No medication prescription and residential distance from the hospital are important factors associated with nonsurgical weight-loss treatment discontinuance in Japanese patients with high-degree obesity: a retrospective study.

Background: Although the percentage of the population with a high degree of obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 35 kg/m) is low in Japan, the prevalence of obesity-related diseases in patients with high-degree obesity is greater than that in patients with a BMI < 35 kg/m. Therefore, treatment for high-degree obesity is important. However, clinical studies have reported that 20-50% of patients with obesity discontinue weight-loss treatment in other countries.

The Post-Polyketide Synthase Modification Mechanism in Hitachimycin Biosynthesis.

Hitachimycin is a bicyclic macrolactam antibiotic with (S)-β-phenylalanine (β-Phe) at the starter position of the polyketide skeleton. While the enzymes that recognize β-amino acids, modify the aminoacyl groups, and transfer the resultant dipeptide groups to the acyl carrier protein domains of polyketide synthases (PKSs) have been studied extensively, the post-PKS modification mechanism responsible for constructing the unique bicyclic structure of hitachimycin remains elusive. In this study, we first inactivated six genes encoding putative post-PKS modification enzymes, namely hitM1 to hitM6, in Streptomyces scabrisporus to determine their involvement in hitachimycin biosynthesis.

Risk factors for severe immune-related pneumonitis after nivolumab plus ipilimumab therapy for non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The efficacy of anti-CTLA-4 antibody (ipilimumab) plus anti-programmed cell death 1 antibody (nivolumab) in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is impeded by an elevated risk of severe immune-related adverse events. However, our understanding of associations among pre-existing fibrosis, emphysematous changes, and objective indicators as predictive factors is limited for severe pneumonitis in NSCLC patients receiving this combination therapy. Thus, we retrospectively investigated these associations, including overall tumor burden, before treatment initiation in the Japanese population.

Relationship between Lipoprotein Lipase Derived from Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue and Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Japanese Patients with Severe Obesity.

Introduction: Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is an arterial stiffness index that correlates inversely with body mass index (BMI) and subcutaneous fat area. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) that catalyzes the hydrolysis of serum triglycerides is produced mainly in adipocytes. Serum LPL mass reflects LPL expression in adipose tissue, and its changes correlate inversely with changes in CAVI.