Carotid artery stenosis is the major cause of stroke. Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is the less invasive treatment for this condition. But, the tortuosity of aortic arch or carotid bifurcation are considered a risk factor for CAS. The authors evaluated the impact of catheter access route on outcomes. A retrospective study was conducted on patients with CAS from 2015 to 2020. Accessed anatomical factors were acute angle type of aortic arch and carotid artery angulation. The outcomes were set as symptomatic stroke within 30 days postoperatively and postoperative ischemic diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions. In this study, 157 cases were included. In bivariate analysis, left-sided lesions and symptomatic stroke (p = 0.028), as well as age and ischemic DWI lesions (p = 0.004), were associated. On the other hand, two anatomic factors did not affect post-treatment outcomes in bivariate analysis. Safe treatment can be expected by preoperative evaluation of vascular anatomy.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one major chronic liver disease emerging the primarily excessive fat accumulation in the liver. Recent studies have demonstrated that hepatic miRNAs play an important role of NAFLD pathogenesis. Previously we identified up-regulation of miR-126-3p and miR-199a-3p in the patient with NAFLD, but their roles remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of miR-126-3p and miR-199a-3p on lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Transfection of miR-126-3p and miR-199a-3p enhanced lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells after adipocyte differentiation. Next, we evaluated lipid metabolism-related gene expression by quantitative RT-PCR. MiR-126-3p increased CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-α (C/EBPα) mRNA expression whereas miR-199a-3p did not affect. Moreover, both miRNAs reduced the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) mRNA, predicted target of miRNAs. These results suggested that miR-126-3p and miR-199a-3p promote lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes through regulating HIF-1α and/or C/EBPα mRNA expression.

After mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for acute ischemic stroke, contrast extravasation may be observed. Therefore, the diagnosis of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) as the complication is difficult via conventional computed tomography (CT). This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of dual-energy CT (DECT) in differentiating ICH from contrast extravasation after MT. A retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent MT from January 2019 to May 2022. Single-energy CT and DECT were conducted to estimate the ICH immediately after MT. Diagnostic confirmation of ICH and the diagnostic accuracy of DECT were evaluated via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fifty-eight patients were assigned to this study. One patient (1.7%) had symptomatic ICH, and 18 (31.0%) had asymptomatic. The diagnostic accuracy of DECT based on MRI was 52.6% for sensitivity and 97.4% for specificity. Although DECT has been indicated to have high specificity for diagnosing hemorrhage after MT, MRI-based studies of DECT need improvement.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of preoperative inpatient rehabilitation on the incidence of postoperative pneumonia and length of hospital stay in patients with esophageal cancer. Twenty patients were requested for inpatient rehabilitation one week before surgery and 13 patients were used as historical control. The training consisted of respiratory muscle training, lower limb strength training, and aerobic exercise for one hour each in the morning and afternoon for one week. Outcomes are including the length of hospital stay and incidence of postoperative pneumonia. Postoperative hospital stay was 21 days for the intervention group and 35 days for the control group (p = 0.001), and the total length of hospital stay was 28.5 days and 37 days, respectively (p = 0.01). However, the incidence of postoperative pneumonia was 45% and 53.8%, respectively (p = 0.62). Inpatient preoperative rehabilitation for one week is a beneficial measure because it can decrease the hospital stay without adverse events.