No abstract available.

Objective: The present study aimed to explore how the patterns of interaction between stress and positive resources differ according to the severity of depression and which resources play the most important role among the various positive resources. Methods: The study included 1,806 people who had visited a health screening center for a mental health check-up to evaluate the levels of perceived stress, positive resources, and depressive symptoms. The participants were divided into a depressive group (n=1,642, mean age 50.60, female 68%) and a non-depressive group (n=164, mean age 48.42, female 66.6%). We conducted hierarchical regression analyses and simple slope analyses to examine the interaction between perceived stress and positive resources. Results: The interaction between perceived stress and optimism was significantly associated with depression in non-depressive groups. In depressive groups, the interactions between five types of positive resources (optimism, purpose in life, self-control, social support and care) and perceived stress were all significantly related to depression. Conclusion Interventions that promote optimism can be helpful for preventing inevitable stress from leading to depression. A deficiency in positive resources may be a factor in aggravating depression in stressful situations for people reporting moderate to severe depressive symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Ventricular function is one of the important prognostic factors in patients with coronary artery disease. Among noninvasive approaches for the evaluation of ventricular performance, radionuclide ventriculo-graphy has shown to be of particular values in the patients with myocardial infarction. We have evaluated ven-tricular function with ECG-gated blood pool scan (GBPS) in patients with myocardial infarction of different locations and compared right and left ventricular functions. METHOD: Left and right ventricular function was assessed with multigated blood pool scan in 49 patients at 2-3 weeks after acute myocardial infarction (anterior infarction=23, inferior infarction=19, and lateral infarction=7). Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF), maximal emptying rate, maximal filling rate, phase angle and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of phase angles were measured during rest. RESULTS: 1) LVEF was signifi-cantly lower in the patients with anterior myocardial infarction (32.2%) than that of inferior (46.5%, p<0.001) or lateral infarction (45.5%, p<0.05), but not different between inferior and lateral infarction. 2) RVEF was significantly lower in the patients with inferior myocardial infarction (24.6%) than that of anterior (30.5%, p<0.05) or lateral infarction (36.1%, p<0.001), and RVEF of anterior infarction was significantly lower than that of lateral infarction (p<0.05). 3) Phase angle and FWHM of left ventricle and right ventricle phase histogram were not significantly different among the patients groups with different infarct sites. CONCLUSIONS: Ventricular function was differently affected by different infarct sites. Inferior infarction resulted in a greater reduction in right ventricular ejection fraction. In contrast, LVEF was greatly depressed in anterior infarction than in inferior infarction.
Coronary Artery Disease ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Infarction ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction ; Stroke Volume ; Ventricular Function ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Ventricular Function, Right*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The angiographic profiles and myocardial ischemic variables were compared between patients with and without chest pain during exercise myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in patients with coronary artery stenoses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study population were 102 consecutive patients who have significant luminal stenoses (> 50%) on coronary angiography. They underwent symptom-limited treadmill exercise test and myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Tc-99m methoxylisobutyl isonitrile (MIBI) was injected intravenously at rest and one minute before the termination of exercise. Tomographic images were acquired within 1 hour of tracer injection. Electrocardiographic variables, scintigraphic summed reversibility scores and angiographic profiles were compared between patients with and without chest pain during exercise. RESULTS: Silent ischemia was noted in 52/102 (51%) of the subjects. The summed reversibility score of myocardial SPECT was not significanlty different between patients with (6.0+/-4.2) and without (5.1+/-5.0) chest pain. The extent, vessel distribution and stenosis severity of coronary artery disease were not significantly different between two groups. ST segment depression was more prominent in patients with chest pain (1.51+/-1.49 mm) than without chest pain (0.5+/-1.1 mm) during exercise stress testing. CONCLUSION: The degree of coronary stenoses and scintigraphic myocardial ischemia was not different between patients with and without chest pain during exercise stress testing.
Chest Pain ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Stenosis* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Depression ; Electrocardiography ; Exercise Test ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Perfusion Imaging* ; Perfusion* ; Phenobarbital ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Exercise is recommended for every patient with Parkinson's disease (PD). The effectiveness of two different forms of exercise for PD, Tai Chi and combined stretching-strengthening exercise, was compared. METHODS: Patients with mild-to-moderate PD were recruited to join either the combined stretching-strengthening exercise group (n=7), the Tai Chi group (n=9), or the control (nonintervention) group (n=7). Exercise was performed three times a week over a period of 8 weeks. The Tai Chi exercise was led by certified instructors based on a Tai-Chi-for-arthritis program. The combined stretching-strengthening exercise comprised folk dancing, stepping, and elastic-band exercises. The subjects' functional fitness, parkinsonian symptoms, quality of life (QoL), and depression were evaluated. RESULTS: Both exercise groups yielded better results in their overall functional fitness after the intervention. However, no improvement with exercise was found for parkinsonian symptoms, as evaluated using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. With respect to the domains of QoL, the combined stretching-strengthening exercise group fared better in the social domain of QoL, and the Tai Chi group fared better in the emotional domain, while QoL and depression worsened in the control group. The postintervention QoL was improved relative to the control condition only for the Tai Chi group. Although the exercise interventions did not have any effect on depression, the control group was associated with a significant deterioration. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise improved the functional fitness and QoL of PD patients, with Tai Chi yielding better results in QoL and favorable results in functional fitness. These findings suggest that Tai Chi could be a good exercise strategy for patients with PD.
Dancing ; Depression ; Exercise ; Humans ; Parkinson Disease* ; Quality of Life ; Tai Ji*

