Comparison of clinical effects of psoriasis treatment regimens among calcipotriol alone, narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy alone, combination of calcipotriol and narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy once a week, and combination of calcipotriol and narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy more than twice a week.

We compared the clinical efficacy of various psoriasis treatments among: (i) topical application of calcipotriol ointment twice daily (group I); (ii) topical application of calcipotriol ointment twice daily and narrowband ultraviolet B NB-UVB phototherapy once a week (group II); (iii) topical application of heparinoid ointment twice daily and NB-UVB phototherapy more than twice a week (group III); and (iv) topical application of calcipotriol ointment twice daily and NB-UVB phototherapy more than twice a week (group IV). Ten patients were randomly selected for each group and treated by the indicated regimens for 12 weeks. All treatments were effective and significantly improved Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores, self-administered PASI scores and visual analog scale scores of pruritus.

Japanese patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis show distinct personality profiles.

Personality and emotional factors are supposed to influence the course of skin diseases, such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Few reports exist, however, showing distinct personality traits among patients with psoriasis, atopic dermatitis patients and healthy controls. The aim of the present study was to examine personality differences among psoriasis patients, atopic dermatitis patients and healthy controls in Japan.

Can endoscopic submucosal dissection be safely performed in a smaller specialized clinic?

Aim: To investigate whether endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) can be safely performed at small clinics, such as the Shirakawa Clinic.

Methods: One thousand forty-seven ESDs to treat gastrointestinal tumors were performed at the Shirakawa Clinic from April 2006 to March 2011. The efficacy, technical feasibility and associated complications of the procedures were assessed.

Psychological impact on caregivers traumatized by the violent behavior of a family member with schizophrenia.

Background: A combination of factors such as substance abuse problems, medication noncompliance, and insufficient insight are generally known to increase the risk of violent behavior. However, little is known regarding the psychological impact on caregivers who are traumatized by the violent behavior of a family member with schizophrenia. Therefore, we carried out an investigation to measure this impact.

Increased plasma resistin and decreased omentin levels in Japanese patients with psoriasis.

Psoriasis is associated with obesity accompanied by insulin resistance. A recent study disclosed increased plasma resistin and decreased plasma omentin levels in obesity. Few studies of plasma levels of resistin and omentin are available in psoriasis.

Effect of a reduction of the atlanto-axial angle on the cranio-cervical and subaxial angles following atlanto-axial arthrodesis in rheumatoid arthritis.

Purpose: We retrospectively investigated the radiographic findings in patients with atlanto-axial subluxation (AAS) due to rheumatoid arthritis, and clarified the effect of reduction of the atlanto-axial angle (AAA) on the cranio-cervical and subaxial angles.

Methods: Forty-one patients, consisting of 29 females and 12 males, with AAS treated by surgery were reviewed. The average patient age at surgery was 61.

Intercellular contact augments epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)-activation which increases podoplanin-expression in order to promote squamous cell carcinoma motility.

The transmembrane glycoprotein podoplanin (PDPN) plays an important role in cell motility. However, mechanisms regulating PDPN expression have not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the effect of intercellular contact on signal transduction pathways and PDPN expression in human squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell lines.

Associations between neck and shoulder pain (called katakori in Japanese) and sagittal spinal alignment parameters among the general population.

Background: Neck and shoulder pain (NSP), called katakori in Japanese, is one of the most common medical symptoms in the Japanese population; however, the pathogenesis of NSP has not yet been adequately elucidated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between NSP and sagittal spinal alignment among the general population in Japan.

Materials And Methods: Medical examinations were conducted in the northeast village of Gunma, Japan.

Study of the vulvar skin in healthy Japanese women: components of the stratum corneum and microbes.

Background: Although the physiological conditions of vulvar skin in Caucasian populations have been characterized, little is known about these conditions in Japanese women.

Methods: Skin of the labia, groin, mons pubis, and inner thigh was examined in 40 healthy Japanese women outwith their menstrual period. Skin moisture, skin pH, ceramide content and inflammatory cytokine proteins of the stratum corneum, and bacterial flora were assessed.

