Background Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a serious cause of mortality and disability. AIS is a serious cause of mortality and disability. Early diagnosis of atherosclerosis, which is the major cause of AIS, allows therapeutic intervention before the onset, leading to prevention of AIS. Methods Serological identification by cDNA expression cDNA libraries and the protein array method were used for the screening of antigens recognized by serum IgG antibodies in patients with atherosclerosis. Recombinant proteins or synthetic peptides derived from candidate antigens were used as antigens to compare serum IgG levels between healthy donors (HDs) and patients with atherosclerosis-related disease using the amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The first screening using the protein array method identified death-inducer obliterator 1 (DIDO1), forkhead box J2 (FOXJ2), and cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF2) as the target antigens of serum IgG antibodies in patients with AIS. Then, we prepared various antigens including glutathione S-transferase-fused DIDO1 protein as well as peptides of the amino acids 297–311 of DIDO1, 426–440 of FOXJ2, and 607–621 of CPSF2 to examine serum antibody levels. Compared with HDs, a significant increase in antibody levels of the DIDO1 protein and peptide in patients with AIS, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) but not in those with acute myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus (DM). Serum anti-FOXJ2 antibody levels were elevated in most patients with atherosclerosis-related diseases, whereas serum anti-CPSF2 antibody levels were associated with AIS, TIA, and DM. Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that serum DIDO1 antibody levels were highly associated with CKD, and correlation analysis revealed that serum anti-FOXJ2 antibody levels were associated with hypertension. A prospective case–control study on ischemic stroke verified that the serum antibody levels of the DIDO1 protein and DIDO1, FOXJ2, and CPSF2 peptides showed significantly higher odds ratios with a risk of AIS in patients with the highest quartile than in those with the lowest quartile, indicating that these antibody markers are useful as risk factors for AIS. Conclusions Serum antibody levels of DIDO1, FOXJ2, and CPSF2 are useful in predicting the onset of atherosclerosis-related AIS caused by kidney failure, hypertension, and DM, respectively.

No abstract

Background Ischemic stroke, including transient ischemic attack (TIA) and acute-phase cerebral infarction (aCI), is a serious health problem in the aging society. Thus, this study aimed to identify TIA and aCI biomarkers. Methods In 19 patients with TIA, candidate antigens recognized by serum IgG autoantibodies were screened using a human aortic endothelial cell cDNA library. Through amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay-linked immunosorbent assay (AlphaLISA), serum antibody levels against the candidate antigens were examined in healthy donor (HD), TIA, and aCI cohorts (n = 285, 92, and 529). The plasma antibody levels in the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Cohort Study (1991–1993) were also examined. Results The candidate antigens were aldolase A (ALDOA) and fumarate hydratase (FH). In AlphaLISA, patients with TIA or aCI had higher anti-ALDOA antibody (ALDOA-Ab) and anti-FH antibody (FH-Ab) levels than the HDs (P < 0.05). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the ALDOA-Ab (odds ratio [OR]: 2.46, P = 0.0050) and FH-Ab (OR: 2.49, P = 0.0037) levels were independent predictors of TIA. According to the case–control study, the ALDOA-Ab (OR: 2.50, P < 0.01) and FH-Ab (OR: 2.60, P < 0.01) levels were associated with aCI risk. In a correlation analysis, both ALDOA-Abs and FH-Abs were well associated with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and habitual smoking. These antibody levels also correlated well with maximum intima–media thickness, which reflects atherosclerotic stenosis. Conclusions ALDOA-Abs and FH-Abs can be novel potential biomarkers for predicting atherosclerotic TIA and aCI.

No abstract

No abstract

Eleven patients with chronic renal failure undergoing CAPD (2 females and 9 males, mean age 42.2 years) were

Renal anemia, Red cell distribution width (RDW) , Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) , Erythropoiesisstimulating agent (ESA) , Iron deficiency

The usefulness of transvascular embolization before radical nephrectomy using absolute ethanol was studied in thirty-two cases with renal cell carcinoma, among them, 30 cases received radical nephrectomy one day after transvascular embolization. And a nation wide questionnaire survey regarding the embolization was also reported. These results were as follows: 1. The infarcted areas were very extensive and among 28 cases examined, 26 cases showed more than 75% of infarct in the whole area of the cortex. 2. Among 32 cases, 22 cases complained of no pain after the embolization using absolute ethanol only by the preventive epidural administration of analgesics. 3. The questionnaire survey showed that the embolization before radical nephrectomy was performed in 62% of the hospitals as a whole, including 81 hospitals (41%) in which the embolization was performed case by case. In the whole of hospitals, 21% performed the embolization principally by evaluating the significance of the embolization. On the other hand, 19% of the hospitals did not perform by the reason of no significance of the embolization on the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. As shown in this questionnaire survey, the significance of the embolization before radical nephrectomy was still debatable in our country. 4. In 62% of the hospitals where the embolization is carried out, as a whole, the period from embolization to the nephrectomy was 3-7 days. And in 42% of the hospitals as a whole absolute ethanol was principally used as an embolizing agent. In conclusion we believe that absolute ethanol was useful and should find further application as an embolizing agent before the radical nephrectomy.