Publications by authors named "Kotaro Makita"

Traumatic carotid artery dissection(TCAD)is often associated with severe traumatic brain injuries and has high rates of morbidity and mortality. Here, we report a case of TCAD that was treated with mechanical thrombectomy followed by carotid artery stenting(CAS). A 50-year-old man suffered from minor facial trauma due to a motorcycle accident and had disturbance of consciousness with left hemiplegia 2 hours after sustaining the injury.

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Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive skin cancer that is highly resistant to chemotherapy. Adjuvant therapy is administered to patients with melanoma that possess no microscopic metastases or have a high risk of developing microscopic metastases. Methylating agents, including dacarbazine (DTIC) and temozolomide (TMZ), pegylated interferon (IFN)‑α2b and interleukin‑2 have been approved for adjuvant immuno‑chemotherapy; however, unsatisfactory results have been reported following the administration of methylating agents.

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Interferon β (IFN-β) is considered a signaling molecule with important therapeutic potential in cancer since IFN-β-induced gene transcription mediates antiproliferation and cell death induction. Whereas, TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand/Apo2 ligand (TRAIL/Apo2L) has emerged as a promising anticancer agent because it induces apoptosis specifically in cancer cells. In this study, we elucidated that IFN-β augments TRAIL-induced apoptosis synergistically using five human malignant melanoma cells.

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Cerebral infarction (CI) caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion exhibits a very high mortality rate. To reduce this rate, a decompressive hemicraniectomy (DHC) is performed clinically based on several randomized trials. In ischemic stroke, a state of malnutrition leads to poor outcomes.

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Ribavirin, a nucleic acid analog, has been employed as an antiviral agent against RNA and DNA viruses and has become the standard agent used for chronic hepatitis C in combination with interferon-α2a. Furthermore, the potential antitumor efficacy of ribavirin has attracted increasing interest. Recently, we demonstrated a dose-dependent antitumor effect of ribavirin for seven types of malignant glioma cell lines.

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