Impact of Orthopedic Surgical Intervention on Difficult-to-Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Propensity Score Matched Study.

Objective: To elucidate the therapeutic effect of orthopedic surgical intervention (OSI) in difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (D2T RA) compared with non-D2T RA.

Methods: A total of 534 recent surgeries were analyzed only in patients who had undergone OSI since 2016 and for whom a 12-month post-operative follow-up was available. D2T RA was determined according to the EULAR definition, and patients with D2T RA were matched to patients with non-D2T RA using propensity scores calculated by a logistic regression analysis.

A higher area under the concentration-time curve/minimum inhibitory concentration target as a potential prognostic factor for vancomycin treatment of methicillin-resistant meningitis: A case report.

The area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) - guided approach is recommended for vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring in severe methicillin-resistant (MRSA) infection. However, evidence regarding the efficacy of vancomycin AUC-guided strategies for the treatment of systemic infections is limited. This case report describes the successful treatment of MRSA meningitis, with vancomycin using a higher AUC/MIC target.

Genome-Wide Association Study with Three Control Cohorts of Japanese Patients with Esotropia and Exotropia of Comitant Strabismus and Idiopathic Superior Oblique Muscle Palsy.

Esotropia and exotropia in the entity of comitant strabismus are multifactorial diseases with both genetic and environmental backgrounds. Idiopathic superior oblique muscle palsy, as the predominant entity of non-comitant (paralytic) strabismus, also has a genetic background, as evidenced by varying degrees of muscle hypoplasia. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted of 711 Japanese patients with esotropia (n= 253), exotropia (n = 356), and idiopathic superior oblique muscle palsy (n = 102).

Human iPSC-derived CD4 Treg-like cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors control GvHD in a xenograft model.

CD4 T cells induced from human iPSCs (iCD4 T cells) offer a therapeutic opportunity for overcoming immune pathologies arising from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, most iCD4 T cells are conventional helper T cells, which secrete inflammatory cytokines. We induced high-level expression of FOXP3, a master transcription factor of regulatory T cells, in iCD4 T cells.