1: Routine Electrocardiogram Screening and Cardiovascular Disease Events in Adults.
Science of the Month - August 2024
JAMA Intern Med.
Published online July 1, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.2270
Ryuichiro Yagi, Yuichiro Mori, Shinichi Goto, Taku Iwami, Kosuke Inoue
The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the simplest test in the cardiovascular field and is widely used throughout the world. While annual ECG screening is mandatory in health checkups in Japan, there is insufficient evidence for the effectiveness of routine ECG screening in the early detection and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Consequently, it is not recommended for asymptomatic adults in Europe and the United States. Therefore, we focused on large-scale health checkup data in Japan to evaluate the association between ECG findings and the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the general population. We analyzed data from 3.5 million members of the Kyokai Kenpo (National Health Insurance Association) with no history of heart disease who underwent an ECG in 2016. The results showed that the group with abnormal ECG findings had a 1.2 to 2 times higher incidence of cardiovascular disease compared to the group with normal ECGs. In addition, we found that the group with minor abnormalities was 2.5 to 3.6 times more likely to develop major ECG abnormalities within five years compared to the group with normal ECGs. These results suggest that ECG findings may be useful for risk assessment of cardiovascular disease in the general population. We will continue to contribute to building evidence for cardiovascular disease prevention using big data from health checkups, while also aiming to improve the accuracy of ECG diagnosis using artificial intelligence.
(Ryuichiro Yagi, Research Fellow, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Class of 1994)
2:Multi-omics analysis identified IL-4-induced IL1RL1high eosinophils characterized by prominent cysteinyl leukotriene metabolism
J Allergy Clin Immunol .
Sunata K, Miyata J, Kawashima Y, Konno R, Ishikawa M, Hasegawa Y, Onozato R, Otsu Y, Matsuyama E, Sasaki H, Okuzumi S, Mochimaru T, Masaki K, Kabata H, Kawana A, Arita M, Fukunaga K.
In allergic airway diseases such as asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis, eosinophils act as inflammatory cells. It is well known that the type 2 cytokine interleukin-5 (IL-5) activates eosinophils at the site of inflammation, but the effects of IL-4 and IL-13 on eosinophils have been overlooked. In a joint study with Professor Makoto Arita, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Keio University, and Dr. Yusuke Kawashima, Group Leader at the Kazusa DNA Research Institute, we used multi-omics analysis, which comprehensively analyzes genes, proteins, and lipids, to unravel this mystery. IL-4 and IL-13 increased the expression of the receptor for IL-33 on eosinophils in a STAT6-dependent manner and enhanced the production capacity of leukotriene D4, a lipid mediator that intensifies inflammation, along with the expression of related enzymes. Analysis of clinical specimens confirmed that these changes are induced in the airways of patients with asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis. For refractory allergic diseases, several biologic agents targeting cytokines, including IL-4 and IL-13, are now available. While patient control has improved, we face challenges in drug selection and financial aspects. Leveraging the findings of our research, we will continue to strive to deliver new methodologies for personalized medicine and novel therapeutic drugs.
(Keieya Sunata, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Class of 1994; Jun Miyata, Class of 1984)
Other Published Papers
1: Pan-Cancer Comparative and Integrative Analyses of Driver Alterations Using Japanese and International Genomic Databases.
Cancer Discovery .
2024;14(5):786-803. doi 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-23-0902 Horie S, Saito Y, Kogure Y, Mizuno K, Ito Y, Tabata M, Kanai T, Murakami K, Koya J, Kataoka K.
2: ctDNA improves prognostic prediction for patients with relapsed/refractory MM receiving ixazomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone.
Kogure Y, Handa H, Ito Y, Ri M, Horigome Y, Iino M, Harazaki Y, Kobayashi T, Ishida T, Abe M, Ito S, Iwasaki H, Kuroda J, Shibayama H, Sunami K, Takamatsu H, Tamura H, Hayashi T, Akagi K, Shinozaki T, Yoshida T, Mori I, Iida S, Maeda T, Kataoka K.
3: Healthy ageing and the kidney - lessons from centenarians.
Nature Reviews Nephrology.
Arai Y, Yanagita M.