Characteristics of Residual Symptoms After Laminoplasty in Diabetic Patients With Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare cervical laminoplasty outcomes between diabetic and nondiabetic patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), and to characterize residual symptoms of diabetic patients.

Summary Of Background Data: Diabetes is one of the most frequent comorbidities in CSM patients.

Normative data for parameters of sagittal spinal alignment in healthy subjects: an analysis of gender specific differences and changes with aging in 626 asymptomatic individuals.

Purpose: This study aims to establish normative data for parameters of spino-pelvic and spinal sagittal alignment, gender related differences and age-related changes in asymptomatic subjects.

Methods: A total of 626 asymptomatic volunteers from Japanese population were enrolled in this study, including 50 subjects at least for each gender and each decade from 3rd to 8th. Full length, free-standing spine radiographs were obtained.

MYCL is a target of a BET bromodomain inhibitor, JQ1, on growth suppression efficacy in small cell lung cancer cells.

We aimed to elucidate the effect of JQ1, a BET inhibitor, on small cell lung cancers (SCLCs) with MYCL amplification and/or expression. Fourteen SCLC cell lines, including four with MYCL amplification, were examined for the effects of JQ1 on protein and gene expression by Western blot and mRNA microarray analyses. The sensitivity of SCLC cells to JQ1 was assessed by cell growth and apoptosis assays.

Mutation analysis of FGFR1-3 in 11 Japanese patients with syndromic craniosynostoses.

Syndromic craniosynostoses usually occur as single gene disorders. In this study, we analyzed FGFR1-3 genes in four patients with Crouzon syndrome (CS), four patients with Pfeiffer syndrome type 2 (PS-2), one patient with Jackson-Weiss syndrome (JWS), and two patients (sisters) with Muenke syndrome (MS). FGFR2 and FGFR3 mutations were identified in 10 of the 11 patients.

Prognostic and pathophysiological marker for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: Usefulness of diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide at diagnosis.

Background And Objective: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a progressive disease in some patients, despite improved treatments. Microvasculopathy has been implicated in the poor outcomes of patients with CTEPH. A reduction in the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DL ) was previously suggested to indicate microvasculopathy in CTEPH patients; therefore, we assessed DL /alveolar ventilation (DL /V ) as a prognostic and pathophysiological marker in CTEPH.

Severe Pulmonary Arteriopathy Is Associated with Persistent Hypoxemia after Pulmonary Endarterectomy in Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is characterized by occlusion of pulmonary arteries by organized chronic thrombi. Persistent hypoxemia and residual pulmonary hypertension (PH) following successful pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) are clinically important problems; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We have previously reported that residual PH is closely related to severe pulmonary vascular remodeling and hypothesize that this arteriopathy might also be involved in impaired gas exchange.

Comparative Study of Untethering and Spine-Shortening Surgery for Tethered Cord Syndrome in Adults.

Study Design: Retrospective multicenter study.

Objective: Although untethering surgery has been a standard treatment in patients with adult tethered cord syndrome (TCS), spine-shortening osteotomy (SSO) has recently been performed as an alternative technique. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of the two procedures for TCS in adults.

Prospective Comparison of Age- and Sex-related Differences in Quantifiable 10-S Grip and Release and 10-S Step Test Results for Diagnosis of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy in 454 Patients With Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy and 818 Asymptomatic Subjects.

Study Design: A prospective comparison.

Objective: The purpose of this prospective study was to verify the clinical effectiveness of the 10-s grip and release (G&R) and 10-s step quantitative tests for assessing the severity of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and to compare age- and sex-related differences in the results between large cohorts of CSM patients and asymptomatic subjects.

Summary Of Background Data: To determine the severity of CSM, objective and reproducible means of measuring patient disability are essential.

Cellular tagging as a neural network mechanism for behavioural tagging.

Behavioural tagging is the transformation of a short-term memory, induced by a weak experience, into a long-term memory (LTM) due to the temporal association with a novel experience. The mechanism by which neuronal ensembles, each carrying a memory engram of one of the experiences, interact to achieve behavioural tagging is unknown. Here we show that retrieval of a LTM formed by behavioural tagging of a weak experience depends on the degree of overlap with the neuronal ensemble corresponding to a novel experience.

MRI Signal Intensity Classification in Cervical Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament: Predictor of Surgical Outcomes.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Objective: To investigate whether classification of increased signal intensity (ISI) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of spinal cord in patients with cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (C-OPLL) reflects severity of myelopathy and surgical outcome.

Summary Of Background Data: The relationship between classification of ISI on C-OPLL and severity is unknown.

Narrow cervical canal in 1211 asymptomatic healthy subjects: the relationship with spinal cord compression on MRI.

Purpose: Narrow cervical canal (NCC) has been a suspected risk factor for later development of cervical myelopathy. However, few studies have evaluated the prevalence in asymptomatic subjects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of NCC in a large cohort of asymptomatic volunteers.

Novel antiviral activity of bromocriptine against dengue virus replication.

Dengue virus (DENV) infectious disease is a major public health problem worldwide; however, licensed vaccines or specific antiviral drugs against this infection are not available. To identify novel anti-DENV compounds, we screened 1280 pharmacologically active compounds using focus reduction assay. Bromocriptine (BRC) was found to have potent anti-DENV activity and low cytotoxicity (half maximal effective concentration [EC50], 0.

Dengue Virus Reporter Replicon is a Valuable Tool for Antiviral Drug Discovery and Analysis of Virus Replication Mechanisms.

