A case of suspected autoimmune encephalopathy with involuntary movements and cognitive dysfunction post-COVID-19.

Background: We report a case of suspected autoimmune encephalopathy with involuntary movements and concomitant cognitive dysfunction after COVID-19.

Case Presentation: The patient is a male in his 20s who presented with fever and generalized involuntary movements and was diagnosed with COVID-19. The involuntary movements improved slightly, and the fever resolved within a week of the diagnosis.

Effects of a new speech support application on intensive speech therapy and changes in functional brain connectivity in patients with post-stroke aphasia.

Aphasia is a language disorder that occurs after a stroke and impairs listening, speaking, reading, writing, and calculation skills. Patients with post-stroke aphasia in Japan are increasing due to population aging and the advancement of medical treatment. Opportunities for adequate speech therapy in chronic stroke are limited due to time constraints.

Prediction of Postoperative Delirium after Gastrointestinal Surgery Using the Mie Constructional Apraxia Scale.

Background: Postoperative delirium (POD) is a transient postoperative complication that occurs after surgical procedures. Risk factors reported for POD include dementia and cognitive decline. The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of POD by examining the use of preoperative neuropsychological tests, including the Mie Constructional Apraxia Scale (MCAS), and patient background factors.

[A case of conduction aphasia with specific jargon utterance].

We report a patient with bilateral hemispheric lesions caused by two episodes of cerebral infarction who exhibited conduction aphasia with unique jargon. The patient was an 84-year-old, right-handed man. Beginning after the second episode of cerebral infarction (defined as the time of symptom onset), neologistic jargon and an iterative pattern of phonemic variation became prominent, whereas phonological paraphasia and conduite d'approche were observed in the patient's overall speech.

Endometrioid carcinoma arising from diaphragmatic endometriosis treated with laparoscopy: A case report.

Malignant transformation of diaphragmatic endometriosis is rare. We present a case of endometrioid carcinoma arising from diaphragmatic endometriosis treated with laparoscopy. A 59-year-old primigravida woman who had undergone abdominal hysterectomy for adenomyosis at the age of 47 years was referred to our hospital for investigation of a tumor on the surface of the liver.

Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of the uterine cervix with concomitant copy number gains of the and genes: A case report.

Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (EMZL) of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) of the uterus is rare, and the etiology, pathophysiology and cytogenetic features remain unknown at present. The present study reports a case of a 71-year-old female with EMZL of the uterine cervix that was 80 mm in diameter and invaded directly into the rectal serosa. Complete remission was successfully induced by 6 courses of immunochemotherapy with rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone.

Isolated fallopian tube torsion diagnosed and treated with laparoscopic surgery: A case report.

Among diseases causing acute lower abdominal pain in women, isolated fallopian tube torsion is very rare, with an annual prevalence of 1 in 1.5 million. Because it has fewer findings on imaging compared to adnexal torsion, the correct diagnosis can rarely be made before an operation.

Effects of drospirenone on adhesion molecule expression and monocyte adherence in human endothelial cells.

Objective: A major concern in hormone replacement therapy is the associated increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. A progestogen without the unfavorable effects on cardiovascular disease should be explored. Monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells is an important initial event in atherosclerosis.

Pure agraphia after infarction in the superior and middle portions of the left precentral gyrus: Dissociation between Kanji and Kana.

The present study describes a Japanese patient with pure agraphia displaying differential disturbances in processing Kanji (morphogram) and Kana (syllabogram) letters after an infarction in the middle and superior portions of the left precentral gyrus. Kana errors reflected the patient's difficulty with retrieving both motor and visual letter images, whereas Kanji errors included partial letter stroke omissions or additions. This present case suggests that differences in writing disturbances between Kana and Kanji letters are caused by a differential dependency on letter motor images.

Relationships among Communication Self-Efficacy, Communication Burden, and the Mental Health of the Families of Persons with Aphasia.

Background: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationships among communication self-efficacy (SE), communication burden, and the mental health of the families of persons with aphasia using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Methods: This study examined 110 pairs of persons with aphasia receiving home care and 1 family caregiver per person with aphasia. The survey items for this study consisted of the Communication Self-efficacy Scale, the Communication Burden Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form-Japanese, and the Health-Related Quality of Life: SF-8 Health Survey.

Japanese Adaptation of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39): Comparative Study among Different Types of Aphasia.

Background: We have developed a Japanese version of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39), designated as SAQOL-39-J, and used psychometric methods to examine its acceptability and reliability.

Methods: The acceptability and reliability of SAQOL-39-J, which was developed from the English version using a standard translation and back-translation method, were examined in 54 aphasia patients using standard psychometric methods. The acceptability and reliability of SAQOL-39-J were then compared among patients with different types of aphasia.

Medroxyprogesterone acetate enhances monocyte-endothelial interaction under flow conditions by stimulating the expression of cell adhesion molecules.

