Publications by authors named "Maruo K"

New insights into the metabolic mechanisms of frailty are needed. This study aimed to identify serum metabolites linked to frailty phenotype and its component through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomic analysis among community-dwelling older individuals. An exploratory, cross-sectional case-control study.

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Introduction: Proton beam therapy (PBT) may reduce the number of adverse events in treatment of patients with pediatric cancer. However, it is difficult to evaluate whether the actual therapeutic effect is truly equivalent to that of photon radiotherapy. To compare photon radiotherapy and PBT, a meta-analysis and systematic review were performed.

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Background: We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine two-leg- and one-leg-type balance characteristics in athletes and explore factors related to their balance ability.

Methods: A total of 213 participants, including athletes from various sports (gymnastics, boat racing, swimming, soccer, judo, and baseball) and non-athletes, were included (142 men, 71 women, average age 21.5 ± 2.

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When multiple historical controls are available, it is necessary to consider the conflicts between current and historical controls and the relationships among historical controls. One of the assumptions concerning the relationships between the parameters of interest of current and historical controls is known as the "Potential biases." Within the "Potential biases" assumption, the differences between the parameters of interest of the current control and of each historical control are defined as "potential bias parameters.

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Background: The generalized estimating equation (GEE) method is widely used for analyzing longitudinal and clustered data. Although the GEE estimate for regression coefficients and sandwich covariance estimate are consistent regardless of the choice of covariance structure, they are generally biased for small sample sizes. Various researchers have proposed modified GEE methods and covariance estimators to handle small-sample bias.

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The mixed model for repeated measures (MMRM) analysis is sometimes used as a primary statistical analysis for a longitudinal randomized clinical trial. When the MMRM analysis is implemented in ordinary statistical software, the standard error of the treatment effect is estimated by assuming orthogonality between the fixed effects and covariance parameters, based on the characteristics of the normal distribution. However, orthogonality does not hold unless the normality assumption of the error distribution holds, and/or the missing data are derived from the missing completely at random structure.

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Purpose: A normal pressure extubation technique (no lung inflation before extubation), proposed by the Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists to prevent droplet infection during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, could theoretically increase postoperative pneumonia incidence compared with a positive pressure extubation technique (lung inflation before extubation). However, the normal pressure extubation technique has not been adequately evaluated. This study compared postoperative pneumonia incidence between positive and normal pressure extubation techniques using a dataset from the University of Tsukuba Hospital.

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Background Context: Domino osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) involve multiple OVFs occurring simultaneously or sequentially, before healing of the initial OVFs. However, the risk factors and long-term clinical outcomes of domino OVFs are unclear.

Purpose: To identify the risk factors associated with domino OVFs and to assess their impact on patients' quality of life (QOL).

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  • The study aimed to investigate how the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) fluctuate with the seasons and how these fluctuations affect the eGFR over three years in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
  • Researchers analyzed data from 1,135 T2D patients in Japan and found that UACR varied with seasons, peaking in winter, while eGFR remained stable throughout the year.
  • Results indicated that both the variability in UACR and eGFR significantly influenced the eGFR decline over the three years, especially in patients not changing their medication during the study.
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Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the optimal preoperative bone health assessment for adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery through correlation analysis between intraoperative pedicle screw (PS) insertion torque and various bone quality measures, including bone mineral density (BMD) assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), Hounsfield unit (HU) by computed tomography (CT), and vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score by magnetic resonance imaging.

Overview Of Literature: Existing data on optimal assessment tools for ASD surgery are limited.

