Impact of Cancer History on Temporal Changes in the Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test of Patients with Cardiovascular Disease.

The elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in cancer patients and survivors is likely the result of normal age-related pathologies coupled with the direct and indirect effects of cancer therapy that extend across multiple systems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on CVD patients with a history of cancer.In this study, patients who had participated in the outpatient CR program were enrolled and were divided into 2 groups (cancer survivor group and no-cancer group) based on their history of cancer. The cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) was performed at the beginning (baseline) and at the end of the CR program (follow-up). The results of CPET at baseline and those at follow-up were analyzed retrospectively.A total of 105 patients were analyzed in this study. The cancer survivor group had 25 patients, and the non-cancer group 80. At baseline, peak oxygen uptake (peak VO2) (14.7 [11.9 to 17.6] mL/kg/minute versus 11.3 [9.7 to 14.7] mL/kg/minute; P = 0.003) was significantly lower in cancer survivors. The percent changes in peak VO2 between baseline and follow-up were not significantly different between the 2 groups (7.9 % [-11.5 to 24.5] versus 9.4 % [-7.5 to 27.3] P = 0.520).The percent changes in peak VO2 of CR participants were not significantly different despite their cancer history.

Comparison of Optical Flow Ratio and Fractional Flow Ratio in Stent-Treated Arteries Immediately After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Optical flow ratio (OFR) is a recently developed method for functional assessment of coronary artery disease based on computational fluid dynamics of vascular anatomical data from intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between OFR and fractional flow reserve (FFR) in stent-treated arteries immediately after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods and Results:The OFR and FFR were measured in 103 coronary arteries immediately after successful PCI with a stent. An increase in the OFR and FFR values within the stent was defined as in-stent ∆OFR and ∆FFR, respectively. The values of FFR and OFR were 0.89±0.06 and 0.90±0.06, respectively. OFR was highly correlated with FFR (r=0.84, P<0.001). OFR showed a good agreement with FFR, presenting small values of mean difference and root-mean-squared deviation (FFR-OFR: -0.01±0.04). In-stent ∆OFR showed a moderate correlation (r=0.69, P<0.001) and good agreement (in-stent ∆FFR - in-stent ∆OFR: 0.00±0.02) with in-stent ∆FFR. CONCLUSIONS: OFR showed a high correlation and good agreement with FFR in stent-treated arteries immediately after PCI.

Left ventricular reverse remodeling and reduction of interstitial fibrosis in patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular (LV) structural and functional changes have been reported in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) who have undergone transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI); however, the relationship between change in LV structure and systolic function and tissue characteristics assessed via cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) post-TAVI has been not fully elucidated. This study aimed to investigate this relationship in patients with severe AS who underwent TAVI and CMRI. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 65 patients who underwent TAVI and CMRI at the 6-month follow-up were analyzed. The relationship between percent changes in LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), LV end-systolic volume (LVESV), LV ejection fraction (LVEF), and LV mass (LVM) (⊿LVEDV, ⊿LVESV, ⊿LVEF, and ⊿LVM) and those in the native T1 value (⊿native T1) was analyzed using a correlation analysis. Moreover, extracellular volume fraction (ECV) value changes were analyzed. RESULTS: The ⊿native T1 significantly decreased from 1292.8 (1269.9-1318.4) ms at pre-TAVI to 1282.3 (1262.6-1310.2) ms at the 6-month follow-up (P = 0.022). A significant positive correlation between ⊿LVEDV, ⊿LVESV, and ⊿LVM and ⊿native T1 (r = 0.351, P = 0.004; r = 0.339, P = 0.006; r = 0.261, P = 0.035, respectively) and a tendency toward a negative correlation between ⊿LVEF and ⊿native T1 (r = -0.237, P = 0.058) were observed. The ECV value increased significantly from 26.7 % (25.3-28.3) to 28.2 % (25.7-30.5) (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in native T1 might be associated with LV reverse remodeling. Evaluating structural and functional changes using CMRI may be useful for patient management.

Impact of tag index and local electrogram for successful first-pass cavotricuspid isthmus ablation.

