Preoperative concurrent endocrine therapy with chemotherapy in luminal B-like breast cancer.

Purpose: Luminal B-like breast cancer is sensitive to both chemotherapy and endocrine therapy. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of concomitant chemotherapy and endocrine therapy compared with chemotherapy alone in the preoperative setting in luminal B-like breast cancer.

Methods: This two-arm randomized clinical trial enrolled patients with luminal B-like human epithelial growth factor 2-negative breast cancer, who were randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to receive preoperative chemotherapy alone or preoperative endocrine therapy concurrent with chemotherapy for 24 weeks before surgery.

Removal Characteristics of Immunoadsorption With the Immusorba TR-350 Column Using Conventional and Selective Plasma Separators.

In Japan, immunoadsorption (IA) is performed using a conventional plasma separator and Immusorba TR-350 column (TR-350) for the treatment of neurological immune diseases. By this method, TR-350 has the limited maximal capacity of the immunoglobulin G (IgG) adsorption, and fibrinogen (Fbg) is reduced remarkably. Evacure EC-4A10 (EC-4A) is a selective plasma separator and the sieving coefficients of IgG and Fbg using EC-4A were 0.

A sodium channel myotonia due to a novel SCN4A mutation accompanied by acquired autoimmune myasthenia gravis.

Mutations of the voltage gated sodium channel gene (SCN4A) are responsible for non-dystrophic myotonia including hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, paramyotonia congenita, and sodium channel myotonia, as well as congenital myasthenic syndrome. In vitro functional analyses have demonstrated the non-dystrophic mutants to show a gain-of-function defect of the channel; a disruption of fast inactivation, an enhancement of activation, or both, while the myasthenic mutation presents a loss-of function defect. This report presents a case of non-dystrophic myotonia that is incidentally accompanied with acquired myasthenia.

[An 80-year-old woman with progressive stroke, who had rheumatoid arthritis and antiphospholipid syndrome].

We report an 80-year-old woman who had rheumatoid arthritis and antiphospholipid syndrome. She was treated for rheumatoid arthritis since her thirties. At 76 years of age, she was diagnosed antiphospholipid syndrome serologically.

Percutaneous sclerotherapy for intractable external biliary fistula after hepatectomy.

A 59-year-old man was diagnosed with cholangitis and a liver abscess caused by intrahepatic stones and underwent a hepatectomy of the left lobe and a side-to-side hepaticojejunostomy. After the operation, the patient developed an intractable external biliary fistula in the left remnant medial region. For the purpose of closing the fistula as a conservative treatment, an injection of 95% dehydrated ethanol was started after confirming the absence of any communication with the central bile duct; 1.

[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis presented with alexia of kanji and word meaning aphasia].

We report a 63-year-old right-handed Japanese man with progressive bulbar dysfunction and alexia of kanji (Japanese morphograms). He was well until his 62 years of age, when he noted difficulty of reading kanji, which was followed by disturbances in his speech. Reading of kana (Japanese phonograms) was preserved.

[A case of brachial plexus neuropathy who presented with acute paralysis of the hand after sleep].

We report a 46-year-old woman who presented with acute paresis of the right hand and arm. She was well until when she noted a paresis and dysesthesia in her right hand in the morning. Neurological examination revealed weakness in the muscles which were supplied by lower cervical segments, with increased deep tendon reflexes in the right arm.