Internal medicine
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Comparative Study
Impaired glucose metabolism slows executive function independent of cerebral ischemic lesions in Japanese elderly: the Takahata study.
Age is known to influence the risk of both cerebral ischemic lesions and impaired cognitive function. Diabetes mellitus (DM) can also be associated with cognitive impairment. However, there has been no study of neuropsychological performance in association with glucose metabolism status and cerebral ischemic lesions in same-aged, community-dwelling elderly persons. The present study was performed to clarify which cognitive domains are associated with impaired glucose metabolism/DM and whether the association is independent of cerebral ischemic lesions. ⋯ The results of the present study demonstrate that impaired glucose metabolism, independent of the conventional vascular risk factors and cerebral ischemic lesions, may be associated with a decline in executive function in community-dwelling elderly.
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Case Reports
Recurrent spinal cord attacks in a patient with a limited form of neuromyelitis optica.
This report describes the case of a 71-year-old woman with a limited form of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) who had a longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion from the fourth to the tenth thoracic vertebrae. Up to age 75, she had four subsequent recurrences of the myelitis within the same spinal cord area but with no optic neuritis. ⋯ Recurrence within the same spinal cord area might be a characteristic clinical finding in NMO spectrum disorders. For such patients, examination for anti-AQP4 antibody might be necessary for the diagnosis and therapy of this disorder.
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Comparative Study
Elevated depressive symptoms are associated with hypertriglyceridemia in Japanese male workers.
The aim of this study was to determine whether elevated depressive symptoms are associated with metabolic syndrome and its components in the Japanese population. ⋯ This study showed that elevated depressive symptoms were associated with hypertriglyceridemia in Japanese male workers, which affected the clinical diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.
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Case Reports
Acute myocardial infarction caused by coronary artery dissection after a blunt chest trauma.
Acute myocardial infarction is a life-threatening condition. Coronary dissection after blunt chest trauma is a rare event. ⋯ Differentiation between minor cardiac contusion and significant cardiac injury is difficult and it is a challenge for physicians to diagnose traumatic cardiac injury early. We report a case of a 40-year-old man suffering from coronary artery dissection after a blunt chest trauma and intracranial hemorrhage after percutaneous coronary intervention.
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Although the etiology of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (stress-induced cardiomyopathy) is unknown, there is a wide variability in the psychological and physical triggers for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. We report here a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with severe hyponatremia.