PURPOSE: Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy is a useful technique to diagnose and to predict prognosis in patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the prognostic value of normal exercise (99m)Tc-MIRI myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) an(l to analyze results with regard to those of exercise. electrocardiography or coronary angiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 30) patients (mean age S2+/-10 years, 166 males and 135 females) with normal exercise (99m)Tc-MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT performed for suspected coronary artery disease. Subjects were evaluated for cardiac events and followed for 8-55 months (mean 19+/-10 months) after imaging. RESULTS: During the follow-up period, there was no cardiac death but only one non-fatal myocardial infarction (event rate 0,21%: per year). In addition, only one patient underwent coronary revascularization. There was no significant difference in cardiac event rate between patients with positive (n=27) and negative (n-235) exercise electrocardiography (p:NS), There was no cardiac event in ]7 patients who underwent coronary angiography (4 patients with >50% luminal narrowing, 2 patients with vasospasm and 11 patients with no significant lesion). CONCLUSION: Patients with normal exercise (99m)Tc-MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT has a very low risk for cardiac events regardless of exercise electrocardiographic and coronary angiographic findings.
Coronary Angiography* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Death ; Electrocardiography* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; Perfusion Imaging ; Perfusion* ; Phenobarbital ; Prognosis ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

No abstract available.
Humans ; Pericardial Effusion*

BACKGROUND: Although there are growing evidences linking Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection to myocardial infarction, it remains controversial. The authors intended to assess whether C. pneumoniae infection is associated with myocardial infarction. METHODS: Sera and peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNCs) were collected from 54 cases of acute myocardial infarction (MI), 33 cases of old MI, and 60 normal controls. Anti-C.pneumoniae IgG and IgM antibodies were measured using a microimmunofluorescence (mIF) method, and C.pneumoniae DNA was detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Seropositivity of anti-C.pneumoniae IgM antibody by mIF was shown 5.0% in control group, 29.6% (OR=8.00) in the acute MI and 6.1% (OR=1.23) in old MI group. Seropositivity of anti C.pneumoniae IgG antibody were 60.0 % in control group, 92.6% (OR=8.33) in the acute MI and 87.9% (OR= 4.83) in old MI group. The antibody titers in the acute MI and old MI group tended to be higher compared to those in control group. No C.pneumoniae DNA was detected in any case by PCR. CONCLUSION: The seropositivity and antibody titers were significantly higher in the acute MI and old MI group than in control group, suggesting that C.pneumoniae infection may be a risk factor for myocardial infarction.
Antibodies ; Chlamydial Pneumonia* ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae* ; Chlamydophila* ; DNA ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Pneumonia ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Risk Factors

