Radiographic evaluation of cervical spondylosis using an elemental grading system in a population-based cohort study of a Japanese mountain village.

Background: Cervical spine radiography is a common screening tool for cervical spondylosis with radiographic features, including osteophytes, disc height narrowing, vertebral sclerosis, and spondylolisthesis. The Kellgren-Lawrence classification is widely used for evaluating musculoskeletal radiographs, including spinal radiographs; however, evaluating the individual radiographic features of spondylosis is challenging with this classification. This study aimed to develop an elemental grading system for evaluating cervical spine radiographs and the extent of cervical spondylosis.

Epidemiology and risk factors of hallux valgus in Japanese population: HAPPI study.

Introduction: Hallux valgus (HV) is a common foot deformity characterized by lateral deviation of the great toe. Despite known associations with gender, age, and footwear, the prevalence of HV and its associated risk factors in Japan remain unclear. We conducted the first-ever prospective population-based cohort study (HAPPI study) in Japan to elucidate the prevalence of HV and identify its associated risk factors.

Resolution of Severe Thrombocytopenia and Candida parapsilosis Infective Endocarditis With Fourth Open-Heart Surgery.

Background: Surgical treatment for infective endocarditis (IE) with severe thrombocytopenia is considered high risk and is often avoided.

Case Summary: A 67-year-old man with a history of 3 open-heart surgeries presented with fever and severe thrombocytopenia accompanied by a bleeding tendency. Blood cultures and transthoracic echocardiography confirmed IE of the aortic bioprosthetic valve caused by Candida parapsilosis.

Safety and efficacy of arsenic trioxide in intensification therapy for newly diagnosed childhood acute promyelocytic leukemia: results from the JPLSG AML-P13 study.

Arsenic trioxide (ATO) in combination with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been shown to be effective in both adult and pediatric patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Addition of ATO to conventional chemotherapy could lead to a reduction in the doses of cytotoxic agents, but the long-term safety of ATO is not fully understood, especially in children. The Japan Children's Cancer Group conducted a risk-stratified prospective study to investigate safety and efficacy of ATO in children with newly diagnosed APL by replacing all three intensification phases with ATO.

Efficacy of 12-month romosozumab monotherapy or combination with eldecalcitol in patients with osteoporosis with and without chronic kidney disease: A real-world retrospective study.

Evidence regarding the clinical benefits of combination therapy with romosozumab and active vitamin D analogs in the treatment of osteoporosis is lacking. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the outcome of romosozumab (ROMO) as well as ROMO + eldecalcitol (ELD) treatment in patients with osteoporosis with and without chronic kidney disease (CKD). Data from 146 patients who were administered ROMO was retrospectively investigated.

Effect of Preoperative Nutritional Status on Postoperative Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Metastatic Spinal Tumors: Japan Association of Spine Surgeons with Ambition Multicenter Study.

Study Design: A multicenter prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of preoperative nutritional status, assessed using the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), on clinical outcomes, including survival prognosis, postoperative complications, hospitalization duration, and functional prognosis, in patients with metastatic spinal tumors undergoing surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: Malnutrition is common in patients with cancer and is associated with poor clinical outcomes.

Comparison of Clinical Outcomes and Soft Tissue Laxity Between Robot-Assisted Functionally and Mechanically Aligned Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Purpose This study aimed to compare postoperative clinical outcomes and soft tissue laxity between functional alignment (FA) and mechanical alignment (MA) in robot-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods Thirty-one FA and 31 MA TKAs performed using a robotic system were included in this retrospective study. Range of motion (ROM), the 2011 Knee Society Score (2011 KSS), and the Forgotten Joint Score-12 (FJS-12) at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after TKA, respectively, were compared between the two groups.

Final results of JCOG0601 randomized trial of R-CHOP versus CHOP combined with dose-dense rituximab for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Background: Despite several attempts to improve the prognosis of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP) regimen remains the standard of care in previously untreated DLBCL. A randomized phase II/III study (JCOG0601) was performed to investigate the efficacy of dose-dense weekly rituximab combined with standard CHOP (RW-CHOP). Herein, we report the final results of JCOG0601 as a post hoc assessment after an 8-year follow-up.

Clinical significance of severe proteinuria in preeclampsia: a multicenter study of maternal and neonatal outcomes.

This study aimed to determine the association between proteinuria severity and maternal/neonatal outcomes among preeclamptic women with hypertension with proteinuria. We retrospectively assessed 721 women at 11 institutions. All participants had singleton pregnancies and delivered at ≥22 gestational weeks.

[Behavior analysis of adult zebrafish for the assessment of anxiety, aggression, and sociability].

Various behavior analysis methods have been developed using different animal species to elucidate the pathophysiology of behavioral abnormalities in humans and develop therapeutic agents. The development of behavior analysis methods using zebrafish has also been progressing, and a substantial body of knowledge has been accumulated. In this paper, we introduce the Novel tank test for assessing anxiety, the Mirror biting test for assessing aggression, and the Social interaction test for assessing sociality.

Stent thrombosis in acute myocardial infarction in the era of second-generation drug-eluting stent: incidence, prognosis, and historical comparisons with previous stent era.

Background: Stent thrombosis (ST) remains a serious complication after percutaneous coronary intervention, leading to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in over 70% of cases. And it has been reported that the prognosis for ST is worse than for de-novo AMI. While the use of second-generation drug-eluting stents (G2-DES) has reduced ST incidence, ST remains a concern, and its incidence and prognosis in the G2-DES era have not been well studied.

