The Apparent Lack of the Risk of Intussusception Immediately After Rotavirus Vaccination Among Japanese Infants.

Rotavirus vaccines carry a small risk of intussusception mainly 1-7 days after vaccination in the United States of America, Europe, Australia, and Latin America where the background rate of intussusception is relatively low. Such risks are undetectable in Africa and India where the background rate is the lowest. Because few studies were carried out in high-background-rate countries such as Japan, we examined how intussusception occurred in infants living in Akita prefecture, Japan, while the vaccines were sold in the private market.

The relationships among mastoid air cell development, tympanic sinus depth, and residual disease after surgery in children with congenital cholesteatoma.

Mastoid development, tympanic sinus depth, and residual disease after surgery for congenital cholesteatoma are probably related, but these relationships have not been examined in detail. This study aimed to clarify the relationships between the abovementioned factors. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 31 patients with congenital cholesteatoma (stage III or IV in Potsic's staging system) that underwent mastoidectomy.

A quantitative study of the suppression of the development of the mastoid air cells by the presence of congenital cholesteatoma.

The mastoid air cells are considered to develop better in children with congenital cholesteatoma but only a few quantitative studies have examined. The present study was undertaken in order to clarify the relationships between the development of the mastoid air cells in children with congenital cholesteatoma and clinical factors. Mastoid air cell development was evaluated in 53 children with congenital cholesteatoma.

Practical analysis of pars flaccida cholesteatoma with classification and staging system proposed by Japan Otological Society: a comparative study.

Background: The Japan Otology Society (JOS) proposed the classification and staging system for middle ear cholesteatoma. However, there was little analysis of the pathology of cholesteatoma using this staging system.

Aims/objectives: To analyze the pathology of pars flaccida cholesteatoma using the staging system by JOS.

Elevation of Serum Acid Sphingomyelinase Activity in Acute Kawasaki Disease.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systemic vasculitis that affects both small and medium-sized vessels including the coronary arteries in infants and children. Acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) is a lysosomal glycoprotein that hydrolyzes sphingomyelin to ceramide, a lipid, that functions as a second messenger in the regulation of cell functions. ASM activation has been implicated in numerous cellular stress responses and is associated with cellular ASM secretion, either through alternative trafficking of the ASM precursor protein or by means of an unidentified mechanism.

Incidence of intussusception as studied from a hospital-based retrospective survey over a 10-year period (2001-2010) in Akita Prefecture, Japan.

One concern about rotavirus vaccines is its possible association with intussusception. Thus, it is necessary to determine the baseline incidence for intussusception in the first year of life in places where rotavirus vaccines are introduced. However, few safety data exist for the period at which the first dose of Rotarix and RotaTeq are allowed to administer in Japan.