Ongoing rubella epidemic in Osaka, Japan, in 2018–2019

Abstract@#A large rubella epidemic is currently ongoing since 2018 in Osaka, Japan. The detected rubella viruses were classified into genotypes 1E lineage 2 and 2B lineage 1. These strains may have been imported from endemic countries, and these viruses spread within the susceptible population.

Prevalence of left ventricular dyssynchrony in patients with heart failure assessed by a novel programmer-cardioGRAF / 老年心脏病学杂志（英文版）

Objectives Left ventricular systolic dyssynchrony is the most important determinant of response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), playing a vital role to predict improvement of systolic function or LV reverse remodeling. CardioGRAF is a novel programmer based on the ECG gated single photon emission computed tomography (G-SPECT) imaging to detect LV systolic and diastolic dyssynchrony simultaneously. This study was to investigate the prevalence of systolic and diastolic left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony in patients with heart failure. Methods We retrospectively studied 69 patients with heart disease, including 31 patients who had symptoms of heart failure (NYHA class Ⅱ-Ⅲ), and 38 patients who had no symptoms of heart failure (NYHA class Ⅰ). G-SPECT data were analyzed by cardiaGRAF, and measurements included the time to end systole (TES), the time to peak ejection (TPE), the time to peak filling (TPF), TES+TPF and maximal difference (MD) of each parameters were obtained, using the 95th percentile of the control group as a cutoffof 150 ms for MD-TES, 139 ms for MD-TPE, 345 ms for MD-TPF and 315 ms for MD-TES+TPF. Results The prevalence of LV systolic dyssynchrony was significantly higher in heart failure patients with reduced LV ejection fraction (LVEF)<45% (72% for MD-TES; 64% for MD-TPE) compared with heart failure patients with preserved LVEF=45% (14% for both MD-TES and MD-TPE; P=0.002, P=0.005, respectively); The prevalence of MD-TES<150 ms was higher in NYHA class Ⅲ patients (64%) compared with NYHA class Ⅱ patients (27%, P=0.049). However, the prevalence of the LV diastolic dyssynchrony were high but not difference between NYHA class Ⅲ(47% for both MD-TPF and MD-TES+TPF) and class Ⅲ(63% for MD-TPF; 69% for MD-TES+TPF; P=NS) patients as well as between patients with preserved LVEF (43% for both MD-TPF and MD-TES+TPF) and patients with reduced LVEF(64% for MD-TPF; 72% for MD-TES+TPF; P=NS). Conclusions The prevalence of LV systolic dyssynchrony was high in heart failure patients with reduced LVEF. Diastolic dyssynchrony was common in patients with heart failure. CardioGRAF maybe a useful method to detect LV dyssynchrony.

Permeabilities of rebamipide via different intestinal mucosa in the diffusion chamber in vitro / 药学学报

The objective of this study is to investigate the permeabilities of rebamipide across the jejunal, ileal and colonic membranes in rat. The permeability (Papp) of rebamipide via rat intestinal membranes at concentration of 80 micromol L(-1) was evaluated by an in vitro diffusion chamber system after the membranes were isolated from the rat intestine. And the concentration of rebamipide in the receptor was determined by HPLC. As a result, the permeability of rebamipide across the jejunal or ileal membrane was higher than that across the colonic membrane, and the permeability of rebamipide in the ileal tissue from the serosal to mucosal direction was greater than that from the mucosal to serosal direction. Therefore, there was a regional difference in the permeability of rabamipide across the jejunum, ileum and the colon in rat. Also, the transporters in the intestinal mucosa as p-glycoprotein may not be involved in the transport of rebamipide.

Clinical evaluation of oral insulin formulation in type-2 diabetic patients

The objective of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy of a single dose of insulin [100 IU] incorporated with a group of additives in enteric-coated, chitosan-coated capsules through its glucose lowering effect over a period of 12 hours. The capsules were administered orally to type-2 diabetic patients. The results were compared to those of oral administration of capsules of the same coating containing only insulin [100 IU] without additives, S.C. insulin injection [average dose 18 IU] and oral placebo. Ten patients with type-2 diabetes were enrolled in this blind, placebo-controlled, four-way crossover study. It was found that, capsules containing, only insulin resulted in a slight decrease in the mean blood glucose levels of the 10 patients compared to control especially in the period from 6 to 12 hours following administration. On the other hand, capsules containing insulin with additives showed a remarkable lowering of the blood glucose levels. Their effect started 3 hours following administration and sustained to the end of the experiment [12 h]. During the first 4 hours following administration was the reduction resulting from S.C. insulin was significantly higher than that produced by capsules containing insulin with additives. In the period from 4-7 hours, the effect of the capsules was comparable to that of S.C. insulin [no significant difference]. Beyond that [7-12 hours], there was a highly significant difference in favor of capsules. The relative bioavailability obtained by capsules containing only insulin was 3.43%, while that obtained by capsules containing insulin with additives was 18.54%

An Operative Case of Chronic Contained Rupture of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm with Retroperitoneal Hematoma Distended Assembling a Giant Tumor / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

We report the operative treatment of a chronic contained rupture of a saccular abdominal aortic aneurysm with a retroperitoneal hematoma. A 62-year-oldman walked into our hospital complaining of a painless abdominal mass and intermittent claudication. He had an episode of severe abdominal pain about 2 years prior to admission. A giant retroperitoneal neoplasm was suspected initially based on computed tomography (CT). However, magnetic resonance imaging, angiography and color doppler sonography demonstrated a chronic contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. At laparotomy, a punched out oval defect (width 3.5cm×length 4.5cm) that was thought to connect the thrombosed aneurysm to an organized retroperitoneal hematoma was discovered in the posterior wall of the bifurcation of the aorta. An infrarenal aorto-biexternal iliac Y-graft with a bypass to the left femoral artery was placed without removing the aneurysm or the hematoma. Uneventful recovery followed. About one year after the operation, the retroperitoneal hematoma appeared smaller on CT scan. This case fulfilled the criteria for a “chronic contained rupture” of an abdominal aortic aneurysm proposed by Jones and associates.