Internal medicine
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For the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation is required. This involves optimal medical therapy, education on nutrition and exercise therapy, and smoking cessation. Of these, efficient exercise therapy is a key factor. ⋯ Although moderate-intensity continuous training has been the main training regimen recommended in cardiac rehabilitation guidelines, high-intensity interval training has been reported to be more effective in the clinical and experimental setting from the standpoint of peak oxygen uptake and central and peripheral adaptations. In this review, we illustrate the scientific evidence for high-intensity interval training. We then verify this evidence and discuss its significance and the remaining issues.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Switching from Sulphonylurea to Repaglinide Twice or Three Times Daily for 4 Months on Glycemic Control in Japanese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.
Objective Switching from sulfonylureas to repaglinide in patients with type 2 diabetes improves glycemic control; however, the optimal dosage has not been fully evaluated. We designed to show that repaglinide was equivalent to sulfonylurea in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes. We herein evaluated whether we could switch from sulfonylureas to repaglinide twice or thrice daily in Japanese adult patients who had been treated with anti-diabetic drugs, including sulfonylureas, and whose conditions were moderately well-controlled. ⋯ Blood samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 months following the initiation of the maintenance period. Results The HbA1c and glycoalbumin levels did not significantly differ among the three groups after 4 months of treatment. Conclusion With the assumption that 1 mg of glimepiride is equivalent to 1.25 mg of glibenclamide or 40 mg of gliclazide, the administration of repaglinide (0.44 mg/meal) twice and thrice daily is similar to the efficacy of sulfonylurea (glimepiride 1.63-1.98 mg/day) after four months of treatment in Japanese patients with moderately well-controlled type 2 diabetes (HbA1c, 7-7.5%).
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Objective There is little long-term data on the association between the serum albumin levels and mortality in community-based populations. We aimed to determine whether the serum albumin level is an independent risk factor for all-cause and cause-specific death in a community-based cohort study in Japan. Methods In 1999, we performed a periodic epidemiological survey over a 15-year period in a population of 1,905 healthy subjects (783 males, 1,122 females) who were older than 40 years of age and who resided in Tanushimaru, a rural community, in Japan. ⋯ After adjusting for confounders, a Cox proportional hazards regression analysis demonstrated that a low serum albumin level was an independent predictor of all-cause death [hazard ratio (HR): 0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.24-0.65], cancer death (HR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.18-0.99), death from infection (HR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.06-0.73) and cerebro-cardiovascular death (HR: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.06-0.63). The HRs for all-cause and cerebro-cardiovascular death in the highest quartile vs. the lowest quartile of albumin after adjusting for confounders were 0.59 (95%CI:0.39-0.88) and 0.15 (95%CI: 0.03-0.66), respectively. Conclusion The serum albumin level was thus found to be a predictor of all-cause and cerebro-cardiovascular death in a general population.
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Case Reports
Multiple Coronary Artery Aneurysms and Thoracic Aortitis Associated with IgG4-related Disease.
A 60-year-old man was admitted due to the onset of right coronary artery (RCA) aneurysms. Coronary angiography showed two RCA aneurysms and focal stenosis with limitations in the blood flow. Balloon angioplasty was performed. ⋯ The serum immunoglobulin G4 level was elevated to 1,350 mg/dL and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography showed increased uptake in the ascending aorta, so the patient was diagnosed with immunoglobulin G4-related vascular disease. The prevention of further enlargement of the aneurysms and an improvement in the RCA flow were achieved with steroid therapy. Steroid therapy may therefore be effective for immunoglobulin G4-related vascular disease.
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Objective Endobronchial ultrasonography with a guide sheath (EBUS-GS) and virtual bronchoscopic navigation (VBN) improves the diagnostic yield in patients with peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). Most previous reports on EBUS-GS-guided transbronchial biopsy (TBB) have included patients with benign and malignant diseases. We aimed to determine the factors that predicted a successful diagnosis by EBUS-GS-guided TBB diagnostic in patients with small peripheral lung cancer, with a focus on the high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings before bronchoscopy. ⋯ The following factors were not significant: the lesion location, the number of biopsies, and the lung cancer histology. A multivariate analysis revealed that the following factors significantly affected the diagnostic yield: CT bronchus sign positivity [odds ratio (OR) =2.479]; a probe position that was within the lesion (OR=2.542); and a solid nodule (OR=2.304). Conclusion The significant factors that were significantly associated with a successful diagnosis using EBUS-GS-guided TBB in small peripheral lung carcinoma were as follows: CT bronchus sign positivity, a solid nodule, and a probe position that was within the lesion.