Identification of B.1.346 Lineage of SARS-CoV-2 in Japan: Genomic Evidence of Re-entry of Clade 20C.

SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequencing of samples from COVID-19 patients is useful for informing infection control. Datasets of these genomes assembled from multiple hospitals can give critical clues to regional or national trends in infection. Herein, we report a lineage summary based on data collected from hospitals located in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Head positioning in suspected patients with acute stroke from prehospital to emergency department settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: This study aimed to clarify whether the lying-flat position from prehospital to emergency department settings more effectively improves neurological outcomes of patients suspected with acute stroke over the sitting-up position.

Methods: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Igaku Chuo Zasshi for published randomized controlled trials until September 2019. The study population included patients suspected with acute stroke from prehospital to emergency department settings.

Screening for impaired cognitive domains in a large Parkinson's disease population and its application to the diagnostic procedure for Parkinson's disease dementia.

Background: Dementia is a new focus of research on improved treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD). In 2007, a screening tool for PD dementia (PD-D) was developed by the Movement Disorder Society (Level I testing), which still requires verification by a large population study.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional and multicenter study including 13 institutions administering the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to 304 PD patients (mean age: 70.

CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores as bleeding risk indices for patients with atrial fibrillation: the Bleeding with Antithrombotic Therapy Study.

The CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores, that is, ischemic stroke risk indices for patients having atrial fibrillation (AF), may also be useful as bleeding risk indices. Japanese patients with AF, who routinely took oral antithrombotic agents were enrolled from a prospective, multicenter study. The CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were assessed based on information at entry.

Clinical features and varieties of non-motor fluctuations in Parkinson's disease: a Japanese multicenter study.

Objective: This multicenter cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the clinical features and varieties of non-motor fluctuation in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: To identify motor and non-motor fluctuation, we employed the wearing-off questionnaire of 19 symptoms (WOQ-19) in 464 PD patients. We compared the frequency of levodopa-related fluctuation as identified by the WOQ-19 with recognition by neurologists.

REM sleep behavior disorder in Japanese patients with Parkinson's disease: a multicenter study using the REM sleep behavior disorder screening questionnaire.

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is known to be observed more frequently in patients with an α-synucleinopathy such as Parkinson's disease (PD) than in the general population. The precise prevalence of RBD in Japanese PD patients is not known. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence and the clinical characteristics of patients with RBD in a large population of Japanese patients with PD.

Camptocormia in Japanese patients with Parkinson's disease: a multicenter study.

Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate the prevalence of camptocormia and the clinical characteristics of patients with camptocormia in a large population of PD patients.

Background: Although camptocormia has been recognized as a prominent phenomenon in PD, the previous epidemiological reports were limited, especially in terms of sample size.

Methods: We evaluated 531 PD patients (disease duration: 7.

Blood pressure levels and bleeding events during antithrombotic therapy: the Bleeding with Antithrombotic Therapy (BAT) Study.

Background And Purpose: A prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study was conducted to clarify the association between major bleeding events and blood pressure (BP) levels during follow-up before development of bleeding events in antithrombotic users.

Methods: A total of 4009 patients taking oral antithrombotic agents for cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases (2728 men, 69+/-10 years old) were followed. Changes in systolic and diastolic BPs between entry and the last clinic visit before intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) or extracranial hemorrhage were assessed.

Antithrombotic therapy influences location, enlargement, and mortality from intracerebral hemorrhage. The Bleeding with Antithrombotic Therapy (BAT) Retrospective Study.

Background: To determine whether the use of oral antithrombotic agents before the onset of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) affects hematoma features and early patient outcome.

Methods: A retrospective, multicenter study involving 1,006 consecutive Japanese patients (607 men, 67 +/- 12 years of age) hospitalized within 24 h after the onset of nontraumatic ICH was conducted.

Results: One hundred and eighty patients were taking oral antiplatelet agents (17.

Appropriate data cleaning methods for genome-wide association study.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have successfully been applied to identify genetic variants of common diseases. However, genotyping using the new array technologies is often associated with spurious results that could unfavorably affect analyses of GWAS. Consequently, data cleaning is of paramount importance in excluding spurious genotyping results.

Dual antithrombotic therapy increases severe bleeding events in patients with stroke and cardiovascular disease: a prospective, multicenter, observational study.

Background And Purpose: We sought to determine the incidence and severity of bleeding events in patients with stroke and cardiovascular diseases who were taking oral antithrombotic agents in Japan, where the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke is higher than in Western countries.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted; 4009 patients who were taking oral antithrombotic agents for stroke and cardiovascular diseases were enrolled. The patients were classified into 4 groups according to their antithrombotic treatment: the single antiplatelet agent group (47.

The effect of weekends and holidays on stroke outcome in acute stroke units.

Background And Purpose: In almost all acute stroke units in Japan, staffing level is lower on weekends and holidays and rehabilitative services are provided only on weekdays. We sought to investigate the effects of low-volume care early after stroke resulting from weekends and holidays on the outcome of stroke.

Methods: Patients with completed stroke within 72 h of onset were prospectively registered by 10 acute stroke units in Japan.

Hospital cost of ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage in Japanese stroke centers.

Background: In Japan, the healthcare expenditure has increased to 8.0% of the gross domestic products in 2001. Stroke care is costly.

FK506 abrogates delayed neuronal death via suppression of nitric oxide production in rats.

Background And Purpose: The mechanism of the neuroprotective effect of FK506 in relation to nitric oxide (NO) production has not been clarified in vivo. We have investigated the effect of FK506 on ischemia-induced NO production in association with the pathogenesis of delayed neuronal death (DND) in rats.

Methods: In vivo microdialysis was performed in the hippocampus of male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-350 g).

Subcellular localization of a promoter and an inhibitor of apoptosis (Smac/DIABLO and XIAP) during brain ischemia/reperfusion.

We explored the expression of Smac/DIABLO, a newly identified mitochondrial apoptogenic molecule, and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) in the brain subjected to ischemia/reperfusion. Transient focal ischemia was produced for 1 hour in mice. We observed only a negligible amount of Smac/DIABLO in both mitochondria and cytosol in the normal state.

Temporal profiles of the subcellular localization of Bim, a BH3-only protein, during middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice.

BH3-only proteins are a subfamily of proapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins that act upstream of the mitochondrially mediated cell death pathway, and their association with the pathogenesis of brain ischemia remains largely unknown. The authors explored the temporal profiles of the expression levels and subcellular localization of BH3-only proteins in permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) by Western blot analysis. They observed an increased mitochondrial distribution of Bim at 3 to 6 hours of MCAO that appeared unrelated to transcriptional upregulation, as assessed by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Substrate-dependence of reduction of MTT: a tetrazolium dye differs in cultured astroglia and neurons.

3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction is widely used to evaluate cell proliferation and viability. MTT reduction is interpreted to be indicative of cellular metabolic activity, and the site of reduction includes both mitochondrial and cytosolic redox reactions. Astrocytes are believed to rely mainly on glycolysis for ATP generation, whereas neurons are considered to depend more on oxidative metabolism.