A study of dentists' explanations and patient-dentist communication among older adults in Japan.

Background: In recent years, the proportion of elderly people in the total patient population has been increasing owing to the rapid aging of Japanese society. However, little is known about the age-specific healthcare communication challenges within the field of dentistry. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between dentists' explanations and patient-dentist communication among elderly patients.

[A case of secondary immune thrombocytopenia induced by atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma resulting in death from intracranial hemorrhage].

An 84-year-old woman underwent laparoscopic partial hepatectomy for a single 3.0-cm-diameter nodule of hepatocellular carcinoma at segment 5. Although the postoperative condition was uneventful, multiple recurrences were observed six months after hepatic resection.

Development of the occupational stress scale for small and medium-sized enterprise owners for stress prevention measures.

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners are at an increased risk of mental disorders in addition to stress directly related to their business performance. However, steps to protect SME owners' mental health are lacking, and no occupational stress scale has been developed to accurately understand the real-world situation. Based on a nationwide internet survey of 1,000 Japanese SME owners aged 20-79 years with five or more employees, we developed a novel occupational stress scale for SME owners.

Hepatitis B surface antigen glycan isomer is a predictor of the development of hepatocellular carcinoma during nucleoside/nucleotide analog therapy.

Aim: A recombinant monoclonal antibody against the hepatitis B surface antigen glycan isomer (HBsAgGi) was newly developed using the O-glycosylated PreS2 peptide in M-HBsAg of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C. However, the association between HBsAgGi and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during nucleoside/nucleotide analog (NA) therapy remains unknown.

Methods: A total of 112 HBV genotype C-infected patients who were treated with NA were included in this study.

Characteristics of the patients consulted with emergency medicine physicians at a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination center: Prospective observational study.

Objective: We aimed to clarify the characteristics of patients consulted by the medical staff with emergency medicine (EM) physicians after vaccination and EM physicians transferred to an outside hospital.

Design: The Japanese Self-Defense Force established a large-scale coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination center. Overall, 1,306,928 citizens received the Moderna vaccine, which targeted the first and second vaccinations between May 24, 2021 and November 30, 2021.

Lifestyle Pathways Affecting Children's Mental Health in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The recent prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the daily lives of preschoolers and elementary school children worldwide. Although these changes may have affected their mental health, the full picture still remains unknown. Since March 2020, Japan has intermittently experienced several COVID-19 waves.

Severity of Liver Fibrosis Is Associated with the Japanese Diet Pattern and Skeletal Muscle Mass in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

It is not fully clear as to which dietary patterns are associated with the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Asia. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 136 consecutively recruited patients with NAFLD (49% female, median age 60 years). Severity of liver fibrosis was assessed using the Agile 3+ score, a recently proposed system based on vibration-controlled transient elastography.

A case of hepatocellular carcinoma with "pseudoprogression" followed by complete response to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab.

Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Atezo + Bev) is the first immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and in the current guidelines, it is positioned as the first-line chemotherapy for unresectable cases. Herein, we report a case of HCC with pseudoprogression followed by a complete response to Atezo + Bev. A 56 year-old man was diagnosed with intermediate-stage HCC, as defined by the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer system stage B.

Short-term hepatocyte function and portal hypertension outcomes of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir for decompensated hepatitis C-related cirrhosis.

Background: It is unclear whether hepatocyte function and/or portal hypertension improves if a sustained virologic response (SVR) is achieved with direct-acting antivirals in patients with decompensated hepatitis C-related cirrhosis.

Methods: We examined the safety and efficacy of a 12-week course of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) in 20 patients with decompensated hepatitis C-related cirrhosis. We also investigated changes in the hepatocyte receptor index (LHL15) and blood clearance index (HH15) by Tc-99 m-galactosyl human serum albumin scintigraphy, liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography, and hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) in patients who achieved an SVR at 24 weeks after treatment (SVR24).

Influence of a biliary stent in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer treated with modified FOLFIRINOX.

Endoscopic biliary drainage is the recommended 1st-line treatment for malignant biliary obstruction. Although a high incidence of febrile neutropenia has been reported in patients treated with FOLFIRINOX and a biliary stent, it remains unknown whether the biliary stent contributes to patient survival. Thus, we aimed to elucidate the effects of biliary stents on the survival of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer treated with modified FOLFIRINOX (mFFX).

Risk factors for liver-related and non-liver-related mortality following a sustained virological response after direct-acting antiviral treatment for hepatitis C virus infection in a real-world cohort.

A direct-acting antiviral (DAA)-induced sustained virological response (SVR) reduces the risk of mortality. However, the risk factors associated with liver-related and non-liver-related mortality following a SVR after DAA treatment are unclear. We assessed the incidence and risk factors of liver-related and non-liver-related mortality in 1180 patients who achieved a SVR after DAA treatment.

Efficacy of rechallenge transcatheter arterial chemoembolization after lenvatinib treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background And Aim: We evaluated the efficacy of rechallenge transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) after lenvatinib (LEN) treatment in patients with previous TACE failure/refractoriness.

Methods: We enrolled 63 consecutive patients with a history of TACE failure/refractoriness prior to LEN treatment as a first-line systemic therapy. We reviewed the clinical backgrounds and courses of the patients.

Joint effect of cognitive decline and walking ability on incidence of wandering behavior in older adults with dementia: A cohort study.

Objectives: Wandering behavior is one of the most troublesome behavioral disturbances in dementia. Inconsistent associations between physical function and wandering behavior were reported, and the effect of cognitive decline may be different according to walking ability. The purposes of this study are to investigate whether high walking ability is a risk factor for wandering behavior and to investigate the interaction of walking ability and cognitive function with wandering behavior in older adults with dementia.

Soluble programmed cell death-1 predicts hepatocellular carcinoma development during nucleoside analogue treatment.

Soluble immune checkpoint molecules are emerging novel mediators of immune regulation. However, it is unclear whether soluble immune checkpoint proteins affect the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. This study included 122 NA-naïve patients who received NA therapy.

Direct-acting antivirals reduce the risk of tumour progression of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has high recurrence rates. HCC sometimes progresses from early-stage HCC (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer [BCLC] stage 0/A) to advanced-stage HCC after repeated recurrences and treatments. HCC progression deteriorates quality of life and prognosis.

A Novel Heterozygous Missense Variant in the CIAO1 Gene in a Family with Alzheimer's Disease: The Val67Ile Variant Promotes the Interaction of CIAO1 and Amyloid-β Protein Precursor.

Familial dementia is a rare inherited disease involving progressive impairment of memory, thinking, and behavior. We report a novel heterozygous pathogenic variant (c.199G > A, p.

The Albumin-bilirubin Score Detects Changes in the Liver Function during Treatment for Budd-Chiari Syndrome: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Objective Mapping the long-term prognosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is difficult, as the prognosis is associated with changes in the liver function. The present study evaluated the time course changes in the liver function in a treatment group with percutaneous old balloon angioplasty (POBA) and a non-treatment group using the albumin-bilirubin score (ALBI) and Child-Pugh score during long-term follow-up. Methods In this retrospective study, 13 consecutive patients diagnosed with BCS at our hospital between 2007 and 2020 were categorized into a treatment group (n=8), which received POBA, and a non-treatment group (n=5).