Background: The optimal ablation index (AI) value for cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) ablation is unknow. Objective: This study investigated the optimal AI value and whether preassessment of local electrogram voltage of CTI could predict first-pass success of ablation. Methods: Voltage maps of CTI were created before ablation. In the preliminary group, the procedure was performed in 50 patients targeting an AI ≥450 on the anterior side (two-thirds segment of CTI) and AI ≥400 on the posterior side (one-third segment of CTI). The modified group also included 50 patients, but the target AI for the anterior side was modified to ≥500. Results: In the modified group, the first-pass rate of success was higher (88% vs 62%; P < .01) than in the preliminary group, and there were no differences in the average bipolar and unipolar voltages at the CTI line. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that ablation with an AI ≥500 on the anterior side was the only independent predictor (odds ratio 4.17; 95% confidence interval 1.44-12.05; P < .01). The bipolar and unipolar voltages were higher at sites without conduction block than at sites with conduction block (both P < .01). The cutoff values for predicting conduction gap were ≥1.94 mV and ≥2.33 mV with areas under the curve of 0.655 and 0.679, respectively. Conclusions: CTI ablation with a target AI >500 on the anterior side was shown to be more effective than an AI >450, and local voltage at a conduction gap was higher than without a conduction gap.

Diagnostic significance of paradoxical left ventricular hypertrophy in detecting cardiac amyloidosis.

Background: Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) progresses rapidly with a poor prognosis. Therefore, methods for early diagnosis that are easily accessible in any hospital, are required. We hypothesized that based on the pathology of CA, morphological left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) without electrical augmentation, namely paradoxical LVH, could be used to diagnose CA. This study aimed to investigate whether paradoxical LVH has diagnostic significance in identifying CA in patients with LVH. Methods: Patients who presented with left ventricular (LV) wall thickness ≥ 12 mm on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) were enrolled from a multicentre CMR registry. Paradoxical LVH was defined as a LV wall thickness ≥ 12 mm on CMR, SV1 + RV5 < 3.5 mV, and a lack of secondary ST-T abnormalities. The diagnostic significance of paradoxical LVH in identifying CA was assessed. Results: Of the 110 patients enrolled, 30 (27 %) were diagnosed with CA and 80 (73 %) with a non-CA aetiology. The CA group demonstrated paradoxical LVH more frequently than the non-CA group (80 % vs. 16 %, P < 0.001). It was an independent predictor for detecting CA in patients with LVH (odds ratio: 33.44, 95 % confidence interval: 8.325-134.3, P < 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predict value, negative predict value and accuracy of paradoxical LVH for CA detection were 80 %, 84 %, 65 %, 92 % and 83 %, respectively. Conclusions: Paradoxical LVH can be used for identifying CA in patients with LVH. Our findings could contribute to the early diagnosis of CA, even in non-specialized hospitals.

Feasibility of tissue-tracking mitral annular displacement in single four-chamber view as a simple index of left ventricular longitudinal deformation.

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) has prognostic value for adverse cardiac events. Application of speckle-tracking technology to mitral annulus provides easy assessment of tissue-tracking mitral annular displacement (TMAD) in apical four-chamber view. The study aimed to examine whether TMAD can be used as a simple index of LV longitudinal deformation in patients with and without preserved ejection fraction (EF). METHODS: The study population consisted of 95 consecutive subjects. GLS was assessed from three apical views. TMAD was evaluated as the base-to-apex displacement of septal (TMADsep), lateral (TMADlat), and mid-point of annular line (TMADmid) in apical 4-chamber view. The percentage of TMADmid to LV length from the mid-point of mitral annuls to the apex at end-diastole (%TMADmid) was calculated. We compared each TMAD parameter with GLS by linear regression analysis, and analyzed each TMAD parameter by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to detect impaired LV longitudinal deformation (|GLS|< 15.0%). RESULTS: There were good correlations between each TMAD parameter and GLS (TMADsep: r2 = 0.59, p < 0.01. TMADlat: r2 = 0.65, p < 0.01. TMADmid: r2 = 0.68, p < 0.01. %TMADmid: r2 = 0.75, p < 0.01). According to ROC curve, %TMADmid < 10.5% was the best cut-off value in determining impaired LV longitudinal deformation (|GLS|≤ 15.0%) with a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 93%. The area under the curve (AUC) of %TMADmid was 0.98 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.93-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: TMAD using speckle-tracking echocardiography quickly estimated from single apical four-chamber view can be used as a simple index for detection of impaired LV longitudinal deformation in patients with and without preserved EF.

