Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Effective disease-modifying regimens for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) remain lacking due to insufficient understanding of its pathogenic drivers. It was shown previously that upregulation of the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), an excitatory family C GPCR, induces neurodegeneration by interfering with the inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signaling following acute brain injuries (Ann_Clin_Transl_Neurol, 1:851-66). Herein, we determined whether CaSR overexpression is causally associated with the AD.

[Endovascular Treatment of Delayed Cerebral Vasospasms].

Delayed cerebral vasospasm is a major complication following subarachnoid hemorrhage and a primary cause of delayed cerebral ischemia. While various preventive treatments exist, some patients still develop severe vasospasm, highlighting the need for better rescue therapies. This article explores endovascular treatment as a rescue option for vasospasm, focusing on the clinical characteristics and roles of intra-arterial vasodilator injection therapy and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty(PTA).

Effective Smartphone Application Use for Postoperative Management of Moyamoya Disease.

Continuous and careful management is necessary after revascularization surgery for moyamoya disease (MMD). The postoperative information has been shared in person or by telephone and emails among doctors; however, this is not always efficient. We aimed to describe the feasibility of remote diagnosis and text chats using a smartphone application on postoperative MMD management.

Visual dysfunction and neurodegeneration caused by severe inflammatory optic neuropathy after coil embolization of a paraclinoid aneurysm: illustrative case.

Background: Visual impairment due to delayed optic neuropathy is a rare complication of the endovascular treatment of paraclinoid aneurysms. An inflammatory response induced in the treated aneurysm wall is a known mechanism underlying this pathophysiology. The authors describe a case with severe and progressive optic neuropathy leading to neuronal degeneration and severe visual dysfunction.

Effectiveness of antipsychotics for managing agitated delirium in patients with advanced cancer: a secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective observational study in Japan (Phase-R).

Purpose: Delirium is a common and serious comorbidity in patients with advanced cancer, necessitating effective management. Nonetheless, effective drugs for managing agitated delirium in patients with advanced cancer remain unclear in real-world settings. Thus, the present study aimed to explore an effective pharmacotherapy for this condition.

Long-term Outcomes of Combined Revascularization Surgery for Moyamoya Disease in the Elderly: A Single Institute Experience.

The opportunity to treat older patients with Moyamoya disease (MMD) is increasing. However, the surgical outcomes after combined direct and indirect revascularization for elderly patients with MMD are not fully understood, especially for those ≥60 years old. This retrospective study examined 232 consecutive hemispheres of 165 adults with MMD who underwent combined revascularization.

Association of psychosocial factors with physical activity among Japanese adults aged 65 and older: a 6-year repeated cross-sectional study from the Nakanojo Study.

Background: Physical activity (PA) provides substantial mental and physical health benefits for individuals of all ages. A limited number of long-term or longitudinal studies have investigated the association between psychosocial factors and PA in healthy older adults aged 65 and above. This study aimed to determine the long-term relationship between psychosocial factors, such as vitality, mental health, anxiety, and depression, and objectively measure PA in older adults.

Carotid Artery Stenting Using Stent-in-Stent Technique with a Closed-Cell Stent and a Dual-Layer Micromesh Stent: A Case Report.

Objective: Recent studies evaluating plaque protrusion at carotid artery stenting (CAS) using optical coherence tomography showed not a few cases of plaque protrusion when using double-layer micromesh stents. We report a case of symptomatic internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis with at-risk unstable plaques in which CAS was successfully performed using a stent-in-stent technique by the combined use of a closed-cell stent and a dual-layer micromesh stent.

Case Presentation: An 87-year-old Japanese man with dysarthria and right hemiparesis was diagnosed with atheromatous cerebral embolism caused by severe left ICA stenosis on MRI and DSA.

Treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in subacute phase; retrospective comparison of treatment in sub- and hyper-acute phases.

Objective: As soon as possible treatment initiation for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is recommended. However, some patients require treatment in "subacute" phase of aSAH, defined in this study as "more than one day after the onset". To establish an optimal treatment strategy for these patients, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical experience of treating ruptured aneurysm with either clipping or coiling in subacute phase.

Successful treatment with urgent revascularization and parent artery occlusion for a ruptured intratumoral aneurysm following prior meningioma surgery: illustrative case.

Background: An intratumoral aneurysm encased within the associated intracranial tumor is rare, and hemorrhage caused by its rupture is even more rare. While urgent and adequate surgical treatment is important, the treatment can be difficult given the limited understanding of this rare condition.

Observations: A 69-year-old man who had undergone meningioma surgery 30 years prior presented with a disturbance in consciousness.

Clinical characteristics of endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke with atherosclerotic etiology: Factors associating its clinical outcome.

Objective: Clinical characteristics of endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) secondary to atherosclerosis are not fully delineated. An optimal treatment strategy with considerations of stroke etiology has not yet been established. Here-in, we performed retrospective analysis of EVT for atherosclerotic AIS.

Endovascular Aortic Repair for Thoracic Aortic Compression Resulting From Chance Fracture of the Thoracic Spine.

Blunt aortic injury is a serious condition with a high mortality rate. Although rare, blunt aortic injury associated with spinal fracture has also been reported, and appropriate management of aortic disease is key to a good outcome. This report is a case of a 78-year-old man who was found to have a transverse fracture (Chance fracture) in the ninth thoracic vertebra, with a sharp bone fragment compressing the thoracic aorta.

Thrombocytopenia and PT-INR in patients with anorexia nervosa and severe liver dysfunction.

Background: We previously reported a case that led us to hypothesize that decreased production of thrombopoietin (TPO) leads to thrombocytopenia in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) with severe liver dysfunction and that prolonged prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) predicts thrombocytopenia in such cases. To validate this hypothesis, we report another case in which TPO levels were measured. In addition, we examined the association between prolonged PT-INR and thrombocytopenia in such patients.

Pterin-based small molecule inhibitor capable of binding to the secondary pocket in the active site of ricin-toxin A chain.

The Ricin toxin A chain (RTA), which depurinates an adenine base at a specific region of the ribosome leading to death, has two adjacent specificity pockets in its active site. Based on this structural information, many attempts have been made to develop small-molecule RTA inhibitors that simultaneously block the two pockets. However, no attempt has been successful.

Contribution of Agriculture to Health Promotion.

Agriculture has been an important source of the human diet throughout human history, but its relationship with human societies has transformed over the long course of more than 10,000 y. Urbanization and agricultural commercialization are significant among such changes and wield considerable impact on human diets, nutrition, and health. This paper presents four studies examining the influence of agriculture on diet and general health: 1) the impact of urban allotment gardening on human health and wellbeing in Japan, 2) the preference of people in Japan for collaborations between citizens' farms and food-support organizations 3) the linkages between dietary diversity and agriculture in Indonesia, and 4) food sources and child nutrition in the deforested frontiers of Cambodia.

Perioperative Surgical Risks in Patients With Hemangioblastomas: A Retrospective Nationwide Review in Japan.

Background: The perioperative risk of sporadic hemangioblastomas (HBs) and von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL)-associated hemangioblastomas (VHL-associated HBs) remains unclear due to the rare prevalence of HB. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify risk factors for better surgical management of patients with HBs.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of surgically treated HB patients registered in the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database of Japan, between 2010 and 2015, was performed.