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Introduction
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Publications
Publications (69)
Momordica charantia (bitter melon), a traditional medicinal plant, has been demonstrated to have potential in managing diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, and infections. Among its bioactive compounds, momordicine I, a cucurbitane-type triterpenoid, has attracted attention due to its substantial biological activities. Preclinical studies have indi...
Objectives:
The association between diuretic use and cardiorenal outcomes remains limited in patients with stage 3-5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypertension. To address this gap, we aim to investigate the long-term clinical impact of diuretic use with its pharmacological classification in Taiwanese patients with stage 3-5 CKD and hypertensio...
The evidence for the impact of renal dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and first cardiovascular diseases on mid-term adverse outcomes remain scarce. This study included the data of patients with DM having first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) or congestive heart failure (CHF) from the Taipei Medical University Clini...
Objective
To evaluate the complications and mortality after noncardiac surgeries in patients who underwent previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
Methods
We used insurance data and identified patients aged ≥20 years undergoing noncardiac surgeries between 2010 and 2017 in Taiwan. Based on propensity-score matching, we selected an adequat...
This study compared the ankle‐brachial index (ABI) with transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO 2 ) in assessing peripheral vascular disease (PVD) prevalence in 100 diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) patients. Patients were categorized into vascular or nonvascular reconstruction groups and underwent both ABI and TcPO 2 measurements four times over 6 months. Pr...
Background
Previous observational studies have shown that people with dental scaling (DS) had decreased risk of stroke. However, limited information is available on the association between DS and poststroke outcomes. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of regular DS on the complications and mortality after stroke.
Methods
We conducted...
Renal inflammation and fibrosis are significantly correlated with the deterioration of kidney function and result in chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, current therapies only delay disease progression and have limited treatment effects. Hence, the development of innovative therapeutic approaches to mitigate the progression of CKD has become an...
Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between lipid-lowering agent use and the risks of diagnosed dry eye disease (DED).
Methods:
This retrospective, case-control study included 780 786 patients who received lipid-lowering agents in 2002-2016, of which 17 409 were newly diagnosed with DED during a ≥2-year follow-up pe...
Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a higher risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) due to vascular complications and chronic inflammation. T2DM contributes to a higher risk of mortality and morbidity related to influenza. In Taiwan, influenza vaccination is recommended for patients with T2DM. A previous meta-analysis reported the effi...
BACKGROUND
The ankle-brachial index (ABI) might underestimate the prevalence of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). This study manifested the effectiveness of transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2) in determining whether PVD should be treated with revascularization.
METHODS
100 patients with diabetic foo...
Background:
Despite the continual improvements in dialysis treatments, mortality in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) remains high. Many mortality prediction models are available, but most of them are not precise enough to be used in the clinical practice. We aimed to develop and validate two prediction models for 3-month and 1-year patient mortalit...
Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) is linked to multiple signalling pathways that regulate cellular survival, activation, and proliferation. A covalent BTK inhibitor has shown favourable outcomes for treating B cell malignant leukaemia. However, covalent inhibitors require a high reactive warhead that may contribute to unexpected toxicity, poor selectivi...
The ventricular arrhythmia (VA)–chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) association and related risk factors remain unclear. Using 2001–2012 data from National Health Insurance Research Database, we retrospectively reviewed 71,838 patients diagnosed as having COPD and 71,838 age- and sex-matched controls. After adjustments for comorbidities, m...
The association between pancreatitis and acute myocardial infarction or stroke remains incompletely understood. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term risk of acute atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in people with acute and chronic pancreatitis. Using research database of Taiwan's National Health Insurance, we identified 2678 patie...
This study performed beat-to-beat and spectral analyses of 20-minute skin-surface laser-Doppler-flowmetry (LDF) and radial blood-pressure-waveform (BPW) signals in order to compare the blood-flow perfusion condition and regulatory mechanisms between essential-hypertension (EHT) patients and aged-matched control subjects. Beat-to-beat LDF analyses y...
Background
Little was know about the association between the CHA2DS2-VASc score and postoperative outcomes. Our purpose is to evaluate the effects of CHA2DS2-VASc score on the perioperative outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Methods
We identified 47,402 patients with AF over the age of 20 years who underwent noncardiac surgeries b...
The impact of heart failure (HF) on postoperative outcomes is not completely understood. Our purpose is to investigate complications and mortality after noncardiac surgeries in people who had HF. In the analyses of research data of health insurance in, we identified 32,808 surgical patients with preoperative HF and 32,808 patients without HF underg...
An influenza vaccination might reduce the risk of incident peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but supporting evidence is limited. This case-crossover study analyzed data from Taiwan’s real-world National Health Insurance Research Database. This study included elderly (≥ 67 years old) patients...
