D-D3, P = 0.0008) in the 2017 group compared to those in the 2016 group. Conclusions: We reported improvements in clinical knowledge of CPGs after the EGUIDE program in the 2017 group following revision of the lecture materials based on results from the 2016 group. These attempts to improve the degree of understanding of CPGs may facilitate the successful dissemination and implementation of psychiatric guidelines in everyday practice

    EGUIDE project and treatment guidelines

    Get PDF
    Background Clinical practice guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder have been published. However, these have not had sufficient penetration in clinical settings. We developed the Effectiveness of Guidelines for Dissemination and Education in Psychiatric Treatment (EGUIDE) project as a dissemination and education programme for psychiatrists. Aims The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the EGUIDE project on the subjective clinical behaviour of psychiatrists in accordance with clinical practice guidelines before and 1 and 2 years after participation in the programmes. Method A total of 607 psychiatrists participated in this study during October 2016 and March 2019. They attended both 1-day educational programmes based on the clinical practice guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, and answered web questionnaires about their clinical behaviours before and 1 and 2 years after attending the programmes. We evaluated the changes in clinical behaviours in accordance with the clinical practice guidelines between before and 2 years after the programme. Results All of the scores for clinical behaviours in accordance with clinical practice guidelines were significantly improved after 1 and 2 years compared with before attending the programmes. There were no significant changes in any of the scores between 1 and 2 years after attending. Conclusions All clinical behaviours in accordance with clinical practice guidelines improved after attending the EGUIDE programme, and were maintained for at least 2 years. The EGUIDE project could contribute to improved guideline-based clinical behaviour among psychiatrists

    Changes of mitochondrial dynamics and ATP production after colchicine treatment or X-irradiation

    No full text
    This study aimed to reveal the effect of external stresses on mitochondrial dynamics. Mitochondria are involved in a crucial role to retain a homeostasis, such as ATP production, Ca2+ storage, and induction of apoptosis. In addition, it has been well known that mitochondria move very actively in cytoplasm, like bacteria. Although these motions may be involved in physiological function, the mechanistic process of this has not yet been understood. We predict that the mitochondrial motion is driven by polymerization and depolymerization of fibers of cytoskeletons. Therefore, we analyzed effects on the motions, as well as ATP production, caused by a tubulin polymerization inhibitor or X-irradiation damage. Mitochondria of human normal fibroblast cells were specifically stained by JC-1 which is a fluorescence dye visualizing mitochondrial sites of high and low membrane potential with red and green, respectively. As a maker of the motion, mitochondrial active sites were tracked by a time-lapse observation. Obtained results indicates that the velocity of the active site motion fitted well to a Levy distribution rather than Gaussian distribution, indicating that the normal mitochondria motion is not a random movement, but shows occasional long-distance steps. The frequency of the low velocity components was significantly increased by treatments with both colchicine treatment and X-irradiation. ATP production in cells was also quantified by the luciferin-luciferase method. The ATP concentration was upregulated by both treatments. These evidences indicate that X-rays would compromise the mitochondrial motion through damaging microtubules, and induce excess ATP molecules, which are not consumed for tubulin polymerization.第3ε›žQSTε›½ιš›γ‚·γƒ³γƒγ‚Έγ‚¦γƒ γ€ŒQuantum Life Science
    • …
    corecore