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Comparison of Therapeutic Results with/without Additional Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Randomized Prospective Study.
Tong, B, Niu, K, Ku, W, Xie, W, Dai, Q, Hellström, S, Duan, M
Audiology & neuro-otology. 2021;(1):11-16
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of the combination of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and pharmacological treatment in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) and define patients amenable for HBO therapy. METHODS Prospective, randomized, trial involving 136 cases with unilateral ISSNHL that were randomly divided into 2 groups: the pharmacological treatment (P) group and HBO + pharmacological treatment (HBO+P) group, which received additional HBO for 14 days besides the pharmacological treatments. Pure tone audiometry gain larger than 15 dBHL was defined as success, and the success rate of each group was calculated. RESULTS The overall success rate of the HBO+P group and the P group is 60.6% (40/66) and 42.9% (30/70), respectively (p < 0.05). Furthermore, patients with mild-moderate baseline hearing loss, aged ≤50 years, receiving treatment in ≤14 days, or without accompanied dizziness/vertigo in the HBO+P group had higher success rate than the P group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS HBO combined with pharmacological treatments leads to better hearing recovery than pharmacological treatments alone.
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Effects of Nicorandil Versus Nitroglycerin on Arterial Oxygenation During Two-Lung Ventilation and One-Lung Ventilation in Patients With Risk Factors for Myocardial Ischemia: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind Study.
Murakami, C, Kawano, H, Kinoshita, M, Kondo, A, Inoue, M
Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia. 2019;(3):702-709
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To compare the effects of nicorandil and nitroglycerin on arterial oxygenation during two-lung ventilation (TLV) and one-lung ventilation (OLV) in patients with risk factors for myocardial ischemia. DESIGN A prospective, randomized, double-blind study. SETTING A tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS Fifty-six patients scheduled for elective video-assisted thoracic surgery were assigned randomly to either the nicorandil group or the nitroglycerin group. INTERVENTIONS Patients in the nicorandil group received a bolus dose of nicorandil, 0.08 mg/kg during induction of anesthesia, followed by a continuous infusion at a rate of 0.08 mg/kg/h. Patients in the nitroglycerin group received a continuous infusion of nitroglycerin at a rate of 1 µg/kg/min from the induction of anesthesia. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Arterial blood gas analysis was performed at the following points: before induction of anesthesia; during TLV; at 5, 10, 20, and 30 minutes after the initiation of OLV. PaO2 at TLV (479.7 ± 57.1 v 408.2 ± 70.9 mmHg, p < 0.001); and at 5 minutes (344.8 ± 85.1 v 282.6 ± 85.8 mmHg, p = 0.012), 20 minutes (215.7 ± 103.0 v 158.2 ± 74.5 mmHg, p = 0.027), and 30 minutes (198.8 ± 103.5 v 147.5 ± 64.1 mmHg, p = 0.039) after OLV was significantly higher in the nicorandil group than in the nitroglycerin group. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that oxygenation during TLV and OLV was significantly higher in patients receiving nicorandil than in those receiving nitroglycerin.
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Additive value of nicorandil on ATP for further inducing hyperemia in patients with an intermediate coronary artery stenosis.
Kobayashi, Y, Okura, H, Neishi, Y, Higa, T, Kobayashi, Y, Uemura, S, Yoshida, K
Coronary artery disease. 2017;(2):104-109
Abstract
BACKGROUND The induction of hyperemia is of importance to precisely assess the functional significance of coronary artery lesions with fractional flow reserve (FFR). Adenosine or ATP alone is used widely in this setting; however, little is known about the additive value of nicorandil, which acts as a nitrate and a K-ATP channel opener, to induce further hyperemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 183 intermediate native coronary artery lesions from 112 patients were prospectively enrolled into this study. FFR was measured using a coronary pressure wire during an intravenous ATP infusion alone (150 mcg/kg/min) (FFRATP) and repeated after an adjunctive intracoronary nicorandil injection (2.0 mg) (FFRATP+Nico). RESULTS Physiologic measurements were completed without any severe adverse effects from ATP and nicorandil in all patients. FFRATP and FFRATP+Nico had a strong linear correlation (R=0.79, P<0.001). The FFR value became significantly lower with an adjunctive intracoronary nicorandil injection compared with ATP alone [FFRATP vs. FFRATP+Nico, 0.87 (interquartile range: 0.81-0.92) vs. 0.85 (0.79-0.90), P<0.001]. A total of 18 lesions out of 183 (9.8%) were reclassified after a nicorandil injection (12 from FFR>0.80 to ≤0.80 vs. six from FFR≤0.80 to >0.80, P=0.26). The adjunctive effect of nicorandil was accentuated with each increment of FFRATP strata (per 0.05 increase, P for trend<0.001), but with minimal effect around the borderline FFR zone. CONCLUSION An adjunctive intracoronary nicorandil injection is safe, but appears to have little effect in inducing further hyperemia. Therefore, its effect on the clinical scenario is limited.
