An 84-year-old woman was brought to our hospital with cardiogenic shock. Ischemic changes of the ST segment were observed on the electrocardiogram in broad leads, but Q waves were not. Echocardiography revealed severe mitral regurgitation due to prolapse of the posterior leaflet, and coronary angiography showed 2-vessel disease involving left coronary arteries accompanied by a hypoplastic right coronary artery, so the coronary lesion seemed to be equivalent to 3-vessel disease. Preoperative tracheal intubation and intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) were required to maintain the hemodynamics. Emergency surgical procedures of combined coronary artery bypass grafting with mitral valve replacement were performed successfully. After 18 days, the patient was discharged, classified as NYHA class II. The prognosis for acute ischemic mitral regurgitation presenting shock in an octogenarian is extremely poor. Although the clinical symptoms were serious in this case, partial rupture of the papillary muscle and subendocardial infarction contributed to the favorable surgical result.

A 77-year-old woman with previous aortic grafting for abdominal aortic and iliac artery aneurysms developed a blue toe in her left foot. Enhanced CT showed a high density area around the vascular graft of the left iliac artery, which partially protruded into the graft. Because of the elevated β-D glucan level, fungal infection of the vascular graft was strongly suspected. Her general condition precluded the graft removal. Instead, thrombectomy was performed. Microbial examination of the removed clot revealed infection by Aspergillus fumigatus. Voriconazole was administered for 3 months. The β-D glucan level was normalized. Only thrombectomy and Voriconazole administration can be an alternative in case with vascular graft infection by Aspergillus.

  Because changes in the Medical Practitioners’ Act in 2001 allowed persons with impaired hearing to obtain a physician’s license, medical education for hearing–impaired students has become necessary.
  The Shiga University of Medical Science provided learning support for a student with severely impaired hearing who entered our university in 2001.
  For class sessions, consideration was given to seating location, devices for taking notes, and distributed educational materials. However, difficulties often occurred in small–group sessions. Clinical training was made possible by taking measures in advance to compensate for the hearing impairment. Classmates viewed positively their learning with a severely hearing–impaired student.
  We believe that a good understanding of hearing impairment by teachers and classmates and the selection of communication tools compensating for the impairment are essential for the medical education of hearing–impaired students.

A 65-year-old woman with a history of chronic atrial fibrillation was admitted for treatment of progressively worsening pain in the right forearm, which had begun several days before presentation. She did not have a palpable right brachial pulse, but her axillary pulse was palpable. We suspected acute thromboembolism of the brachial artery, and tried emergency thrombectomy via the brachial artery. However, her brachial artery was completely occluded with white organized thrombi, which was the cause of the chronic occlusion. Vasodilative drugs were administered, but her symptoms remained. Preoperative angiography showed the right brachial artery to be occluded and the ulnar artery could be partially visualized via the collateral arteries. We performed bypass grafting between the right axillary and ulnar artery, using an autologous saphenous vein graft. Her symptoms improved, and postoperative angiography revealed the bypass graft to be patent. The possibility of acutely worsening chronic ischemia should be considered, even if symptoms indicate acute thromboembolism of the extremities.

We report 18 cases of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Most causes of the thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm were atherosclerotic lesions (56%) or inflammatory changes (39%), such as Takayasu's aortitis and Behçet's disease. The Crawford procedure was performed in 13 patients, patch aortoplasty in 3, the Hardy procedure in 1 and extra-anatomic bypass in 1. As an adjunct, temporary bypass was employed in 8 patients and F-F bypass in 7 patients. Visceral arteries were perfused selectively during aortic cross-clamp. A total of 39% of all patients required emergency surgery for rupture, and among inflammatory aneurysms 86% of them ruptured. The early mortality rate was 0% in non-ruptured thoracoabdominal aneurysms, 42.9% in ruptured and 16.7% overall. There were 3 severe post-operative complications including one each of paraplegia, non-occlusive intestinal ischemia and rupture. All of them turned resulted in in-hospital death and the in-hospital mortality rate was 33.3%. There was no late death among atherosclerotic thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. However both Behçet's disease cases required re-operation for rupture at the anastomotic site in the late postoperative period and one patient died. One Marfan's syndrome patient also died 3 years postoperatively. We conclude that the Crawford procedure with F-F bypass is an effective and safe approach to thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair and yields good clinical results.

Herb supplies can become unstable because of climate change and the economic development of herb exporters. In this paper, in order to increase the self-sufficiency of herbal resources we examined the possibil ity of changing to herb crop production from tobacco, for which demand is declining. Firstly, we considered demand, quality and the price of raw herb materials to make recommendations for corrections, and selected Angelica (A. ) acutiloba and Bupleurum (B. ) falcatum Linne. Next, we compared the profitability of tobacco and the herbs. Profit margins for A. acutiloba were less than for tobacco. It was thought that the profitability of A. acutiloba could become equivalent to tobacco if an adjustment subsidy were provided. The self-sufficiency rate for A. acutiloba would be one hundred percent with 35 million yen in every year. Although the profitabil ity of B. falcatum has exceeded tobacco, its selling price was about 3 times that of imports, while the price of medical B. falcatum was lower than its selling price. It was thought that the price competitiveness problem of B. falcatum can be covered if a production subsidy is provided, and to reach a 50 percent B. falcatum self sufficiency rate with 660 million yen per year.

