Publications by authors named "Izawa K"

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an idiopathic acute inflammatory illness that commonly affects children in Northeast Asian countries. In this case report, a psoriasiform eruption appeared on the face and extremities following the onset of KD. A review of previous reports identified 38 cases of psoriasiform eruptions following KD, typically appearing 4 days to 2 months after the onset of KD, unlike other skin manifestations associated with the disease.

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  • Schnitzler syndrome is an adult-onset autoinflammatory condition presenting with a rash, fever, and fatigue, but lacks an approved treatment, prompting this study on canakinumab.
  • In this phase II trial, five patients received a single dose of canakinumab, with the goal of achieving a complete clinical response (CR) and tracking improvements in quality of life and inflammatory markers.
  • The results indicated that 60% of patients achieved CR by Day 7, and all patients demonstrated improvements in inflammation and quality of life, suggesting canakinumab may be beneficial for those with Schnitzler syndrome.
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Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor b2 (Mrgprb2) binding to its cationic endogenous and exogenous ligands induces mast cell degranulation and promotes inflammation in mice. However, the physiological roles of its human homologue MRGPRX2 remain unclear. Here we aimed to elucidate the mechanisms by which MRGPRX2 regulates vascular permeability, and generated MRGPRX2 knock-in (MRGPRX2-KI) and Mrgprb2 knockout (Mrgprb2-KO) mice.

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In recent years, the adverse effects of prolonged sedentary behavior in daily life, so-called 'sitting too much', on health have been pointed out. Sedentary behavior is defined as 'all waking behavior in which the energy expenditure in a sitting, semi-recumbent, or recumbent position is 1.5 metabolic equivalents or less'.

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  • The study explores the prevalence of cachexia, sarcopenia, and malnutrition in older patients with heart failure (HF) using definitions from the Asian Working Group for Cachexia (AWGC) and other criteria, finding that AWGC-defined cachexia was the most common condition.
  • Among the 861 patients analyzed, cachexia was present in 74.1%, while other conditions showed lower prevalence rates.
  • The results indicated that AWGC-defined cachexia was not significantly linked to all-cause mortality in these patients, contrasting with stronger associations found for cachexia according to Evans' criteria, sarcopenia, and malnutrition.
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X-linked NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO) deficiency is a primary immunodeficiency characterized by combined immunodeficiency and ectodermal dysplasia. Monocytes from the patients demonstrate a severely impaired response to tissue necrosis factor or lipopolysaccharide, whereas hyper-inflammation is found in some patients. Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is a pediatric malignancy caused by hypersensitivity to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and aberrant RAS signaling activation.

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Purpose: Newborn screening using dried blood spot (DBS) samples for the targeted measurement of metabolites and nucleic acids has made a substantial contribution to public healthcare by facilitating the detection of neonates with genetic disorders. Here, we investigated the applicability of non-targeted quantitative proteomics analysis to newborn screening for inborn errors of immunity (IEIs).

Methods: DBS samples from 40 healthy newborns and eight healthy adults were subjected to non-targeted proteomics analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry after removal of the hydrophilic fraction.

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  • A study was conducted using data from over 522,000 ischemic stroke (IS) patients in Japan to explore the link between body mass index (BMI) and stroke-related disability.
  • The study found that 60.1% of patients experienced worsening disability during hospitalization, with overweight patients having the best odds of better outcomes at discharge.
  • The analysis revealed a U-shaped relationship between BMI and disability, suggesting that there's an optimal BMI of around 24.7 kg/m² for minimizing stroke-related disability.
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  • Cardiac rehabilitation is essential for preventing further cardiovascular issues, especially in Japan, where reduced hospital stays make outpatient care more critical.
  • A study of 92 Japanese outpatients revealed they spent a lot of time being sedentary (over 11 hours) and very little on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), with significant differences observed between men and women.
  • Findings suggest that customized rehabilitation plans based on factors like sex, age, body mass index (BMI), and anaerobic threshold (AT) could improve rehabilitation outcomes, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches and monitoring of patients' home activities.
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  • * A study examined 131 female patients with X-linked dominant incontinentia pigmenti (IP), finding that 36% produced autoantibodies against IFN-α and/or IFN-ω, significantly higher than age-matched controls.
  • * The presence of these autoantibodies is linked to an abnormally small thymus and predisposes patients to life-threatening viral infections, while those without these autoantibodies do not face the same risk.
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Aim: Recent evidence suggests that acute liver failure (ALF) in some patients may reflect a dysregulated immune response, and that corticosteroids improve survival of the native liver in ALF patients with high serum alanine aminotransferase levels, which are an indication of liver inflammation. However, it is unclear whether steroids are effective for pediatric acute liver failure (PALF). The aim of this retrospective case-control study is to examine whether steroid therapy for PALF accompanied by immune activation improves the survival of native liver and to identify factors that predict responses to steroid treatment.