3-Deazaadenosine (DZA), a cellular methylation blocker was reported to induce the caspase-3-like activities-dependent apoptosis in U-937 cells. In this study, we analyzed the activation pathway of the caspase cascade involved in the DZA-induced apoptosis using specific inhibitors of caspases. In the U-937 cells treated with DZA, cytochrome c release from mitochondria and subsequent activation of caspase-9, -8 and -3 were observed before the induction of apoptosis. zDEVD-Fmk, a specific inhibitor of caspase-3, and zLEHD-Fmk, a specific inhibitor of caspase-9, prevented the activation of caspase-8 but neither caspase-3 nor caspase-9, indicating that caspase-8 is downstream of both caspase-3 and caspase-9, which are activated by independent pathways. zVAD-Fmk, a universal inhibitor of caspases, kept the caspase-3 from being activated but not caspase-9. Moreover, ZB4, an antagonistic Fas-antibody, exerted no effect on the activation of caspase-8 and induction of apoptosis by DZA. In addition, zVAD-Fmk and mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) inhibitors such as cyclosporin A (CsA) and bongkrekic acid (BA) did not block the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. Taken together, these results suggest that in the DZA-induced apoptosis, caspase-8 may serve as an executioner caspase and be activated downstream of both caspase-3 and caspase-9, independently of Fas receptor-ligand interaction. And caspase-3 seems to be activated by other caspses including IETDase-like enzyme and caspse-9 seems to be activated by cytochrome c released from mitochondria without the involvement of caspases and CsA- and BA- inhibitory MPTP.
Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones/pharmacology ; Apoptosis/*drug effects ; Bongkrekic Acid/pharmacology ; Caspases/*metabolism ; Cell Line ; Cyclosporine/pharmacology ; Cytochrome c/drug effects/metabolism ; Enzyme Activation ; Human ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear/cytology ; Ligands ; Membrane Glycoproteins/metabolism ; Tubercidin/*pharmacology ; U937 Cells

3-Deazaadenosine (DZA), a cellular methylation blocker was reported to induce the caspase-3-like activities-dependent apoptosis in U-937 cells. In this study, we analyzed the activation pathway of the caspase cascade involved in the DZA-induced apoptosis using specific inhibitors of caspases. In the U-937 cells treated with DZA, cytochrome c release from mitochondria and subsequent activation of caspase-9, -8 and -3 were observed before the induction of apoptosis. zDEVD-Fmk, a specific inhibitor of caspase-3, and zLEHD-Fmk, a specific inhibitor of caspase-9, prevented the activation of caspase-8 but neither caspase-3 nor caspase-9, indicating that caspase-8 is downstream of both caspase-3 and caspase-9, which are activated by independent pathways. zVAD-Fmk, a universal inhibitor of caspases, kept the caspase-3 from being activated but not caspase-9. Moreover, ZB4, an antagonistic Fas-antibody, exerted no effect on the activation of caspase-8 and induction of apoptosis by DZA. In addition, zVAD-Fmk and mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) inhibitors such as cyclosporin A (CsA) and bongkrekic acid (BA) did not block the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. Taken together, these results suggest that in the DZA-induced apoptosis, caspase-8 may serve as an executioner caspase and be activated downstream of both caspase-3 and caspase-9, independently of Fas receptor-ligand interaction. And caspase-3 seems to be activated by other caspses including IETDase-like enzyme and caspse-9 seems to be activated by cytochrome c released from mitochondria without the involvement of caspases and CsA- and BA- inhibitory MPTP.
Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones/pharmacology ; Apoptosis/*drug effects ; Bongkrekic Acid/pharmacology ; Caspases/*metabolism ; Cell Line ; Cyclosporine/pharmacology ; Cytochrome c/drug effects/metabolism ; Enzyme Activation ; Human ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear/cytology ; Ligands ; Membrane Glycoproteins/metabolism ; Tubercidin/*pharmacology ; U937 Cells