The appropriate indication for, management of and limitations to extracorporeal life support (ECLS) and the timing of a switch to a ventricular assist device (VAD) remain controversial issues in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated with cardiogenic shock or cardiopulmonary arrest. To evaluate and discuss these issues, we studied patients with AMI treated with ECLS and compared deceased and discharged patients. Thirty-eight patients with AMI who needed ECLS [35 men (92.1 %), aged 59.9 ± 13.5 years] were enrolled in this study. Of these 38 patients, 34 subsequently underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and four subsequently received coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Fourteen patients (36.8 %) were discharged from the hospital. The outcome was not favorable for those patients with deteriorating low output syndrome (LOS) and the development of leg ischemia, hemolysis and multiple organ failure during ECLS. Levels of creatine kinase, creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase, serum creatinine (Cr) and amylase after the patient had been put on ECLS and fluctuation of the cardiac index, blood pressure, arterial blood gas analysis and CK-MB and Cr levels during ECLS were indicators to switch from the ECLS to VAD. In the case of patients with no complication associated with ECLS, 4.6-5.6 days after initiation of ECLS was assumed to be the threshold to decide whether to switch from ECLS to VAD. Patients with AMI who suddenly developed refractory pulseless ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation without deteriorating LOS and who underwent successful PCI or CABG, and who prevented the complications associated with ECLS, showed a high probability of recovering with ECLS.

Objective The aim of this study was to clarify the circadian and seasonal variations in addition to identify sex-based differences in Japanese patients with Takotsubo syndrome (TTS). Methods The authors conducted a retrospective observational study to analyse the differences between the groups based on sex. Patients The patients were registered out of each institute registry of the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) which contains a total of 10,622 cases in eight academic hospitals in east Japan. Results Data for 344 consecutive TTS (73 male and 271 female) were extracted from each hospital registry. In-hospital mortality was higher in the male group than in the female group (18% vs 7%; p=0.005). With regard to the circadian variations in all study patients, TTS events occurred most often in the afternoon and least often during the night. Moreover, the patterns of circadian variations in the female and male groups were the same as that of all study patients. TTS events occurred most frequently in the autumn and least often in the spring in the whole study cohort. Moreover, the seasonal variation in the female group showed the same pattern as that of the whole cohort. However, there were no significant seasonal differences in the incidence of TTS in the male group. Conclusion In a multicenter study in Japan, seasonal variation was observed in the female group but not in the male group. Circadian variation was observed in both groups. These results suggested that the pathogenesis and clinical features of TTS might therefore differ according to sex.

The clinical features of patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) who responded to angiogenesis using autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cell transplantation (PB-MNC) have not yet been fully characterized, and there are no useful predictors to judge the curative effect in the early period after PB-MNC. This study sought to clarify the clinical features and predictors in patients with CLI who were successfully treated using PB-MNC. 30 consecutive patients [arteriosclerosis obliterans: 24 patients, thromboangiitis obliterans: 6 patients] who were diagnosed with major amputation despite maximal medical therapy were enrolled in this study. The study endpoint was major amputation within 3 months after PB-MNC. The collected data were evaluated for correlation between patients with and without major amputation within 3 months after PB-MNC. Six patients underwent major amputation and 1 patient underwent minor amputation. In the patients with major amputation, transcutaneous oxygen tension before PB-MNC and transplanted CD34-positive cells were lower than those of patients without major amputation. In the patients with amputation, interleukin-6 (IL-6) continued to increase after the first PB-MNC, and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) decreased within 3 days after the first PB-MNC. PB-MNC was useful for the patients who were managed for inflammation and who had revascularization of the upper-popliteal arteries and two of the infra-popliteal arteries by endovascular and/or surgical revascularization. Variation in IL-6 and bFGF in the early period after PB-MNC could be useful predictors for the requirement of amputation within 3 months after PB-MNC.

The full circumferential coverage of the vessel wall by the high-signal neointima was found at as early as week 10 after E-ZES implantation, imparting a surrogate index for vascular healing by NIC.

Background: Phosphoglucomutase (PGM), a key enzyme in cellular glucose utilization and energy homeostasis, has been reported to show a relationship with oxidative stress. However, the clinical importance of PGM activity has not been investigated in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). The aim of the present pilot study was to clarify whether PGM activity has potential as a cardiovascular risk predictor in patients with IHD. Methods and Results:The levels of serum PGM activity in 237 patients with IHD (63 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 174 patients with stable effort angina pectoris (EAP)) were evaluated. PGM activity was compared with levels of various myocardial, thrombosis, and inflammatory biomarkers on admission. PGM activity in the AMI group was significantly increased relative to that in the EAP group on admission (AMI, 55.5 μmol · min -1 · L -1 (U/L); EAP, 14.4 U/L (P<0.001)), and was observed to increase in parallel with well-established myocardial markers (P<0.001). Moreover, PGM activity and the lipid, thrombosis, and inflammatory biomarkers in the AMI group were higher than those in the EAP group.Conclusions: PGM activity increased with levels of myocardial, thrombosis, and inflammatory biomarkers in patients with AMI, and might be useful in diagnostic applications during the acute phase in patients with AMI. (Circ J 2012; 76: 2197 - 2203)