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The presence of anti-thyroglobulin (TgAb) and/or anti-thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) does not exclude the diagnosis of type 2 amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis.
Tomisti, L, Urbani, C, Rossi, G, Latrofa, F, Sardella, C, Manetti, L, Lupi, I, Marcocci, C, Bartalena, L, Curzio, O, et al
Journal of endocrinological investigation. 2016;(5):585-91
Abstract
PURPOSE It is widely accepted that type 2 amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) generally occurs in patients with a normal thyroid gland without signs of thyroid autoimmunity. However, it is currently unknown if the presence of anti-thyroglobulin (TgAb) and/or anti-thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) in AIT patients without other signs of an underlying thyroid disease may impair the response to glucocorticoid therapy. METHODS We performed a pilot retrospective cohort study with matched-subject design and an equivalence hypothesis, comparing the response to glucocorticoid therapy between 20 AIT patients with a normal thyroid gland, low radioiodine uptake, undetectable TSH receptor antibodies and positive TgAb and/or TPOAb (Ab+ group), and 40 patients with the same features and absent thyroid antibodies (Ab- group). RESULTS The mean cure time was 54 ± 68 days in the Ab+ group and 55 ± 49 days in the Ab- group (p = 0.63). The equivalence test revealed an equivalent cure rate after 60, 90 and 180 days (p = 0.67, 0.88 and 0.278, respectively). The occurrence of permanent hypothyroidism was higher in the Ab+ group than in the Ab- group (26.3 vs 5.13 %, p = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS The presence of TgAb and/or TPOAb does not affect the response to glucocorticoid therapy, suggesting that the patients with features of destructive form of AIT should be considered as having a type 2 AIT irrespective of the presence of TGAb or TPOAb. These patients have a higher risk of developing hypothyroidism after the resolution of thyrotoxicosis and should be monitored accordingly.
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Early vascular healing after titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stent versus platinum-chromium everolimus-eluting stent implantation in patients with acute coronary syndrome.
Varho, V, Kiviniemi, TO, Nammas, W, Sia, J, Romppanen, H, Pietilä, M, Airaksinen, JK, Mikkelsson, J, Tuomainen, P, Perälä, A, et al
The international journal of cardiovascular imaging. 2016;(7):1031-9
Abstract
Data on early vascular healing response of novel stent designs are scarce. In this randomized prospective trial, we sought to compare early neointimal coverage of cobalt-chromium-based titanium-nitride-oxide-coated bioactive stents (CoCr-BAS) versus platinum-chromium everolimus-eluting stents (PtCr-EES) at 2-month follow-up in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Forty patients with ACS were randomized to receive either CoCr-BAS (n = 19) or PtCr-EES (n = 21). Neointimal strut coverage and strut apposition were examined by optical coherence tomography; and coronary flow reserve (CFR), fractional flow reserve (FFR) and index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) were assessed using a coronary pressure wire at 2 months. Two patients in the PtCr-EES underwent OCT out of the time frame of the study, and were excluded from analysis. At 63 ± 8 days, 302 cross-sections (3412 struts) were analysed in the CoCr-BAS group, and 324 cross-sections (3460 struts) in the PtCr-EES group. Median [IQR] neointimal thickness was 203 [108] µm and 42.2 [41] µm for CoCr-BAS and PtCr-EES, respectively (p < 0.001). Median [IQR] percentage of uncovered struts was 1.2 [2.8] % versus 11.3 [17.7] %, respectively (p < 0.001). Flow measurements were comparable between the two groups (p > 0.05 for all). CoCr-BAS showed earlier and more adequate neointimal coverage of struts at 2 months, compared with PtCr-EES, but with more neointimal hyperplasia. Functional healing as assessed by CFR, FFR, and IMR was similar between the two stent arms.
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Impacts of nicorandil on infarct myocardium in comparison with nitrate: assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.