Malnutrition and inflammation determine prognosis of patients with CRS type 4.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A significant number of uremic patients develop ischemic heart disease before hemodialysis (HD) is initiated. Recently, chronic cardiorenal syndrome among predialysis patients has been recognized. However, little is known about prognostic factors in this subgroup of incident HD patients. METHODS: A total of 87 incident HD patients, who were classified into cardiorenal syndrome type 4 (chronic cardiorenal syndrome), were identified at Mitsui Memorial Hospital between 1984 and 2003. The survival and risk factors for mortality were examined. RESULTS: 25 patients died and the 5-year survival rate amounted to approximately 75%. Both all-cause mortality and the adjusted mortality for age and sex were higher in patients with a lower serum albumin level (p = 0.03) or higher serum C-reactive protein level (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The poor survival rate of incident HD patients with a medical history of ischemic heart disease was predicted by malnutrition and inflammation at the start of HD.

Ultrafiltration volume by once-weekly hemodialysis is a predictor of technique survival of combination therapy with peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis.

Overhydration is a major cause of technique failure of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Hence, we investigated the impact of ultrafiltration (UF) volume by once-weekly hemodialysis (HD), excess volume beyond their dry weight, on technique survival of PD and HD combination therapy (PD+HD). Forty-six anuric PD+HD patients were divided into three groups according to baseline UF volume by HD: low-UF (

Near-infrared spectroscopy to predict microvascular obstruction after primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Successful restoration of epicardial coronary artery patency by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) does not always lead to adequate reperfusion at the microvascular level. AIMS: This study sought to investigate the association between lipid-rich coronary plaque identified by near-infrared spectroscopy combined with intravascular ultrasound (NIRS-IVUS) and microvascular obstruction (MVO) detected by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after PPCI for STEMI. METHODS: We investigated 120 patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. NIRS-IVUS was used to measure the maximum lipid core burden index in 4 mm (maxLCBI4 mm) in the infarct-related lesions before PPCI. Delayed contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI was performed to evaluate MVO one week after PPCI. RESULTS: MVO was identified in 40 (33%) patients. MaxLCBI4 mm in the infarct-related lesion was significantly larger in the MVO group compared with the no-MVO group (median [interquartile range]: 745 [522-853] vs 515 [349-698], p<0.001). A multivariable logistic regression model showed that maxLCBI4 mm was an independent predictor of MVO (odds ratio: 24.7 [95% confidence interval: 2.5-248.0], p=0.006). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that maxLCBI4 mm >600 was the optimal cut-off value to predict MVO (Youden index=0.44 and area under the curve=0.71) with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 69%. CONCLUSIONS: Lipid content measured by NIRS in the infarct-related lesions was associated with the occurrence of MVO after PPCI in STEMI.

Myeloperoxidase-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated crescentic glomerulonephritis with rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison of patients without rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Several cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with myeloperoxidase-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA)-associated crescentic glomerulonephritis (CrGN) have been reported. However, its clinical characteristics are not clear. METHODS: We summarized 3 patients of concurrent RA and MPO-ANCA-associated CrGN, diagnosed in our hospital from 1992 to 2006, and compared their clinicopathological data with those of 10 MPO-ANCA-associated CrGN patients without RA in the same period. RESULTS: All three RA patients were middle-aged or young adult women with 7-14 years of RA history. The initial clinical symptom was microhematuria, and mean duration from hematuria onset to histological confirmation of CrGN was 17 months. At renal biopsy, serum creatinine concentration (sCr) was modestly elevated, with the mean value of 3.4 mg/dl. Crescents were detected in 30% of glomeruli, whereas advanced glomerular sclerosis, tubular atrophy, and interstitial fibrosis were also observed. In comparison with patients without RA, patients with RA were significantly younger and showed a longer duration from the onset to histological confirmation of CrGN. Serum creatinine concentration at referral was significantly lower; however, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was comparable. The Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score and the Disease Extent Index were significantly lower, and pathological examination showed less crescent formation and a tendency to advanced glomerular sclerosis in patients with RA. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with RA, MPO-ANCA-associated CrGN appeared to develop at younger ages and often showed a slowly progressive deterioration of the renal function with slight extrarenal manifestations. These smoldering clinical features may result in late referral from rheumatologists to nephrologists and therefore poor prognosis.