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In recent years, significant attention has been directed toward advancing compact, point-of-care testing (POCT) devices to better deliver patient care and alleviate the burden on the medical care system. Common POCTs, such as blood oxygen sensors, leverage electrochemical sensing in their design. However, conventional electrochemical devices typically use Ag/AgCl reference electrodes, which are likely to release trace amounts of silver ions that contaminate the working electrode, causing rapid deterioration of the devices.

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Aims: In heart failure (HF), inflammation is linked to malnutrition and impaired physical function. In this study, we aimed to assess how novel nutritional-inflammatory markers and lymphocyte-to-C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) and score (LCS) are associated with the nutritional status, physical function, and prognosis of patients with HF.

Methods And Results: This study was a secondary analysis of the FRAGILE-HF study, a prospective observational study conducted across 15 hospitals in Japan.

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Background: Construction of an intervention method for the cognitive dysfunction of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is needed. Exercise-based comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation is a potentially effective approach that can improve cognitive function in ACS patients. This study aimed to investigate the effect of cardiac rehabilitation on cognitive function in ACS patients through a systematic review.

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Background: Senescence is a cellular aging-related process triggered by different stresses and characterized by the secretion of various inflammatory factors referred to as senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), some of which are produced by the NLRP3 inflammasome. Here, we present evidence that the NLRP1 inflammasome is a DNA damage sensor and a key mediator of senescence.

Methods: Senescence was induced in fibroblasts in vitro and in mice.

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This study aimed to investigate the rate of sedentary behaviour and differences in physical outcomes and activities of daily living (ADL) based on sedentary behaviour time of hospitalized older cardiovascular disease patients undergoing phase I cardiac rehabilitation. Older cardiovascular disease patients were enrolled from October 2020 to September 2023 and were divided into the high sedentary behaviour group (≥ 480 min/day) and low sedentary behaviour group (< 480 min/day). Patients' clinical characteristics, usual gait speed, and Five Times Sit to Stand Test time were compared as indices of physical outcomes.

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  • The study investigates the use of maximum phonation time (MPT) to predict postoperative complications like dysphagia and major cardiovascular events in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
  • It analyzed data from 442 patients, measuring MPT before surgery and assessing complications afterward, finding a correlation between abnormal MPT and higher rates of dysphagia and major adverse events.
  • Results suggest that incorporating MPT in preoperative evaluations could help identify high-risk patients, leading to better management and potentially improved outcomes while reducing healthcare costs.
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Allergic rhinitis (AR) is caused by type I hypersensitivity reaction in the nasal tissues. The interaction between CD300f and its ligand ceramide suppresses immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated mast cell activation. However, whether CD300f inhibits the development of allergic rhinitis (AR) remains elusive.

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  • Frailty in elderly heart failure patients correlates with overall mortality, but specific causes of death remain underexplored, prompting further investigation into multidomain frailty's role.
  • The study analyzed 1,181 hospitalized patients, finding that as frailty increased (measured across physical, social, and cognitive domains), so did the risk of death, particularly from noncardiovascular causes.
  • Results indicated that patients with higher frailty scores (2 or 3 domains) had a significantly increased risk of noncardiovascular death, while the association was not as strong for heart failure or other cardiovascular deaths.
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  • Some diseases called type I interferonopathies happen when our body wrongly senses certain RNA, leading to too much of a chemical called type I interferon.
  • Researchers found that people with these diseases have fewer special immune cells called regulatory T cells.
  • In experiments with mice, they saw that messing with the genes that help control T cells caused big problems in the immune system, like serious autoimmune diseases.
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Background: Although the survival rates of childhood cancer are increasing, children diagnosed as having cancer experience psychological and physical problems and a declining quality of life (QOL).

Methods: A systematic review of PubMed databases was conducted up to September 2023 to identify studies reporting the effects of group exercise intervention in children with cancer. The inclusion criteria were pre-specified, including children aged ≤19 years old who received group exercise intervention and interventional studies written in English.

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Fluorinated solvents have been used as oxygen carriers in closed microbial cultures to sustain aerobic conditions. However, the growth-promoting effects of fluorinated solvents remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which fluorinated solvents promote microbial growth and to explore alternative materials that can be easily isolated after culture.

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Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a self-monitoring intervention to promote an increase in physical activity, as measured by step count, and reduce sedentary behavior in older people covered by the long-term care insurance system (LTCI) in Japan.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial conducted at a daycare center from October 2022 to January 2023. Fifty-two older adults with LTCI who were able to walk with or without aids were assigned to an intervention (n = 26) group and control (n = 26) group.

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