How Does the Diagnostic Effectiveness of Transbronchial Needle Aspiration/Transbronchial Biopsy With Radial Endobronchial Ultrasound for the Diagnosis of Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions Differ With and Without a Guide Sheath?

Background: The diagnostic yield of virtual bronchoscopy with radial endobronchial ultrasound (r-EBUS) for peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs) remains unsatisfactory because of limited lesion access by biopsy instruments. r-EBUS-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) followed by transbronchial biopsy (TBB) (TBNA/TBB) with a guide sheath (GS) potentially increases the PPL diagnostic yield as the needle penetrates the bronchial wall, enabling subsequent forceps biopsy closer to the lesion. However, regarding the application of r-EBUS-guided TBNA/TBB for PPL diagnosis, data on the diagnostic yield of TBNA/TBB with a GS are limited compared with those on TBNA/TBB without a GS.

Hydrocephalus as an Initial Presentation of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) Antibody-Associated Disease: A Case Report and Review of Tumor-Mimicking Demyelination.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that manifests as optic neuritis, transverse myelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and cortical encephalitis. Some patients with MOGAD present with tumor-like brain lesions. However, hydrocephalus as an initial presentation is rare.

Factors affecting the success of peripheral pulmonary lesion diagnosis via transbronchial needle aspiration and transbronchial biopsy when the probe is adjacent to the lesion on radial endobronchial ultrasound: a multicenter retrospective observational study.

Background: Radial endobronchial ultrasound (R-EBUS)-guided transbronchial biopsy (TBB) is a useful method for diagnosing peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). However, the diagnostic yield of this method for PPLs is unsatisfactory as the R-EBUS probe is not always located within the lesion. Nevertheless, R-EBUS-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) followed by TBB (TBNA/TBB) has the potential to increase the diagnostic yield for lesions with adjacent orientation on R-EBUS.

Induced lung epithelial-like cells derived by direct reprogramming rescue influenza virus-induced lung injury in mice.

We recently reported that a combination of four transcription factors (Nkx2-1, Foxa1, Foxa2, and Gata6) directly reprograms mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) into differentiated self-renewable alveolar epithelial-like cells in a serum-free 3D organoid system. Here, we aimed to generate induced pulmonary epithelial-like cells in serum-containing culture (iPULsSC) using the same four transcription factors in a serum-containing 3D culture system. We found that the global gene expression profile of iPULsSC was similar to that of alveolar epithelial type II (AT2) and alveolar type I (AT1) cells.

Effects of booster vaccination on post-treatment oxygen deterioration in hospitalized mild-to-moderate COVID-19 Japanese patients with comorbidities during the Omicron wave.

Introduction: Although the emergence of the Omicron variant has decreased overall mortality from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared to the Delta variant, elderly individuals with comorbidities remain at increased risk of adverse outcomes. While vaccination and antiviral treatments have reduced the severity of COVID-19, data on the impact of booster vaccination on post-hospitalization oxygen deterioration in the Japanese population remain limited.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of hospitalized mild-to-moderate COVID-19 Japanese patients during the Omicron variant wave (December 2021 to October 2022).

PBK Expression Promotes the Aggressive Phenotypes of Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is one of the most aggressive neoplasms worldwide that has a particularly poor prognosis. We have previously discovered that oxytocin receptors (OXTR) are highly expressed in mesothelioma and that OXTR knockdown significantly decreases the proliferation of mesothelioma cells with high OXTR expression. In this study, we performed quantitative proteomic profiling of two mesothelioma cell lines with high OXTR expression using mass spectrometry to investigate the downstream signals of OXTR in mesothelioma cells.

Direct reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts into self-renewable alveolar epithelial-like cells.

Direct reprogramming is a breakthrough technology that can alter the fate of cells without the passage of stem cells. However, direct reprogramming of somatic cells into pulmonary alveolar epithelial cells has not yet been achieved. Here, we report the direct reprogramming of mouse tail tips and embryonic fibroblasts into induced pulmonary alveolar epithelial-like cells (iPULs) using four transcription factor-coding genes (Nkx2-1, Foxa1, Foxa2, and Gata6) and three-dimensional culture.

Safety and efficacy of retreatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors after severe immune-related adverse events.

Background: While immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment, they can trigger severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs). The safety and efficacy of ICI retreatment after severe irAEs remain poorly understood.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 1271 patients with malignancies treated with ICIs at a university hospital in Japan between September 2014 and June 2023.

[Pyonephrosis Caused by Ureteral Stricture Due to Syphilitic Granuloma: A Case Report].

An 87-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with anorexia, lightheadedness, and fever. She was referred to our department with a diagnosis of right pyonephrosis due to stenosis of the right ureter. The severe stenosis made it impossible to place a ureteral stent.

Can intraoperative improvement of radial endobronchial ultrasound imaging enhance the diagnostic yield in peripheral pulmonary lesions?

Background: Data regarding the diagnostic efficacy of radial endobronchial ultrasound (R-EBUS) findings obtained via transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA)/biopsy (TBB) with endobronchial ultrasonography with a guide sheath (EBUS-GS) for peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs) are lacking. We evaluated whether intraoperative probe repositioning improves R-EBUS imaging and affects diagnostic yield and safety of EBUS-guided sampling for PPLs.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 363 patients with PPLs who underwent TBNA/TBB (83 lesions) or TBB (280 lesions) using EBUS-GS.

Genome-wide association study of long COVID.

Infections can lead to persistent symptoms and diseases such as shingles after varicella zoster or rheumatic fever after streptococcal infections. Similarly, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) infection can result in long coronavirus disease (COVID), typically manifesting as fatigue, pulmonary symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. The biological mechanisms behind long COVID remain unclear.

