Diagnostic and Prognostic Significance of Serum Levels of SeP (Selenoprotein P) in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension.

Objective: Despite the recent progress in upfront combination therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), useful biomarkers for the disorder still remain to be developed. SeP (Selenoprotein P) is a glycoprotein secreted from various kinds of cells including pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells to maintain cellular metabolism. We have recently demonstrated that SeP production from pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells is upregulated and plays crucial roles in the pathogenesis of PAH.

Occult carcinoma confirmed to be a diffuse sclerosing variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma with unusual immunohistochemical features: A pitfall of clinicopathological diagnosis.

Immunocytochemistry in a 78-year-old man diagnosed as having systemic metastatic cancer of unknown primary origin revealed atypical cells positive for napsin A and TTF-1, suggesting adenocarcinoma of the lung. However, there was no evidence of a primary lesion in the lung on positron emission tomography/computed tomography or at autopsy. Meanwhile, both the left and right thyroid lobes were firm and grayish white with marked fibrosis.

Chemical Properties and Nutritional Value of Plant-Origin Glucosylceramide.

Glucosylceramide (GlcCer), a representative sphingolipid in cell membranes of plants and fungi, is known to have certain benefits, such as prevention of intestinal impairment and improved skin moisturizing, when consumed. Recently, incidence rates of intestinal impairments have increased in East Asian countries due to changes of people's diet and life style. Therefore, the occurrence of these impairments needs to be prevented through dietary improvement and supplements containing GlcCer.

Cyclophilin A as a biomarker for the therapeutic effect of balloon angioplasty in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Although cardiac troponin and natriuretic peptide have been shown to decrease after balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) with improved right ventricular afterload in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), biomarkers to evaluate the effects of BPA independently of heart failure status remain to be developed.

Methods: In 39 consecutive CTEPH patients including 31 who underwent BPA, we measured plasma levels of cyclophilin A (CyPA), which we demonstrated is secreted from pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells in response to mechanical stretch and hypoxia.

Results: CyPA levels were elevated in CTEPH patients (12.

ADAMTS8 Promotes the Development of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Right Ventricular Failure: A Possible Novel Therapeutic Target.

Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by pulmonary vascular remodeling with aberrant pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) proliferation, endothelial dysfunction, and extracellular matrix remodeling.

Objective: Right ventricular (RV) failure is an important prognostic factor in PAH. Thus, we need to elucidate a novel therapeutic target in both PAH and RV failure.

Identification of Emetine as a Therapeutic Agent for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Novel Effects of an Old Drug.

Objective: Excessive proliferation and apoptosis resistance are special characteristics of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the drugs in clinical use for PAH target vascular dilatation, which do not exert adequate effects in patients with advanced PAH. Here, we report a novel therapeutic effect of emetine, a principal alkaloid extracted from the root of ipecac clinically used as an emetic and antiprotozoal drug.

Left ventricular assist device implantation in an adult male with Danon disease.

Danon disease is an extremely rare inherited disorder characterized by cardiac involvement, myopathy, and intellectual disability. As patients with Danon disease die at an early age, mainly as a result of cardiac involvement, implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and/or heart transplantation are essential options. However, various comorbidities associated with Danon disease should be assessed when these patients are being considered as potential heart transplant candidates.

Clinical Features, Molecular Genetics, and Long-Term Outcome in Congenital Chloride Diarrhea: A Nationwide Study in Japan.

Objective: To clarify clinical and genetic features of Japanese children with congenital chloride diarrhea (CCD).

Study Design: This was a multi-institutional, retrospective survey of 616 pediatric centers in Japan with identified patients with CCD between 2014 and 2018. Mutations involving SLC26A3 were detected by Sanger sequencing.

Sawtooth fetal heart rate pattern associated with a favorable neurological outcome in an infant: a case report.

Background: The sawtooth fetal heart rate pattern is rare, and has been reported as a possible indicator of neurological sequelae in newborns. However, we observed this fetal heart rate pattern in an infant with normal neurological function.

Case Presentation: A 29-year-old primigravida Japanese woman presented to our hospital at 40 weeks and 1 day of gestation with marked vaginal bleeding.

Trophoblast type-specific expression of senescence markers in the human placenta.

