C5 pure motor spinal cord injury: A case with a rare manifestation of cervical spinal cord injury.

We report an extremely rare case showing a fifth cervical spine (C5) level pure motor cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). A 55-year-old-man lost consciousness and fell into a bathtub. Immediately after regaining consciousness, the patient had right arm drop alone.

Visualization of walking speed variation-induced synchronized dynamic changes in lower limb joint angles and activity of trunk and lower limb muscles with a newly developed gait analysis system.

Purpose: To evaluate a newly developed system for dynamic analysis of gait kinematics and muscle activity.

Methods: We recruited 10 healthy men into this study. Analyses of three-dimensional motion and wireless surface electromyogram (EMG) were integrated to achieve synchronous measurement.

Enhancing endogenous adenosine A receptor signaling induces slow-wave sleep without affecting body temperature and cardiovascular function.

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep problems with an estimated prevalence of 10%-15% in the general population. Although adenosine A receptor (AR) agonists strongly induce sleep, their cardiovascular effects preclude their use in treating sleep disorders. Enhancing endogenous AR signaling, however, may be an alternative strategy for treating insomnia, because adenosine levels in the brain accumulate during wakefulness.

Suppressive Effect of the α-Amylase Inhibitor Albumin from Buckwheat ( Moench) on Postprandial Hyperglycaemia.

Inhibiting starch hydrolysis into sugar could reduce postprandial blood glucose elevation and contribute to diabetes prevention. Here, both buckwheat and wheat albumin that inhibited mammalian α-amylase in vitro suppressed blood glucose level elevation after starch loading in vivo, but it had no effect after glucose loading. In contrast to the non-competitive inhibition of wheat α-amylase inhibitor, buckwheat albumin acted in a competitive manner.

Development of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis-like glomerulopathy in a patient with neutrophilia resulting from endogenous granulocyte-colony stimulating factor overproduction: a case report.

Background: The pathophysiologic role of exogenous granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) administration is reportedly linked to the progression of glomerulonephritis. However, the relationship between endogenous G-CSF overproduction and the progression of glomerulopathy has not been well investigated.

Case Presentation: A 76-year-old woman presented with neutrophilia at a medical check-up and thorough examination revealed a high level of serum G-CSF.

Unidirectional porous β-tricalcium phosphate induces bony fusion in lateral lumbar interbody fusion.

Lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) often requires the use of allograft or artificial bone. We used β-tricalcium phosphate artificial bone with a porosity of 57% consisting of a novel unidirectional porous structure (Affinos®) in patients (5 male and 9 female) who underwent LLIF from August 2015 as a substitute for autologous bone. We evaluated 60 graft windows in the cages at 30 intervertebral levels.

Vertebral fracture after removing pedicle screws used for posterior lumbar interbody fusion: A case report.

It is uncommon to remove pedicle screws after posterolateral lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF), and there are a few case reports of vertebral fracture involving holes remaining after screw removal. We report a case of the vertebral fracture after removing pedicle screws instrumented for PLIF. A 66-year-old woman with osteopenia, who underwent PLIF at L4-S1 10 years earlier, underwent PLIF at L3-L4 to correct adjacent-segment degeneration.

Absorption, disposition and metabolic pathway of amiselimod (MT-1303) in healthy volunteers in a mass balance study.

The absorption, metabolism and excretion of MT-1303 were investigated in healthy male subjects after a single oral dose of 0.4 mg [14C]-MT-1303 (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02293967).

Correcting the Activity-Specific Component of Heart Rate Variability Using Dynamic Body Acceleration Under Free-Moving Conditions.

Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is a widely used technique to assess sympatho-vagal regulation in response to various internal or external stressors. However, HRV measurements under free-moving conditions are highly susceptible to subjects' physical activity levels because physical activity alters energy metabolism, which inevitably modulates the cardiorespiratory system and thereby changes the sympatho-vagal balance, regardless of stressors. Thus, researchers must simultaneously quantify the effect of physical activity on HRV to reliably assess sympatho-vagal balance under free-moving conditions.

ESR1 rs2234693 Polymorphism Is Associated with Muscle Injury and Muscle Stiffness.

Purpose: Muscle injury is the most common sports injury. Muscle stiffness, a risk factor for muscle injury, is lower in females than in males, implying that sex-related genetic polymorphisms influence muscle injury associated with muscle stiffness. The present study aimed to clarify the associations between two genetic polymorphisms (rs2234693 and rs9340799) in the estrogen receptor 1 gene (ESR1) and muscle injury or muscle stiffness.

