Publications by authors named "Hisato Shimada"
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the clinical features of long COVID cases presenting with upper respiratory symptoms, a topic not yet fully elucidated.
Study Design: Prospective cohort study.
Setting: A multicenter study involving 26 medical facilities in Japan.
Article Synopsis
- * Data from 1200 enrolled patients showed a decline in symptoms over time, from 93.9% during hospitalization to 33.0% at 12 months, with those experience long COVID symptoms reporting lower quality of life and higher anxiety and depression.
- * Identified risk factors for long COVID included being female, middle-aged, requiring oxygen, and being in critical condition during hospitalization, providing valuable insights for future research in Japan.
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzed the effectiveness of a new asthma treatment combining fluticasone furoate, vilanterol, and umeclidinium, approved in Japan on February 18, 2021, by evaluating lung function in asthma patients.
- Researchers conducted a before-after study with 114 asthma outpatients (mostly Japanese), finding significant improvements in lung function tests and asthma control after switching to the new treatment.
- While 66% of subjects wanted to continue with the new treatment, mild local adverse effects were reported in 30% of patients, with no serious side effects observed, marking a promising advancement in asthma management.
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers analyzed RNA-seq data from 465 blood samples, uncovering 1169 expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) and 1549 splice QTLs (sQTLs) linked to COVID-19 severity, including immune-related expressions.
- * The study highlights the impact of disease severity on gene expression, identifying specific eQTLs that interact with COVID-19 phenotypes, and provides an extensive resource for understanding gene regulation in response to the virus.
Article Synopsis
- Researchers conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with 2,393 COVID-19 patients and 3,289 controls in Japan, identifying a specific genetic variant (rs60200309-A) on chromosome 5 linked to severe cases in individuals under 65.
- The variant is more common in East Asians and associated with reduced expression of the DOCK2 gene, which was found to be lower in severe COVID-19 cases, particularly in non-classical monocytes.
- Additionally, inhibiting DOCK2 in hamsters worsened pneumonia symptoms, indicating its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target for severe COVID-19.
Rationale: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental mycobacteria that can cause a chronic progressive lung disease. Although epidemiological data indicate potential genetic predisposition, its nature remains unclear.
Objectives: We aimed to identify host susceptibility loci for complex (MAC), the most common NTM pathogen.
A 24-year-old man who had been treated 3 months for tuberculous pleurisy presented with thoracic back pain. Chest CT showed a new lesion abutting the pleura, despite the disappearance of pleural effusion. Two weeks later, the mass abutting the pleura progressed to form a new intrapulmonary infiltrative shadow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe studied the effects of TNF-converting enzyme inhibition with Y-41654, which down-regulates the production of soluble TNF-alpha (sTNF-alpha), on acute lung injury induced by intratracheal administration of LPS. We first verified in vitro that pretreatment of isolated alveolar macrophages from Sprague-Dawley male rats with 20 microL of 0.1-mM Y-41654, decreased significantly (P < 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe hypothesized that the extent of acute lung injury (ALI) caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is modified with its initial passage through the liver. We tested this hypothesis by administering LPS, 5 mg/kg, or saline to 120 male Wistar rats via the portal vein (PV) or the inferior vena cava (IVC) over 1 h. Four experimental groups of rats were administered saline into the PV, saline into the IVC, LPS into the PV (LPS-PV group), and LPS into the IVC (LPS-IVC group), respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Emphasis in treating patients with infectious pulmonary tuberculosis has come to be laid on the execution of reliable standard chemotherapy. As a result, hospitalization for a prolonged period has become unnecessary any more. However, few attempts have been made so far on the determination of discharging criteria.
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