Characteristics and outcomes of subarachnoid hemorrhage from vertebral artery dissection: A comparative study with other non-traumatic etiologies.

Aim: Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is a rare cause of non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with significant clinical implications. This study compared the clinical characteristics and outcomes of SAH from intracranial VAD rupture to those from other etiologies, primarily aneurysmal rupture.

Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study at Okayama University Hospital included patients with non-traumatic SAH diagnosed between 2019 and 2023.

Prevalence of suspected anemia in Japanese young children determined using non-invasive hemoglobin measurements: an observational study.

Recently, non-invasive hemoglobin measurement (SpHb) using Pulse CO-Oximeter Rad-67™ Spot-check (Rad-67) has been validated although anemia diagnosis typically relies on blood hemoglobin concentration measurement. In this large-scale survey of Japanese children aged 1-5 years, we evaluated SpHb distribution to understand the prevalence of suspected anemia, and further examined the relationship between SpHb and background factors. Children were recruited from large retail stores in Japan between November 2022 and August 2023.

Absolute quantification of eight human milk oligosaccharides in breast milk to evaluate their concentration profiles and associations with infants' neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) have been positively associated with child neurodevelopment in some cohort studies. However, there is a lack of consistency in the association between HMOs and benefits to infants' brains. Moreover, the quantification methods for HMOs have not yet been standardized.

Infant Formula with 50% or More of Palmitic Acid Bound to the sn-2 Position of Triacylglycerols Eliminate the Association between Formula-Feeding and the Increase of Fecal Palmitic Acid Levels in Newborns: An Exploratory Study.

The binding ratio of palmitic acid (PA) at the sn-2 position of triacylglycerols in infant formulas is lower than that in breast milk, resulting in higher levels of fecal PA. Even if the ratio is increased to 40-50%, fecal PA levels in formula-fed infants remain higher than those in breast-fed infants. In Japan, infant formulas with 50% or more of PA bound to sn-2 (high sn-2 PA milk) are commercially available; however, their effects on PA excretion have not been investigated.

Inhibition of reactive oxygen species production accompanying alternatively activated microglia by risperidone in a mouse ketamine model of schizophrenia.

Recent studies have highlighted the potential involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and microglia, a major source of ROS, in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In our study, we explored how the second-generation antipsychotic risperidone (RIS) affects ROS regulation and microglial activation in the hippocampus using a mouse ketamine (KET) model of schizophrenia. KET administration resulted in schizophrenia-like behaviors in male C57BL/6J mice, such as impaired prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response and hyper-locomotion.

Predictive factors and treatment outcomes associated with difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis conditions: the ANSWER cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the predictive factors for difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (D2T RA) and assess the efficacy of biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs) and Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi).

Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted on data from the ANSWER cohort comprising 3623 RA patients treated with bDMARDs or JAKi in Japan. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards modelling was used to analyse the hazard ratios (HRs) for treatment retention.

Effect of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Concentration in Human Milk on Neurodevelopmental Outcome: The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study.

(1) Background: Breast milk is the only source of nutrition for breastfed infants, but few studies have examined the relationship between breast milk micronutrients and infant neurodevelopmental outcome in exclusively breastfed infants. The aim of this study was to characterize the association between nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-related compounds in the breast milk of Japanese subjects and infant neurodevelopmental outcome. (2) Methods: A total of 150 mother-child pairs were randomly selected from the three-generation cohort of the Tohoku Medical Megabank in Japan.

Validation of claims-based algorithms for rheumatoid arthritis in Japan: Results from the VALIDATE-J study.

Aim: Validity of Algorithms in Large Databases: Infectious Diseases, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Tumor Evaluation in Japan (VALIDATE-J) study examined algorithms for identifying rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Japanese claims data.

Methods: VALIDATE-J was a multicenter, cross-sectional retrospective study. Disease-identifying algorithms were used to detect RA diagnosed between January 2012 and December 2016 using claims data from two Japanese hospitals.

Resting echocardiographic parameters to detect patients with less symptomatic primary mitral regurgitation who require exercise stress echocardiography.

Objectives: We aimed to identify which resting echocardiographic parameters can detect asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients with primary mitral regurgitation (MR) who require exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) to determine their suitability for surgery.

Methods: We examined 56 consecutive patients with primary moderate/severe MR who underwent ergometer-based ESE. Patients who met the surgical indications at rest were excluded.

Resting echocardiographic parameters can exclude significant coronary artery disease: A comparison with coronary computed tomography angiography.

Introduction: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is known to have a high negative predictive value (NPV) in identifying coronary artery disease (CAD). This study aimed to examine whether resting echocardiographic parameters could exclude significant CAD on CCTA.

Methods: We recruited 142 patients who had undergone both CCTA and echocardiography within a 3-month window.

Validity of claims-based diagnoses for infectious diseases common among immunocompromised patients in Japan.

Background: To validate Japanese claims-based disease-identifying algorithms for herpes zoster (HZ), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), nontuberculous mycobacteria infections (NTM), and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP).