Pressure-volume loop analysis in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Implications for cardiac mechanics, diagnosis, and treatment strategy.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), previously referred to as diastolic heart failure, accounts for more than half of heart failure hospitalizations in patients over 65 years of age. Although the prevalence of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction has declined, HFpEF is increasingly prevalent in Japan and worldwide. Traditionally, HFpEF was primarily thought to be caused by diastolic dysfunction, characterized by impaired left ventricular (LV) relaxation and increased LV stiffness.

Multi-omics analysis identifies an M-MDSC-like immunosuppressive phenotype in lineage-switched AML with KMT2A rearrangement.

Lineage switching (LS) is the conversion of cancer cell lineage during the course of a disease. LS in leukemia cell lineage facilitates cancer cells escaping targeting strategy like CD19 targeted immunotherapy. However, the genetic and biological mechanisms underlying immune evasion by LS leukemia cells are not well understood.

Factors Associated with Visiting Nurses' Palliative Care Practices for Japanese Patients with Cancer and Noncancer Illnesses: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objectives: Enhancing home-based palliative care provided by visiting nurses is a strategic priority in Japan. This study aimed to identify factors associated with visiting nurses' palliative care practices that address physical, psychological, social, and spiritual distress in patients with cancer and noncancer illnesses.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2021 among 294 visiting nurses in Mie Prefecture, Japan, to assess their individual and organizational attributes alongside their palliative care practices.

Advances in Endoscopic Management of Distal Biliary Stricture: Integrating Clinical Evidence into Patient-Specific Decision-Making.

The majority (70-85%) of biliary strictures-a narrowing of the bile ducts-are associated with malignancy, particularly pancreatic adenocarcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, and are unresectable at presentation. Management options for distal biliary obstruction depend on several clinical factors, including the underlying cause and the location and complexity of the stricture. Endoscopic stent placement has lower morbidity and mortality rates compared with more invasive surgical options and is usually the first-line treatment to clear the blockage or allow the bile duct to drain internally.

Elezanumab Accelerates Post-Injury Regeneration of Olfactory Sensory Neurons in a Methimazole-Induced Mouse Model.

Elezanumab accelerates olfactory sensory neuron regeneration in a methimazole-induced mouse model. Repulsive guidance molecule A blockade increases GAP43 and OMP cells dorsally while sparing basal cells. This approach offers a novel therapy for sensorineural olfactory disorder.

Clinicopathological and genomic analysis of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling abnormalities with a focus on SMARCA4 in cancer of unknown primary.

Purpose: The estimation of the primary site is crucial when considering chemotherapy regimens in cancer of unknown primary (CUP). The task is particularly challenging for poorly differentiated or undifferentiated carcinoma, or unknown histological tumors with unknown primary (U-CUP). Instead of site-specific chemotherapy, a biomarker-guided therapy using genomic testing is required to predict the efficacy of molecular-targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI).

Improved visualization of temporal bone structures with photon-counting detector CT: An intra-patient comparison.

Objective: To directly compare the image quality of photon-counting detector CT (PCD-CT) and conventional energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT) for temporal bone imaging within the same patient cohort.

Methods: This retrospective study included seven patients who underwent both EID-CT and PCD-CT for clinical indications. To ensure a valid comparison of the imaging technologies, images of the non-operated, contralateral temporal bone were evaluated.

Microbiota-derived corisin accelerates kidney fibrosis by promoting cellular aging.

The increasing global prevalence of diabetic nephropathy poses substantial health and economic burdens. Currently, effective anti-fibrotic therapies for managing kidney fibrosis associated with chronic kidney disease are lacking. This study reveals corisin, a microbiota-derived peptide, as a central driver in the progression of diabetic kidney fibrosis.

Impact of the Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty on the Diagnosis of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension: From the COMMAND VTE Registry-2.

Background: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is the most serious long-term complication of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has been an effective treatment for improving the prognosis of CTEPH patients.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of BPA at each institution on the rate of CTEPH diagnosis based on the observations suggesting that the emergence of effective treatments could draw attention to targeted diseases.

Symptomatic and asymptomatic venous thromboembolism after minimally invasive surgery for gynecological cancers.

Aims: To clarify the frequency of postoperative symptomatic and asymptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for gynecological cancers; and to identify the risk factors associated with pulmonary embolism (PE).

Methods: We analyzed data for patients with endometrial, cervical, or ovarian cancers who underwent MIS or open surgery between February 2012 and December 2021 at Mie University Hospital, Japan. Patients who required conversion to open surgery were excluded.

ST-Segment Elevation and Recurrent Ventricular Fibrillation: What Is the Diagnosis?

We report the case of a 67-year-old man with no significant medical history who experienced sudden cardiac arrest at home. Emergency medical services performed electrical defibrillation for ventricular fibrillation and restored spontaneous circulation. A postresuscitation 12-lead electrocardiogram showed ST-elevation in the precordial leads and frequent premature ventricular contractions.

Comparison between Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy and Chemotherapy for Patients with Resectable Pancreatic Cancer.

Background: Clinical trials of neoadjuvant therapy for resectable pancreatic cancer are being conducted worldwide. The present study aimed to evaluate the treatment effect of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) compared with that of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for patients with resectable pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Patients with resectable pancreatic cancer who underwent surgical resection following NACRT or NAC between December 2011 and March 2017 were included in this study.