[A CASE OF BRONCHIAL ASTHMA CAUSED BY EXPOSURE TO ASPERGILLUS ORYZAE IN A JAPANESE RICE WINE BREWERY WORKER].

A-55-year-old man who have been working in a Sake (Japanese rice wine) brewer for 27 years, came to the outpatient clinic because cough, dyspnea, and wheeze gradually worsen. These symptoms occurred immediately after exposure to Aspergillus oryzae in the brewing process since age 43. A dust mask was required to reduce these symptoms, but that work was interrupted by exacerbation of these symptoms.

[A CASE OF ALLERGIC RHINITIS WHO HAS DEVELOPED EOSINOPHILIC PNEUMONIA, FOLLOWED BY EOSINOPHILIC CELLULITIS].

A-68-year-old man, who has allergic rhinitis with peripheral blood eosinophilia, hospitalized because of fever of unknown origin in May 2020. Five days after antibiotics were given, itchy exanthema occurred, followed by gland glass opacity on both lungs with bilateral pleural effusions. Since acute respiratory failure developed, bronchoscopy was hard to carry out.

Usefulness of diurnal variation of fractional exhaled nitric oxide for predicting early therapeutic response to asthma treatment.

Objective: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is considered to be an adjunct for asthma management, although its usefulness remains controversial. Therefore, it may be necessary for new approaches to use FeNO for asthma management. We evaluated whether diurnal variations of FeNO can predict response to asthma treatment.

Association Between Sleep Characteristics and Asthma Control in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Nocturnal asthma symptoms are a well-known feature of sleep disturbance. However, there are few reports on the association between sleep-related characteristics and asthma exacerbation. The aim of the current prospective observational study was to explore the factors while sleeping associated with future asthma exacerbation.

Monomorphic Epitheliotropic Intestinal T-cell Lymphoma Involving the Lung and Brain: A Rare Case Study.

Monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma (MEITL) is a primary intestinal T-cell lymphoma and other organ involvement is very rare. A rare case of MEITL involving the lung and brain is herein reported. The patient developed panperitonitis with a small intestinal perforation, and emergency surgery was performed.

Clinical significance of thyroid hormone and antibodies in patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.

Background: Hypothyroidism was recently reported to be common and to predict mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In addition, a high prevalence of hypothyroidism was shown in patients with idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis. However, in idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), a clinical significance of thyroid function has not been clarified in detail.

Clinical Characteristics of Cough Frequency Patterns in Patients with and without Asthma.

Background: Cough is a frequent symptom of asthma. Cough frequency (CoFr) monitoring devices are now available to objectively measure cough counts and offer a novel endpoint to assess asthma. However, little is known about CoFr in asthma.

A case of primary lung squamous cell carcinoma mimicking malignant mesothelioma producing granulocyte colony stimulating factor with chemotherapy (cisplatin and gemcitabine)-associated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP); An autopsy case report.

Objectives: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare form of thrombotic microangiopathy. In recent years, an extensive variety of drugs, including certain cytotoxic agents, have been reported to be associated with TTP. Additionally, several studies have reported that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was produced by lung carcinoma.

Comparison of fractional exhaled nitric oxide levels measured by different analyzers produced by different manufacturers.

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is widely used as a biomarker of allergic airway inflammation. At present, both stationary chemiluminescence and portable electrochemical analyzers produced by different manufacturers are available. However, it remains debatable whether those analyzers are comparable to each other.

A Case of Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Complicated with A IgG4 Related Disease Like Symptoms.

We report a case of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) complicated with a IgG4 related disease like symptoms presenting as eyelid swellings. In the present case, the serum level of IgG4 and the ratio of IgG4 to IgG were generally increased by the disease course of EGPA. Considering the course of clinical symptoms, there is a possibility that orbital manifestations were one of the clinical features during the disease course of EGPA while the histological features of right eyelid tissue and other ocular manifestations were consistent with the diagnosis of IgG4 related disease.

Serum decorin is a potential prognostic biomarker in patients with acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Decorin is a small leucine-rich repeat proteoglycan that plays a critical role in collagen fibrillogenesis, and regulates inflammation, wound healing and angiogenesis. In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), decorin is expressed in fibrotic lesions; furthermore, intratracheal gene transfer of decorin has been demonstrated to inhibit bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Although these results suggest the critical role of decorin in pulmonary fibrosis, the role of decorin in the acute exacerbation of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (AE-IIP) has not been clarified in detail.

The clinical role of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in asthma control.

Background: The potential role and characteristics of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) remain unclear in the treatment of asthma.

Objective: To explore the clinical role of FeNO in asthmatic treatment.

Methods: We evaluated whether the mean or change of FeNO levels in the treatment period is associated with other conventional control parameters and predicted some clinical outcomes of asthma.

The association between risk of airflow limitation and serum uric acid measured at medical health check-ups.

The prevalence of COPD and asthma is increasing all over the world; however, their morbidities are thought to be greatly underestimated because of unawareness of patients' conditions and respiratory symptoms. Spirometry is useful for the early detection of COPD and asthma with airflow limitation (AL), although it is not yet widely used for screening in epidemiological and primary care settings. A simple predictive marker used in combination with spirometry for AL is expected to be established.

Identification of Clinical Phenotypes in Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonia with Pulmonary Emphysema.

Objective Since the term "combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema" (CPFE) was first proposed, the co-existence of pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary emphysema (PE) has drawn considerable attention. However, conflicting results on the clinical characteristics of patients with both pulmonary fibrosis and PE have been published because of the lack of an exact definition of CPFE. The goal of this study was thus to clarify the clinical characteristics and phenotypes of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) with PE.

Exhaled nitric oxide and inducible nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphism in Japanese asthmatics.

Background: Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induced by inflammatory cytokines and iNOS activity in bronchial epithelial cells is a major determinant of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of iNOS promoter gene polymorphisms and FeNO levels in Japanese asthmatics before the introduction of asthma treatment.

Methods: Asthmatics were recruited from Fukushima Medical University Hospital.

Cholesteryl palmitate crystals in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid smears as a possible prognostic biomarker for chronic interstitial pneumonia: A preliminary study.

Background: We observed cholesterol-like crystals (Crystal X) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) smears of patients with diffuse pulmonary disease. We analyzed the clinical data of patients with and without crystals, and elucidated the structure of Crystal X and its concentration in the BALF.

Methods: Two hundred eighty-nine patients with diffuse pulmonary disease who underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were analyzed.

Early detection of colon cancer by increased serum level of Krebs von den Lungen-6 in a patient with dermatomyositis-associated interstitial pneumonia.

Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a high-molecular-weight glycoprotein which is elevated in serum of patients with interstitial pneumonia (IP). Serum KL-6 level is clinically used for the diagnosis of IP as well as the evaluation of its disease activity. KL-6 is originally identified when exploring novel soluble antigens in patients with lung cancer, and is known to be elevated in patients with several malignant tumors.