Home transfusions are implemented using diverse approaches in Japan.

Background And Objectives: Japan's ageing society has increased the need for home healthcare, including home transfusions. We hence aimed to elucidate the purpose and utilization of home transfusions in Japan, which has not been clarified to date.

Materials And Methods: Clinics throughout Japan that provide home care and have experience in performing blood transfusions were surveyed.

Management system of home transfusion in Japan: A nationwide survey in 2019.

Background And Objectives: In Japan, there are various opinions on the pros and cons of home transfusion because of safety concerns. We hence aimed to elucidate the safety and availability of home transfusion in Japan, which has not been clarified to date.

Materials And Methods: Clinics throughout Japan that provide home care and have experience in performing blood transfusions were surveyed.

Current Awareness and Status of Venous Ultrasonography in Kumamoto Prefecture - A Report of the Kumamoto Cardiovascular Echocardiography Standardization Project.

There are few reports on the current awareness and status of venous ultrasonography, including the number of specialists who perform this procedure, in a specific regional area in Japan. This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in Kumamoto Prefecture from October 2018 to March 2019. Of the 366 medical institutions providing cardiology services in Kumamoto Prefecture, 259 (101 general hospitals, 158 small clinics) responded to our questionnaire.

Current Awareness and Status of Transthoracic Echocardiography in Kumamoto Prefecture - A Report of the Kumamoto Cardiovascular Echocardiography Standardization Project.

There are few reports on current awareness and status of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), including the actual performance rate according to echocardiographic guidelines, in a specific area or region. This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in Kumamoto Prefecture from October 2018 to March 2019. There are 366 medical institutions advocating cardiology in Kumamoto Prefecture.

Glycosylated ferritin as an improved marker for post-transfusion iron overload.

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is an effective therapy for anemia, but repeated transfusions may cause iron overload-related damage to various organs. Iron chelation therapy, now widely available for patients who have received transfusions, is expected to reduce organ damage even in patients who received many transfusions. Therefore, determining when to start iron chelation therapy is important.

Midkine as a prognostic biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to evaluate serum midkine (S-MK) concentrations as a prognostic tumour marker in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We measured S-MK concentrations in patients with OSCC and healthy volunteers. In addition, we performed real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis and immunohistochemistry with fresh tumour samples.

EML4-ALK fusion transcript is not found in gastrointestinal and breast cancers.

Fusion genes have been identified as chromosomal rearrangements in certain cancers, such as leukaemia, lymphoma, and sarcoma. The EML4-ALK (EML4: echinoderm microtubule-associated-protein-like 4; ALK: anaplastic lymphoma kinase) fusion gene has been identified as an oncogene in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study examined the presence of this fusion transcript in gastrointestinal and breast cancers.

Clinical significance of LAMB3 and COL7A1 mRNA in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Aims: LAMB3 and COL7A1 genes code for the laminin-5beta3 chain and type VII collagen, respectively. They constitute the major components of the basement membrane zone. The aim of the current study was to clarify the clinical significance of LAMB3 and COL7A1 mRNA expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESC).

Clinical significance of the reduced expression of G protein gamma 7 (GNG7) in oesophageal cancer.

We previously cloned human G protein gamma 7 (GNG7) and demonstrated that it was downregulated in gastrointestinal cancer. The significance of GNG7 expression in oesophageal cancer is unknown. TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR was performed to determine the clinical significance of GNG7 expression in 55 cases of oesophageal cancer.

[Clinical usefulness of polyamino acid particle agglutination test for detection of anti-HTLV-I antibody].

A new artificial carrier particle agglutination test using polyamino acid (polyamino PA) was developed for anti HTLV-I assay. We carried out the comparative study on anti-HTLV-I among polyamino PA, gelatin PA, EIA and WB methods. All of 76 ATL, 20 HAM/TSP, 53 patients with uveitis and 50 HTLV-I carriers were seropositive and 50 HTLV-I non carriers were seronegative with four methods.

[Prevention of stomatitis in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia using PVP-iodine (Isodine) gargle].

From November 1987 to October 1990, we investigated the efficacy of povidine iodine gargle solution (Isodine Gargle) for preventing stomatitis in 26 patients (19 males and 7 females; mean age 53.2 years) with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The patients were given a concentrated preparation of the gargle solution which they had to dilute 50 times, and were asked to use it 8 times/day for one year.

[Evaluation of specificity of EIA kit (ED-007)].

EIA (Eitest: Eisai) and Gelatin Particle Agglutination: PA (SERODIA: Fujirebio) assays were performed for the detection of HTLV-I antibodies with 10,780 sera from patients since 1986. Eleven point five percent were reactive by both EIA and PA, while 1.1% was PA(+), EIA(-), these PA false positive occurred on low titer.