Search

Here we report the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on symptoms in peripheral arterial disease patients with Buerger disease. A double-blinded and randomized study with active and inactive LIPUS was conducted. We assessed symptoms in leg circulation during a 24-week period of LIPUS irradiation in 12 patients with Buerger disease. Twelve patients without LIPUS irradiation served as controls. The pain intensity on visual analog score was significantly decreased after 24-week LIPUS treatment. Skin perfusion pressure was significantly increased in patients who received LIPUS treatment. There was no significant difference in symptoms and perfusion parameters in the control group. No severe adverse effects were observed in any of the patients who underwent LIPUS treatment. LIPUS is noninvasive, safe and effective option for improving symptoms in patients with Buerger disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Buerger disease, also known as Winiwarter–Buerger disease or thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO), is a non-specific inflammation of small- and medium-sized arteries with thrombus obliteration and without atherosclerotic changes. Patients with TAO can develop chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) and are at risk of limb amputation despite smoking cessation and exercise therapy recommendations. Case summary A 72-year-old Japanese man presented with painful discolouration of toes and renal impairment. He was diagnosed with Rutherford classification Stage 6 CLTI with immunoglobulin A nephropathy. He refused limb amputation. Clinical symptoms reduced after treatment with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS). LIPUS is a non-invasive option to alleviate peripheral arterial disease symptoms. Despite the initiation of conventional therapy measures, there was a worsening of the limb condition. The non-invasive investigational treatment option of LIPUS was initiated after the poor clinical outcomes of the conventional therapy measures. The patient's symptoms in the bilateral lower limbs, ulcers, and the blue-coloured toes gradually lessened. After 1 year of treatment with LIPUS, he had achieved better walking independence with improved quality of life. Discussion Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound is a non-invasive option for therapeutic angiogenesis with the potential to improve ischaemic limb conditions in patients with peripheral arterial disease and to avoid major amputation procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) irradiation has been shown to induce various responses in different cells. It has been shown that LIPUS activates extracellular signal–regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) through integrin. Purpose: To study the effects of LIPUS on myogenic regulatory factors and other related myogenesis elements in a volumetric skeletal muscle loss injury model. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were subjected to full-thickness muscle defect injury of the quadriceps and treated with direct application of LIPUS 20 min/d or non-LIPUS treatment (control) for 3, 7, and 14 days. LIPUS was also applied to C2C12 cells in culture in the presence of low and high doses of lipopolysaccharides. The expression levels of myogenic regulatory factors and the expression levels of myokine-related and angiogenic-related proteins of the control and LIPUS groups were analyzed. Results: Muscle volume in the injury site was restored at day 14 with LIPUS treatment. Paired-box protein 7, myogenic factor 5, myogenin, and desmin expressions were significantly different between control and LIPUS groups at days 7 and 14. Myokine and angiogenic cytokine-related factors were significantly increased in the LIPUS group at day 3 and decreased with no significant difference between the groups by day 14. LIPUS induced different responses of myogenic regulatory factors in C2C12 cells with low and high doses of lipopolysaccharides. LIPUS promoted myogenesis through short-lived increase in interleukin-6 and heme oxygenase 1, together with activation of ERK1/2. Conclusion: LIPUS had a constant effect on the variables of tissue damage, from macrotrauma to microtrauma, leading to efficient muscle regeneration. Clinical Relevance: The focus of therapeutic strategies with LIPUS has been not only for microvascular regeneration but also for skeletal muscle and related local tissue recovery from acute or chronic damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is associated with endothelial dysfunction. However, it is still controversial as to whether antidiabetic drug treatment affects endothelial function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships of the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level with flow‐mediated vasodilation (FMD) and nitroglycerine‐induced vasodilation (NID) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are receiving antidiabetic drugs. Materials and Methods: The FMD was measured in 866 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were receiving antidiabetic drugs (625 men and 241 women; mean age: 62 ± 10 years). The patients were divided into four groups according to HbA1c levels: <6.5, 6.5–6.9, 7.0–7.9, and ≥8.0%. Results: There was an inverted U‐shaped pattern of association of the HbA1c level with the FMD at an HbA1c level of about 7% of the peak of FMD in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were receiving antidiabetic drugs. The FMD was significantly smaller in the HbA1c <6.5% group than in the HbA1c 6.5–6.9% group and the HbA1c 7.0–7.9% group (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). The FMD values were similar in the HbA1c <6.5% group and HbA1c ≥8.0% group (P = 0.10). There were