Publications by authors named "Kakumoto T"

Article Synopsis
  • - Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes issues with the autonomic nervous system and can result in symptoms like cerebellar ataxia or parkinsonism.
  • - In this study, researchers looked at the frequency of expanded GAA repeats in a gene called FGF14 among 548 MSA patients, 476 individuals with unexplained ataxia, and 455 healthy people, finding a very low incidence in MSA cases.
  • - Despite one MSA patient having the GAA repeat, their symptoms did not align with spinocerebellar ataxia type 27B (SCA27B), suggesting a need for further investigation into the connection between GAA repeats and
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Objective: Extended reality (XR) technology using head-mounted devices enables the operator to visu-alise anatomical structures. We aimed to investigate student perceptions regarding applying XR simu-lation for transferring endodontic educational information between a lecturer in Japan and students in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: In this study, the students engaged with an XR simulation system and viewed teeth in virtual reality (VR).

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Longitudinally extensive myelitis with 15 or more vertebrae in length is extremely rare, with limited evidence regarding clinical features and therapeutic response. We report a case of a 29-year-old male patient with extremely longitudinally extensive myelitis ultimately diagnosed as myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated disease (MOGAD). The patient presented with an acute onset of meningismus, limb weakness, sensory disturbance below the C5 level, ataxia, and urinary retention.

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Intensive immunosuppression has enabled liver transplantation even in recipients with preformed donor-specific antibodies (DSA), an independent risk factor for graft rejection. However, these recipients may also be at high risk of progressive multifocal encephalopathy (PML) due to the comorbid immunosuppressed status. A 58-year-old woman presented with self-limited focal-to-bilateral tonic-clonic seizures 9 months after liver transplantation.

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  • This study investigates the use of cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light chain (cNfL) as a biomarker for detecting and monitoring cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) in patients.
  • Results show that cNfL levels are significantly higher in CALD patients compared to those with adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), and specific cNfL thresholds can effectively differentiate between these forms of ALD.
  • Additionally, cNfL levels correlate well with disease severity and response to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), suggesting its potential as a valuable tool for monitoring ALD progression and treatment efficacy.
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Copper deficiency (CD) is a rare complication of long-term treatment of Wilson's disease (WD) and is usually accompanied by high serum zinc levels. A 57-year-old woman with WD presented with limb weakness and sensory disturbance due to myeloneuropathy and macrocytic anemia after 36 years of treatment. Markedly reduced serum free copper values confirmed CD, which was considered to be caused by progressive dysphagia and severe diarrhea rather than zinc overdose because of the normal serum zinc levels.

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Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are autoimmune diseases predominantly affecting proximal muscles; paraspinal muscle involvement is relatively rare. Because paraspinal myopathies do not always cause clinically evident symptoms, the diagnosis of IIMs with axial myopathies can be challenging. Anti-Ku autoantibodies, initially reported in polymyositis/systemic sclerosis overlap syndrome, are myositis-associated antibodies observed in patients with a wide variety of connective tissue diseases.

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The clinical characteristics of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain unclear due to the small number of cases. We herein report a case of a Japanese patient with post-COVID-19 GBS who presented with facial and limb muscle weakness, sensory deficits, and autonomic dysfunction. Nerve conduction studies revealed demyelination.

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Unlabelled: Intraoral periapical (PA) radiography is commonly used for measuring the remaining crestal bone height when implants are treatment planned in the maxillary posterior region. A major drawback of conventional radiographs is that a 3-dimensional (3D) entity is compressed and superimposed on itself into a 2-dimensional (2D) image, which is often distorted. Conversely, 3D information can be extracted from computerized tomography.