Objectives: Cell senescence is irreversible cell cycle arrest. The human placenta is a unique organ that grows and matures during pregnancy until 40 weeks of gestation. However, the role of senescence in placental villi, particularly in the two types of trophoblast, has not yet been elucidated in detail.

Successful Management of Acute Congestive Heart Failure by Emergent Caesarean Section Followed by Adrenalectomy in a Pregnant Woman with Cushing's Syndrome-induced Cardiomyopathy.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is rare during pregnancy. We herein report a 35-year-old woman who developed CHF with severe left ventricular dysfunction at 35 weeks' gestation. She underwent emergency Caesarean section followed by intensive-care treatment for CHF.

Application of deep learning (3-dimensional convolutional neural network) for the prediction of pathological invasiveness in lung adenocarcinoma: A preliminary study.

To compare results for radiological prediction of pathological invasiveness in lung adenocarcinoma between radiologists and a deep learning (DL) system.Ninety patients (50 men, 40 women; mean age, 66 years; range, 40-88 years) who underwent pre-operative chest computed tomography (CT) with 0.625-mm slice thickness were included in this retrospective study.

Identification of Celastramycin as a Novel Therapeutic Agent for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by enhanced proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) accompanying increased production of inflammatory factors and adaptation of the mitochondrial metabolism to a hyperproliferative state. However, all the drugs in clinical use target pulmonary vascular dilatation, which may not be effective for patients with advanced PAH.

Objective: We aimed to discover a novel drug for PAH that inhibits PASMC proliferation.

Extraction of Lipophilic Fraction from Polished Rice Improves Its Ameliorative Effect on Intestinal Impairment.

Glucosylceramide (GlcCer), a major sphingolipid in plants and fungi, is known to have food functions such as preventing intestinal impairment and enhancing the moisture content of skin. However, there is little information about functions of GlcCer in food sources as most of the studies on GlcCer functions are done using purified GlcCer. This study was performed to investigate the effects of GlcCer contained in food on intestinal impairment; polished rice flour (RF) and this ethanol extract (RE) were used as sources of GlcCer, and these were evaluated by studying the formation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-treated mice, which is a model of colon cancer.

Two new brominated C-acetogenins from the red alga .

We report on the chemical characteristics of the red alga , collected off the coast of Yoshio, Katsuura, Boso Peninsula, Japan. We isolated two new brominated C-acetogenins in this species, which we name katsuurenyne A () and katsuurenyne B (), along with two already known halogenated terpenes [2,10-dibromo-3-chloro-α-chamigrene () and aplysiadiol ()]. We extensively analysed spectral data (from IR, ESI-MS, 1D-NMR and 2D-NMR) to confirm the structure of these compounds.

Relationship between hemoglobin levels and vancomycin clearance in patients with sepsis.

Purpose: It is important to accurately estimate accurate vancomycin (VCM) clearance (CLvcm) for appropriate VCM dosing in the treatment of patients with sepsis. However, the pathophysiology of sepsis can make CLvcm prediction less accurate. Clearance of hydrophilic antibiotics is disturbed by organ dysfunction, and hemoglobin levels are negatively correlated with sequential organ function assessment scores.

Clinical characteristics of hospitalized heart failure patients with preserved, mid-range, and reduced ejection fractions in Japan.

Aims: There are regional differences in the patient characteristics, management, and outcomes of hospitalized patients with heart failure (HF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of Japanese patients who are hospitalized with HF on the basis of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) stratum.

Methods And Results: We retrospectively conducted a multicentre cohort study of 1245 hospitalized patients with decompensated HF between 2013 and 2014.

Metformin monotherapy in children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japan.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of metformin monotherapy for 52 weeks, including 24 weeks of treatment and a 28-week extension period for evaluation of long-term safety, in 37 Japanese pediatric patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Research Design And Methods: This study design was an open-label, non-randomized, multicenter trial. The primary effectiveness endpoint was the changes from baseline to the final visit at 24 weeks in HbA1c.

Association between adolescent pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes, a multicenter cross sectional Japanese study.

We aimed to clarify how maternal physical characteristics explains the association between adolescent pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes, focusing on their height. We used a national multicenter-based delivery registry among 30,831 women under age 25 years with a singleton pregnancy between 2005 and 2011. Adolescent pregnancy was defined as younger than 20 years of age, and categorized into "junior adolescent" (aged ≤15 years) and "senior adolescent" (aged 16-19 years).