Background
Only few studies with inconsistent results comparing the relative risk of cardiac mortality between peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD). Switches between renal replacement therapy (RRT) modalities render objective assessment of survival benefits a greater challenge.
Methods
Data were retrieved from Taiwan’s National Health In...
Objective
To evaluate the long-term risk of stroke and poststroke adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF).
Methods
We used research data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Program from 2000 to 2005 and identified 20,072 adults aged ≥30 years who were newly diagnosed with HF. Frequency matching based on age and sex was used to sel...
Current cigarette smoking is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) or death from end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Mainstream cigarette smoke includes over 4000 compounds. Among the compounds present in tobacco smoke, nicotine is one of a large number of biologically stable and active compounds present in tobacco. However, the mechanisms by wh...
Background and aims
The effects of physician specialty on the outcome of heart disease remains incompletely understood because of inconsistent findings from some previous studies. Our purpose is to compare the admission outcomes of heart disease in patients receiving care by cardiologists and noncardiologist (NC) physicians.
Methods
Using reimburs...
Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the risk of incident diabetes between people who used lovastatin and red yeast rice (RYR) prescriptions.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was performed to analyze the real-world database of Taiwan’s National Health Insurance. We identified the RYR cohort, which included 34,504 persons age 20 years or olde...
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2018/7861518.].
Nicorandil is an adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel opener with additional antioxidant properties. Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anticancer drug that exerts oxidation-mediated adverse cardiovascular effects. This study examined the effects of nicorandil on DOX-induced cytotoxicity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and und...
The authors of the published version of this article incorrectly presented the affiliation of Li-Chin Sung. The revised affiliation is now presented correctly in this article.
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176465.].
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206011.].
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2018/3939714.].
Through population-based studies, associations have been found between coffee drinking and numerous health benefits, including a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Active ingredients in coffee have therefore received considerable attention from researchers. A wide variety of effects have been attributed to cafestol, one of the major compounds...
Rationale:
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) secondary to spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare condition. SCAD can be underdiagnosed on a coronary angiography (CAG). Therefore, the application of intravascular imaging including intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) is crucial for ensuring an accu...
Background
In this study, we evaluated the effects of various medications on the patency of vascular access (VA) for hemodialysis.
Methods
We analyzed data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database of Taiwan. We adopted a case–control study design within a cohort of patients who had received regular hemodialysis between 2002 and 2012; 34,354...
Diabetes-associated cardiac fibrosis is a severe cardiovascular complication. Momordicine I, a bioactive triterpenoid isolated from bitter melon, has been demonstrated to have antidiabetic properties. This study investigated the effects of momordicine I on high-glucose-induced cardiac fibroblast activation. Rat cardiac fibroblasts were cultured in...
Specific data regarding the full range of stroke outcomes among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are lacking. This study aimed to investigate outcomes in RA patients hospitalized for a stroke. The study retrieved data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We identified 26,336 patients who were hospitalized for stroke t...
Objective: Moderate coffee consumption is inversely associated with car-diovascular disease mortality; however, mechanisms underlying this causal effect remain unclear. Cafestol, a diterpene found in coffee, has various properties, including an anti-inflammatory property. This study investigated the effect of cafestol on cyclic-strain-induced inflamm...
Moderate coffee consumption is inversely associated with cardiovascular disease mortality; however, mechanisms underlying this causal effect remain unclear. Cafestol, a diterpene found in coffee, has various properties, including an anti-inflammatory property. This study investigated the effect of cafestol on cyclic-strain-induced inflammatory mole...
Background:
This study investigated whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increase protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) expression and enhance the association between PAR-2 expression and chemokine production in human vascular endothelial cells (ECs).
Methods:
The morphology of ECs was observed through microphotography in cultured human umbilical ve...
Purpose:
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with the risk of ischemic stroke, regardless of the administration of appropriate antithrombotic prophylaxis. This study investigated whether influenza vaccination is associated with the risk of ischemic stroke, to determine a solution to reduce this risk in patients with AF.
Methods:
We used data...
Background
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning may cause toxicity to the cardiovascular system. However, the association between CO poisoning and the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) remains unestablished. We investigated the incidence of MACE after CO poisoning in Taiwan and evaluated whether CO-poisoned individuals had a higher risk...
Purpose:
The risk of hemorrhagic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is low but the consequences of its occurrence are extremely severe. In this study, we investigated the association of influenza vaccination with the risk of hemorrhagic stroke to develop an efficient strategy for reducing this risk in patients with AF.
Methods:
In...
