BackgroundRecent experimental studies have revealed that n-3 fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) regulate postprandial insulin secretion, and correct postprandial glucose and lipid abnormalities. However, the effects of 6-month EPA treatment on postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, insulin secretion, and concomitant endothelial dysfunction remain unknown in patients with impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) and coronary artery disease (CAD).Methods and resultsWe randomized 107 newly diagnosed IGM patients with CAD to receive either 1800 mg/day of EPA (EPA group, n = 53) or no EPA (n = 54). Cookie meal testing (carbohydrates: 75 g, fat: 28.5 g) and endothelial function testing using fasting-state flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) were performed before and after 6 months of treatment. The primary outcome of this study was changes in postprandial glycemic and triglyceridemic control and secondary outcomes were improvement of insulin secretion and endothelial dysfunction. After 6 months, the EPA group exhibited significant improvements in EPA/arachidonic acid, fasting triglyceride (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The EPA group also exhibited significant decreases in the incremental TG peak, area under the curve (AUC) for postprandial TG, incremental glucose peak, AUC for postprandial glucose, and improvements in glycometabolism categorization. No significant changes were observed for hemoglobin A1c and fasting plasma glucose levels. The EPA group exhibited a significant increase in AUC-immune reactive insulin/AUC-plasma glucose ratio (which indicates postprandial insulin secretory ability) and significant improvements in FMD. Multiple regression analysis revealed that decreases in the TG/HDL-C ratio and incremental TG peak were independent predictors of FMD improvement in the EPA group.ConclusionsEPA corrected postprandial hypertriglyceridemia, hyperglycemia and insulin secretion ability. This amelioration of several metabolic abnormalities was accompanied by recovery of concomitant endothelial dysfunction in newly diagnosed IGM patients with CAD.Clinical Trial Registration UMIN Registry number: UMIN000011265 (https://www.upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr.cgi?function=brows&action=brows&type=summary&recptno=R000013200&language=E)Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12933-016-0437-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Combining GLS and LGE could be useful for risk stratification and prognostic assessment in patients with DCM.

DE-MRI fused with MRA was superior to DE-MRI for visualization of the RF lesion owing to the precise information on LA and PV anatomy provided by DE-MRI.

Catheter ablation using ETM reduced the incidence of esophageal injuries, even in patients with a low BMI.

he ability to evaluate coronary atherosclerotic stenosis using multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) has been well recognized in the last several years. [1][2][3][4] MDCT has been shown to permit the visualization of the coronary artery lumen and the detection of the plaque morphology with good correlation to intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) after intravenous injection of a contrast agent. 5 In contrast, a number of investigators have demonstrated that plaque burden and the progression of coronary plaque may have a relationship with the risk of cardiovascular events. [6][7][8][9] However, a few reports have shown the accuracy of MDCT to assess the vascular lumen area and plaque area compared with that of IVUS. 10,11 The purpose of the present study was to investigate the accuracy of nonculprit atherosclerotic plaque evaluation in the proximal coronary artery by MDCT. Circulation Journal Vol.71, June 2007 Method PatientsWe retrospectively studied 33 consecutive patients in whom diagnostic MDCT for ischemic coronary artery disease was performed before elective IVUS-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Those with unstable clinical conditions, an absence of sinus rhythm, impaired renal function (serum creatinine >1.5 mg/dl), contraindications to iodinated contrast media, heart failure and possible pregnancy were excluded. MDCTMDCT data were acquired using an Aquilion 16 system (Toshiba Medical Systems, Otawara, Japan). Scan parameters were a detector collimation of 16×0.5 mm, a gantry rotation time of 0.4 or 0.5 s, and tube voltage 135 kV. In patients with heart rates >65 beats/min, 20 mg of metoprolol was administrated orally 2 h before MDCT scanning and all patients received sublingual nitroglycerine just before scanning. The mean heart rate during MDCT was 60± 10 beats/min. A bolus of 100 ml of non-ionic contrast material (Iopamiron 370 [iopamidol], Shering, 370 mgI/ml) was administered through an arm vein with a flow rate of 4.0 ml/s. MDCT Data AnalysisThe raw MDCT data were transferred to an image analysis workstation (M900 quadra, ZIOSOFT, Tokyo, Japan). The position of the reconstruction window within the car- Background The ability to evaluate coronary stenosis using multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) has been well discussed. In contrast, several studies demonstrated that the plaque burden measured by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has a relationship to the risk of cardiovascular events. the accuracy of MDCT was studied to determine plaque and vessel size compared with IVUS. Methods and ResultsFifty-six proximal lesions (American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association classification: segment 1, 5, 6) from 33 patients were assessed using MDCT and IVUS. The plaque and vessel area were measured from the cross-sectional image using both MDCT and IVUS. Eight coronary artery lesions with motion artifacts and heavily calcified plaques were excluded from the analysis. The vessel and lumen size evaluated using MDCT were closely correlated with those evaluated by IVUS (R 2 =0.614, 0.75...