Association between choroid plexus volume and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults without dementia: a population-based cross-sectional analysis.

Background: An increase in choroid plexus (CP) volume may be associated with cognitive decline in older individuals without dementia. In this study, we aimed to clarify whether CP volume can serve as an imaging marker of cognitive decline, determine how strongly CP volume is associated with cognitive decline, and explore factors associated with CP volume in older adults.

Methods: We measured CP volume, brain parenchyma, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces associated with disproportionately enlarged subarachnoid space hydrocephalus (DESH), an imaging feature of normal-pressure hydrocephalus, in community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 65 years without dementia.

Evaporation-Induced Switching from Flocculated to Dispersed TiO Nanoparticles in Binary Solvents.

Evaporation in mixed solutions containing both volatile and involatile solvents changes the properties of the binary solvent. We found that evaporating one solvent drastically increased the affinity of the mixed solvent to dispersant molecules and induced a switch from flocculated to dispersed TiO nanoparticles (TiONPs). We prepared dispersions of TiONPs with mixtures of volatile cyclosiloxane (D), involatile polar oil, and a dispersant, namely polyhydroxystearic acid (PHSA).

Development and Validation of Artificial Intelligence-Based Algorithms for Predicting the Segments Debulked by Rotational Atherectomy Using Intravascular Ultrasound Images.

We develop and evaluate an artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm that uses pre-rotation atherectomy (RA) intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images to automatically predict regions debulked by RA. A total of 2106 IVUS cross-sections from 60 patients with de novo severely calcified coronary lesions who underwent IVUS-guided RA were consecutively collected. The 2 identical IVUS images of pre- and post-RA were merged, and the orientations of the debulked segments identified in the merged images were marked on the outer circle of each IVUS image.

A case of metachronous oligo-hepatic and peritoneal metastases of pancreatic cancer with a favorable outcome after conversion surgery combined with perioperative sequential chemotherapy.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies, and the prognosis for its recurrence after surgery is very poor. Here, we report a case of metachronous oligo-hepatic and peritoneal metastases in a patient who survived without recurrence for 3 years after conversion surgery combined with perioperative sequential chemotherapy using gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GnP) and modified FOLFIRINOX (mFOLFIRINOX). The patient was a 70-year-old man with pancreatic ductal carcinoma, classified as cT3N0M0, cStage IIA, who underwent a distal pancreatosplenectomy.

Gesture imitation performance in community-dwelling older people: assessment of a gesture imitation task in the screening and diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Background: Gesture imitation, a simple tool for assessing visuospatial/visuoconstructive functions, is reportedly useful for screening and diagnosing dementia. However, gesture imitation performance in healthy older adults is largely unknown, as are the factors associated with lower performance. To address these unknowns, we examined the gesture imitation performance of a large number of community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years in Arao City, Kumamoto Prefecture (southern Japan).

Comparison of caregiver burden between dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Caring for patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) would be more stressful for their caregivers than those with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we compared levels of caregiver burden and the possible influential factors on the caregiver burden between DLB and AD.

Methods: Ninety-three DLB patients and 500 AD patients were selected from the Kumamoto University Dementia Registry.

Association of auditory Charles Bonnet syndrome with increased blood flow in the nondominant Brodmann area 22.

Aim: Auditory Charles Bonnet syndrome (aCBS) is characterized by musical hallucinations (MHs) that accompany acquired hearing impairments. This hallucination is the acoustic perception of music, sounds, or songs in the absence of an outside stimulus, and it may be associated with hyperactivity of the superior temporal lobes. Some studies have reported the possibility of improving MH with antiepileptics.

Efficacy of prophylactic high-flow nasal cannula therapy for postoperative pulmonary complications after pediatric cardiac surgery: a prospective single-arm study.

Purpose: This study investigated the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) when high-flow nasal cannula therapy (HFNC) is used prophylactically after pediatric cardiac surgery, and evaluated its efficacy.

Methods: This was a single-arm prospective interventional study that was conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital with eight beds in the pediatric cardiac ICU after approval by the Ethics Committee. One-hundred children under the age of 48 months who were scheduled for cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease were recruited.

Mortality and morbidity of extremely low birth weight infants in Japan, 2015.

Background: In Japan, the mortality rate of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants is notably low in comparison with other developed countries, but the prevalence of chronic lung disease (CLD) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is relatively high. This study aimed to estimate the mortality and morbidity of ELBW infants born in 2015 who were admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Japan and to examine the factors that affected the short-term outcomes of these infants. We also compared the mortality of ELBW infants born in 2005, 2010, and 2015.