no significant differences in NID among the four groups (P = 0.98). Conclusions: These findings suggest that a low HbA1c <6.5% as well as a high HbA1c ≥8.0% is associated with endothelial dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are receiving antidiabetic drugs and that vascular smooth muscle function is similar in such patients regardless of the HbA1c level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor oral care is associated with cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of tooth brushing behavior on the incidences of future cardiovascular events in a general population including patients with cardiovascular disease. This was a prospective observational study which included 692 participants (437 men and 255 women, mean age, 63 ± 16 years). The participants were divided into three groups according to the frequency and duration of tooth brushing: low frequency and short duration group (

Background: Buerger disease, also known as Winiwarter-Buerger disease or thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO), is a non-specific inflammation of small- and medium-sized arteries with thrombus obliteration and without atherosclerotic changes. Patients with TAO can develop chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) and are at risk of limb amputation despite smoking cessation and exercise therapy recommendations., Case Summary: A 72-year-old Japanese man presented with painful discolouration of toes and renal impairment. He was diagnosed with Rutherford classification Stage 6 CLTI with immunoglobulin A nephropathy. He refused limb amputation. Clinical symptoms reduced after treatment with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS). LIPUS is a non-invasive option to alleviate peripheral arterial disease symptoms. Despite the initiation of conventional therapy measures, there was a worsening of the limb condition. The non-invasive investigational treatment option of LIPUS was initiated after the poor clinical outcomes of the conventional therapy measures. The patient's symptoms in the bilateral lower limbs, ulcers, and the blue-coloured toes gradually lessened. After 1 year of treatment with LIPUS, he had achieved better walking independence with improved quality of life., Discussion: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound is a non-invasive option for therapeutic angiogenesis with the potential to improve ischaemic limb conditions in patients with peripheral arterial disease and to avoid major amputation procedures., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: A Body Shape Index (ABSI) has been reported to have associations with cardiovascular risk factors. However, there is no information on the association between ABSI and incidence of cardiovascular events., Methods: We investigated the associations between ABSI and first major cardiovascular events (death from cardiovascular disease, nonfatal acute coronary syndrome, and nonfatal stroke) in 1857 subjects from the database of Flow-Mediated Dilation Japan registry and from Hiroshima University Vascular Function registry., Results: The areas under the curves of ABSI to predict the first major cardiovascular events were superior to BMI (men: P=0.032, women: P=0.015) and waist circumference in women (men: P=0.078, women: P=0.002). The subjects were divided into two groups based on the cutoff value of ABSI for predicting first major cardiovascular events: a low ABSI group (<0.0822 in men and <0.0814 in women) and a high ABSI group (≥0.0822 in men and ≥0.0814 in women). During a median follow-up period of 41.6 months, 56 subjects died (23 from cardiovascular causes), 16 had nonfatal acute coronary syndrome, and 14 had nonfatal stroke. The Kaplan-Meier curves for first major cardiovascular events were significantly different between the two groups (men, P<0.001; women, P<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that high ABSI remained an independent predictor of first major cardiovascular events (men: hazard ratio, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.07 to 5.06; P=0.033; women: hazard ratio, 8.33; 95% CI, 1.06 to 65.49; P=0.044)., Conclusions: High ABSI is independently associated with incidence of cardiovascular events. ABSI calculation should be performed for evaluation of risk of cardiovascular events., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aim: There is little information on the relationships of serum small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) levels and serum triglyceride (TG) levels with cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) who are receiving statins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships of serum TG levels and sdLDL-C levels as residual risks for cardiovascular events in patients with CAD and type 2 DM who were being treated with statins., Methods: The subjects were divided into four groups based on TG levels and sdLDL-C levels: sdLDL-C of ＜40.0 mg/dL and TG of ＜150 mg/dL, sdLDL-C of ≥ 40.0 mg/dL and TG of ＜150 mg/dL, sdLDL-C of ＜40.0 mg/dL and TG of ≥ 150 mg/dL, and sdLDL-C of ≥ 40.0 mg/dL and TG of ≥ 150 mg/dL. During a median follow-up period of 1419 days, cardiovascular events occurred in 34 patients., Results: The incidences of cardiovascular events were significantly higher in patients with sdLDL-C of ≥ 40.0 mg/dL and TG of ＜150 mg/dL and in patients with sdLDL-C of ≥ 40.0 mg/dL and TG of ≥ 150 mg/dL, but not in patients with sdLDL-C of ＜40.0 mg/dL and TG of ≥ 150 mg/dL, than in patients with sdLDL-C of ＜40.0 mg/dL and TG of ＜150 mg/dL., Conclusions: Under the condition of treatment with statins, patients with CAD and type 2 DM who had sdLDL-C levels of ≥ 40.0 mg/dL had a high risk for cardiovascular events even though serum TG levels were controlled at ＜150 mg/dL.