Bioimpedance Spectroscopy-Based Fluid Status in Combined Dialysis Compared With Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Combination therapy with peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis (PD+HD) is widely used in Japan for PD patients with decreased residual renal function. However, fluid status in PD+HD patients has not been well studied. In this cross-sectional study, we compared fluid status in 41 PD+HD patients with that in 103 HD and 92 PD patients using the bioimpedance spectroscopy. Extracellular water normalized to patient height (NECW, kg/m) was the highest in pre-HD (8.3 ± 1.6) followed by PD (7.9 ± 2.7), PD+HD (7.5 ± 2.5), and post-HD patients (6.9 ± 1.5) (P < 0.01). By multiple linear regression analysis, PD+HD was associated with a significantly lower NECW than pre-HD (ß = -0.8, P = 0.03) and similar to PD (ß = -0.5, P = 0.24) and post-HD (ß = 0.6, P = 0.08) after adjustment for age, sex, diabetic nephropathy, ischemic heart disease, dialysis period, and daily urine volume. There was no correlation between NECW and daily urine volume in all dialysis groups. Average daily fluid removal (a sum of urine volume and ultrafiltration volume by dialysis) was positively correlated with NECW in PD+HD and pre-HD, but not in PD and post-HD patients. Our results suggest that fluid status in PD+HD patients with decreased residual renal function is acceptable as compared with that in HD and PD patients.

The inter-study reproducibility of instantaneous wave-free ratio and angiography coregistration.

BACKGROUND: Coregistration system of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) pullback and angiography has been developed to enhance benefits of physiology oriented percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but its reproducibility has not yet been fully assessed. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 51 coronary arteries from 39 patients with stable coronary artery disease, iFR angio-coregistrations were repeated twice. The mean iFR values were comparable between the first and second studies (0.85 ±â€¯0.12 vs. 0.84 ±â€¯0.13, p = 0.97). In terms of a coronary segment with predominant iFR gradients defined by the largest segmental iFR gradients, the repeated iFR angio-coregistrations matched in 47 of 51 (92%) studies and showed good agreement (κ = 0.75) in overall vessels. When assessed only in vessels with positive iFR (≤0.89), iFR angio-coregistrations matched in 31 of 32 (97%) studies and showed an excellent agreement (κ = 0.91). The predominant iFR gradients in the repeated iFR angio-coregistrations demonstrated strong correlation (r = 0.96, p < 0.0001) and an excellent agreement: mean difference was 0.0006, and the lower and upper limits (mean difference ±â€¯1.96 standard deviation) of agreement were -0.0312 and 0.0324. CONCLUSIONS: iFR angio-coregistration is highly reproducible and can precisely identify a suitable target for PCI.

Hospitalization for Patients on Combination Therapy With Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis Compared With Hemodialysis.

INTRODUCTION: Combination therapy with peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis (PD+HD) is widely used for PD patients with decreased residual kidney function in Japan; however, hospitalization for this combined dialysis has not been investigated so far. We compared the risk of hospitalization for PD+HD with that for HD. METHODS: A multicenter, prospective observational study was conducted on 42 PD+HD and 42 HD patients matched for age and diabetic nephropathy. The main outcome measure was the cumulative incidence of hospitalization for any cause assessed with the Kaplan-Meier method. Hospitalization rates (the number of admissions per 100 patient-years) associated with dialysis modality were also calculated. The impact of dialysis modality on time to hospitalization was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between groups in terms of age, sex, dialysis vintage, diabetic nephropathy, and comorbidities. The cumulative incidence of hospitalization did not significantly differ between the groups (log-rank test, P = 0.36). Although total hospitalization rates were 66.0 in PD+HD and 59.2 in HD, hospitalization rates for the sum of PD-related infections (a composite of catheter-related infection and peritonitis) and vascular access troubles were 21.7 in PD+HD and 7.2 in HD. On univariate Cox proportional hazard analysis, dialysis modality had no significant impact on time to hospitalization. CONCLUSION: The risk of hospitalization was not significantly different between PD+HD and HD, although PD+HD patients had a higher risk of dialysis access-related complications than HD patients.