Is there a need for a technical certification system for gynecological robotic surgery? Questionnaire survey of members of the Japan Society of Gynecologic and Obstetric Endoscopy and Minimally Invasive Therapy.

The Japan Society of Gynecologic and Obstetric Endoscopy and Minimally Invasive Therapy (JSGOE) introduced a system for the certification of laparoscopic surgeons in 2002 and a system for the certification of facilities in 2014. We examined the opinions of the members of the Japan Society of Gynecologic and Obstetric Endoscopy and Minimally Invasive Therapy (JSGOE) regarding the necessity of a certification training system and a technical certification system for robotic surgery skills in Japan. Members of the JSGOE were surveyed with two questionnaires.

In vivo imaging of fluorescent albumin modified with pyruvylated-human-type complex oligosaccharide reveals sialylation-like biodistribution and kinetics.

Both pyruvylation and sialylation onto the terminus of oligosaccharides of N-glycoproteins seem to be structurally and functionally similar with a property of conferring negative charge. However, detailed molecular characteristics of pyruvylation and sialylation in vivo were elusive. Here, to investigate an effect of terminal pyruvylation to N-glycan on in vivo biodistribution and kinetics, we prepared human serum albumin (HSA) modified with pyruvylated N-glycan (PvG), conjugated with HiLyte Fluor 750 (FL750-PvGHSA).

Late-manifestation of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in older adults: an observational study.

Background: The age of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder onset is usually during the first 12 years of life; however, there have been recent reports of late-onset attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. These reports have been limited to that of young adults, and details in older adults remain unknown. As such, we had previously presented the first case report of "very" late-onset attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, wherein the symptoms presented in senile age.

Brain structural alterations and clinical features of cognitive frailty in Japanese community-dwelling older adults: the Arao study (JPSC-AD).

Cognitive frailty (CF) is a clinical condition defined by the presence of both mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and physical frailty (PF). Elderly with CF are at greater risk of dementia than those with MCI or PF alone, but there are few known clinical or neuroimaging features to reliably distinguish CF from PF or MCI. We therefore conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of community elderly combining physical, cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and multisequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluations.

Fertility awareness and subclinical infertility among women trying to get pregnant at home.

Background: Recent studies on fertility awareness among the reproductive population have reported the lack of accurate knowledge about fertility and assisted reproductive technologies. However, there has been little information regarding women trying to get pregnant at home. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of subclinical infertility among women trying to get pregnant at home, and to evaluate awareness regarding infertility and reasons for not visiting infertility clinics among women who use pregnancy-assist mobile applications to help them conceive.

A case report: Clozapine-induced leukopenia and neutropenia after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic used for treatment-resistant schizophrenia and is known to cause serious side effects, such as leukopenia and neutropenia. We encountered the case of a 44-year-old female patient with a good response to clozapine, who experienced inflammatory reaction and cytopenia after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. Soon after clozapine discontinuation, the inflammatory reaction resolved, and cell counts recovered.

Characteristics of behavioral symptoms in right-sided predominant semantic dementia and their impact on caregiver burden: a cross-sectional study.

Background: This study aimed to clarify the neuropsychiatric symptoms of right-sided predominant semantic dementia (SD-R) by comparing them with those of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), left-sided predominant SD (SD-L), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study also aimed to identify clinical factors related to caregiver burden for bvFTD, SD-R, and SD-L.

Methods: The neuropsychiatric symptoms of 28 patients with bvFTD, 14 patients with SD-R, 24 patients with SD-L, and 43 patients with AD were evaluated using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and the Stereotypy Rating Inventory (SRI).

Effects of localisation of uterine adenomyosis on outcome of in vitro fertilisation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection fresh and frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles: a multicentre retrospective cohort study.

Background: Uterine adenomyosis is a benign disease, common among women in their 40 and 50 s, characterised by ectopic endometrial tissue in the uterine myometrial layer. Adenomyosis causes infertility and has a negative effect on the outcomes of in vitro fertilisation (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) embryo transfer (ET) cycles. It has also been reported to have different characteristics depending on the adenomyotic lesion localisation.

Institutional Characteristics and Prognosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction With Cardiogenic Shock in Japan - Analysis From the JROAD/JROAD-DPC Database.

Background: The high mortality of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with cardiogenic shock (i.e., Killip class IV AMI) remains a challenge in emergency cardiovascular care.