Usefulness of Novel Image-Enhanced Endoscopy for Predicting Maintenance of Clinical Remission in Ulcerative Colitis.

Purpose: The performance of endoscopic evaluation of ulcerative colitis (UC) using conventional scoring, including Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES) and ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity (UCEIS), is not satisfactory. Recently, the usefulness of novel image-enhanced endoscopy (IEE) such as texture and color enhancement imaging (TXI) and red dichromatic imaging (RDI) has been reported in the endoscopic evaluation of UC. We evaluated the performance of IEEs in UC, particularly focusing on the correlation with MES and UCEIS, and prediction of relapse.

Risk factors for clinical relapse in patients with ulcerative colitis who are in clinical remission but with endoscopic activity.

Background And Aim: The treatment strategy for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in clinical remission who have not achieved mucosal healing is unclear. This study aimed to determine the risk factors of relapse in patients in clinical remission with endoscopic activity.

Methods: This retrospective, single-center study included patients with UC who underwent colonoscopy (CS) and were in clinical remission with endoscopic activity.

Clinical outcomes and reintervention after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in primary sclerosing cholangitis in absence of cholangitis.

Background And Aim: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) may help detect cholangiocarcinoma in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), but it may be associated with complications. This study was aimed at determining the prognostic impact of ERCP on patients with PSC without cholangitis.

Methods: Patients with PSC without cholangitis were divided into two groups: those who underwent ERCP within three years after diagnosis (ERCP-performed group) and those who did not (non-ERCP group).

Differential diagnosis and prognosis of delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae after acute carbon monoxide poisoning in a patient with schizophrenia: A case report.

Background: Delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae (DNS) is a syndrome that appears days to weeks after acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. DNS shows various neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as mental deterioration and parkinsonism.

Case Presentation: Our case was a 37-year-old male with schizophrenia.

Two onset types of achalasia and the long-term course to diagnosis.

Background: Recently, the incidence of achalasia has been increasing, but its cause remains unknown. This study aimed to examine the initial symptoms and the course of symptoms and to find new insights into the cause and course of the disease.

Methods: Altogether, 136 patients diagnosed with achalasia by high-resolution manometry (HRM) were enrolled.

A prediction model of abnormal acid reflux in gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Background And Aim: The measurement of esophageal acid exposure time (AET) using combined multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH (MII-pH) tests is the gold standard for diagnosing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, this catheter-based 24-h test can cause considerable patient discomfort. Our aim is to identify factors affecting AET and to develop a scoring model for predicting AET abnormalities before conducting the MII-pH test.

Characteristics of factors contributing to follow-up for suspected delayed bleeding after colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Background And Aims: Delayed bleeding (DB) is a major adverse event associated with colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) that sometimes causes difficulties in making decisions regarding endoscopic hemostasis. This study identified the factors that contribute to follow-up without endoscopic hemostasis when DB is suspected after colorectal ESD.

Methods: In total, 583 patients (603 tumors) who underwent ESD or hybrid ESD for colorectal tumors at Chiba University Hospital between June 2009 and January 2022 were retrospectively registered.

Differences in Mucosal Permeability Among Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Classified Based on the Colonic Location and Disease Activity.

Introduction: Factors affecting mucosal permeability (MP) in ulcerative colitis (UC) are largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the difference in MP among patients with UC classified according to the colonic locations and to evaluate the correlations between local MP and endoscopic or histological activity of UC.

Methods: The transepithelial electrical resistance (TER), which is inversely proportional to permeability, of tissue samples from the mucosa of the ascending colon, descending colon, and rectum of patients with UC and healthy individuals (HIs) was measured by using the Ussing chamber.

An improved Simon reaction method to discriminate between methamphetamine and false-positive substances.