Context: Monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells is an important initial event in atherosclerosis and is partially mediated by adhesion molecule expression on the cell surface. Although estrogens inhibit atherosclerosis development, effects of coadministered progestogen remain controversial.

Objective: We examined the effects of progestogen on cytokine-stimulated human umbilical venous endothelial cell (HUVEC) expression of adhesion molecules.

Usefulness of moistening seprafilm before use in laparoscopic surgery.

Purpose: Seprafilm is an ideal synthetic adhesion barrier, but its insertion into the abdomen in laparoscopic surgery is difficult because of its stiff and brittle nature. We tested the usefulness of a novel technique of moistening Seprafilm before use to increase its flexibility before insertion through a trocar during laparoscopic surgery.

Methods: Laparoscopic pelvic surgeries that were followed by insertion of Seprafilm were evaluated in 67 women.

Distinct acoustic features in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy patients with laryngospasm.

Objective: Laryngospasm is a sudden onset of transient respiratory difficulty that is perceived as life-threatening by patients with spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA). The purpose of the study was to analyze the voice characteristics of SBMA patients with laryngospasm using acoustic voice analysis.

Methods: Acoustic measurements were obtained from 39 consecutive Japanese patients with genetically confirmed SBMA.

Behavior management approach for agitated behavior in Japanese patients with dementia: a pilot study.

Background: Agitated behaviors are frequently observed in patients with dementia and can cause severe distress to caregivers. However, little evidence of the efficacy of nonpharmacological interventions for agitated behaviors exists for patients with dementia. The present pilot study aimed to evaluate a behavioral management program developed by the Seattle Protocols for patients with agitated behaviors in Japan.

Estrogen-related receptor-γ regulates estrogen receptor-α responsiveness in uterine endometrial cancer.

Objective: Estrogen-related receptors (ERRs) are orphan nuclear receptors that modulate the estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated pathway and play roles in the regulation of breast and prostate cancer cell growth. However, the significance of the localization and the function of ERRs in uterine endometrial cancer remain unclear. We aimed to measure the expression of ERRγ and determine its association with the ER-mediated pathway in human endometrial cancer.

Estrogen-related receptor α expression and function are associated with vascular endothelial growth factor in human cervical cancer.

Introduction: Estrogen-related receptor α (ERRα), one of orphan nuclear receptors with an unknown ligand, is expressed in various types of cancer. Increased ERRα levels are associated with a higher risk of recurrence and poor clinical outcome in breast cancer, suggesting that ERRα could be a negative prognostic factor. Recently, it has been suggested that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) could be one of the transcriptional targets of ERRα in breast cancer.

Distinct neuropsychological profiles of three major symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Recent neuroimaging studies have suggested that different symptom dimensions are mediated by partially distinct neural systems in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the correlations between neuropsychological profiles and symptom dimensions in OCD are unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which OCD symptom dimensions were associated with episodic memory and attention and executive functions.

Neoadjuvant weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel followed by radical hysterectomy for locally advanced cervical cancer: long-term results.

Introduction: To determine the long-term effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin on a weekly schedule followed by radical surgery for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.

Materials And Methods: Thirty patients with stage IB2 to IIIB uterine cervical cancer were treated with paclitaxel (60 mg/m) and carboplatin (area under the curve, 2-an area under the time-concentration curve of 2 mg x min/mL based on creatinine clearance) every week for 6 cycles. A radical hysterectomy was performed 6 days after the final administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms predict change in quality of life of Alzheimer disease patients: a two-year follow-up study.

Aim: To examine the effect of neuropsychiatric symptoms on longitudinal changes in the quality of life (QOL) of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD).

Methods: First, we investigated whether neuropsychiatric symptoms at baseline predict changes in the QOL of AD patients over time. Then we examined the associations between changes in neuropsychiatric symptoms and changes in QOL.

SPECT-identified neuroanatomical predictor of the cognitive effects of donepezil treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Background/objective: We attempted to determine whether the pretreatment regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) might predict cognitive changes in response to donepezil treatment, as assessed in terms of the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog), and in relation to the severity of subcortical hyperintensities (SH).

Method: Forty-one patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were treated with donepezil at baseline. All the patients underwent a single photon emission computed tomography examination before donepezil therapy.

Impact of depression on insight into memory capacity in patients with Alzheimer disease.

Background: The influence of depressive symptoms on awareness of memory disturbances in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and metamemory is unknown.

Objective: We compared the level of awareness of memory disturbances in AD patients with and without depression using 2 measures: a questionnaire comparing discrepancies in patients/caregivers' assessments and the patients' predictions of their own performances on a memory task.

Methods: AD patients with depression (n=21) or without depression (n=21) were asked to complete an assessment of self-reported memory dysfunction (Short Memory Questionnaire; SMQ) and memory task performance prediction (10-words-recall Questionnaire).