Health-related quality of life on combination therapy with peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis in comparison with hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of dialysis patients has not been well examined, especially in combination therapy with peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis (PD+HD) patients. We compared the HRQOL of PD+HD patients with that of HD and PD patients. METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted on 36 PD+HD, 103 HD, and 90 PD patients in Japan who completed the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form 36, version 1.3. HRQOL scores were summarized into physical- (PCS), mental- (MCS), role/social- (RCS), and kidney disease component summaries (KDCS). RESULTS: Of the PD+HD patients, 31 (86%) transferred from PD and 5 (14%) transferred from HD. They had the longest dialysis vintage and the smallest urine volume. PCS, MCS, and KDCS HRQOL scores of PD+HD patients were comparable with those of HD and PD patients. However, the RCS score for PD+HD was significantly higher than that for HD (p = 0.020) and comparable with that for PD. PD+HD and PD were associated with significantly higher RCS scores than HD after adjusting for age, gender, diabetic nephropathy, dialysis vintage, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral arterial disease. CONCLUSIONS: For RCS, HRQOL in PD+HD patients was better than that in HD and comparable with that in PD patients, whereas the PCS, MCS, and KDCS HRQOL scores of PD+HD patients were comparable with those of HD and PD patients.

Extent of the difference between microcatheter and pressure wire-derived fractional flow reserve and its relation to optical coherence tomography-derived parameters.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies demonstrated that microcatheter-derived fractional flow reserve (mc-FFR) tends to overestimate lesion severity compared to pressure wire-derived FFR (pw-FFR), the clinical utility of mc-FFR remains obscure. The extent of differences between the two FFR systems and its relation to a lesion-specific parameter remain unknown. In this study, we sought to compare mc-FFR with pw-FFR and determine the lower and upper mc-FFR cut-offs predicting ischemic and non-ischemic stenosis, using an ischemic and a clinical FFR threshold of 0.75 and 0.80 as references, respectively. We further explored optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters influencing the difference in FFR between the two systems. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, 44 target vessels with intermediate de novo coronary artery lesion in 36 patients with stable ischemic heart disease were evaluated with mc-FFR, pw-FFR and OCT. Bland-Altman plots for mc-FFR versus pw-FFR showed a bias of -0.04 for lower mc-FFR values compared to pw-FFR values. The mc-FFR cut-off values of 0.73 and 0.79 corresponded to the 0.75 ischemic pw-FFR and 0.80 clinical pw-FFR thresholds with high predictive values, respectively. The differences in the two FFR measurements (pw-FFR minus mc-FFR) were negatively correlated with OCT-derived minimum lumen area (MLA) (R = -0.359, p = 0.011). The OCT-derived MLA of 1.36 mm2 was a cut-off value for predicting the clinically significant difference between the two FFR measurements defined as >0.03. CONCLUSION: Mc-FFR is clinically useful when the specific cut-offs are applied. An OCT-derived MLA accounts for the clinically significant difference in FFR between the two systems.

Testing the Feasibility and Usability of a Novel Smartphone-Based Self-Management Support System for Dialysis Patients: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Diet and fluid restrictions that need continuous self-management are among the most difficult aspects of dialysis treatment. Smartphone applications may be useful for supporting self-management. OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to investigate the feasibility and usability of a novel smartphone-based self-management support system for dialysis patients. METHODS: We developed the Self-Management and Recording System for Dialysis (SMART-D), which supports self-monitoring of three mortality-related factors that can be modified by lifestyle: interdialytic weight gain and predialysis serum potassium and phosphorus concentrations. Data is displayed graphically, with all data evaluated automatically to determine whether they achieve the values suggested by the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy guidelines. In a pilot study, 9 dialysis patients used SMART-D system for 2 weeks. A total of 7 of them completed questionnaires rating their assessment of SMART-D's usability and their satisfaction with the system. In addition, the Kidney Disease Quality of Life scale was compared before and after the study period. RESULTS: All 9 participants were able to use SMART-D with no major problems. Completion rates for body weight, pre- and postdialysis weight, and serum potassium and phosphorus concentrations were, respectively, 89% (SD 23), 95% (SD 7), and 78% (SD 44). Of the 7 participants who completed the usability survey, all were motivated by the sense of security derived from using the system, and 6 of the 7 (86%) reported that using SMART-D helped improve their lifestyle and self-management. CONCLUSIONS: Using SMART-D was feasible, and the system was well regarded by patients. Further study with larger scale cohorts and longer study and follow-up periods is needed to evaluate the effects of SMART-D on clinical outcomes and quality of life.