Yamada, K, Isobe, S, Ishii, H, Yokouchi, K, Iwata, H, Sawada, K, Murohara, T
Heart and vessels. 2016;(9):1430-7
Abstract
In this pilot study, we compared the infarct and edema size in acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients treated by nicorandil with those treated by nitrate, using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Fifty-two acute MI patients who underwent emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled, and were assigned to receive nicorandil or nitrate at random just before reperfusion. For the assessment of infarct and edema areas, short-axis delayed enhancement (DE) and T2-weight (T2w) CMR images were acquired 6.1 ± 2.4 days after the onset of MI. A significant correlation was observed between the peak creatinine kinase (CK) level and the infarct size on DE CMR (r = 0.62, p < 0.05), as well as the edema size on T2w CMR (r = 0.70, p < 0.05) in patients treated by nicorandil (28 patients). A similar correlation was seen between the peak CK level and the infarct size on DE CMR (r = 0.84, p < 0.05), as well as the edema size on T2w CMR (r = 0.84, p < 0.05) in patients treated by nitrate (24 patients). The maximum CK level was significantly lower in patients treated by nicorandil rather than nitrate (1991 ± 1402, 2785 ± 2121 IU/L, respectively, p = 0.03). Both the edema size on T2w CMR and the infarct size on DE CMR were significantly smaller in patients treated by nicorandil rather than nitrate (17.7 ± 9.9, 21.9 ± 13.7 %; p = 0.03, 10.3 ± 6.0, 12.7 ± 6.9 %, p = 0.03, respectively). The presence and amount of microvascular obstruction were significantly smaller in patients treated by nicorandil rather than nitrate (39.2, 64.7 %; p = 0.03; 2.2 ± 1.3, 3.4 ± 1.5 cm(2); p = 0.02, respectively). Using CMR imaging, we demonstrated that the complementary use of intravenously and intracoronary administered nicorandil during PCI favorably acts more on the damaged myocardium after MI than nitrate. We need a further powered prospective study on the use of nicorandil.
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Folic acid supplementation improves microvascular function in older adults through nitric oxide-dependent mechanisms.
Stanhewicz, AE, Alexander, LM, Kenney, WL
Clinical science (London, England : 1979). 2015;(2):159-67
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Abstract
Older adults have reduced vascular endothelial function, evidenced by attenuated nitric oxide (NO)-dependent cutaneous vasodilatation. Folic acid and its metabolite, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), are reported to improve vessel function. We hypothesized that (i) local 5-MTHF administration and (ii) chronic folic acid supplementation would improve cutaneous microvascular function in ageing through NO-dependent mechanisms. There were two separate studies in which there were 11 young (Y: 22 ± 1 years) and 11 older (O: 71 ± 3 years) participants. In both studies, two intradermal microdialysis fibres were placed in the forearm skin for local delivery of lactated Ringer's solution with or without 5 mM 5-MTHF. Red cell flux was measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Cutaneous vascular conductance [CVC=red cell flux/mean arterial pressure] was normalized as percentage maximum CVC (%CVCmax) (28 mM sodium nitroprusside, local temperature 43°C). In study 1 after CVC plateaued during local heating, 20 mM NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) was perfused at each site to quantify NO-dependent vasodilatation. The local heating plateau (%CVCmax: O = 82 ± 3 vs Y = 96 ± 1, P = 0.002) and NO-dependent vasodilatation (%CVCmax: O = 26 ± 6% vs Y = 49 ± 5, P = 0.03) were attenuated in older participants. 5-MTHF augmented the overall (%CVCmax = 91 ± 2, P = 0.03) and NO-dependent (%CVCmax = 43 ± 9%, P = 0.04) vasodilatation in older but not young participants. In study 2 the participants ingested folic acid (5 mg/day) or placebo for 6 weeks in a randomized, double-blind, crossover design. A rise in oral temperature of 1°C was induced using a water-perfused suit, body temperature was held and 20 mM L-NAME was perfused at each site. Older participants had attenuated reflex (%CVCmax: O = 31 ± 8 vs Y = 44 ± 5, P = 0.001) and NO-dependent (%CVCmax: O = 9 ± 2 vs Y = 21 ± 2, P = 0.003) vasodilatation. Folic acid increased CVC (%CVCmax = 47 ± 5%, P = 0.001) and NO-dependent vasodilatation (20 ± 3%, P = 0.003) in the older but not the young participants. Both local perfusion of 5-MTHF and supplementation with folic acid increase vasodilatation in ageing individuals through NO-dependent mechanisms.
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Differential effects of aliskiren/amlodipine combination and high-dose amlodipine monotherapy on endothelial function in elderly hypertensive patients.
