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Biomedical subjects

J Nitta

Publications and source records attributed to J Nitta.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Selective radiofrequency catheter ablation of the slow pathway for common and uncommon atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia.

The utility of selective radiofrequency catheter ablation of the slow pathway for the treatment of common and uncommon atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) was studied in 110 consecutive patients, 94 with slow-fast form common AVNRT, and 11 and 5, respectively, with the fast-slow and slow-slow forms of uncommon AVNRT. Ablation sites were determined by mapping a late and spiky "slow pathway potential" in the posterior right atrial septum in common AVNRT, and also the earliest retrograde atrial activation over the retrograde slow pathway in uncommon AVNRT. AVNRT was successfully eliminated in all patients with a mean number of radiofrequency pulses of 2.9 +/- 3.0 and a mean total energy applied of 3536 +/- 2996 joules. There were no early or late complications, except for transient AV block for 15 sec immediately after energy application in one common AVNRT patient, and no recurrence of AVNRT in a mean follow-up period of 24 +/- 13 months. There were no significant differences between common and uncommon AVNRT in success rate, mean application number and total energy applied. However, the AVN physiology post-ablation was different. Slow pathway conduction was eliminated in only 32% of the patients post-ablation in common AVNRT, while it was elininated in 100% in uncommon AVNRT. Selective radiofrequency catheter ablation of the slow pathway can cure common and uncommon AVNRT effectively and safely. Common AVNRT can be eliminated irrespective of the persistence of slow pathway conduction, while uncommon AVNRT can be eliminated by the eradication of slow pathway conduction.

Adolescent↗

Radiofrequency catheter ablation for management of symptomatic ventricular ectopic activity.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the useful role of intracardiac mapping and radiofrequency catheter ablation in eliminating drug-refractory monomorphic ventricular ectopic beats in severely symptomatic patients. BACKGROUND: Ventricular ectopic activity is commonly encountered in clinical practice. Usually, it is not associated with life-threatening consequences in the absence of significant structural heart disease. However, frequent ventricular ectopic beats can be extremely symptomatic and even incapacitating in some patients. Currently, reassurance and pharmacologic therapy are the mainstays of treatment. There has been little information on the use of catheter ablation in such patients. METHODS: Ten patients with frequent and severely symptomatic monomorphic ventricular ectopic beats were selected from three tertiary care centers. The mean frequency +/- SD of ventricular ectopic activity was 1,065 +/- 631 beats/h (range 280 to 2,094) as documented by baseline 24-h ambulatory electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring. No other spontaneous arrhythmias were documented. These patients had previously been unable to tolerate or had been unsuccessfully treated with a mean of 5 +/- 3 antiarrhythmic drugs. The site of origin of ventricular ectopic activity was accurately mapped by using earliest endocardial activation time during ectopic activity or pace mapping, or both. RESULTS: During electrophysiologic study, no patient had inducible ventricular tachycardia. The ectopic focus was located in the right ventricular outflow tract in nine patients and in the left ventricular posteroseptal region in one patient. Frequent ventricular ectopic beats were successfully eliminated by catheter-delivered radiofrequency energy in all 10 patients. The mean number of radiofrequency applications was 2.6 +/- 1.3 (range 1 to 5). No complications were encountered. During a mean follow-up period of 10 +/- 4 months, no patient had a recurrence of symptomatic ectopic activity, and 24-h ambulatory ECG monitoring showed that the frequency of ventricular ectopic activity was 0 beat/h in seven patients, 1 beat/h in two patients and 2 beats/h in one patient. CONCLUSIONS: Radiofrequency catheter ablation can be successfully used to eliminate monomorphic ventricular ectopic activity. It may therefore be a reasonable alternative for the treatment of severely symptomatic, drug-resistant monomorphic ventricular ectopic activity in patients without significant structural heart disease.

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents↗

Effects of internal defibrillation on an implanted pacing system with programmable polarity.

Management of multiple cardiac arrhythmias in some patients with both an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and a pacemaker has demonstrated several advantages. In such circumstances, it is imperative that pacemaker function and its programmed parameters be preserved following a defibrillation shock. This article describes the effects encountered by a specific programmable polarity pacemaker (RelayR 294-03) when subjected to electrical defibrillation in a canine model. Three pacemakers were repeatedly tested in three separate dog experiments. Each pacemaker, with its leads implanted in the right atrium and the right ventricle, was subjected to a minimum total number of 24 high energy biphasic and monophasic shocks (600-700 V) delivered by a coexisting ICD system using three different defibrillating lead configurations. None of the pacemaker systems showed any failure in function; all pacemakers continued to function within preshock specification and conversion to unipolar pacing and/or backup mode was not observed in any of the tests. Intracardiac electrical potentials measured directly off the ICD and the pacemaker leads, during a defibrillation shock (mean 566.6 V; 23.7 J), showed that potentials measured in a bipolar configuration (tip-ring: mean 21.0 V in atrium, 12.0 V in ventricle) were significantly less than potentials measured in a unipolar configuration (tip-can: mean 387.9 V in atrium, 394.0 V in ventricle; ring-can: mean 405.6 V in atrium, 395.4 V in ventricle). Our compatibility tests demonstrate that use of this programmable-polarity pacemaker in concert with an ICD system appears to be safe. Testing similar to the present study should be conducted prior to complete clinical acceptance of combined ICD and pacemaker implantation.