The conventional methamphetamine (MA) detection method using the Simon reaction can be affected by false positives owing to compounds similar to aliphatic secondary amines. In this study, we examined the new Simon reaction to improve the qualitative accuracy of MA detection to discriminate substances that give false positives in a conventional Simon reaction. After the conventional Simon reaction for MA and false positives (N-isopropylbenzylamine (NIP-BA), N-methylbenzylamine (NMe-BA), L-proline (Pro), and L-hydroxyproline (HYP)), which are colored blue, di-tert-butyl dicarbonate (t-Boc) reagent was added, and color tone changes were observed.

Treatment strategy changes for inflammatory bowel diseases in biologic era: results from a multicenter cohort in Japan, Far East 1000.

Many molecular targeted agents, including biologics, have emerged for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), but their high prices have prevented their widespread use. This study aimed to reveal the changes in patient characteristics and the therapeutic strategies of IBD before and after the implementation of biologics in Japan, where the unique health insurance system allows patients with IBD and physicians to select drugs with minimum patient expenses. The analysis was performed using a prospective cohort, including IBD expert and nonexpert hospitals in Japan.

Behavioral and neural correlates of pareidolic illusions in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Introduction: Pareidolia, a form of visual illusions phenomenologically similar to complex visual hallucinations, is a phenomenon that is associated with visual hallucinations in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). This study aimed to identify commonalities and differences in behavioral and neural correlates between pareidolic illusions and visual hallucinations in DLB.

Methods: Forty-three patients with DLB underwent the scene pareidolia test, which evokes and measures pareidolic illusions, and standardized neuropsychological and behavioral assessments.

Clinical Features Focusing on Extraintestinal Manifestations in Japanese Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Far East 1000.

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) can develop extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs) during the disease course, which sometimes impact their quality of life.

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the prevalence and types of EIMs using a hospital-based IBD cohort in Japan.

Methods: A patient cohort with IBD was established in 2019, as participated by 15 hospitals in Chiba Prefecture of Japan.

Long-term course of gastric submucosal tumors: growth speed and size-increasing factors.

Background And Aims: Gastric submucosal tumors (SMTs) are treated or monitored according to GI stromal tumor guidelines, but the adequacy of the guidelines has not been thoroughly examined. We investigated the long-term course of gastric SMTs to determine the validity of guideline-based follow-up methods and the factors contributing to their size increase.

Methods: This study included gastric SMTs diagnosed as GI mesenchymal tumors (GIMTs) by using EUS and followed up with EUS.

Increased digital media use is associated with sleep problems among university students: A study during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

This retrospective cohort study investigates the association between the incidence of sleep problems and changes in digital media use among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. It used data from annual health check-ups performed at a Japanese university in 2019 and 2020. Students undergoing these check-ups were identified to respond to questions about sleep problems, digital media use, breakfast and exercise habits, and stress.

Association of weekday-to-weekend sleep differences and stress response among a Japanese working population: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between differences in weekday-to-weekend sleep habits and stress responses in a working population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from university workers on sleep habits, differences in sleep duration between weekdays and weekends, and each midpoint of the sleep phase on weekdays and weekends. Social jetlag was defined as the difference in the midpoint of the sleep phase between weekdays and weekends.

Excited state dynamics for visible-light sensitization of a photochromic benzil-subsituted phenoxyl-imidazolyl radical.

Visible-light sensitized photoswitches have been paid particular attention in the fields of life sciences and materials science because long-wavelength light reduces photodegradation, transmits deep inside of matters, and achieves the selective excitation in condensed systems. Among various photoswitch molecules, the phenoxyl-imidazolyl radical complex (PIC) is a recently developed thermally reversible photochromic molecule whose thermal back reaction can be tuned from tens of nanoseconds to tens of seconds by rational design of the molecular structure. While the wide range of tunability of the switching speed of PIC opened up various potential applications, no photosensitivity to visible light limits its applications.

Negative mood invites psychotic false perception in dementia.

Background: There is increasing evidence for predictive coding theories of psychosis, which state that hallucinations arise from abnormal perceptual priors or biases. However, psychological processes that foster abnormal priors/biases in patients suffering hallucinations have been largely unexplored. The widely recognized relationship between affective disorders and psychosis suggests a role for mood and emotion.

