Publications by authors named "Iwama K"

Interferon regulatory factor 2 binding protein-like (IRF2BPL) is a single-exon gene that is ubiquitously expressed in various tissues, including the brain. IRF2BPL encodes a transcription factor with two zinc-finger domains that potentially downregulate WNT signaling in the nervous system. Pathogenic IRF2BPL variants have been reported to cause developmental delay, seizures, myoclonus epilepsies, autistic spectrum disorder, and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

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  • - The study explored how body fat distribution affects left atrial (LA) size and its potential to reverse in nonobese atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, revealing a link between central fat and LA remodeling.
  • - A total of 116 nonobese AF patients underwent catheter ablation, and measures like body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip (W/H) ratio were analyzed alongside fat percentages to see their impact on LA volume changes over six months.
  • - Results showed that higher W/H ratios and central fat percentages were associated with ongoing LA enlargement post-ablation, emphasizing the need to evaluate body fat distribution, even in patients who are not obese.
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Immune checkpoint inhibitor-related thrombocytopenia (irTCP) is a relatively rare immune-related adverse event (irAE); however, overall survival may worsen when it occurs. Prolonged use of high-dose steroids can diminish the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy on the primary disease because of T lymphocyte suppression, thus early tapering is necessary. We experienced a rare case of a 79-year-old male who concurrently developed irTCP and multiple myeloma (MM) during treatment with ICIs for lung adenocarcinoma.

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  • - KIF1A-related disorders (KRDs) involve a range of genetic variants with diverse clinical presentations, and recent research has broadened our understanding of heterozygous KIF1A variants, although long-term studies are limited.
  • - A study at Miyagi Children's Hospital reviewed records of six patients with heterozygous KIF1A variants who had spastic paraplegia, tracking their clinical symptoms and background over an average follow-up of 30 years.
  • - Key findings showed that early signs include developmental delays and gait issues, with later symptoms progressing to spastic paraplegia, peripheral neuropathy, reduced vision, and brain changes like cerebellar atrophy, highlighting the need for more research
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Nail-patella syndrome (NPS) is a hereditary disease caused by pathogenic variants in LMX1B and characterized by nail, limb, and renal symptoms. This study revealed a likely pathogenic LMX1B variant, NM_002316.4: c.

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Vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB) in neonates is a significant disorder that causes skin, gastrointestinal, and intracranial hemorrhaging. Early-onset VKDB occurs within 24 hours of birth, and its prognosis is poor due to severe hemorrhage. The causes of early-onset VKDB include maternal intake of warfarin and anticoagulants, and maternal vitamin K deficiency.

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Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) progression is closely related to heart failure occurrence, and catheter ablation carries a beneficial effect for heart failure prevention. Recently, particular attention has been given to left atrial (LA) function and functional reserve in the pathogenesis linking AF and heart failure, although its significance and reversibility is not well studied.

Methods And Results: We prospectively investigated 164 patients with AF with normal left ventricular systolic function and free from heart failure who underwent first catheter ablation and pre-/postprocedural echocardiography.

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Ubiquitin-specific protease 8 (USP8) is a deubiquitinating enzyme involved in deubiquitinating the enhanced epidermal growth factor receptor for escape from degradation. Somatic variants at a hotspot in USP8 are a cause of Cushing's disease, and a de novo germline USP8 variant at this hotspot has been described only once previously, in a girl with Cushing's disease and developmental delay. In this study, we investigated an exome-negative patient with severe developmental delay, dysmorphic features, and multiorgan dysfunction by long-read sequencing, and identified a 22-kb de novo germline deletion within USP8 (chr15:50469966-50491995 [GRCh38]).

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Background: Little is known about how Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) graduates apply translational research competencies in the practice setting.

Purpose: This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore the barriers, facilitators, and opportunities for engaging in translational research among DNPs in practice.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 DNPs working within an 8-hospital health system from November 2020 through July 2021.

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  • This study examined 183 AF patients undergoing CA, finding that 18% had LA hypertension, which was associated with larger LA volume, reduced reservoir strain, and increased stiffness.
  • Factors like waist circumference, C-reactive protein levels, and LA stiffness were independently linked to LA hypertension, indicating that LA stiffness derived from echocardiography could help detect LA hypertension prior to CA.
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High-entropy alloy (HEA) nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted significant attention as promising catalysts owing to the various unique synergistic effects originating from the nanometer-scale, near-equimolar mixing of five or more components to produce single-phase solid solutions. However, the study of sub-nanometer HEA clusters having sizes of less than 1 nm remains incomplete despite the possibility of novel functions related to borderline molecular states with discrete quantum energy levels. The present work demonstrates the synthesis of CeO nanorods (CeO-NRs) on which sub-nanometer CoNiCuZnPd HEA clusters were formed with the aid of a pronounced hydrogen spillover effect on readily reducible CeO (110) facets.