Animals↗

Subcellular mechanism for Ca(2+)-dependent enhancement of delayed rectifier K+ current in isolated membrane patches of guinea pig ventricular myocytes.

Intracellular Ca2+ augments delayed rectifier K+ current (IK) in cardiac myocytes, which may play a major modulatory role in repolarization of action potentials. We investigated subcellular mechanisms for Ca(2+)-induced enhancement of IK in large-pipette inside-out membrane patches excised from isolated guinea pig ventricular myocytes. When [Ca2+]i was raised from 10(-8) to 10(-6) mol/L, the amplitude of IK measured at +80 mV was increased from 12.0 +/- 2.2 to 19.5 +/- 3.3 pA (P < .01). The enhancement of IK by Ca2+ was dose dependent, with an EC50 of 3.8 x 10(-8) mol/L. A calmodulin antagonist, W7 (50 mumol/L), calmidazolium (100 mumol/L), or HT-74 (20 mumol/L), added to the intracellular solution abolished enhancement of IK by Ca2+, whereas the inactive form of the W7 analogue, W5, had no effect on IK. In the presence of a protein kinase inhibitor with a relatively high specificity for protein kinase C (H7), for protein kinase A (H8 or peptide-type inhibitor PKI), or for calmodulin kinase II (KN-62) or a nonspecific inhibitor of serine/threonine protein kinases (staurosporine), increases in [Ca2+]i still enhanced IK. Ca(2+)-induced enhancement of IK was also observed when Mg2+ and ATP were omitted from the intracellular solution to delete exogenous phosphate donors and when adenylylimidodiphosphate was added to preclude trapped cytoplasmic substrates. Thus, cardiac IK was enhanced by increases in [Ca2+]i at a physiological range via a calmodulin-dependent pathway, which did not involve a phosphorylation process.

Animals↗

Pyridonecarboxylic acids as antibacterial agents. VII. Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of amino- and hydroxyl-substituted 7-cycloalkyl and 7-vinyl derivatives of 1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-4-quinolone-3- carboxylic acid.

Novel C(7)-derivatives of 1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-4-quinolone carboxylic acid (3a-o) have been synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antibacterial activity. Compounds 3e (3-aminocyclobutyl), 3g (1-aminocyclopropyl), 3m ((2-aminomethyl)vinyl), and 3o ((1-aminomethyl)vinyl) showed significant inhibitory activity, comparable to that of ciprofloxacin, against gram-negative bacteria including P. aeruginosa. A good pharmacokinetic profile (serum and brain concentrations and urinary recovery) was obtained for the two cyclic compounds (3e and 3g), but that of the vinylic compounds (3m and 3o) was less favorable. Compound 3g was less toxic than 3e, ciprofloxacin, or ofloxacin in terms of acute toxicity and convulsion-induction.

4-Quinolones↗

Pyridonecarboxylic acids as antibacterial agents. VIII. Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of 7-(1-aminocyclopropyl)-4-oxo-1,8-naphthyridine-3-carboxylic acids and 7-(1-aminocyclopropyl)-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylic acids.

4-Oxo-1,8-naphthyridine- and 4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylic acids (2a, b and 3a-1) possessing a 1-amino-cyclopropyl group at the 7-position have been synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antibacterial activities. The three quinolones (3d, h, i) exhibited potent antibacterial activities against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, which are comparable to those of ciprofloxacin (CPFX) and ofloxacin (OFLX). Among the three compounds, the best pharmacological and pharmacokinetic profile was obtained with 3i, an OFLX analogue, which was considerably less toxic than three reference quinolones (1, CPFX and OFLX).

4-Quinolones↗

States and sites of actions of flecainide on guinea-pig cardiac sodium channels.

