Neural substrates underlying distinct dual cognitive syndromes in Parkinson's disease.

Background: A dual-syndrome hypothesis, which states the cognitive impairments in Parkinson's disease (PD) are attributable to frontostriatal dopaminergic dysregulation and cortical disturbance-each associated with attention/executive and memory/visuospatial dysfunction, respectively-has been widely accepted. This multisystem contribution also underlies highly heterogeneous progression rate to dementia.

Methods: Nondemented PD patients who underwent [I]N-ω-fluoropropyl-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl) nortropane ([I]FP-CIT) SPECT and neuropsychological examinations were enrolled.

Delineating three distinct spatiotemporal patterns of brain atrophy in Parkinson's disease.

The clinical manifestation of Parkinson's disease exhibits significant heterogeneity in the prevalence of non-motor symptoms and the rate of progression of motor symptoms, suggesting that Parkinson's disease can be classified into distinct subtypes. In this study, we aimed to explore this heterogeneity by identifying a set of subtypes with distinct patterns of spatiotemporal trajectories of neurodegeneration. We applied Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn), an unsupervised machine learning algorithm that combined disease progression modelling with clustering methods, to cortical and subcortical neurodegeneration visible on 3 T structural MRI of a large cross-sectional sample of 504 patients and 279 healthy controls.

Involvement of the basal forebrain and hippocampus in memory deficits in Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-determined atrophy of the nucleus basalis of Meynert (Ch4) predicts cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, interactions with other brain regions causing the decline remain unclear. This study aimed to describe how MRI-determined Ch4 atrophy leads to cognitive decline in patients with PD.

Frontoparietal-Striatal Network and Nucleus Basalis Modulation in Patients With Parkinson Disease and Gait Disturbance.

Background And Objectives: Neural computations underlying gait disorders in Parkinson disease (PD) are multifactorial and involve impaired expression of stereotactic locomotor patterns and compensatory recruitment of cognitive functions. This study aimed to clarify the network mechanisms of cognitive contribution to gait control and its breakdown in patients with PD.

Methods: Patients with PD were instructed to walk at a comfortable pace on a mat with pressure sensors.

Motor Progression and Nigrostriatal Neurodegeneration in Parkinson Disease.

Objective: The motor severity in Parkinson disease (PD) is believed to parallel dopaminergic terminal degeneration in the striatum, although the terminal was reported to be virtually absent by 4 years postdiagnosis. Meanwhile, neuromelanin-laden dopamine neuron loss in the substantia nigra (SN) elucidated a variability at early stages and gradual loss with less variability 10 years postdiagnosis. Here, we aimed to clarify the correlation between motor impairments and striatal dopaminergic terminal degeneration and nigral neuromelanin-laden dopamine neuron loss at early to advanced stages of PD.

β-Glycyrrhetinic acid inhibits the bacterial growth and biofilm formation by supragingival plaque commensals.

β-Glycyrrhetinic acid (BGA) is a natural antibacterial agent. Previous studies reported that BGA has antibacterial effects against several bacteria. This study evaluated the effects of BGA on the regulation of supragingival plaque bacteria.

Noise-induced scaling in skull suture interdigitation.

Sutures, the thin, soft tissue between skull bones, serve as the major craniofacial growth centers during postnatal development. In a newborn skull, the sutures are straight; however, as the skull develops, the sutures wind dynamically to form an interdigitation pattern. Moreover, the final winding pattern had been shown to have fractal characteristics.

The therapeutic effects of bronchial thermoplasty evaluated by cardiopulmonary exercise testing : a case series.

Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) had been reported to improve the symptoms of severe asthma. However, the exertional responses of BT based on the mechanisms have not been elucidated. A 57-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman underwent BT due to intractable severe asthma.

Evaluation of disease severity in bronchiectasis using impulse oscillometry.

Although the diagnostic value of impulse oscillometry (IOS) in bronchiectasis for the differential diagnosis of healthy subjects has been researched, the usefulness of each IOS parameter for predicting disease severity in bronchiectasis has not been thoroughly investigated. In addition, the usefulness of IOS in patients with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection has not been reported. This study aimed to determine the predictive significance of respiratory impedance and detect the other most significant IOS parameters for predicting disease severity in bronchiectasis patients and to validate the usefulness of IOS in patients with NTM infection.

Intolerance to and limitations of inspiratory muscle training in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A report of two cases.

Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been attracting attention as one of the useful treatments in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). IMT is reportedly effective in most patients with COPD. However, little is known about the benefits of IMT, especially in patients with advanced COPD.

Diagnostic Validity of Gastric Aspirate Culture in Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease.

