HIPs identified in a noninvasive, quantitative manner are significantly associated with coronary events and may thus represent a novel predictive factor.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relation between the clinical and plasma parameters and the changes in plasma endotoxin activity with 2 hours of endotoxin-adsorbing therapy using polymyxin B (PMX). A total of 88 consecutive patients were admitted for PMX treatment of severe sepsis or septic organ failure. Standard supportive care was continued without alteration during PMX treatment. Endotoxin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) activities and clinical parameters were measured before, immediately after, and the day after PMX treatment. The mean APACHE II and III scores were 24.2 +/- 1.0 and 85.8 +/- 3.0, respectively. The 2-week survival rate was 51.1%. In survivors, TNFalpha, IL-6, IL-10, and PAI-1 activities were significantly decreased during the 2-hour PMX treatment, the following day, or both times. There was no significant change in the parameters, except for TNFalpha, after PMX in nonsurvivors. In the subgroup whose plasma endotoxin decreased more than 30%, IL-6, TNFalpha, and PAI-1 significantly decreased after 2 hours of PMX or the following day (or both), but all four parameters in nonsurvivors showed no significant change. Hence PMX adsorbed plasma endotoxins and contributed to reductions in plasma proinflammatory cytokine levels and to improved clinical parameters during the 2-hour treatment. Changes in these parameters correlated with changes in plasma endotoxin activity in survivors whose plasma endotoxin levels were adequately reduced.

The typical HIP case was associated with ultrasound attenuation, positive remodeling, remarkably low computed tomography density, and a high incidence of slow-flow phenomena. Noncontrast T1WI in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging may be useful for the assessment of coronary plaque characterization in patients with coronary artery disease.

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Statin treatment significantly reduced the PMR of high-intensity plaques. Noncontrast T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging could become a useful technique for repeated quantitative assessment of plaque composition. (Attempts at Plaque Vulnerability Quantification with Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using Noncontrast T1-weighted Technique [AQUAMARINE]; UMIN000003567).

LMT bifurcation has been shown to have a higher rate of steep angled bifurcation in humans, it is therefore necessary to take the bifurcation angle into consideration in the case of LMT stenting. These data suggest that a bifurcation study using MSCT can clarify the 3D structure of coronary bifurcation and may provide useful information for bifurcation stenting.

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Aims/IntroductionThe usefulness of markers of carotid plaque, such as sum (PS) and maximum (P‐max) of the plaque thickness, in combination with intima‐media thickness in the common carotid artery (CIMT) for the detection of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) was investigated in patients with type 2 diabetes without known CAD.Materials and MethodsB‐mode ultrasonographic scanning of the carotid artery and multislice computed tomography coronary angiography were carried out in 332 asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes.ResultsFor the presence of obstructive CAD when incorporating PS or P‐max to standard risk factors in a multiple logistic regression model, the classification ability in PS and P‐max increased greatly (area under the curve [AUC] 0.827 vs 0.720 [net reclassification index {NRI} = 0.652, P < 0.01] and AUC 0.820 vs 0.720 [NRI = 0.775, P < 0.01], respectively), and it in CIMT increased slightly (AUC 0.740 vs 0.720, NRI = 0.230, P = 0.041). Furthermore, the classification abilities for a model with interaction terms between PS* or P‐max* and CIMT were statistically larger than those for a model without interaction terms (AUC 0.833 vs 0.827 [NRI = 0.411, P < 0.01] and 0.823 vs 0.820 [NRI = 0.269, P < 0.05], respectively). Partitioning showed the patients in the values of the PS <2.6 mm and CIMT <0.725 mm (100%), or in P‐max <2.1 mm and CIMT <0.725 mm (95.4%), did not have obstructive CAD, whereas those in the values of PS ≧2.6 mm, presence of hyperlipidemia and CIMT ≧0.675 mm (84%) or those in the value of P‐max ≧2.1 mm and body mass index ≧24 (91.7%) had obstructive CAD.ConclusionsAlthough the P‐max and PS in the carotid artery were useful as detectors of CAD, combining them with CIMT provided a much superior first‐line screening method in detecting CAD in asymptomatic patients with diabetes.