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Background/Aims: The assessment of myocardial fatty acid metabolism impairment by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using 123I-β-methyliodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) might predict the risk of cardiac death in hemodialysis patients. We investigated the potential of oral nicorandil to improve myocardial fatty acid metabolism after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in this population. Methods: We evaluated 128 hemodialysis patients who had obtained coronary revascularization by PCI (90 men and 38 women, 66 ± 9 years). Participants for the analysis were randomly assigned to either the nicorandil (n = 63) or control group (n = 65). BMIPP SPECT was performed every year after coronary revascularization by PCI. Uptake on SPECT was graded in 17 segments on a 5-point scale (0, normal; 4, absent) and assessed as BMIPP summed scores (SS). Results: The incidence of cardiac death was lower (p = 0.004) in the nicorandil group (7/63, 11.1%) than in the control group (21/65, 32.3%) during a mean follow-up of 2.7 ± 1.4 years. BMIPP SS reduction rates improved in the nicorandil group compared with the control group from 3 years of administration. In Kaplan-Meier analyses, free survival rate of cardiac death was higher in patients with a ≥20% BMIPP SS reduction rate as compared with those with a <20% BMIPP SS reduction rate (p = 0.0001). In multiple logistic analysis, oral administration of nicorandil was associated with ≥20% reduction rates of BMIPP SS (odds ratio 2.823, p = 0.011). Conclusion: Long-term oral administration of nicorandil may improve impaired myocardial fatty acid metabolism after coronary revascularization by PCI in hemodialysis patients. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: We examined the potential of oral administration of nicorandil for protecting against cardiac death in hemodialysis patients without obstructive coronary artery disease. Methods: This study was based on a cohort study of 155 hemodialysis patients with angiographic absence of obstructive coronary lesions, with analysis performed in 100 propensity-matched patients (54 men and 46 women, 64 ± 10 years), including 50 who received oral administration of nicorandil (15 mg/day, nicorandil group) and 50 who did not (control). The efficacy of nicorandil in preventing cardiac death was investigated. Results: Over a mean follow-up period of 5.3 ± 1.9 years, we observed 25 cardiac deaths among 100 propensity-matched patients, including 6 due to acute myocardial infarction, 11 due to heart failure, and 8 due to sudden cardiac death. The incidence of cardiac death was lower (p < 0.001) in the nicorandil group (4/50, 8%) than in the control (21/50, 42%). On multivariate Cox hazard analysis, cardiac death was inversely associated with oral nicorandil (hazard ratio, 0.123; p = 0.0002). On Kaplan-Meier analysis, cardiac death-free survival rates at 5 years were higher in the nicorandil group than in the control group (91.4 vs. 66.4%). Conclusion: Oral nicorandil may inhibit cardiac death of hemodialysis patients without obstructive coronary artery disease. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: We examined whether nicorandil, which is a hybrid of an adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel opener and a nitrate, could inhibit major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in maintenance hemodialysis patients with suspected myocardial ischemia. Methods: We enrolled 148 asymptomatic patients on maintenance hemodialysis, who had exhibited potential myocardial ischemia as assessed by myocardial fatty acid imaging. The end-point was MACE including cardiac death and non-fatal acute myocardial infarction. A propensity-matched analysis was performed. Results: Over a mean duration of follow-up of 2.8 ± 1.6 years in the 82 propensity-matched patients (41 in the nicorandil group and 41 in the non-nicorandil group), we observed 17 cardiac deaths and 12 cases of nonfatal myocardial infarction. The incidence of MACE was lower (p = 0.0365) in the nicorandil group (10/41, 24.4%) than in the non-nicorandil group (19/41, 46.3%). On stepwise Cox hazard analysis, MACE was significantly inhibited by administration of nicorandil (hazard risk, 0.387; 95% CI 0.178–0.842; p = 0.0168). Kaplan-Meier survival estimates revealed that MACE-free survival rates at 3 years were 80.5 and 58.5% in patients with and without nicorandil, respectively. Conclusions: Oral administration of nicorandil may offer new potential for the inhibition of MACE in hemodialysis patients. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: De novo coronary atherosclerosis may be involved in the poor prognosis after percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PCI) in hemodialysis patients. We aimed to clarify the factors associated with de novocoronary lesion in this population. Methods: We enrolled 106 patients on hemodialysis (72 men, 34 women; mean age, 65.4 ± 8.9 years), who had firstly received PCI with bare-metal stents for single coronary lesions and undergone follow-up coronary angiography (CAG) 6 months thereafter. Coronary lesion with stenosis of >50% diameter that was newly recognized at follow-up CAG was defined as de novo coronary stenosis. The values of biochemical parameters were determined as the means of several measurements between PCI and follow-up CAG. Results: Follow-up CAG revealed de novo coronary stenosis in 40 (37.7%) of the 106 hemodialysis patients who had received PCI. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis showed that de novo coronary lesions were strongly associated with homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR; 1 mM× [μU/ml]: odds ratio, 7.312; p =0.001). This significant association of HOMA-IR with de novo coronary stenosis was recognized in the diabetic and nondiabetic subgroups. Conclusions: Insulin resistance may be involved in the progression of nonculprit coronary atherosclerosis after PCI in hemodialysis patients. Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]