Factors Related to Satisfaction with Decision-making Regarding Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Behavior among Female University Students in Japan.

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. Most cervical cancers are caused by persistent infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) acquired through sexual contact. Decision-making is the process of choosing among several options, and a better decision is one that the people engaged in the decision-making process express satisfaction with.

Inhibition of bone erosion, determined by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT), in rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving a conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (csDMARD) plus denosumab vs csDMARD therapy alone: an open-label, randomized, parallel-group study.

Background: This exploratory study compared the inhibition of bone erosion progression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with a conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (csDMARD) plus denosumab versus csDMARD therapy alone and investigated the effects of denosumab on bone micro-architecture and other bone-related parameters using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT).

Methods: In this open-label, randomized, parallel-group study, patients with RA undergoing treatment with a csDMARD were randomly assigned (1:1) to continue csDMARD therapy alone or to continue csDMARDs with denosumab (60-mg subcutaneous injection once every 6 months) for 12 months. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline in the depth of bone erosion, measured by HR-pQCT, in the second and third metacarpal heads at 6 months after starting treatment.

Centromere localization in medaka fish based on half-tetrad analysis.

Gene-centromere (G-C) mapping provides insight into vertebrate genome composition, structure and evolution. Although medaka fish are important experimental animals, no genome-wide G-C map of medaka has been constructed. In this study, we used 112 interspecific triploid hybrids and 152 DNA markers to make G-C maps of all 24 linkage groups (LGs).

Gastric Perforation due to Iatrogenic Immunodeficiency-associated Lymphoproliferative Disorder during the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

A 71-year-old woman being treated with methotrexate (MTX) and tacrolimus (TAC) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was admitted to our hospital and underwent surgery for gastric perforation and peritonitis. An endoscopic examination six days post-surgery showed an extensive ulcer in the stomach, and a biopsy revealed diffused large B-cell lymphoma. We diagnosed her with immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) and discontinued the MTX and TAC.

Clinical outcomes in the first year of remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome.

Objective: We investigated clinical outcomes in patients with remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome.

Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter study conducted in Nagasaki, Japan. We consecutively diagnosed a total of 41 patients with RS3PE syndrome between October 2003 and September 2012 and evaluated their outcomes from medical records from the first year of follow-up.

LMX1B mutation with residual transcriptional activity as a cause of isolated glomerulopathy.

Background: Nail-patella syndrome (NPS) is a rare autosomal-dominant disorder caused by LMX1B mutation. In patients with the renal lesions typical of NPS without skeletal or nail findings, it is described as nail-patella-like renal disease (NPLRD). However, the pathogenesis of NPLRD is largely unknown.

High serum matrix metalloproteinase 3 is characteristic of patients with paraneoplastic remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome.

Recently, it was reported that remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome could be complicated with solid tumors. In a retrospective, multicenter study between October, 2003 and September, 2010, we investigated the characteristics of patients with paraneoplastic RS3PE syndrome who fulfilled following criteria: (1) bilateral pitting edema of hands or feet or both, (2) sudden onset of polyarthritis, and (3) age >50 years, (4) seronegativity for rheumatoid factor (RF). A total of 33 cases fulfilled the above criteria.

Prediction of DAS28-CRP remission in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tacrolimus at 6 months by baseline variables.

We attempted to determine what baseline variables are responsible for the efficacy of tacrolimus at 6 months in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). One hundred and six RA patients treated with tacrolimus for 6 months were entered in this study. The outcome was set as the achievement of Disease Activity Score 28 C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP) remission at 6 months.

Age-related white matter hyperintensities attenuated by compression from a chronic subdural hematoma: possible contribution of brain interstitial fluid to the formation of leukoaraiosis.

The origin of patchy white matter hyperintensities commonly seen in the elderly on magnetic resonance (MR) images with long repetition time (TR) is still controversial. We describe MR findings in older patients in whom white matter hyperintensities were attenuated by compression of the cerebral hemisphere from a chronic subdural hematoma. These sequential MR findings substantiate the hypothesis that leukoaraiosis may arise when drainage of the bulk flow of brain interstitial fluid is disturbed.