A Novel Bioabsorbable Sheet That Delivers NF-κB Decoy Oligonucleotide Restrains Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Development in Rats.

For the suppression of inflammation in the aneurysm development, we focused on inhibition of an important transcription factor, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), using a decoy strategy. We newly developed a novel bioabsorbable sheet that delivers NF-κB decoy oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN).We treated 5-week-old SD rats that were induced with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) using 0.

Regenos spacers are not suitable for open-door laminoplasty because of serious adverse events caused by their insufficient mechanical strength.

We used a newly developed, high-porosity unidirectional porous hydroxyapatite spacer (Regenos spacer, not approved by the FDA). The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effectiveness of Regenos laminar spacers for open-door type laminoplasty. The present study included 39 patients who underwent open-door type laminoplasty with Regenos spacers from April 2015 to December 2016 and were followed up for at least 6 months after surgery.

Activated natural killer T cells in mice induce acute kidney injury with hematuria through possibly common mechanisms shared by human CD56 T cells.

Although activation of mouse natural killer T (NKT) cells by α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) causes failure of multiple organs, including the kidneys, the precise mechanisms underlying kidney injury remain unclear. Here, we showed that α-GalCer-activated mouse NKT cells injured both kidney vascular endothelial cells and tubular epithelial cells in vitro, causing acute kidney injury (AKI) with hematuria in middle-aged mice. The perforin-mediated pathway was mainly involved in glomerular endothelial cell injury, whereas the TNF-α/Fas ligand pathway played an important role in the injury of tubular epithelial cells.

Pentraxin 3 increases in adult overweight and obese men after weight loss by dietary modification with exercise training.

The circulatory level of pentraxin 3 (PTX3), an anti-inflammatory cardioprotective protein, has been shown to be lower in obese individuals than in those with normal weight. However, reports on the effects of different weight-loss methods on PTX3 are limited. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of weight loss on circulating PTX3 levels in overweight and obese men and to examine the combined effect of dietary modification and exercise training on PTX3 levels.

Effects of resistance training on arterial compliance and plasma endothelin-1 levels in healthy men.

Arterial compliance (AC) is an index of the elasticity of large arteries. Endothelial dysfunction has been reported to result in reduced arterial compliance, which represents increased arterial stiffness. A reduction in AC is elicited by high-intensity resistance training, however the mechanisms are obscure.

A phase 2 study of fosaprepitant combined with high-dose dexamethasone for Japanese cancer patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Purpose: Combination therapy of fosaprepitant, dexamethasone (DEX) and a serotonin (5-HT3) receptor antagonist is a standard antiemetic prophylaxis for patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC). However, the appropriate dose of DEX has not been established in Japan. This study determined the efficacy and safety of triplet antiemetic prophylaxis in Japanese patients receiving HEC when administered the same doses of DEX as those given in a previous international phase 3 study on this drug.

Photoelectrochemical CO Reduction Using a Ru(II)-Re(I) Supramolecular Photocatalyst Connected to a Vinyl Polymer on a NiO Electrode.

A Ru(II)-Re(I) supramolecular photocatalyst and a Ru(II) redox photosensitizer were both deposited successfully on a NiO electrode by using methyl phosphonic acid anchoring groups and the electrochemical polymerization of the ligand vinyl groups of the complexes. This new molecular photocathode, poly-RuRe/NiO, adsorbed a larger amount of the metal complexes compared to one using only methyl phosphonic acid anchor groups, and the stability of the complexes on the NiO electrode were much improved. The poly-RuRe/NiO acted as a photocathode for the photocatalytic reduction of CO at E = -0.

Relationships between serum free fatty acid and pulse pressure amplification in overweight/obese men: insights from exercise training and dietary modification.

Pulse pressure amplification (i.e., the ratio of peripheral to central pulse pressure) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular events.

Impact of Pathogenic Variant Types on the Progression of Aortic Disease in Patients With Marfan Syndrome.

Background: Marfan syndrome can cause life-threatening aortic complications. We investigated the relationship between genotype and severe aortopathy (aortic root replacement, type A dissections, and related death).

Methods: We evaluated 248 patients with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants.

Repeated administration of alpha-galactosylceramide ameliorates experimental lupus nephritis in mice.

Lupus nephritis is a crucial complication of systemic lupus erythematosus. In this study, we investigated the roles of mouse natural killer T (NKT) cells in lupus nephritis. From 24 weeks of age, NZB/NZW F1 mice were injected with alpha-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) or vehicle once a week for four weeks.