Molecular analysis of jejunal, ileal, caecal and recto-sigmoidal human colonic microbiota using 16S rRNA gene libraries and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Microbiota in gut contents of jejunum, ileum, caecum and recto-sigmoid colon obtained from three elderly individuals at autopsy were compared using 16S rRNA gene libraries and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). Random clones of 16S rRNA gene sequences were isolated after PCR amplification with universal primer sets of total genomic DNA extracted from each sample of gut contents. An average of 90 randomly selected clones were partially sequenced (about 500 bp). T-RFLP analysis was performed using the 16S rRNA gene amplified from each sample. The lengths of the terminal restriction fragments were analysed after digestion with HhaI and MspI. The jejunal and ileal microbiota consisted of simple microbial communities of streptococci, lactobacilli, 'Gammaproteobacteria', the Enterococcus group and the Bacteroides group. Most of the species were facultative anaerobes or aerobes. The Clostridium coccoides group and the Clostridium leptum subgroup, which are the most predominant groups in human faeces, were not detected in samples from the upper gastrointestinal tract. The caecal microbiota was more complex than the jejunal and ileal microbiota. The C. coccoides group, the C. leptum subgroup and the Bacteroides group were detected in the caecum. The recto-sigmoidal colonic microbiota consisted of complex microbial communities, with numerous species that belonged to the C. coccoides group, the C. leptum subgroup, the Bacteroides group, 'Gammaproteobacteria', the Bifidobacterium group, streptococci and lactobacilli, and included more than 26 operational taxonomic units. The results showed marked individual differences in the composition of microbiota in each region.

[Clinical outcome assessment of membranous nephropathy].

Appropriate treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) remains a controversial issue. Whereas some authors recommend a conservative approach, based on the considerable rate of spontaneous remissions, others utilize early immunosuppressive treatment for most nephrotic patients with IMN. Our retrospective study consisted of 34 patients who presented with IMN between the period from 1987 to 2002. The patients were divided into two groups based on the type of treatment they received the immunosuppressive group comprised 18 patients who received corticosteroids with/without other immunosuppressive drugs and the supportive group comprised 16 patients who were treated with anti platelet drugs as supportive therapy. The amount of proteinuria at the base line was significantly higher in the immunosuppressive group than in the supportive group(4.7 +/- 2.9 vs. 2.7 +/- 2.7 g/24 h). At the end of the follow-up, complete remission was achieved more frequently in the immunosuppressive group than in the supportive group(9/18 vs. 3/16). This suggests that immunosuppressive treatment has the effect of decreasing proteinuria. At the end of the follow-up, 3 patients in the immunosuppressive group and 2 patients in the supportive group showed renal insufficiency (serum creatinine concentration > or = 1.5 mg/dl). Side effects besides diabetes were not seen as a result of immunosuppressive treatment. Our findings suggest that immunosuppressive treatment in IMN cases appears to be beneficial for decreasing proteinuria, but the effect on prevention of renal failure was not evident.

AP-VAS 2012 case report: two patients with rheumatoid arthritis suspected of relapsed microscopic polyangiitis after initiation of dialysis.

We report two patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were suspected of microscopic polyangiitis during maintenance dialysis. Case 1 was a 52-year-old woman with RA diagnosed at the age of 38 years and treated successfully with gold compounds. At the age of 43 years, she presented with progressive renal dysfunction and abnormal urine sediments, and a renal biopsy revealed crescentic nephritis with advanced glomerular sclerosis. Myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) was not measured on that occasion. She reached end-stage renal failure within 4 months and started peritoneal dialysis. Eight years later, soon after she was switched to hemodialysis, she developed fever of unknown origin. MPO-ANCA was elevated to 37 EU, although there were no other signs or symptoms suggestive of vasculitis. After taking prednisolone orally (10 mg/day), her fever withdrew, and MPO-ANCA became undetectable. Case 2 was a 71-year-old woman with RA diagnosed at the age of 60 years and treated with gold compounds. She developed renal failure of unknown cause (no biopsy was performed), and started hemodialysis at the age of 69 years. One year later, she presented with fever and subsequently developed cough with hemoptysis. MPO-ANCA was elevated to 62 EU. Treatment with azathioprine 50 mg and prednisolone 35 mg daily brought remarkable clinical improvement, and MPO-ANCA became undetectable. These cases highlight the importance of measuring ANCA even in RA patients on dialysis who present with fever of unknown origin or with underlying kidney disease of uncertain etiology.