SummaryBackground: Interleukin (IL)-6 has recently been shown to have negative inotropic effects, and several studies have reported increases in circulating concentrations of this cytokine in patients with depressed left ventricular ejection fraction and chronic left heart failure. However, most previous clinical studies have measured cytokines in compensated chronic heart failure.Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to examine the temporal evolution of circulating concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines in patients with cardiomyopathy and acute cardiac decompensation, free of infection and unstable angina.Methods: The time course of circulating concentrations of CRP, an anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (a)-4, and a proinflammatory cytokine L -6 were studied in eight patients with cardiomyopathy and acute cardiac decompensation in the absence of infection or unstable angina. Control samples were obtained from eight age-matched asymptomatic subjects.Results: Increased circulating concentrations of CRP (2.6 f 0.8 mg/dl), IL-4 (164.6 k 36.5 pg/ml), and IL-6 (17.1 k 5.1 pg/ml) were found in all eight patients during acute cardiac de-

Long-term safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents remains controversial. The CREDO-Kyoto registry cohort-2 is a physician-initiated non-company sponsored multi-center registry enrolling consecutive patients undergoing first coronary revascularization in 26 centers in Japan. We compared 3-year outcome between patients treated with sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) only (5092 patients) and bare-metal stent (BMS) only (5405 patients). SES-use as compared with BMS-use was associated with significantly lower adjusted risk for all-cause death [hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] 0.72 (0.59-0.87), P = 0.0007], which was mainly driven by the reduction in non-cardiac death [HR (95% CI) 0.64 (0.48-0.85), P = 0.002]. The risk of cardiac death [HR (95% CI) 0.82 (0.63-1.07), P = 0.15], myocardial infarction [HR (95% CI) 0.73 (0.51-1.03), P = 0.07] and definite stent thrombosis [HR (95% CI) 0.62 (0.35-1.09), P = 0.1] was not different between the two groups. Despite longer duration of thienopyridine administration, SES-use was associated with significantly lower risk for bleeding [HR (95% CI) 0.75 (0.6-0.95), P = 0.02] and similar risk for stroke [HR (95% CI) 1.0 (0.75-1.34), P = 1.0]. The risk for target-lesion revascularization (TLR) was markedly lower in the SES group [HR (95% CI) 0.42 (0.36-0.48), P < 0.0001]. The direction and magnitude of the effect of SES relative to BMS in patients presenting acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were similar to those in patients presenting otherwise. In conclusion, SES-use as compared with BMS-use was associated with marked reduction of TLR without any increases in death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, stroke and bleeding in real world clinical practice regardless of clinical presentation including AMI.

Serum PGI2 stabilizing factor (PSF) was purified from human serum to a single protein with a molecular weight of 28,000 D by SDS-PAGE. Analyses of NH2-terminal sequence (32 residues), COOH-terminal sequence (3 residues) and the composition of amino acids disclosed its homology with human apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I), a major apolipoprotein of HDL.

The prevalence, intensity, safety, and efficacy of oral anticoagulation (OAC) in addition to dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in "real-world" patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have not yet been fully evaluated. In the Coronary REvascularization Demonstrating Outcome Study in Kyoto registry cohort-2, a total of 1,057 patients with AF (8.3%) were identified among 12,716 patients undergoing first PCI. Cumulative 5-year incidence of stroke was higher in patients with AF than in no-AF patients (12.8% vs 5.8%, p <0.0001). Although most patients with AF had CHADS2 score ≥2 (75.2%), only 506 patients (47.9%) received OAC with warfarin at hospital discharge. Cumulative 5-year incidence of stroke in the OAC group was not different from that in the no-OAC group (13.8% vs 11.8%, p = 0.49). Time in therapeutic range (TTR) was only 52.6% with an international normalized ratio of 1.6 to 2.6, and only 154 of 409 patients (37.7%) with international normalized ratio data had TTR ≥65%. Cumulative 5-year incidence of stroke in patients with TTR ≥65% was markedly lower than that in patients with TTR <65% (6.9% vs 15.1%, p = 0.01). In a 4-month landmark analysis in the OAC group, there was a trend for higher cumulative incidences of stroke and major bleeding in the on-DAPT (n = 286) than in the off-DAPT (n = 173) groups (15.1% vs 6.7%, p = 0.052 and 14.7% vs 8.7%, p = 0.10, respectively). In conclusion, OAC was underused and its intensity was mostly suboptimal in real-world patients with AF undergoing PCI, which lead to inadequate stroke prevention. Long-term DAPT in patients receiving OAC did not reduce stroke incidence.

Objective-To identify new prognostic indicators in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and secondary cardiomyopathy. Design and patients-Serum concentrations of aminoterminal propeptides of type III procollagen and the 7S domain of type IV collagen (7S collagen)-which have recently been used as indicators of collagen matrix turnover in other diseases-and of cardiac troponin T were measured in 17 consecutive patients with DCM and in four patients with secondary cardiomyopathy (one associated with hyperthyroidism, two with chronic renal failure, one with amyloidosis), confirmed by endomyocardial biopsy. The correlation of these variables with short term prognosis was then assessed prospectively. Results-11 of the patients were positive for type III procollagen, 7S collagen, or troponin T even though their creatine kinase concentrations were within the normal range. These patients had a poor short term prognosis (p < 0.001). Conclusions-Within the DCM and secondary cardiomyopathy groups, there was a subgroup of patients with raised concentrations of serum collagen and troponin T, for whom short term prognosis was poor. Although it is unclear whether these serum peptide levels reflect ongoing myocyte degeneration and interstitial fibrosis, they may serve as useful new prognostic indicators for cardiomyopathy.