The states and sites of actions of flecainide on sodium channels were investigated in guinea-pig single cardiac cells, using the whole-cell voltage-clamp technique at 22 degrees C. External application of flecainide caused tonic and use-dependent block of the sodium current (INa). The tonic block and the steady state use-dependent block increased with increasing drug concentrations. The dose-response curve for the use-dependent block was fitted by the equation for 1:1 drug-receptor binding and yielded a KD of 7.0 microM flecainide. At 5 microM flecainide, the use-dependent block of INa with 10 and 200 ms depolarizing pulses at an interpulse interval of 400 ms was 31.1 +/- 2.7 (mean +/- S.E.) and 36.8 +/- 2.7%, respectively. The two values were not significantly different. The block developed as a single exponential function with onset rate of 0.041 +/- 0.005/pulse. Recovery from flecainide block consisted of two components as reported previously. The mean time constant of the initial fast component was 48 +/- 17 ms, which was comparable but significantly longer than that in the absence of the drug. The late slow component was only seen after drug application and the time constant was 26 +/- 7 s at -100 mV. Internal application of 5 and 50 microM flecainide for 30 min after rupture of the cell membrane produced a non-significant block and values of 1.7 +/- 0.8 and 6.9 +/- 2.4%, respectively, for the use-dependent block of INa.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Combined class I antiarrhythmic agents have differential effects on tonic and use dependent block of maximum rate of depolarisation of action potentials in guinea pig cardiac muscle.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to study the difference between tonic and use dependent block of the cardiac sodium channel produced by the combined application of the same subclass of antiarrhythmic agents (class Ia or Ib). METHODS: Conventional glass microelectrode technique was used to record the maximum rate of depolarisation (dV/dtmax) of action potentials reflecting sodium channel availability, before and after the combined application of quinidine plus disopyramide, aprindine plus lignocaine, aprindine plus mexiletine, and lignocaine plus mexiletine. Guinea pig papillary muscles (n = 4-8 per experiment) were used for the study. RESULTS: All combinations increased tonic block additively compared to use of a single drug. On the other hand, use dependent block was increased by the combination of quinidine 10 microM plus disopyramide 30 microM compared to a single drug, and was not changed by lignocaine 50 microM plus mexiletine 20 microM, whereas it was decreased by aprindine 3 microM plus lignocaine 50 microM or mexiletine 20 microM. When concentrations of mexiletine and lignocaine were increased, both tonic and use dependent block in a single drug were increased dose dependently, whereas the combination produced an additive increase in tonic block but no change in use dependent block compared to a single drug. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that the binding and unbinding process of the drug to produce tonic block was different from that to produce use dependent block, and that combination of different drugs produced diverse effects on use dependent block even though state dependent affinity of individual drugs seemed similar. These two factors must be born in mind in evaluating the combination therapy.

Action Potentials↗

Combined use of time and frequency domain variables in signal-averaged ECG as a predictor of inducible sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia in myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Time and frequency domain analyses of signal-averaged ECG (SAECG) have several individual limitations, and the results of the two methods sometimes vary considerably. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the combined use of time and frequency domain variables facilitates identification of patients who will have ventricular tachycardia (VT) induced during programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Nine myocardial infarction (MI) patients with clinically documented sustained monomorphic VT (SMVT), 40 MI patients without clinical VT, and 30 normal healthy control subjects were evaluated. PVS using three extrastimuli and SAECG recording were performed in the MI patients on day 36 +/- 4 after infarction. Of 40 MI patients, SMVT was inducible in 14, sustained polymorphic VT in three, nonsustained monomorphic VT in three, nonsustained polymorphic VT in two, and no inducible arrhythmia was obtained in 18. There were significant differences between MI patients with inducible SMVT and without inducible SMVT in the following SAECG variables: filtered QRS durations (high-pass filter setting, 25, 40, and 80 Hz); low-amplitude signal durations (LAS) under 10, 20, 30, and 40 microV (high-pass filter setting, 40 and 80 Hz); root-mean-square voltages (RMS) of the terminal 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 msec (high-pass filter setting, 40 and 80 Hz); area ratio (area 20-50 Hz/area 0-20 Hz x 10(5)) of a 120-msec sampling interval starting 20 msec before QRS offset; factor of normality on lead X; and minimum value of the variables on lead X, Y, or Z. Stepwise logistic regression analysis selected only LAS under 30 microV (high-pass filter setting, 80 Hz) and area ratio as independent predictors of inducible SMVT. With these two variables, the predicted probability of inducible SMVT [p(VT)] was expressed as p(VT) = 1/[1+exp (6.2-0.11 LAS-0.01 area ratio)]. This function had 93% sensitivity, 81% specificity, 72% positive predictive value, 95% negative predictive value, and 85% predictive accuracy with greater than or equal to 0.3 as the criterion of a positive test. CONCLUSIONS: The combined use of time and frequency domain analysis of SAECG can enhance the accuracy of this technique as a screening test for results of PVS in MI patients without clinical VT.