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Nuclear localization signal (NLS) of HIV-1 integrase (IN) is implicated in nuclear import of HIV-1 preintegration complex (PIC). Here, we established a multiclass drug-resistant HIV-1 variant (HIV) by consecutively exposing an HIV-1 variant to various antiretroviral agents including IN strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs). HIV was extremely susceptible to a previously reported HIV-1 protease inhibitor, GRL-142, with IC of 130 femtomolar.

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  • The study aimed to examine how common glucose metabolism disorders are and how they affect left atrial (LA) remodeling in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
  • Researchers tested 204 patients undergoing catheter ablation, finding that about 65% had abnormal glucose metabolism, with diabetes patients showing the worst LA function.
  • Conclusions highlight that impaired glucose metabolism, especially diabetes, significantly affects LA remodeling and suggests the need for targeted strategies for managing AF in patients with these metabolic issues.
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  • Leukoencephalopathy with calcifications and cysts is a rare genetic disorder that leads to brain issues, including calcifications, white matter disease, and cysts, and its progression varies among patients.
  • A case study of a 3-month-old girl highlighted the disorder's rapid progression, marked by seizures and significant brain abnormalities detected through CT and MRI scans, ultimately leading to severe developmental delays by age 4.
  • The case underscores that conventional whole-exome sequencing might not identify all variants, suggesting that careful neuroimaging is critical for diagnosis and understanding the disease's clinical features.
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Background: With the growing prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF), concomitant atrial functional tricuspid regurgitation (FTR) is increasing. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the incidence of significant atrial FTR and its association with tricuspid valvular (TV) deformation in patients with persistent AF.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 344 patients (73.

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Purpose: Cerebellar hypoplasia and atrophy (CBHA) in children is an extremely heterogeneous group of disorders, but few comprehensive genetic studies have been reported. Comprehensive genetic analysis of CBHA patients may help differentiating atrophy and hypoplasia and potentially improve their prognostic aspects.

Methods: Patients with CBHA in 176 families were genetically examined using exome sequencing.

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Recent studies suggest that transcript isoforms significantly overlap (approximately 60%) between brain tissue and Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Interestingly, 14 cohesion-related genes with variants that cause Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) are highly expressed in the brain and LCLs. In this context, we first performed RNA sequencing of LCLs from 22 solved (with pathogenic variants) and 19 unsolved (with no confirmed variants) CdLS cases.

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  • The study investigates how changes in arterial structure (aortic root diameter) and function (estimated pulse wave velocity or ePWV) relate to heart remodeling in individuals without heart disease.
  • It involves 539 participants, measuring their aortic size and ePWV, along with assessing left ventricular (LV) function and structure using echocardiography.
  • Results indicate that both larger aortic root size and higher ePWV correlate with increased LV mass and impaired function, suggesting that these arterial properties could be early indicators linked to heart failure risk.
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  • * Researchers analyzed data from 1158 participants, using advanced echocardiography techniques to measure heart function indicators across different stages of CKD, finding that as kidney function declines, heart function measures also decrease.
  • * The findings indicate that declines in heart strain metrics, particularly left ventricular global longitudinal strain and left atrial function, are linked to worsening kidney function, suggesting that monitoring heart strain could enhance risk assessment for CKD patients.
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Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) produces 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (CH-THF) from tetrahydrofolate with serine to glycine conversion. SHMT is a potential drug target in parasites, viruses and cancer. (+)-SHIN-1 was developed as a human SHMT inhibitor for cancer therapy.

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Intractable epilepsy was successfully controlled using perampanel, an α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid-type glutamate receptor antagonist, in a 27-year-old woman who presented with a Rett syndrome-like phenotype and novel 960-kb deletion involving syntaxin-binding protein 1 on chromosome 9q34.11. Perampanel may be an effective antiepileptic drug for intractable epilepsy associated with  mutations.

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Cerebellar ataxia is a genetically heterogeneous disorder. GEMIN5 encoding an RNA-binding protein of the survival of motor neuron complex, is essential for small nuclear ribonucleoprotein biogenesis, and it was recently reported that biallelic loss-of-function variants cause neurodevelopmental delay, hypotonia, and cerebellar ataxia. Here, whole-exome analysis revealed compound heterozygous GEMIN5 variants in two individuals from our cohort of 162 patients with cerebellar atrophy/hypoplasia.

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An optimal Golgi transport system is important for mammalian cells. The adenosine diphosphate (ADP) ribosylation factors (ARF) are key proteins for regulating cargo sorting at the Golgi network. In this family, ARF3 mainly works at the trans-Golgi network (TGN), and no ARF3-related phenotypes have yet been described in humans.

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Objective: The MAST family of microtubule-associated serine-threonine kinases (STKs) have distinct expression patterns in the developing and mature human and mouse brain. To date, only MAST1 has been conclusively associated with neurological disease, with de novo variants in individuals with a neurodevelopmental disorder, including a mega corpus callosum.

Methods: Using exome sequencing, we identify MAST3 missense variants in individuals with epilepsy.

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