Impact of long COVID on the health-related quality of life of Japanese patients: A prospective nationwide cohort study.

Background: Various prolonged systemic symptoms, forming the long coronavirus disease (COVID), have been observed in patients who have recovered from the acute phase of COVID-19. Although previous studies have reported that COVID-19 impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL), the associations of long COVID symptoms and clinical characteristics with HRQoL remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify these associations using nationwide Japanese epidemiological data.

Hydrate to keep the amyloid away.

Despite older adults being more susceptible to dehydration, the relation between hydration and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) remains largely unexplored. A recent study by Jee Wook Kim and colleagues examined the association between daily fluid intake and ADRD neuroimaging biomarkers in 287 cognitively normal older adults. They found that lower daily fluid intake was associated with greater brain Aβ deposition and cerebrovascular injury.

Clinical characteristics of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related pancreatic injury with pancreatitis in patients with advanced malignancies.

Background/purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICIs) therapy can cause immune checkpoint inhibitor-related pancreatic injury (ICI-PI). This study aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of ICI-PI and explore treatment approaches.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with malignancies treated with ICIs at Nagoya University Hospital between September 2014 and June 2023.

Predicting coronavirus disease 2019 severity using explainable artificial intelligence techniques.

Predictive models for determining coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity have been established; however, the complexity of the interactions among factors limits the use of conventional statistical methods. This study aimed to establish a simple and accurate predictive model for COVID-19 severity using an explainable machine learning approach. A total of 3,301 patients ≥ 18 years diagnosed with COVID-19 between February 2020 and October 2022 were included.

Increased sputum peripheral helper T cells are associated with the severity of rheumatoid arthritis but not with the severity of airway disease.

Objective: Peripheral helper T (Tph) cells, together with plasma cells, are the major pathogenic lymphocytes in the synovium in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, whether these cells are involved in RA-associated lung and/or airway disease is unknown.

Methods: Tph cells in sputum were analyzed by flow cytometry and compared with those in synovial fluid and synovial tissue.

Combined PD-1 and CTLA-4 Blockade Increases the Risks of Multiple Pituitary Hormone Deficiency and Isolated Adrenocorticotropic Deficiency: A Prospective Study.

Backgruound: Anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 antibody (CTLA-4-Ab) monotherapy induces two types of pituitary immunerelated adverse events (irAEs): multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (Multi-D; impairment of ≥2 anterior pituitary hormones) and isolated adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency (IAD). Combination therapy with CTLA-4-Ab and anti-programmed cell death-1 antibody (PD-1/CTLA-4-Abs), which is increasingly replacing CTLA-4-Ab monotherapy, frequently causes pituitary irAEs; however, whether it increases Multi-D/IAD incidence is unknown.

Methods: In total, 74 and 748 patients with malignancies treated with PD-1/CTLA-4-Abs and PD-1-Ab, respectively, were prospectively evaluated for ACTH and cortisol levels at baseline and every 6 weeks after treatment initiation, and then observed until the last clinical visit.

Erector Spinae Muscle to Epicardial Visceral Fat Ratio on Chest CT Predicts the Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Background: Chest computed tomography (CT) is a valuable tool for diagnosing and predicting the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and assessing extrapulmonary organs. Reduced muscle mass and visceral fat accumulation are important features of a body composition phenotype in which obesity and muscle loss coexist, but their relationship with COVID-19 outcomes remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between the erector spinae muscle (ESM) to epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) ratio (ESM/EAT) on chest CT and disease severity in patients with COVID-19.

Coronary Artery Calcification on Chest Computed Tomography as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Adverse Events in Patients With COVID-19 - A Multicenter Retrospective Study in Japan.

Background: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) detected through chest computed tomography (CT) strongly predicts cardiovascular events in asymptomatic individuals undergoing primary prevention. Few studies with limited sample sizes have investigated the predictive value of CAC for cardiovascular complications in COVID-19. This study examined the impact of CAC on cardiovascular complications using a large-scale COVID-19 database.

Blood DNA virome associates with autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.

Aberrant immune responses to viral pathogens contribute to pathogenesis, but our understanding of pathological immune responses caused by viruses within the human virome, especially at a population scale, remains limited. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing datasets of 6,321 Japanese individuals, including patients with autoimmune diseases (psoriasis vulgaris, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) or multiple sclerosis) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or healthy controls. We systematically quantified two constituents of the blood DNA virome, endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and anellovirus.

Femoral bone metastasis is a poor prognostic factor in EGFR-TKIs-treated patients with -mutated non-small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective, multicenter cohort study.

Background: ()-mutant non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) have higher frequencies of bone metastases than those of wild type; however, the metastatic pattern and influence on clinical outcome remain unclear.

Objectives: To analyze the association between bone metastatic sites and the clinical efficacy of the first-, second-, and third-generation EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), in these patients.

Design: Retrospective multicenter cohort study.

Sectm1a Depletion Promotes Neutrophil Recruitment during Pneumococcal Pneumonia.

Airway epithelial cells (AECs) play an essential role in the immune response during bacterial pneumonia. Secreted and transmembrane 1a (Sectm1a) is specifically expressed in AECs during early (SP) infection. However, its function remains largely unexplored.

Deep Learning for Predicting Acute Exacerbation and Mortality of Interstitial Lung Disease.

Some patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) have a high mortality rate or experience acute exacerbation of ILD (AE-ILD) that results in increased mortality. Early identification of these high-risk patients and accurate prediction of the onset of these important events is important to determine treatment strategies. Although various factors that affect disease behavior among patients with ILD hinder the accurate prediction of these events, the use of longitudinal information may enable better prediction.