Publications by authors named "Akioka S"

Human parechovirus infections in newborns often affect the central nervous system. It is common in children after infancy for it to be a cause of the common cold or be asymptomatic, but an infection in infancy often causes a central nervous system infection. Herein, we present the case of a nine-day-old infant who developed hypercapnia without any involvement of respiratory lesions.

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A 66-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis and hemodialysis was referred with a 1-week history of pain and rash on the left lower leg. On an examination, the patient was in shock. She was administered catecholamine support for septic shock and ampicillin/sulbactam for severe cellulitis.

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Familial episodic pain syndrome (FEPS) is an autosomal-dominant inherited disorder characterized by paroxysmal pain episodes. FEPS appears in early childhood, gradually disappearing with age, and pain episodes can be triggered by fatigue, bad weather, and cold temperatures. Several gain-of-function variants have been reported for SCN9A, SCN10A, or SCN11A, which encode the voltage-gated sodium channel α subunits Nav1.

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Familial episodic pain syndrome (FEPS) is an early childhood onset disorder of severe episodic limb pain caused mainly by pathogenic variants of , , and , which encode three voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) expressed as key determinants of nociceptor excitability in primary sensory neurons. There may still be many undiagnosed patients with FEPS. A better understanding of the associated pathogenesis, epidemiology, and clinical characteristics is needed to provide appropriate diagnosis and care.

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Objectives: The clinical symptoms and complications of JDM differ depending on the type of muscle-specific autoantibodies (MSAs) present. We aimed to identify protein expression profiles specific for MSAs that characterize various clinical features by comprehensively analyzing the proteins present in the serum of patients with JDM.

Methods: We analysed sera from patients with JDM that were positive for anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) antibodies (n = 5), anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 (NXP2) antibodies (n = 5) and anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1 alpha or gamma subunit (TIF1-γ) antibodies (n = 5), and evaluated healthy controls (n = 5) via single-shot liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS) in data-independent acquisition mode, which is superior for comparative quantitative analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Pediatric Rheumatology Association of Japan established the PRICUREv2 registry to continuously gather data on paediatric rheumatic diseases, addressing the limitations of previous one-off surveys.
  • The analysis of the registry data revealed trends similar to those found internationally, identifying differences in age of onset and diagnosis times for various conditions like juvenile idiopathic arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
  • The PRICUREv2 database is anticipated to enhance ongoing research and understanding of paediatric rheumatic diseases in Japan by providing comprehensive epidemiological data.
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Unlabelled: Woven fabrics were bestowed with antibacterial property by the simple adsorption of rare-earth metal ions, and the underlying mechanism was investigated using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The adsorption of Ce ions on wool, silk, and cotton fabrics resulted in significant inhibition of (a gram-positive bacterium), with maximum antibacterial activities (viable bacterial count compared to the reference) of 4.7, 5.

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Issues related to transitioning from paediatric to adult healthcare are currently receiving international attention. In Japan, 1000 patients with childhood-onset chronic rheumatological diseases reach adulthood every year and require transition from care by paediatric to care by adult rheumatologists. Here, we propose a guide for the latter, wherein the adult caregiver poses the clinical questions about transitional support that they need to have answered, and the paediatric caregiver mainly compiles the plans for the transition.

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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM) in Japan for each myositis-specific autoantibody (MSA) profile.

Methods: A multicentre, retrospective study was conducted using data of patients with JIIM at nine paediatric rheumatology centres in Japan. Patients with MSA profiles, determined by immunoprecipitation using stored serum from the active stage, were included.

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Objectives: To assess the performance of the EULAR/ACR idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) classification criteria to classify juvenile IIMs (JIIMs) in an Asian paediatric population.

Methods: Sixty-eight JIIM patients and 49 non-JIIM patients diagnosed at seven major paediatric rheumatology centres in Japan between 2008 and 2015 were enrolled. Retrospective data were collected, and each patient's data form was submitted.