Aged↗

Endothelin-1 enhances calcium entry through T-type calcium channels in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a 21-amino acid vasoconstrictive peptide, increases intracellular Ca2+ level and has hypertrophic action on ventricular myocytes. To elucidate a possible role of Ca2+ entry through sarcolemmal Ca2+ channels on this ET-1 action, we examined effects of ET-1 on L-type (ICa,L) and T-type (ICa,T) Ca2+ currents in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes using the patch-clamp technique. ET-1 at a concentration of 10 nM increased the maximum current density of ICa,T from -3.0 +/- 1.4 microA/cm2 in the control condition to -4.4 +/- 1.6 microA/cm2 (p < 0.01). Although the peak amplitude of ICa,L was decreased during ET-1 application (from -9.7 +/- 1.9 microA/cm2 in the control condition to -5.0 +/- 1.4 microA/cm2 [p < 0.01]), this magnitude of decrease in ICa,T (52 +/- 19%) was comparable to that of spontaneous "run-down" of ICa,L (47 +/- 26%). The enhancement of ICa,T by ET-1 was dose dependent; it was initiated as low as 0.32 nM, and the maximal response was attained at approximately 10 nM, with a half-maximal dose of 1.26 nM. The enhancement of ICa,T by ET-1 was antagonized by protein kinase C inhibitors staurosporine (0.2 microM) and 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7, 20 microM) applied to the pipette solution. Extracellular application of tumor-promoting phorbol esters, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) and 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, augmented ICa,T. PDBu (0.2 microM) increased the maximal current density of ICa,T from -4.2 +/- 0.5 microA/cm2 in the control condition to -5.5 +/- 1.0 microA/cm2 (p < 0.01). In the presence of H-7 (20 microM) in the pipette solution, PDBu failed to enhance ICa,T, and an inactive isomer of PDBu (4 alpha-phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, 0.2 microM) did not augment ICa,T. Thus, ET-1 enhances Ca2+ entry through the sarcolemmal T-type Ca2+ channel, possibly through a pathway involving activation of protein kinase C. This ET-1 action may be involved in the rise of the intracellular Ca2+ level and may contribute to the induction of cardiac hypertrophy by ET-1.

Animals↗

Usefulness of early versus late programmed ventricular stimulation in acute myocardial infarction.

To determine the influence of timing on the prognostic value of programmed ventricular stimulation after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 32 patients were studied on day 19 (early study) and again on day 36 (late study) after AMI using up to 3 extrastimuli. At the early study, sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) was induced in 12 patients (38%), sustained polymorphic VT in 8 (25%), nonsustained monomorphic VT in 1 (3%), nonsustained polymorphic VT in 1 (3%) and no inducible arrhythmia in 10 (31%). At the late study, sustained monomorphic VT, nonsustained monomorphic VT and nonsustained polymorphic VT were induced in 8 patients (25%) each, and no inducible arrhythmia in 8 (25%). Of the 12 patients who had inducible sustained monomorphic VT at the early study, 7 had noninducibility of sustained monomorphic VT at the late study. Of the 20 patients who had noninducibility of sustained monomorphic VT at the early study, 3 had inducible sustained monomorphic VT at the late study. During the follow-up period (mean +/- standard deviation 21 +/- 8 months), there were 2 sudden cardiac deaths and 3 occurrences of sustained VT. Univariate analysis revealed both inducibilities of sustained monomorphic VT at the early study (p = 0.045) and at the late study (p less than 0.001) to be predictive of sudden cardiac death or clinical occurrence of sustained VT. However, inducibility of sustained monomorphic VT at the late study had a higher sensitivity (100%), specificity (89%), positive predictive value (63%) and negative predictive value (100%) than at the early study (80, 70, 33 and 95%, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Combined effects of different class I antiarrhythmic agents on maximum rate of depolarization (Vmax) of action potentials in guinea-pig papillary muscles.

The combination of two different kinds of class I antiarrhythmic agents (class Ia, Ib, or Ic) was examined with regard to their effects on the maximum rate of depolarization (Vmax) of action potentials in guinea-pig papillary muscles. The combinations of disopyramide plus lidocaine, disopyramide plus mexiletine, mexiletine plus flecainide, and disopyramide plus flecainide were employed to study their effects on use-dependent block of Vmax. All the combinations increased the percent of use-dependent block at most of the frequencies employed (0.1-3.3 Hz) as compared to the effects of the single use of either drug, but no decrease in use-dependent block was found with any of the combinations. The time courses of the development of use-dependent block by disopyramide, lidocaine, and mexiletine were best expressed by two exponential functions, whereas those by flecainide were expressed by a single exponential function. Disopyramide plus lidocaine and disopyramide plus mexiletine produced increases in the time constant of the fast component of the block (tau f), the fast fraction of the block (Af), and the ratio of the fast to the slow fraction (Af/As). Mexiletine plus flecainide increased tau f, Af, and As; whereas disopyramide plus flecainide caused no changes in the kinetic parameters of use-dependent block. These results suggest that there may be diverse modes of interaction between the drug and the Na+ channel, and the combination of two different types of the drug may sometimes provide different effects on the fast and slow components of the use-dependent block of Vmax.

Action Potentials↗