20 Result(s)
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Article
Genzou Takemura
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Article
Open AccessBrain-Specific Ultrastructure of Capillary Endothelial Glycocalyx and Its Possible Contribution for Blood Brain Barrier
Endothelial glycocalyx coats healthy vascular endothelium and plays an important role in vascular homeostasis. Although cerebral capillaries are categorized as continuous, as are those in the heart and lung, t...
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Anti-apoptosis in nonmyocytes and pro-autophagy in cardiomyocytes: two strategies against postinfarction heart failure through regulation of cell death/degeneration
Anti-apoptotic therapy for cardiomyocytes could be an effective strategy for preventing or treating heart failure. Notably, however, morphological evidence definitively demonstrating cardiomyocyte apoptosis ha...
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Open AccessThree-dimensional ultrastructure of capillary endothelial glycocalyx under normal and experimental endotoxemic conditions
Sugar-protein glycocalyx coats healthy endothelium, but its ultrastructure is not well described. Our aim was to determine the three-dimensional ultrastructure of capillary endothelial glycocalyx in the heart,...
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Open AccessDisturbance of cardiac gene expression and cardiomyocyte structure predisposes Mecp2-null mice to arrhythmias
Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is an epigenetic regulator of gene expression that is essential for normal brain development. Mutations in MeCP2 lead to disrupted neuronal function and can cause Rett synd...
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Sevoflurane induces cardioprotection through reactive oxygen species-mediated upregulation of autophagy in isolated guinea pig hearts
Sevoflurane increases reactive oxygen species (ROS), which mediate cardioprotection against myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury. Emerging evidence suggests that autophagy is involved in cardioprotection. We...
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Association among blood pressure control in elderly patients with hypertension, left atrial structure and function and new-onset atrial fibrillation: a prospective 2-year study in 234 patients
We assessed the hypothesis that blood pressure (BP)-lowering therapy has a beneficial effect on left atrial (LA) structure and function and may decrease the incidence of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in e...
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Open AccessMotion of left atrial appendage as a determinant of thrombus formation in patients with a low CHADS2 score receiving warfarin for persistent nonvalvular atrial fibrillation
The aim of this study was to define the independent determinants of left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombus among various echocardiographic parameters measured by Velocity Vector Imaging (VVI) in patients with no...
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Open AccessComparison between integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound and 64-slice multi-detector row computed tomography for tissue characterization and volumetric assessment of coronary plaques
The purpose of this study was to determine the cut-off values of Hounsfield units (HU) for the discrimination of plaque components and to evaluate the feasibility of measurement of the volume of plaque compone...
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Open AccessRelationship among coronary plaque compliance, coronary risk factors and tissue characteristics evaluated by integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of coronary plaques and plaque behavior, and to elucidate the relationship among tissue characteristics of coronary plaques, mechanica...
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Open AccessLeft atrial pathological degeneration assessed by integrated backscatter transesophageal echocardiography as a predictor of progression to persistent atrial fibrillation: Results from a prospective study of three-years follow-up
It is recognized that one of the causes of atrial fibrillation (AF) is pathological degeneration of the left atrium (LA). However, prospective study that elucidated the relationship between the incidence of pe...
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Unique mode of cell death in freshly isolated adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes exposed to hydrogen peroxide
To address whether adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes (ARVCs) exposed to oxidant stress die via apoptosis (secondarily by necrosis) or primarily by necrosis, we exposed ARVCs to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; 0.1–100...
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Reduction of QTc Dispersion by the Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker Valsartan May Be Related to Its Anti-Oxidative Stress Effect in Patients with Essential Hypertension
QT dispersion has been reported to increase in patients with essential hypertension, and abnormal QT dispersion is associated with arrythmias and sudden cardiac death. However, whether change in QT dispersion ...
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Autologous bone marrow cell transplantation improves left ventricular function in rabbit hearts with cardiomyopathy via myocardial regeneration-unrelated mechanisms
Recent studies suggest transplanted bone marrow cells (BMCs) can be used to reconstitute coronary vessels and myocardium following acute myocardial infarction, thereby improving cardiac function. We sought to ...
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Cilnidipine, an N+L-Type Dihydropyridine Ca Channel Blocker, Suppresses the Occurrence of Ischemia/Reperfusion Arrhythmia in a Rabbit Model of Myocardial Infarction
Dihydropyridine Ca channel blockers are widely prescribed for the treatment of hypertension and coronary artery diseases, but it remains unknown whether these agents protect against arrhythmias. We investigate...
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Relationship between thallium-201 myocardial SPECT and findings of endomyocardial biopsy specimens in dilated cardiomyopathy
The purpose of this study was to clarify which myocardial histological findings associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are reflected in quantitative201Tl myocardial SPECT. We obtained studied SPECT images f...
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N-Methyl-1-deoxynojirimycin (MOR-14), an α-glucosidase inhibitor, markedly improves postischemic left ventricular dysfunction
We examined whether pharmacological inhibition of glycogenolysis by N-methyl-1-deoxynojirimycin (MOR-14), a new compound which reduces the glycogenolytic rate by inhibiting the α-1,6-glucosidase activity of the ...
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Gallic acid induces vascular smooth muscle cell death via hydroxyl radical production
In the present study, we investigated whether gallic acid (GA) can induce death in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and whether production of the hydroxyl radical (·OH) is involved in the proces...
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Mode and role of cell death during progression of atherosclerotic lesions in hypercholesterolemic rabbits
Two cell types, macrophages and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), play important roles in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Both contribute to the formation of the lesions not only by their presence but al...
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Usefulness of electron microscopy in the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis
A 49-year-old man with cardiac sarcoidosis is presented. He suffered from congestive heart failure, and left ventricular asynergy and reduced function was evident by echocardiogram and left ventriculogram. A l...
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Clinicopathological study of myocardial infarction with normal or nearly normal extracardiac coronary arteries. Quantitative analysis of contraction band necrosis, coagulation necrosis, hemorrhage, and infarct size
In order to clarify the pathogenesis of acute myocardial infarction (MI) in hearts with normal coronary arteries, infarct size, and the extent of contraction band necrosis (CBN), coagulation necrosis, and hemo...
