Impact of Energy Malnutrition on Exacerbation Hospitalization in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Retrospective Observational Study.

Nutritional disorders in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with cachexia, sarcopenia, and weight loss. In particular, weight loss is a prognostic factor in COPD independent of pulmonary function, and energy malnutrition is a contributing factor. Frequent exacerbation hospitalization is also a prognostic factor for COPD patients.

Resistance exercise in combination with aerobic exercise reduces the incidence of serious events in patients with liver cirrhosis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Exercise, particularly resistance exercise, is beneficial for sarcopenia in patients with liver cirrhosis. However, the effects of exercise on events remain unclear. We aimed to examine the effects of exercise on serious events in patients with liver cirrhosis using a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

The Relationship of Energy Malnutrition, Skeletal Muscle and Physical Functional Performance in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Weight loss is a factor that affects prognosis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) independent of lung function. One of the major factors for weight loss is energy malnutrition. There have been no reports on the factors related to energy malnutrition in COPD patients.

Effects of In-Hospital Exercise on Frailty in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Frailty including physical inactivity is associated with the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to investigate the effects of in-hospital exercise on frailty in patients with HCC. This was a multi-center observational study.

Effects of In-Hospital Physical Therapy on Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Activities of daily living (ADL) are frequently impaired in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this retrospective study, we aimed to investigate the effects of physical therapy on ADLs in patients with HCC during hospitalization for cancer treatment. Nineteen patients with HCC were enrolled.

Clinical utility of the Liver Frailty Index for predicting muscle atrophy in chronic liver disease patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: Muscle atrophy is a prognostic factor for patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Liver Frailty Index (LFI) is a simple physical function test; however, an association between LFI and muscle mass remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the utility of LFI for predicting muscle atrophy in CLD patients with HCC.

Slow walking speed overlapped with low handgrip strength in chronic liver disease patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: Walking speed and grip strength are parameters of muscle function; however, evaluating walking speed is not always available in clinical practice. We aimed to investigate the impact of walking speed on the evaluation of muscle dysfunction in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: We enrolled 107 consecutive CLD patients with HCC in this study (age 76 years [range 60-92 years]; female/male 39/68; body mass index 22.

[Autoimmune pancreatitis with bowel obstruction caused by proximal jejunal stricture:a case report].

We herein report a rare case of autoimmune pancreatitis with small intestinal obstruction. A 72-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with abdominal fullness and vomiting and diagnosed with autoimmune pancreatitis by imaging and laboratory tests. Imaging studies also revealed narrowing of the proximal jejunum with dilated bowels and intramural cystic lesion adjacent to the pancreatic body.

Efficacy of low-dose imatinib mesylate for cutaneous involvement in systemic sclerosis: a preliminary report of three cases.

In this pilot study, the effect of low-dose imatinib mesylate (100 mg/day) on cutaneous involvement in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) was analyzed. Three patients with SSc were treated with 100 mg/day of imatinib mesylate for 6 months because of pulmonary arterial hypertension refractory to conventional treatments, including beraprost, bosentan, sildenafil, and epoprostenol. Changes in cutaneous involvement were evaluated at 1, 3, and 6 months.

Significant attenuation of macrovascular involvement by bosentan in a patient with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis with multiple digital ulcers and gangrene.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by vascular injuries, and bosentan has recently been proved to be efficacious for the prevention of new digital ulcers in SSc. We herein report a case of SSc in a patient with refractory digital ulcers and gangrene treated with bosentan. Stenosis of the ulnar artery, evaluated by magnetic resonance angiography, was attenuated by the bosentan treatment, suggesting that bosentan exerts a reverse remodeling effect against the pathological organic changes of arteries in SSc.

CCR10 and CCL27 are overexpressed in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

C-C chemokine receptor (CCR)10 is a specific receptor for chemokine ligand (CCL)27, a selective chemoattractant for skin-associated memory T cells to cutaneous sites. In melanoma, CCR10 increases the ability of neoplastic cells to grow, invade tissues, disseminate to lymph nodes, and escape the host immune responses. In this study, we investigated the expression of CCR10 and its ligand CCL27 in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Serum levels of soluble CD21 in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic disorder that typically results in fibrosis of the skin and multiple internal organ systems. Although the precise mechanism is unknown, overproduction of extracellular matrix proteins, including collagens and fibronectins, and aberrant immune activation might be involved in the pathogenesis. The soluble cluster of differentiation 21 (sCD21) represents the extracellular portion of the CD21 glycoprotein that is released by shedding from the cell surfaces into plasma.

α4β7 Integrin is essential for contact hypersensitivity by regulating migration of T cells to skin.

Background: β7 Integrin, a cell adhesion molecule, is present in the form of α4β7 integrin or αEβ7 integrin. α4β7 Integrin is expressed on most leucocytes and is essential for their migration to gut-associated lymphoid tissues by interacting with its primary ligand, mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1, which is preferentially expressed in gut-associated lymphoid tissues. Although the importance of α4β7 integrin in intestinal inflammation has been established, its role in cutaneous inflammation remains to be elucidated.

Health-related quality of life of outpatients with systolic and isolated diastolic dysfunction: Sado Heart Failure Study.

Background: The impact of isolated diastolic dysfunction (IDD) and systolic dysfunction (SD) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is unknown.

Methods And Results: To evaluate HRQOL in patients with IDD and SD under treatment, information on outpatients aged 60-84 years was extracted from the records of 4,500 consecutive individuals who underwent echocardiographic examination at Sado General Hospital. The medical records of these patients were reviewed and a questionnaire, including the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36, was mailed to 71 IDD and 99 SD patients; answers were obtained from 66 and 91 patients, respectively.

Myxedema ascites with an extremely elevated CA125 Level: a case report.

Carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) is a tumor-marker frequently associated with ovarian malignancies; however, benign gynecologic conditions (e.g. ovarian cysts) commonly cause a smaller increase in CA125 levels.