Long-term safety and efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery for vestibular schwannomas: evaluation of 440 patients more than 10 years after treatment with Gamma Knife surgery.

Object Little is known about long-term outcomes, including tumor control and adverse radiation effects, in patients harboring vestibular schwannomas (VSs) treated with stereotactic radiosurgery > 10 years previously. The aim of this study was to confirm whether Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) for VSs continues to be safe and effective > 10 years after treatment. Methods A total of 440 patients with VS (including neurofibromatosis Type 2) treated with GKS between May 1991 and December 2000 were evaluable.

Plasma trough levels of adalimumab and infliximab in terms of clinical efficacy during the treatment of psoriasis.

We examined the relation between adalimumab and infliximab plasma trough levels, anti-adalimumab and anti-infliximab antibody formation. We analyzed plasma from 32 adalimumab-treated and 20 infliximab-treated psoriasis patients for evaluating trough levels of each drug. The presence of anti-adalimumab and anti-infliximab antibodies was analyzed and the severity of psoriasis was evaluated.

Analysis of colonoscopic perforations at a local clinic and a tertiary hospital.

Aim: To define the clinical characteristics, and to assess the management of colonoscopic complications at a local clinic.

Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records was performed for the patients with iatrogenic colon perforations after endoscopy at a local clinic between April 2006 and December 2010. Data obtained from a tertiary hospital in the same region were also analyzed.

Chemoresistance is associated with cancer stem cell-like properties and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in pancreatic cancer cells.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether apoptosis-resistant cancer cells have cancer stem cell (CSC)-like properties.

Materials And Methods: Panc-1 pancreatic cancer cells were incubated in the presence of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) for 24 h, and further incubated without 5-FU for 28 days. To assess the capacity of self-renewal, surviving cells were planted for sphere-forming assay.

Prognostic indicators in 35 patients with extramammary Paget's disease.

Background: Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is an uncommon skin tumor that usually occurs in the genital area. Few studies on EMPD have been conducted.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical and pathologic features, treatments, recurrence, survival rates, and prognostic factors of EMPD.

[Clinical analysis of autologous stem cell transplantation for nine cases of cardiac amyloidosis].

Long-term survival remains poor for patients with cardiac amyloidosis. High-dose melphalan (MEL) with stem cell transplantation (HDM/SCT) is an effective treatment for AL amyloidosis, but patients with cardiac involvement are ineligible because of high therapy-related mortality. Here we report detailed HDM/SCT outcomes of 9 patients with cardiac failure.

Alterations in extracellular tryptophan and dopamine concentrations in rat striatum following peripheral administration of D- and L-tryptophan: an in vivo microdialysis study.

Incorporation profiles of d-Trp and l-Trp into the striatum following intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of d-Trp or l-Trp in male Sprague-Dawley rats (100mg/kg) were investigated by using a brain microdialysis technique.

Characteristics of idiopathic atlanto-axial subluxation: a comparative radiographic study in patients with an idiopathic etiology and those with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Atlanto-axial subluxation (AAS) is caused by multiple conditions; however, idiopathic AAS patients without RA, upper-cervical spine anomalies or any other disorder are rarely encountered. This study retrospectively investigated the radiographic findings in idiopathic AAS patients, and clarified the differences between those AAS patients and those due to RA.

Methods: Fifty-three patients with AAS treated by transarticular screw fixation were reviewed.

[Increased level of KL-6 in a BJP-λ-type multiple myeloma patient with poor prognosis].

A 63-year-old female with BJP-multiple myeloma (Durie-Salmon stage III B, International Staging System III) showed an increased level of KL-6, a sialylated carbohydrate antigen that is a MUC1 molecule expressed in type II pneumocytes and reflects activity of interstitial pneumonia. At the time of diagnosis, KL-6 was as high as 22,030 U/ml; however, surfactant protein D (SP-D) was normal, and stroma-related pneumonia was not indicated on CT images. Expression of KL-6 in multiple myeloma cells was detected by immunostaining and the patient was diagnosed with KL-6-positive multiple myeloma.