Comparison of the Clinical Characteristics of Infants with Punctate White Matter Lesions and/or Cystic Lesions.

Background: We aimed to investigate the differences in the clinical characteristics of preterm infants with punctate white matter lesions (PWMLs) and those with cystic periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL) using term-equivalent age magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study to explore the clinical characteristics of infants (< 35 weeks gestation, born between 2007 and 2017 in a single Level III perinatal center) with PWML, cPVL or with PWML plus cPVL and compared them with those of gestational-age-matched controls.

Results: Among 602 infants, 29, 5, and 4 were assigned to the PWML group, cPVL group, and PWML plus cPVL group (PWML-cPVL group), respectively.

The status of chronic lung disease diagnosis in Japan: Secondary publication.

Background: In Japan, the definition and classification of neonatal chronic lung disease (CLD) used for its diagnosis are a combination of those used in Japan and abroad.

Methods: To clarify the current state of CLD diagnosis, a questionnaire survey was conducted.

Results: Half of the patients of the medical centers included in the study were diagnosed with CLD in real time, while the other half were diagnosed after discharge.

Microdeletion in Xq28 with a polymorphic inversion in a patient with FLNA-associated progressive lung disease.

Lung phenotype was reported as a novel phenotype in patients with mutations in the filamin A gene (FLNA) in 2011. FLNA mutations can result in pulmonary hyperinflation during the neonatal period or early infancy with progressive respiratory failure, culminating in a diagnosis of FLNA-associated progressive lung disease, particularly if the patient has periventricular nodular heterotopia and cardiac complications, such as patent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect, and pulmonary hypertension. We report the first Japanese case of FLNA-associated progressive lung disease caused by a microdeletion in Xq28 encompassing the FLNA gene with a polymorphic inversion.

Clinical Usefulness of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Four Children With Scleroderma.

Children with localized scleroderma may have more serious sequelae than adults with the disease. In this case report, we analyzed four girls with localized scleroderma (generalized morphea) to evaluate the clinical usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging in facilitating disease control and investigating patient responsiveness to various treatments. Two of the children had flexion contracture, and two displayed a clear high-intensity area in the bone marrow under the sclerotic skin on magnetic resonance imaging.

Coexistence of diffuse panbronchiolitis and asthma: reciprocity of neutrophilic and eosinophilic inflammation.

Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) and asthma are obstructive airway diseases, the former being characterized by Th1-type and the latter by Th2-type airway inflammation. Differential diagnosis is often a problem, but coexistence has rarely been reported. A 76-year-old man with asthma was admitted to our hospital because of one-month history of dyspnoea on exertion with bilateral diffuse granular shadows.

Association of sleep-disordered breathing with decreased cognitive function among patients with dementia.

Sleep is known to be essential for proper cognitive functioning. Sleep disturbance, especially respiratory disturbance during sleep, is a risk factor for the development of dementia. However, it is not known whether hypopnoea during sleep is related to severity of cognitive function in patients already diagnosed with dementia.

[Promotion of home shifts for terminal cancer patients through intervention of visitor palliative care team].

It has been recommended that terminal cancer patients be shifted from the hospital to their homes. In our hospital, a visitor palliative care team was started for the purpose of the early introduction of palliative care, and home shifts were promoted. The results of home shifts by the visitor palliative care team from 2008 to 2012 were examined.

[Renal actinomycosis with pneumonia].

A 55-year-old man was hospitalized for pneumonia. His fever did not subside despite administration of antibiotics ; therefore, he was referred to our hospital. A chest radiograph and thoracic computed tomography showed multiple tubercles ; abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed left renal abscess.

Arabidopsis mitochondrial protein TIM50 affects hypocotyl cell elongation through intracellular ATP level.

The plant hypocotyl is an excellent model for the analysis of cell elongation. We have characterized a knockout mutant of the Arabidopsis TIM50 gene that showed a reduction in the hypocotyls length of etiolated seedlings. We also found that a knockout of TIM50 caused enlargement and deformation of the mitochondrial structure and a reduction in intracellular ATP levels.

Simple construction of plant RNAi vectors using long oligonucleotides.

RNA interference (RNAi) is one of the most important technologies currently available for the analysis of gene function. However, despite the development of various methods, it is still difficult to construct RNAi vectors for plants with the appropriate inverted repeat fragments to produce double-stranded RNA for knockdown experiments. To solve this problem we have developed an easy and simple method to make RNAi constructs using two long oligonucleotides consisting of partially complementary sequences without the need for PCR amplification and multiple cloning steps.

Accumulation of gallium-67 within mature and immature teratoma in pediatric patients: investigation for the uptake mechanism.

Objective: We encountered cases of mature and immature teratoma with positive uptake of (67)Ga. The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanism of (67)Ga accumulation within mature and immature teratomas by comparing the findings of gallium scan, computed tomography (CT), and autoradiography of surgical specimens with the pathological findings.

Methods: The subjects comprised 14 children who underwent surgical resection for intra-abdominal mature and immature teratomas, which were histologically proved to be of the mature and immature subtype.

Utility of computed tomography in identifying an ectopic thyroid in infants and pre-school children.

In purpose of identifying thyroid tissue in patients with congenital hypothyroidism during childhood, ultrasonography is usually used as a screening examination, and scintigraphy is performed secondarily. Though these methods are useful, it is not easy to identify the accurate location of thyroid tissue by these methods. We previously reported the utility of computed tomography (CT) in identifying thyroid tissue in four cases of congenital hypothyroidism.