Although gastric aspirate culture is used for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis, its usefulness in diagnosing pulmonary infections of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is unknown. To investigate the diagnostic validity of gastric aspirate culture for acid-fast bacilli in NTM pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). Gastric aspirates were collected from patients with suspected NTM-PD at the Osaka Toneyama Medical Center between December 2006 and February 2018.

Managing COPD with expiratory or inspiratory pressure load training based on a prolonged expiration pattern.

Background: Exertional prolonged expiration should be identified as a therapeutic target in COPD. The efficacy of expiratory or inspiratory pressure load training (EPT/IPT) based on the degree of prolonged expiration was investigated.

Methods: A total of 21 patients with COPD were divided into two groups according to the exertional change in the inspiratory duty cycle ( /tot).

Evaluation of Exertional Ventilatory Parameters Using Oscillometry in COPD.

Background: Oscillometry is a tool to measure respiratory impedance that requires minimal patients' effort. In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the correlation of respiratory impedance at rest with exertional ventilatory parameters, including exercise tolerance, has scarcely been reported. In addition, the utility of oscillometric parameters might differ between the inspiratory and expiratory phases due to airflow obstruction during expiration, but the hypothesis had not been validated.

The impact of adjuvant surgical treatment of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease on prognosis and outcome.

Background: Lung resection in patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) has been reported to be associated with favorable outcomes. However, little is known regarding the risk and prognostic factors for refractory and recurrent cases. We aimed to evaluate the overall impact and benefit of adjuvant lung surgery by comparing NTM-PD patients who underwent adjuvant lung resection with those treated exclusively with antibiotics.

Long-Term Treatment Outcome of Progressive Complex Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Multidrug therapy is essential for preventing respiratory failure in patients with highly progressive complex pulmonary disease (MAC-PD). However, the prognosis and long-term outcome following combination therapy is poorly understood.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes in patients with chemo-naïve progressive MAC-PD, hospitalized for first-line multidrug therapy.

Acute lung injury after plasma exchange in a patient with anti-MDA5 antibody-positive, rapidly progressive, interstitial lung disease：A case report.

The presence of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 antibody (anti-MDA5 Ab) is closely associated with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) in patients with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis. Despite intensive immunosuppressive therapies, some of these patients still have a poor prognosis with few treatment options. Although removal of pathogenic autoantibodies and cytokines by plasma exchange (PE) could be a treatment option, its safety and efficacy have never been determined.

Characteristic chest CT findings for progressive cavities in Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Although cavities are an important finding in Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease (MAC-PD), there is little information regarding the types of cavities that indicate disease progression. This study was performed to identify cavity characteristics that were associated with disease progression in patients with MAC-PD.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 97 patients presenting with MAC-PD with cavities between December 2006 and June 2016.

A phase II, open-label clinical trial on the combination therapy with medium-chain triglycerides and ghrelin in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of activated ghrelin with dietary octanoic acids or medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) administration to underweight patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Eleven severe and very severe COPD patients received a 5-day treatment with edible MCT. Sequentially, 10 patients received a 3-week combination treatment with MCT and intravenous acyl ghrelin.

[A case of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, with slowly progressive bulbar palsy, mimicking a motor neuron disease].

A 52-year old woman first noted dysphagia four months before admission followed by dysarthria two months later. She then developed weakness of all limbs and became unable to walk. All these symptoms, associated with tongue atrophy, slowly progressed, leading to the initial clinical impression of a motor neuron disease, although her nerve conduction study and electromyography showed no abnormalities.

Improvement of exertional dyspnea and breathing pattern of inspiration to expiration after bronchial thermoplasty.

Background: Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a bronchoscopic treatment that can ameliorate the symptoms of severe asthma. However, little is known about the mechanism by which BT improves exertional dyspnea without significantly changing the resting pulmonary function in asthmatics. To understand the mechanism, cardiopulmonary variables were investigated using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in a patient with severe asthma before and after BT.

[A case of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis presenting progressive myopathy with tubular aggregates].

A 33-year-old man admitted to our hospital for the evaluation of progressive muscular atrophy of his left lower leg. From his childhood, he had suffered from transient attacks of limb paralysis and myalgia lasting about 1 hour. At age 30, the muscle weakness and atrophy of his left lower leg emerged and progressed gradually.

Dyspnea and the Varying Pathophysiologic Manifestations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Evaluated by Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing With Arterial Blood Analysis.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) show varying mechanisms of exertional dyspnea with different exercise capacities. To investigate the pathophysiologic conditions related to exertional dyspnea, 294 COPD patients were evaluated using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) with arterial blood analyses, with the patients classified into two groups according to their exercise limitation: the leg fatigue group ( = 58) and the dyspnea group ( = 215). The dyspnea group was further subdivided into four groups based on peak oxygen uptake ( in mL/min/kg): group A (< 11), group B (11 to < 15), group C (15 to < 21), and group D (≥21).