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We report a patient with asymmetric Bálint's syndrome (predominantly right-sided oculomotor apraxia and simultanagnosia and optic ataxia for the right hemispace), and multimodal agnosia (apperceptive visual agnosia and bilateral associative tactile agnosia) with accompanying right hemianopia, bilateral agraphesthesia, hemispatial neglect, global alexia with unavailable kinesthetic reading, and lexical agraphia for kanji (Japanese morphograms), after hemorrhage in the left parieto-occipito-temporal area. The coexistence of tactile agnosia, bilateral agraphesthesia, and ineffective kinesthetic reading suggests that tactile-kinesthetic information can be interrupted because of damage to the fiber connection from the parietal lobe to the occipito-temporal area, leading to these tactually related cognitive impairments.

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Article Synopsis
  • A 75-year-old man with undiagnosed sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) experienced exacerbated symptoms after receiving pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy for cancer.
  • His condition, characterized by progressive limb weakness and elevated creatine kinase (CK) levels, was confirmed through neurological examinations and muscle biopsy.
  • The case highlights the need for screening for sIBM in patients with unexplained muscle weakness before starting ICI therapy, as this can help avoid complications and optimize treatment plans.
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  • * A 72-year-old man on nivolumab developed RHS followed by acute ataxic sensory neuropathy after 13 treatment rounds, showing some improvement with antivirals and corticosteroids but significant recovery after receiving intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg).
  • * This case highlights the diverse neurological effects of nivolumab and suggests that IVIg may be an effective treatment option for sensory neuropathies related to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies in cancer patients.
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Wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (WEBINO) syndrome has previously been reported in only 2 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Herein, we report a third case of WEBINO syndrome with PSP. The patient was an 81-year-old man who had experienced gradually increasing gait disturbance and occasional falls since the age of 78 years.

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The diagnosis of longus colli tendinitis (LCT) is sometimes challenging, especially when laboratory data show marked inflammation and neuroimaging studies do not indicate calcification within the tendon of the longus colli muscles. We herein report a case of LCT that presented with elevated inflammation parameters without calcification on imaging. Findings characteristic of LCT, such as prevertebral hyperintensity areas on T2-weighted images and no signs of purulent diseases, informed our diagnosis of LCT.

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Ca(2+) signals are highly regulated in a spatiotemporal manner in numerous cellular physiological events. Here we report a genetically engineered blue light-activated Ca(2+) channel switch (BACCS), as an optogenetic tool for generating Ca(2+) signals. BACCS opens Ca(2+)-selective ORAI ion channels in response to light.

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Article Synopsis
  • PIP3 is a crucial signaling molecule in neurons, but its local dynamics and functions during development are not well understood due to limited manipulation techniques.
  • Researchers combined optogenetics and observation to study PIP3 in mouse hippocampal neurons, discovering it was abundant in growth cone structures but did not promote neurite elongation.
  • By developing a PI3K photoswitch, they induced local PIP3 production, leading to the formation of filopodia and lamellipodia, while also finding that endocytosis influences PIP3 levels at the membranes.
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The reaction of (S)-alpha-(1-hydroxyalkyl)vinyl sulfoxides (S)-5 with alkyl radicals and tributyltin hydride gave the addition-hydrogenation products with high diastereoselectivity, whereas the reaction with (R)-alpha-(1-hydroxyalkyl)vinyl sulfoxides (R)-5 resulted in complete recovery of the starting sulfoxides. Stereoselective intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the hydroxy group and the diastereotopic sulfonyl oxygen led to high diastereoselectivity in the radical reaction of alpha-(1-hydroxyethyl)vinyl sulfone 12. An important role of intramolecular hydrogen bonding on the diastereoselectivity as well as the reactivity toward alkyl radicals is discussed.

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Reactions of alpha-sulfinyl carbanions, derived from p-tolyl sulfoxides bearing various alkyl groups, with various electrophiles were examined. The reaction of alpha-sulfinyl carbanions, derived from the beta-silylethyl sulfoxides, with ketones or trimethyl phosphate, gave the syn products with high stereoselectivity. Interaction between the silicon in the trialkylsilyl group and the carbonyl oxygen in nucleophiles was postulated to stabilize the transition state, leading preferably to the syn diastereisomers.

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