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This research reports the processability and mechanical properties of silk resins prepared by hot-pressing followed by hot-rolling and then analyzes their thermal and structural properties. The results show that regenerated silk (RS) resins are better suited for hot-rolling than Eri and Bombyx mori silk resins (untreated silk). When hot-rolling at 160 °C with a 50% of reduction ratio, maximum bending strength and Young's modulus of RS resin reaches 192 MPa and 10.

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This article presents experimental data on visual, mechanical, thermal, and structural characterization by hot-pressing four sources of milled plant powders and coconut fibers. It correlates chemical composition obtained by (FTIR), particle size, and reports bending strength, water resistance morphological (SEM) and thermal stability, structural properties (FTIR and XRD). It further supplements findings of the influence of microfibrillation and chemical composition on hot-pressing plant fibers as presented in the research article "Effects of Chemical Composition, Mild Alkaline Pretreatment and Particle Size on Mechanical, Thermal, and Structural Properties of Binderless Lignocellulosic Biopolymers Prepared by Hot-Pressing Raw Microfibrillated Phoenix Dactylifera and Cocos Nucifera Fibers and Leaves" [1].

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Juvenile dermatomyositis is the most common type of juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathy mainly affecting the skin and proximal muscles. We have published the Japanese version of 'Clinical practice guidance for juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) 2018 'consisting of a review of articles in the field and evidence-informed consensus-based experts' opinion on the treatment strategy in collaboration with The Pediatric Rheumatology Association of Japan and The Japan College of Rheumatology under the financial support by 'Research on rare and intractable diseases, Health and Labor Sciences Research Grants'. This article is a digest version of the Japanese guidance.

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Atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma are common diseases in children. We report the development of eosinophilic polyangiitis granulomatosis (EGPA) in a young girl being treated for both atopic dermatitis, diagnosed at 1 year of age, and bronchial asthma, diagnosed at 4 years of age. Her eruption did not result in lichenification and was not fully responsive to corticosteroid ointment.

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Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic childhood arthritis. Its pathogenesis is very complicated, with the involvement of not only immune cells but various types of parenchymal cells, and is affected by both genetic and environmental predispositions. The clinical spectrum from inflammation to related conditions is largely mediated by cytokines including interleukin (IL)-6.

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We investigate the mechanical properties and structure of silk resins as potential alternatives to tortoiseshell for producing eyeglass frames and various ornaments. Silk powders are obtained from Bombyx mori and Eri silk waste fibers before the degumming process. The powders are fabricated into resins via simple hot pressing under a pressure of 31.

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Juvenile idiopathic arthritis, JIA, is a novel rheumatic disease in childhood introduced by the International League of Associations for Rheumatology. It is defined as a chronic, inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology, which is classified into seven categories; systemic-onset type, persistent and extended oligoarthritis, polyarthritis with rheumatoid factor negative, polyarthritis with rheumatoid factor positive, psoriatic arthritis, enthesitis-related arthritis and undifferentiated arthritis. As each category of JIA has different features in clinical phenotypes, precise subtyping is required for research and management.

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Objective: It is not known whether autonomic neuropathy is a feature of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) or whether it is related to circulating antiganglionic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies. The goal of the present study was to investigate the autonomic dysfunction in patients with SS and the associations between autonomic dysfunction, anti-gAChR antibodies, and clinical features of SS.

Methods: (1) The first observational study tested for the presence of gAChR antibodies in the serum samples from 39 patients with SS (absent information regarding autonomic symptoms) and healthy volunteers.

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We report on an 11-year-old girl who developed steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (NS) at the onset of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and clinical and renal histological findings suggested that her NS would be associated with SLE-related podocytopathy. Although initial treatment with intravenous pulse methylprednisolone was ineffective, following treatment with cyclosporine and an angiotensin receptor blocker was effective for her nephrotic proteinuria. She had developed posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) was started instead of cyclosporine.

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