During electron microscopic examination of 156 consecutive human endomyocardial biopsy specimens, we found marked mitochondrial deformity within a single cardiomyocyte in each of 4 specimens. The deformed mitochondria were unevenly distributed, but the deformities were confined to the one cardiomyocyte. Those affected cardiomyocytes were accompanied by nonspecific degenerative changes such as nuclear hypertrophy and/or rarefaction of the myofibrils.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Quality of life (QOL) as a treatment outcome has not yet been evaluated among patients receiving a specific treatment regimen by treatment phase in a consistent manner. This exploratory cross-sectional study evaluated the QOL of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) receiving one of the most popular treatment regimens in Japan (Japan Association of Childhood Leukemia Study ALL-02 revised protocol).
Methods: Children aged 5-18 years with newly diagnosed B-cell precursor ALL were included.
Peritonitis remains an important complication of peritoneal dialysis and is mostly caused by aerobic enteric bacteria. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)-associated peritonitis is an unusual but serious infection, requiring special culture techniques to avoid delay in diagnosis. We report the case of an 11-year-old girl with aplastic anemia on ambulatory peritoneal dialysis who had Mycobacterium avium complex-associated peritonitis after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The primary endpoints of this study were: (1) to explore the distressing experiences of parents of patients with intractable pediatric cancer in Japan from disclosure of poor prognosis to the present and (2) to explore support they regarded as necessary.
Methods: A multi-center questionnaire survey was conducted that included 135 bereaved parents of patients with pediatric cancer in Japan.
Results: The top five distressing experiences shared by over half of the bereaved parents were: 'Realize that the child's disease was getting worse' (96.
Background: Micafungin, an antifungal echinocandin, has been indicated for pediatric patients with invasive fungal infection (IFI) in Japan and Europe. Its efficacy in immunocompromised pediatric patients with IFI, however, has not been fully investigated.
Methods: The safety and efficacy of micafungin as an antifungal therapy were analyzed in nine consecutive severe immunocompromised patients with IFI.
Background: Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) may be used as an alternative to bone marrow (BM) for allogeneic transplantation. Since peripheral blood stem cell bank from unrelated volunteer donor has been started in Japan, use of PBSC allografts may be increased. Therefore we surveyed the outcomes of Japanese leukemia children after PBSC and BM transplantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: Gonadal dysfunction is one of the major endocrinological late effects among childhood cancer survivors (CCSs). Periodic screening evaluation of gonadotropins and sex steroids has been recommended, although it remains difficult to predict gonadal function and reproductive capacity in childhood. We evaluated the effects of cancer treatments on the ovarian function of Japanese female CCSs by measuring serum levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and gonadotropin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Agric Food Chem
November 2012
Detection of shiikuwasha (Citrus depressa Hayata) juice adulterated with calamondin (Citrus madurensis Lour.) juice was investigated by the analyses of (1) phloretin dihydrochalcone glucoside, 3',5'-di-C-β-glucopyranosylphloretin (PD) detected by thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), (2) polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs), included nobiletin, tangeretin, and sinensetin, detected by HPLC, and (3) γ-terpinene peak percentage obtained by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography with cryofocusing. PD was detected in calamondin juice (25.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCitrus peels are important sources of various pleasant aroma compounds and valuable bioactive substances. To investigate differences in the composition and content of Shiikuwasha (Citrus depressa Hayata) peels from different cultivation lines, the composition of volatile aroma components, flavanones, and polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs) in four Shiikuwasha cultivation lines was examined. The composition of volatile aroma components in cold-pressed extracts of Shiikuwasha peels was analyzed using gas chromatography-flame ionization detection and gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Serum β-cryptoxanthin levels are lower in overweight subjects than in normal subjects. Abnormalities of adipocytokine profiles in obesity subjects have been reported. There are several reports that serum β-cryptoxanthin levels in them were relatively lower than normal subjects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn these studies, we focused on finding the mechanism(s) underlying the bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) methanol fraction (MF)-dependent reduction in the concentration of hepatic triacylglycerol (TAG) and cholesterol in the rat. Rats were fed diets containing low (5 %) fat for 2 weeks (experiment 1), or low (5 %) and high (15 %) fat for a longer period of 8 weeks (experiment 2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAllogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only curative method for patients with familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL). We present a case of a 3-month-old girl with Munc13-4 mutation (FHL3), who underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from her human leukocyte antigen-haploidentical mother following reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) with fludarabine, melphalan, and busulfan. Engraftment after BMT was generally uneventful, with only mild acute graft versus host disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough the antigen expression patterns of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are well known, little attention has been given to standardizing the diagnostic and classification criteria. We retrospectively analyzed the flow cytometric data from a large study of antigen expression in 1,774 children with newly diagnosed ALL in JPLSG. T- and B-lineage ALL accounted for 13 and 87% of childhood ALL cases, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) in the liver metabolize drugs prior to excretion, with different enzymes acting at different molecular motifs. At present, the human CYPs responsible for the metabolism of the flavonoid, nobiletin (NBL), are unidentified. We investigated which enzymes were involved using human liver microsomes and 12 cDNA-expressed human CYPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnthracyclines are key drugs for the treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, anthracyclines are known to induce QT prolongation, and life-threatening complications, such as torsades de pointe may also occur. To date, there have been no reports on the use of anthracyclines in patients with congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pediatr Hematol Oncol
January 2011
The prognosis of high-risk rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) with metastatic or recurrent disease remains poor. We report a 6-year-old girl who successfully underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation against recurrent metastatic alveolar RMS. The disease recurred at distant lymph node metastasis with bone marrow involvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFX-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a genetic disease associated with demyelination of the central nervous system, adrenocortical insufficiency and accumulation of very long chain fatty acids. It is a clinically heterogeneous disorder ranging from a severe childhood cerebral form to an asymptomatic form. The incidence in Japan is estimated to be between 1:30,000 and 1:50,000 boys as determined by a nationwide retrospective survey between 1990 and 1999, which found no cases with Addison's form.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWilms tumor gene (WT1) can be overexpressed in childhood cancers. We evaluated the efficacy of WT1 vaccination for five children with solid cancer or acute leukemia. WT1 vaccine was administered to HLA-A*2402-positive patients with WT1-overexpressing residual tumor despite prior conventional treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is chemosensitive, but recurrence is frequently observed. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has recently been reported to be effective against recurrent disease, suggesting a graft-versus-lymphoma effect. We present a 3-year-old child with recurrent ALCL who underwent HSCT from an HLA-1-locus mismatched cord blood unit following reduced intensity conditioning with fludarabine, melphalan, and low-dose thoraco-abdominal irradiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pediatr Hematol Oncol
May 2010
Retropharyngeal neuroblastoma is rare. We report a 3-month-old infant with retropharyngeal neuroblastoma presenting with airway compression, which had an unresectable localized tumor without N-myc amplification. He was promptly treated with chemotherapy, resulting in a dramatic resolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyeloid/NK cell precursor lymphoma/leukemia has been suggested to be of precursor NK origin. We report a 1-year-old boy with myeloid/NK cell precursor lymphoma/leukemia who presented with a skin nodule. Biopsy of the skin nodule specimen revealed CD45(+), CD56(+), myeloid antigen(+), CD7(-), CD3(-), CD19(-), CD34(-), CD4(-) by flow cytometry and myeloperoxidase (MPO)(+), TdT(+), cytoplasmic CD3(+) by immunohistochemistry.
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