Publications by authors named "Jun-Ichi Sugihara"
Article Synopsis
- Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is a serious complication often seen in viral infections like Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV), especially in patients taking TNF-alpha inhibitors.
- A case study of a 23-year-old man highlights the diagnosis of HPS caused by EBV and CMV when he showed significant symptoms while on adalimumab, an anti-TNFα medication, with treatment delaying a potential fatal outcome.
- It is recommended that healthcare providers screen for EBV and CMV in patients on anti-TNFα inhibitors who present with unexplained fevers and elevated liver enzymes to ensure timely treatment of HPS.
Aim: Although interferon (IFN)/ribavirin is the mainstream combination treatment for chronic hepatitis C in patients with a high viral load, ribavirin is problematic for women of childbearing age and patients with anemia. Therefore we needed to establish a new regimen without ribavirin.
Methods: We devised a new regimen (same-day beta/alpha2b) to administer IFN-beta and alpha2b on the same-day, and compared it with IFN-alpha2b alone and IFN-alpha2b plus ribavirin.
To evaluate the predictive value of early virologic response (EVR) of achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR), an open, prospective trial including 42 patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b was performed with directly observed 24-week treatment with interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin. We assessed the predictive values of EVR at days 3, 7, 14, and weeks 4, 8, and 12 of the SVR. The SVR in an intention-to-treat analysis was 19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In patients with chronic liver disease (CLD), quality of life is generally accepted as poor, especially for physical function. However, sufficient data regarding erectile function has not been shown in patients with CLD. The international index of erectile function (IIEF) is widely used to assess erectile function, and a short form of the IIEF was recently developed (IIEF-5).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: We assessed the usefulness of the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) and electroencephalogram (EEG) in the prediction and early detection of psychoneurological symptoms associated with interferon (IFN) therapy for chronic viral hepatitis.
Methods: Forty-eight consecutive patients received IFN for chronic viral hepatitis for 8-24 weeks. CMI was measured before IFN therapy.
Background: In an attempt to optimize oral branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) administration to improve serum albumin in cirrhotic patients, we compared the effects of nocturnal and daytime BCAA administration on protein metabolism in cirrhotic patients.
Methods: Twelve cirrhotic patients were enrolled in a short-term study. Patients were administered either conventional daytime BCAA granule or nocturnal BCAA for a week, and metabolic analyses were performed, followed by a crossover study in the next week.