Methods: VALIDATE-J, a multicenter, cross-sectional, retrospective study, reviewed the administrative claims data and medical records from two Japanese hospitals. Claims-based algorithms were developed by experts to identify HZ, MTB, NTM, and PJP cases among patients treated 2012-2016.

IL-6 inhibitors and JAK inhibitors as favourable treatment options for patients with anaemia and rheumatoid arthritis: ANSWER cohort study.

Objectives: Anaemia, a common comorbidity of RA, is related to high disease activity and poor prognosis. It is unknown which biologic/targeted synthetic (b/ts)-DMARDs are optimal for patients with anaemia and RA in regulating anaemia and controlling disease activity.

Methods: We investigated the change in haemoglobin (Hb) levels, drug retention rates and disease activities after the administration of b/ts-DMARDs with different modes of action [TNF inhibitors (TNFis), immunoglobulin fused with cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen (CTLA-4-Ig), IL-6 receptor inhibitors (IL-6Ris) and Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis)] in patients with RA stratified by baseline Hb levels using the multicentre observational registry for patients with RA in Japan (ANSWER cohort).

Altered regulation of oligodendrocytes associated with parvalbumin neurons in the ventral hippocampus underlies fear generalization in male mice.

Fear generalization is a neurobiological process by which an organism interprets a novel stimulus as threatening because of its similarity to previously learned fear-inducing stimuli. Because recent studies have suggested that the communication between oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) and parvalbumin (PV)-expressing GABAergic neurons (PV neurons) may play critical roles in stress-related disorders, we examined the involvement of these cells in fear generalization. We first tested the behavioral characteristics of mouse models for conventional fear conditioning (cFC) and modified FC (mFC) with severe electric foot shocks and found that fear generalization was observed in mice treated with mFC but not in mice treated with cFC.

Absolute quantification of bovine lactadherin to screen the anti-rotavirus activity of dairy ingredients.

The anti-rotavirus components in breast milk and infant formulas play an important role in the prevention of rotavirus infection. The present study examined whether the levels of phospholipids and bovine lactadherin, which are the major components and proteins of the milk fat globule membrane complex, are useful indices of the anti-rotavirus activity of dairy ingredients used in infant formulas. We compared the anti-rotavirus activity of 2 types of dairy ingredients enriched in the milk fat globule membrane complex: high-fat whey protein concentrate (high-fat WPC) and butter milk powder (BMP), using 50% inhibition concentration (IC) and linear inhibition activity to determine levels of solid contents, total proteins, phospholipids, and bovine lactadherin.

Reduction of noise induced by power supply lines using phase-locked loop.

An experimental implementation for the reduction of power-line noise in delicate signal detection is presented. This implementation improves the signal-to-noise ratio without limiting the bandwidth of the measurement. A sinusoidal wave and its harmonics, both synchronized with the frequency of the power line, are used to cancel out the power supply noise induced in the measurement signal.

Laser-driven multi-MeV high-purity proton acceleration via anisotropic ambipolar expansion of micron-scale hydrogen clusters.

Multi-MeV high-purity proton acceleration by using a hydrogen cluster target irradiated with repetitive, relativistic intensity laser pulses has been demonstrated. Statistical analysis of hundreds of data sets highlights the existence of markedly high energy protons produced from the laser-irradiated clusters with micron-scale diameters. The spatial distribution of the accelerated protons is found to be anisotropic, where the higher energy protons are preferentially accelerated along the laser propagation direction due to the relativistic effect.

Identification of hyper-ramified microglia in the CA1 region of the mouse hippocampus potentially associated with stress resilience.

Recent studies have indicated that some individuals are less affected by stress, and such individuals are called resilient. This study aimed to determine whether the specific phenotype of microglia might be involved in resilience using the social defeat stress paradigm. Male C57BL/6J (B6) mice were attacked by aggressive male ICR mice for five consecutive days.

Add-on effectiveness of methotrexate or iguratimod in patients with rheumatoid arthritis exhibiting an inadequate response to Janus kinase inhibitors: The ANSWER cohort study.

Objectives: This multicenter, retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness of add-on methotrexate (MTX) or iguratimod (IGU) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis exhibiting an inadequate response to Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis).

Methods: Forty-five patients were treated with new additional MTX (n = 22) or IGU (n = 23) and followed for 6 months. Patients' background is as follows: age, 59.

Assessing the need for a question prompt list that encourages end-of-life discussions between patients with advanced cancer and their physicians: A focus group interview study.

Objective: Early integration of palliative and cancer care improves the quality of life and is facilitated by discussions about the end of life after cessation of active cancer treatment between patients with advanced cancer and their physicians. However, both patients and physicians find end-of-life discussions challenging. The aim of this study was to assess the need for a question prompt list (QPL) that encourages end-of-life discussions between patients with advanced cancer and their physicians.

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan is a potential target of memantine to improve cognitive function via the promotion of adult neurogenesis.

Background And Purpose: Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) constitutes the neurogenic niche in the hippocampus. The reduction of hippocampal neurogenesis is involved in ageing-related cognitive decline and dementia. The purpose of this study is to find candidates that improve cognitive function by analysing the effects of memantine (MEM), a therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's disease, on CSPG and adult hippocampal neurogenesis.