Fukutomi, M, Hoshide, S, Mizuno, H, Kario, K
American journal of hypertension. 2014;(1):14-20
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare the effects of direct renin inhibitor, aliskiren, and amlodipine combination therapy with those of high-dose amlodipine monotherapy on endothelial function in elderly hypertensive patients. METHODS Participants included 105 patients (mean age 77 years) who had receive 5mg amlodipine for 4 weeks. Patients were allocated to the aliskiren/amlodipine group (AL/AM) or the high-dose amlodipine (AM) group. The AL/AM group received 150mg aliskiren in addition to 5mg amlodipine for 8 weeks; then the dose of aliskiren was doubled to 300mg for another 8 weeks. The AM group received 10mg amlodipine for 16 weeks. Of the 105 patients, 87 who underwent measurements of brachial flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and nitroglycerin-mediated vasodilation (NMD) before and after the study were included in the analysis. RESULTS Blood pressure-lowering effects were similar in the 2 groups. Plasma renin activity significantly decreased in the AL/AM group (P < 0.001) but increased in the AM group (P < 0.001). Improvement of FMD was found in the AL/AM group (2.6% to 3.7%, P = 0.001) but not in the AM group, while NMD did not change in either group. The changes in 24-hour systolic blood pressure (r = -0.60, P < 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (r = -0.46, P = 0.004) were significantly correlated with improvement of FMD in the AL/AM group but not in the AM group. CONCLUSION Addition of aliskiren improved endothelial function in elderly hypertensive patients treated with amlodipine. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NUMBER UMIN000010163.
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Head-to-head comparison of udenafil vs amlodipine in the treatment of secondary Raynaud's phenomenon: a double-blind, randomized, cross-over study.
Lee, EY, Park, JK, Lee, W, Kim, YK, Park, CS, Giles, JT, Park, JW, Shin, K, Lee, JS, Song, YW, et al
Rheumatology (Oxford, England). 2014;(4):658-64
Abstract
OBJECTIVE RP is a reversible vasoconstriction of digital arteries that causes pain and skin discoloration. This study compared the efficacy of the new phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor udenafil with that of the calcium channel blocker amlodipine in the treatment of secondary RP. METHODS A total of 29 patients with secondary RP associated with connective tissue diseases were enrolled in this double-blind, randomized, cross-over study. The patients were randomized to receive udenafil 100 mg/day or amlodipine 10 mg/day for 4 weeks. After a washout period they were crossed over to the other drug for another 4 weeks. The primary outcome was RP frequency before and after treatment. The secondary outcomes were RP condition scores, RP duration, number of digital ulcers, HAQ, physician global assessment and digital artery flow before and after treatment. RESULTS Amlodipine and udenafil both decreased the rate of RP attack significantly. The drugs did not differ in terms of RP frequency or any of the secondary outcomes except for digital blood flow; udenafil improved it significantly better than amlodipine (P = 0.021). Udenafil was well tolerated without serious adverse effects. CONCLUSION Udenafil and amlodipine have comparable efficacy in improving RP attacks. In addition, udenafil improves the blood flow in digital arteries compared with amlodipine. TRIAL REGISTRATION www.clinicaltrials.gov, protocol number NCT01280266.
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Differences in hemodynamic responses between intravenous carperitide and nicorandil in patients with acute heart failure syndromes.
Hattori, H, Minami, Y, Mizuno, M, Yumino, D, Hoshi, H, Arashi, H, Nuki, T, Sashida, Y, Higashitani, M, Serizawa, N, et al
Heart and vessels. 2013;(3):345-51
Abstract
While recent guidelines for the treatment of acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS) recommend pharmacotherapy with vasodilators in patients without excessively low blood pressure (BP), few reports have compared the relative efficiency of vasodilators on hemodynamics in AHFS patients. The present study aimed to assess the differences in hemodynamic responses between intravenous carperitide and nicorandil in patients with AHFS. Thirty-eight consecutive patients were assigned to receive 48-h continuous infusion of carperitide (n = 19; 0.0125-0.05 μg/kg/min) or nicorandil (n = 19; 0.05-0.2 mg/kg/h). Hemodynamic parameters were estimated at baseline, and 2, 24, and 48 h after drug administration using echocardiography. After 48 h of infusion, systolic BP was significantly more decreased in the carperitide group compared with that in the nicorandil group (22.1 ± 20.0 % vs 5.3 ± 10.4 %, P = 0.003). While both carperitide and nicorandil significantly improved hemodynamic parameters, improvement of estimated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure was greater in the carperitide group (38.2 ± 14.5 % vs 26.5 ± 18.3 %, P = 0.036), and improvement of estimated cardiac output was superior in the nicorandil group (52.1 ± 33.5 % vs 11.4 ± 36.9 %, P = 0.001). Urine output for 48 h was greater in the carperitide group, but not to a statistically significant degree (4203 ± 1542 vs 3627 ± 1074 ml, P = 0.189). Carperitide and nicorandil were differentially effective in improving hemodynamics in AHFS patients. This knowledge may enable physicians in emergency wards to treat and manage patients with AHFS more effectively and safely.