Deconstructing psychosis and misperception symptoms in Parkinson's disease.

Objective: Patients with Lewy body disease develop a variety of psychotic and misperception symptoms, including visual hallucinations and delusions, as well as 'minor hallucinations', that is, a sense of presence, passage hallucinations and visual illusions. Although these symptoms have been suggested to have common underlying mechanisms, the commonalities and differences among them have not been systematically investigated at the neural level.

Methods: Sixty-seven patients with Parkinson's disease underwent neuropsychological and behavioural assessments, volumetric MRI and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET).

The Pareidolia Test: A Simple Neuropsychological Test Measuring Visual Hallucination-Like Illusions.

Background: Visual hallucinations are a core clinical feature of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and this symptom is important in the differential diagnosis and prediction of treatment response. The pareidolia test is a tool that evokes visual hallucination-like illusions, and these illusions may be a surrogate marker of visual hallucinations in DLB. We created a simplified version of the pareidolia test and examined its validity and reliability to establish the clinical utility of this test.

Scanning Electron Microscopy of Pine Seedling Wood Tissue Sections Inoculated with the Pinewood Nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus Previously Prepared for Light Microscopy.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied to paraffin-embedded wood sections to study the histopathology of pine seedlings inoculated with the pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. The sections, which had been previously prepared and observed by light microscopy (LM) on glass slides, were originally obtained from experiments in which pine seedlings had been inoculated with PWN. The cover glass was removed by soaking the glass slide in xylene for 3 to 5 days.

[A case of sigmoid colon carcinoma accompanied with hydronephrosis caused by peritoneal dissemination and para-aortic lymph node metastases markedly responded to chemotherapy].

The patient was a 64-year-old male diagnosed as advanced sigmoid colon cancer accompanied with hydronephrosis caused by peritoneal dissemination and para-aortic lymph node metastases. We performed transverse colostomy in the end of June 2008. Though he got renal failure, he was recovered by dialysis and diuretic.

[Chemotherapy with bevacizumab (BV)+modified FOLFOX6 for unresectable colorectal cancer].

We examined efficacy and safety of bevacizumab (BV)+modified FOLFOX6 (mFOLFOX6) regimen for unresectable colorectal cancer. We had 16 patients: liver metastases 8, lung metastases 4, local recurrences 2, and lymph node metastases 2, as for evaluable lesions. The response rate was 46.

Pathogenicity of the pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, to Japanese larch, Larix kaempferi, seedlings.

Pathogenicity of the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, to Japanese larch, Larix kaempferi, seedlings was tested with inoculation experiments under nursery conditions. Water suspensions of nematodes (mixed stages cultured on Botrytis cinerea or dispersal fourth-stage juveniles (DJ4) extracted from the adult Japanese pine sawyer, Monochamus alternatus) were injected into the stems of 2- and 3-year-old Japanese larch and Japanese black pine, Pinus thunbergii, seedlings growing in a nursery. In another treatment, Japanese pine sawyer adults holding DJ4 were released under a net that covered the upper half of the seedlings.

Wedged hepatic venous pressure does not reflect portal pressure in patients with cirrhosis and hepatic veno-venous communications.

Some cirrhotic patients have hepatic veno-venous communications (HVVC) and large porto-systemic collaterals. However, the relationship between wedged hepatic vein pressure (WHVP) and portal vein pressure (PVP) in such patients is not clear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between simultaneously measured WHVP and PVP, and occluded hepatic and splenic portal venography in 100 cirrhotic patients (40 alcoholic and 60 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis).

Hepatic encephalopathy after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.

The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the incidence, clinical features and the short- and long-term clinical course of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in Japanese patients. Eighty-seven consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis presenting with complications of portal hypertension underwent TIPS. The mean follow-up period after TIPS was 866 days.