In the past 9 years, 37 patients with infective endocarditis underwent valve replacement. The aortic valve was involved in 17 patients, the mitral valve in 10, and both valves in 10, respectively. 35 patients had native valve and 2 had prosthetic valve endocarditis. Bacterial findings were Streptococcus in 20 patients (54%), Staphylococcus in 5 (13.5%), gram-negative in 3 (8%), and undetected in 10 (27%). 10 patients developed aortic annular abscess. After aggressive debridement of all apparently infected tissue of annular abscess, the defects left in the left ventricular outflow tract were repaired by interrupted mattress sutures with pledgets in 4 patients, by autologous pericardial patch in 4, and by valved conduit in 2 PVE patients, respectively. Retrograde cardioplegic infusion from the coronary sinus not only facilitated operative manipulation but also provided superior myocardial protection in such patients. Operative mortality was 11% (4/37). Reoperation was necessary in 2 patients; one for periprosthetic leak, and the other for newly developed severe left coronary ostial stenosis after the first operation, but both died eventually. Late mortality was 8% (3/37). Mean follow-up of 31 months was achieved in all 30 survivors, in whom there was no recurrence of infection and clinical improvement was excellent.

Nine patients with type IIIb dissecting aortic aneurysm underwent graft replacement of the thoracic and abdominal aorta between 1988 and 1992. The spiral opening method was used to expose the thoracic and abdominal aorta. Temporal bypass was employed in 2 patients and F-F bypass in 7 patients. Visceral arteries were perfused selectively during aortic cross-clamp. The entire descending thoracic aorta and abdominal aorta was reconstructed in 6 patients and the proximal descending thoracic aorta to renal arteries in 3 patients. The Crawford graft inclusion technique was used in all cases. Three patients required emergency surgery for rupture in one and impending rupture in 2. Operative deaths occurred in 2 patients (22.2%). Morbidity included renal failure (2), bleeding requiring reoperation (2), arrythmia (1), paraplegia (1), paraparesis (1), respiratory failure (1) and ileus (1). In the past two years, we operated on 5 cases of type IIIb dissecting aneurysms and there was neither operative death nor paraplegia.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a member of the herpesvirus family. HCMV infection persists throughout the host lifespan in a latent state following primary infection. The ability of HCMV to escape control by the host immune system and its resulting reactivation suggests the importance of ongoing immune surveillance in the prevention of HCMV reactivation. HCMV is a common cause of opportunistic infection that causes severe and fatal disease in immune-compromised individuals. In inflammatory bowel disease patients, particularly those with ulcerative colitis (UC), HCMV is often reactivated because these patients are frequently treated with immunosuppressive agents. This reactivation exacerbates colitis. Additionally, HCMV infection can induce severe colitis, even in patients with UC who have never been treated with immunosuppressive agents. However, the role of HCMV in colonic inflammation in patients with UC remains unclear. Here, we present previous and current clinical data on the diagnosis and treatment of HCMV infection in UC. Additionally, our experimental data from a newly established mouse model mimicking UC with concomitant CMV infection clearly demonstrate that inflammation could result in the exacerbation of UC disease activity with induction of HCMV reactivation. In summary, optimal control of colonic inflammation should be achieved in UC patients who are refractory to conventional immunosuppressive therapies and are positive for HCMV.
Animals ; Colitis ; Colitis, Ulcerative* ; Colon ; Cytomegalovirus Infections* ; Cytomegalovirus* ; Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Immune System ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Inflammation* ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Mice ; Opportunistic Infections ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Ulcer* ; United Nations

Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis, while myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a heterogeneous group of clonal hematologic disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis. Some studies suggest a relationship between MDS and BD, especially intestinal BD, and trisomy 8 seems to play an important role in both diseases. There are several reports on patients with BD comorbid with MDS involving trisomy 8 that frequently have intestinal lesions refractory to conventional medical therapies. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is strongly involved in the pathophysiology of several autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and BD. In addition, TNF-alpha plays an important role in the pathophysiology of MDS by inhibiting normal hematopoiesis and inducing the programmed cell death of normal total bone marrow cells and normal CD34+ cells. Recent clinical reports demonstrate the favorable effect of TNF-alpha antagonists in patients with refractory intestinal BD and in those with MDS. We present the case of a patient with intestinal BD and MDS involving trisomy 8 who was successfully treated with adalimumab.
Adalimumab ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Behcet Syndrome ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Cell Death ; Hematopoiesis ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes* ; Systemic Vasculitis ; Trisomy* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha