Patients with an aortic aneurysm have a high incidence of coronary artery disease. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has not established as a safe, effective procedure in patients with an aortic aneurysm. From November 1987 to November 1993, 5 patients underwent PTCA prior to aortic aneurysm repair. Three patients had abdominal aortic aneurysm and 2 had thoracic aortic aneurysm. There were 4 men and 1 woman whose mean age was 68 years (range 63 to 76). In 4 patients primary success of PTCA was achieved. The remaining 1 patient failed PTCA and underwent emergency coronary bypass surgery. Early mortality was 0%. All five were followed up after aneurysm repair for a mean of 28 months (range 12-66 months). There was no myocardial infarction or death. These results indicate that PTCA prior to aneurysm repair is a relatively safe and effective procedure, particularly in elderly patients with an aortic aneurysm.

Objective : In Europe, carbon dioxide therapy has been used for treating cardiac disease and skin problems for a long time. Previously, we demonstrated that transcutaneous carbon dioxide (CO₂) application facilitated dioxygen (O₂) dissociation from hemoglobin (Hb) in the human body. Additionally, we proved that transcutaneous CO₂ application to the lower limbs of rats increased the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and silent mating type information regulation 2 homologs 1 (SIRT1). It also increased the number of mitochondria, and changed IIB fiber to IIA fiber in similar manner to the change that occurs after exercise. The transcutaneous CO₂ application caused a similar effect to that of exercise training in skeletal muscle and indicated the possibility of improved endurance strength. However, the effect of transcutaneous CO₂ application on endurance exercise and the recovery of muscle fatigue has not been studied. Methods : In this study, we investigated the performance of endurance exercise in rats with/without transcutaneous CO₂ application and analyzed the muscle fiber changes, capillary density and mitochondrial DNA number of the skeletal muscles after training, using activity wheels. Results： Training with CO₂ application resulted in a higher percentage of TA muscle transformed to IIA and/or IID than training alone, suggesting that transcutaneous CO₂ application may increase the production of ATP, mitochondria number, and capillary density. Therefore, transcutaneous CO₂ application might lead to muscle damage recovery. Conclusion : We suggest that transcutaneous CO₂ application has a therapeutic potential for recovery of damaged muscle after excessive exercise and rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: Due to adverse events, dose reduction or withdrawal of adjuvant chemotherapy is required for some patients. To identify the predictive factors for tolerability to postoperative adjuvant S-1 monotherapy in gastric cancer (GC) patients, we evaluated the predictive values of blood indicators. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 98 patients with pStage II/III GC who underwent postoperative adjuvant S-1 monotherapy. We retrospectively analyzed correlations between 14 parameters obtained from perioperative routine blood tests to assess their influence on the withdrawal of postoperative adjuvant S-1 monotherapy, within 6 months after discontinuation. RESULTS: Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy was discontinued in 21 patients (21.4%) within 6 months. Univariable analysis revealed that high preoperative albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) scores had the highest odds ratio (OR) for predicting the failure of adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy (OR, 6.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.08–20.1; cutoff value, –2.696). The high ALBI group had a significantly shorter time to failure of postoperative adjuvant S-1monotherapy (hazard ratio, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.69–7.25; P=0.001). Multivariable analysis identified high preoperative ALBI score as an independent prognostic factor for tolerability (OR, 10.3; 95% CI, 2.33–45.8; P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative ALBI shows promise as an indicator associated with the tolerability of adjuvant S-1 monotherapy in patients with pStage II/III GC.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Drug Therapy ; Gastrectomy ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Odds Ratio ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms