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In preoperative or postoperative congenital heart disease, patients who had hypoxia or increased BNP had a higher hs-CRP level than controls. Serum concentration of hs-CRP significantly correlated with SpO2 and plasma BNP levels, but not with age or BMI.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is often related to severe obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM). Clinical findings suggesting the benefits of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for glycemic control of DM in PWS have been recently increasing. However, there are only a few reports describing the effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for PWS. We present a diabetic female with PWS, whose glycemic control was deteriorated at the age of 19 but improved to a certain extent by introducing the GLP-1 analog liraglutide. At the age of 20, the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin was administered. Subsequently, her HbA1c level and body weight markedly decreased. Improvement in both insulin resistance and secretion was observed during the subsequent six months. In addition to GLP-1 receptor agonists, SGLT2 inhibitors may be a potential approach for the management of DM in PWS, especially in young patients whose pancreatic insulin secretion capabilities are still preserved.

Background Coils are the only devices available for transcatheter occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in Japan. Since April 1999, we have introduced a 0.052-inch Gianturco coil (0.052-inch coil) to close PDA ≥2.5 mm. Methods and Results A retrospective survey of the outcome of coil occlusions for PDA ≥2.5 mm before and after the 0.052-inch coil became available found that (1) the frequency of PDA ≥2.5 mm among all candidates for coil occlusion significantly increased after the availability of a 0.052-inch coil (p<0.01); (2) deployment complicated by migration (p<0.01), and prolonged procedure time (p<0.05) were significantly decreased after the introduction of the 0.052-inch coil. In a multivariate logistic regression model for uneventful deployment adjusted for age, pulmonary to systemic flow ratio, and use of a 0.052-inch coil, use of the 0.052-inch coil significantly decreased eventful deployment (p<0.05); and (3) successful deployment of a coil for PDA ≥4 mm significantly increased with the 0.052-inch coil (p<0.01). Complete occlusion was achieved once deployment was successful. Conclusion Introduction of the 0.052-inch coil decreased complicated coil occlusion deployment for PDA ≥2.5 mm, and contributed to a better likelihood of coil occlusion for PDA ≥4 mm. (Circ J 2006; 70: 28 -30)

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