PURPOSE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with an increased cancer risk. We evaluated the chemopreventive effect of statins against all cancers in COPD patients and identified the statin with the strongest chemopreventive effect.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients diagnosed with COPD at health care facilities in Taiwan (n...
Background:
Elderly patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at a higher risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Previous studies have reported the beneficial effects of the influenza vaccine in patients with CVD. However, the effects of influenza vaccination on the reduction of hospitalizations for heart failure (HF) in e...
Background:
Nicorandil, a mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium (mitoKATP) channel opener, exerts protective effects on the cardiovascular system. This study examined the effect of nicorandil on cyclic strain-induced interleukin-8 (IL-8) expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).
Methods:
Cultured HUVECs we...
Taiwan has the highest prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) worldwide. CKD, a manifestation of vascular diseases, is associated with a high risk of dementia. Here, we estimated the association between influenza vaccination and dementia risk in patients with CKD.
Data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan were used in...
Elderly patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at a higher risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Previous studies have showed that influenza vaccination could reduce the risk of recurrent major cardiovascular events in patients with CVD. However, the effects of influenza vaccination on the reduction of first hospitaliza...
Lycopene is the most potent active antioxidant among the major carotenoids, and its use has been associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a powerful vasopressor synthesized by endothelial cells and plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of CVD. However, the direct effects of lycopene on vascular e...
Purpose
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with increased lung cancer risk. We evaluated the association of statin use with lung cancer risk in COPD patients and identified which statins possess the highest chemopreventive potential.
Results
After adjustment for age, sex, CCI, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, urbanizat...
Purpose:
We evaluated the chemopreventive effect of statins on colon cancer in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and identified the statin exerting the strongest chemopreventive effect.
Methods:
Using the National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified patients who received a COPD diagnosis in Taiwan between J...
This study investigated how lycopene affected urotensin-II- (U-II-) induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and the possible implicated mechanisms. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were exposed to U-II (1 nM) either exclusively or following 6 h of lycopene pretreatment (1-10 μ M). The lycopene (3-10 μ M) pretreatment significantly inhibited the U-II-induced c...
Background:
Elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at a higher risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular complications, especially during respiratory infections. Previous studies showed that vaccination for influenza may reduce the risk of recurrent major cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndro...
Background
Vaccination against influenza may decrease the risk of an acute cardiovascular event in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that influenza vaccination could reduce hospitalizations for heart failure (HF) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Methods
Using Taiwan National Health Insu...
Nicorandil is an adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel opener that combines an organic nitrate and a nicotinamide group which respectively confer to nicorandil the additional properties of being a nitric oxide (NO) donor and antioxidant; it also induces vasodilation, decreases the blood pressure, and protects the heart. However, the in...
Nicorandil, an ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channel opener, nitric oxide (NO) donor and antioxidant, was shown to exert a variety of pharmacological effects including cardioprotective properties. However, its mechanisms of action are not completely understood. The aims of this study were to examine whether nicorandil may alter angiotensin-II (A...
We report a diabetic man with prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) who underwent coronary angiography (CAG) because of medically refractory unstable angina. CAG revealed severe stenosis of the left circumflex artery (LCX) and the right coronary artery (RCA), patent artery graft to the left anterior descending artery and total occlusion of s...
Advanced age is associated with poor outcome among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). It appears that elderly patients are treated more conservatively because of multiple comorbidities and higher risk of further invasive therapy. Reperfusion therapy for AMI may improve survival, and previous studies have shown that patients receiving...
Background: Lesions in the ostial left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery are usually considered an indication for bypass surgery because of possible distal left main (LM) involvement. Percutaneuos coronary intervention for such lesions is considered a high-risk procedure because of high rates of acute complications and later restenosis. The...
Coronary artery dissection is a well-described complication of diagnostic angiography and has significant mortality and morbidity. The ideal management of acute coronary dissection and occlusion, whatever the cause, is prompt restoration of vessel patency to limit the duration and extent of ischemia. We report a 73-year-old man with simultaneous re...
The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors as characteristic and correlated with cardiovascular disease and the development of the diabetes mellitus. The characters of dyslipidemia are the hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. As to the patient hav...
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) secondary to acute ascending aortic dissection is a rare condition. The clinical presentations are similar but treatment strategies are different between AMI due to thrombotic occlusion of coronary arteries and that secondary to aortic dissection. In the latter, emergency surgery is the first choice and thrombolyti...
Coronary artery vasospasm can cause a transient, abrupt, marked decrease in the diameter of an epicardial coronary artery. Various mechanisms have been reported, including vasoconstrictor substances, pharmacologic stimuli, and neurohumoral effects. Spasm usually develops at the site of subcritical or critical stenosis, but it may also occur in angi...