Dengue, the most prevalent arthropod-borne viral disease, is caused by the dengue virus (DENV), a member of the Flaviviridae family, and is a considerable public health threat in over 100 countries, with 2.5 billion people living in high-risk areas. However, no specific antiviral drug or licensed vaccine currently targets DENV infection.

Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury drives a progenitor cell-like phenotype.

Pulmonary vascular endothelial function may be impaired by oxidative stress in endotoxemia-derived acute lung injury. Growing evidence suggests that endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) could play a pivotal role in various respiratory diseases; however, it remains unclear whether EndMT participates in the injury/repair process of septic acute lung injury. Here, we analyzed lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice whose total number of pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (PVECs) transiently decreased after production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), while the population of EndMT-PVECs significantly increased.

Intrathecal morphine for postoperative pain control after laminoplasty in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Objectives: To examine the clinical efficacy of intrathecal morphine as postoperative analgesia for cervical laminoplasty.

Summary Of Background Data: Patients who undergo posterior cervical spinal surgery frequently experience significant postoperative pain. Postoperative pain contributes to patient morbidity because of decreasing early voluntary mobilization and delayed rehabilitation.

Pulmonary haemodynamics are correlated with intimal lesions in a rat model of severe PAH: attenuation of pulmonary vascular remodelling with ambrisentan.

Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by obstructive lesions and vasoconstriction of the pulmonary arteries. Early therapeutic interventions with vasodilator drugs are thought to be beneficial in PAH. However, it remains unknown whether the severity of intimal obstruction is associated with increased pulmonary arterial pressure and whether reduction of vasoconstriction in the earlier stage by these drugs has a beneficial effect.

Combined steroidogenic characters of fetal adrenal and Leydig cells in childhood adrenocortical carcinoma.

Although childhood adrenocortical carcinomas (c-ACCs) with a TP53 mutation are known to produce androgens, detailed steroidogenic characters have not been clarified. Here, we examined steroid metabolite profiles and expression patterns of steroidogenic genes in a c-ACC removed from the left adrenal position of a 2-year-old Brazilian boy with precocious puberty, using an atrophic left adrenal gland removed at the time of tumorectomy as a control. The c-ACC produced not only abundant dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate but also a large amount of testosterone via the Δ5 pathway with Δ5-androstenediol rather than Δ4-androstenedione as the primary intermediate metabolite.

Delayed Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality.

Study Design: A prospective imaging study to develop diagnostic criteria.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate image findings on delayed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after the acute phase of spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA) and their relationship with symptom severity.

Summary Of Background Data: MRI is used to diagnose acute neurological injury, with increased signal intensity (ISI) and prevertebral hyperintensity (PVH) often seen in patients with SCIWORA; however, changes after the acute phase are unclear.

Coagulation-Fibrinolysis System and Postoperative Outcomes of Patients With Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: The postoperative changes in the coagulation-fibrinolysis system and the association between the system and postoperative course of patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) who have undergone pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) remain unclear.

Methods and results: Between 1986 and 2013, 117 patients (55.1±11.

Synaptic and network consequences of monosynaptic nociceptive inputs of parabrachial nucleus origin in the central amygdala.

A large majority of neurons in the superficial layer of the dorsal horn projects to the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPB). LPB neurons then project to the capsular part of the central amygdala (CeA; CeC), a key structure underlying the nociception-emotion link. LPB-CeC synaptic transmission is enhanced in various pain models by using electrical stimulation of putative fibers of LPB origin in brain slices.

Generation of a neutralization-resistant CCR5 tropic simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV-MK38) molecular clone, a derivative of SHIV-89.6.

Previously, we reported that a new genetically diverse CCR5 (R5) tropic simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV-MK38) adapted to rhesus monkeys became more neutralization resistant to SHIV-infected plasma than did the parental SHIV-KS661 clone. Here, to clarify the significance of the neutralization-resistant phenotype of SHIV in a macaque model, we initially investigated the precise neutralization phenotype of the SHIVs, including SHIV-MK38 molecular clones, using SHIV-MK38-infected plasma, a pooled plasma of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals, soluble CD4 and anti-HIV-1 neutralizing mAbs, the epitopes of which were known. The results show that SHIV-KS661 had tier 1 neutralization sensitivity, but monkey-adapted R5 tropic SHIV-MK38 acquired neutralization resistance similar to that of tier 2 or 3 as a clone virus.

Synergistic Effects of ACE Insertion/Deletion and GNB3 C825T Polymorphisms on the Efficacy of PDE-5 Inhibitor in Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: The insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene (ACE) and the C825T polymorphism in the G-protein β3 subunit gene (GNB3) are associated with the efficacy of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE-5I) in erectile dysfunction. In addition, GNB3 genotypes could be associated with clinical worsening in pulmonary hypertension (PH) treated with PDE-5I. However, no studies have described the synergistic effects of gene polymorphisms on drug efficacy in patients with PH.

[A Case of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in the Fat Replacement of the Pancreatic Body and Tail].

A 56 year-old woman with obesity (BMI3 2) and diabetes mellitus was diagnosed with right renal cell carcinoma. She underwent right nephrectomy 1 year ago. Seven months after surgery, CT revealed a rapidly growing mass near the spleen.

[A Case of Disseminated Carcinomatosis of the Bone Marrow with Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Caused by Cecal Cancer Successfully Treated with mFOLFOX6].

Unlabelled: Disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow is often accompanied by disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome (DIC). This condition is rarely caused by colorectal cancer, and there are no established therapies.

Our Case: A 66-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of DIC.