Improvement of nephrotic syndrome by intensive lipid-lowering therapy in a patient with lipoprotein glomerulopathy.

Lipoprotein glomerulopathy (LPG) is a rare hereditary disease characterized by the accumulation of much thrombi material consisting of lipoproteins at the glomerular capillary lumen. Most patients show nephrotic syndrome; nearly half progress to chronic renal failure. Intensive therapy with lipid-lowering agents reportedly engenders clinical remission with histological resolution.

[Application of two immunochromatographic test kits to screening of four kinds of allergic substances in imported foods].

We tested for four kinds of allergic substances (egg, milk, wheat and peanuts) in 52 imported processed foods using immunochromatographic test kits (ITK). ELISA was also employed to confirm the effectiveness of the ITK. Among 92 data from 23 samples, allergic substances were detected in 9 cases with one kind of ITK, but not with the ELISA test.

Successful treatment of a patient with primary Sjögren's syndrome complicated with pericarditis during pregnancy.

A 35-year-old woman with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) developed fever and chest pain during pregnancy. When the dose of prednisolone was reduced, she experienced chest pain with elevated CRP and D-dimer, resulting in admission to our hospital with marked cardiomegaly and pleural effusion. Because there was no evidence of other autoimmune disorders or infection, oral prednisolone was increased to 30 mg daily with heparin, and hypercoagulopathy was carefully monitored.

Protection of mitochondrial perturbation by human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 tax through induction of Bcl-xL expression.

This study was designed to determine the inhibitory role of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) tax against apoptotic cell death. We used JPX-9 cells, a Jurkat subclone generated by the stable introduction of a tax expression-plasmid vector, and induced tax expression in JPX-9 cells with CdCl2. Expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Bax in JPX-9 cells was assessed with Western blot analysis.

[A life saving case of Vibrio vulnificus (septic type)].

After eating raw shellfish, 62-year-old man suffered from watery diarrhea and leg pain. The disease developed to septicemia and necrotizing fasciitis of bilateral lower extremities. Vibrio vulnificus was isolated from wound.

Modulation of the expression of membrane-bound CD54 (mCD54) and soluble form of CD54 (sCD54) in endothelial cells by glucosyl transferase inhibitor: possible role of ceramide for the shedding of mCD54.

1-Phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP) is a synthetic inhibitor toward glucosyl transferase. Here, we showed the functional role of sphingolipids on CD54 expression of endothelial cells (ECs) by the use of PDMP. CD54 mRNA expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was not changed by PDMP; however, PDMP treatment significantly enhanced the expression of membrane-bound CD54 (mCD54) on HUVECs.

Regulation of apoptotic cell death by cytokines in a human salivary gland cell line: distinct and synergistic mechanisms in apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon gamma.

We examined the mechanisms of apoptosis in a human salivary gland (HSG) cell line induced by tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha and interferon (IFN) gamma. DNA fragmentation and the activation of caspase-3 were determined in HSG cells cultured with TNF-alpha or IFN-gamma. Mitochondrial dysfunction also appeared to be involved in the process because a disruption of mitochondrial transmembrane potential with the activation of caspase-9 was demonstrated in TNF-alpha- and IFN-gamma-stimulated HSG cells.

[Methods of sleep induction for EEG recordings: comparison between three hypnotics and natural sleep].

We compared the effects of three oral hypnotics, monosodium trichloroethyl phosphate (MTP), chloral hydrate (CH), and pentobarbital calcium (PTB), to those of non-medication on wake-sleep states and sleep activation of epileptic seizure discharges. The subjects consisted of 410 epileptics and 171 non-epileptic outpatients (mean age: 12.5 years) of the Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya City University Hospital.

Carcinoma of the thyroid manifested as hyperthyroidism caused by functional bone metastasis.

A rare case of hyperthyroidism in the presence of a functioning bone metastasis secondary to an occult thyroid cancer is reported. A 59-year-old woman's pelvic bone metastasis was much too extensive and hypervascular to permit resection. An I-131 scan showed striking activity in the pelvic metastasis, which reflected ectopic excessive production of thyroid hormone by a functioning metastatic thyroid carcinoma.