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  • The study investigates how cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body mass index (BMI) are linked to metabolic syndrome (MetS) in middle-aged Japanese adults, focusing on differences between men and women.
  • A total of 421 participants underwent assessments to categorize their CRF and BMI and determine their MetS status based on various health indicators.
  • Results indicated significant associations of CRF and BMI with MetS in men, showing that fitter men with lower BMI had lower rates of MetS, while no significant associations were found for women.
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  • - The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of particle beam therapy (PT) versus photon radiotherapy (RT) for treating skull base chordoma, analyzing data from 1990 to 2022 on overall and progression-free survival, adverse events, and other relevant factors.
  • - Results from 30 articles indicated that PT had better 5-year progression-free survival rates (67.8%) than photon RT (40.2%), but overall survival rates were similar, with PT showing no significant advantage.
  • - The findings suggest that while PT is more effective in preventing disease progression, it also carries a higher risk of brain necrosis compared to photon RT, highlighting the need for further studies to confirm these results.
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Breast cancer (BC) has the highest morbidity rate and the second-highest mortality rate of all cancers among women. Recently, multi-cancer genome profiling (multi-CGP) tests have become clinically available. In this study, we aimed to clarify the significance of multi-CGP testing of BC by using the large clinical dataset from The Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics (C-CAT) profiling database in Japan.

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  • Proton-based chemoradiotherapy (P-CRT) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) demonstrated similar overall survival rates compared to the traditional surgery-based treatment (NAC-S) according to a multicenter Japanese study involving 518 patients.
  • The 3-year overall survival rates were 74.8% for the P-CRT group and 72.7% for the NAC-S group, while the progression-free survival was lower for P-CRT (51.4%) compared to NAC-S (59.6%).
  • The study suggests that P-CRT may be particularly beneficial as a first-line treatment for patients with stage I-II ESCC, showing a favorable survival advantage in earlier disease stages.
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  • There is a need for additional safety assessments for drugs after they hit the market, focusing on both adverse drug reactions (ADRs) from individual drugs and those resulting from drug-drug interactions (DDIs).
  • A new Bayesian method is introduced to enhance sensitivity in detecting potential DDIs using data from the spontaneous reporting system (SRS) by borrowing information from similar drugs.
  • Simulation results show that this new method increases detection sensitivity by about 20 points compared to existing methods, allowing for earlier identification of potential DDIs, especially when similar drugs show comparable observed-expected ratios.
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  • In Japan, bioequivalence for new drugs requires proof through a single pivotal study, which can be challenging due to limited resources and participant numbers in clinical trials.
  • This research explores trial designs that allow for interim analysis to assess bioequivalence without exceeding participant limits, focusing on group sequential and adaptive designs.
  • Simulation results indicate that while both methods perform similarly, group sequential designs are preferred due to their statistical simplicity and clearer operational protocols.
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Introduction: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) can be treated with chemotherapy in unresectable cases, but outcomes are poor. Proton beam therapy (PBT) may provide an alternative treatment and has good dose concentration that may improve local control.

Methods: Fifty-nine patients who received initial PBT for ICC from May 2016 to June 2018 at nine centers were included in the study.

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  • Smartphone apps designed to improve physical, cognitive, and social activities through mobile health (mHealth) technology are gaining popularity, especially for older adults with frailty.
  • A 13-week study tested the feasibility and acceptability of an mHealth app with 34 participants (5 frail and 29 pre-frail), finding high usage rates and positive feedback about the app's health benefits.
  • Results showed improvements in both frailty scores and step counts after the intervention, suggesting that the app could effectively support older adults dealing with frailty.
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  • The study investigates the effectiveness of osteoanabolic agents (like teriparatide and romosozumab) and bisphosphonates in preventing subsequent domino osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF) within three months of the initial fracture.
  • An analysis of 144 patients showed that the use of these agents did not significantly reduce the incidence of new fractures at both 3 and 12 months, although teriparatide and romosozumab lowered rates of unstable pseudarthrosis compared to bisphosphonates.
  • The findings suggest that while osteoanabolic agents help with unstable pseudarthrosis, they do not outperform bisphosphonates in preventing new domino OVFs, indicating a need for a broader
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Introduction: Chondrosarcoma is a rare malignant bone tumor. Particle beam therapy (PT) can concentrate doses to targets while reducing adverse events. A meta-analysis based on a literature review was performed to examine the efficacy of PT and photon radiotherapy for skull base chondrosarcoma.

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Charcot spinal arthropathy (CSA) is a very rare condition that causes destruction and deformity of the spine due to impaired sensation. We report a case of an infected Charcot spine arthropathy (ICSA) treatment with spinal reconstruction surgery using a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) technique. A 49-year-old man who had a spinal cord injury (SCI) at age 19 presented with a destructive lesion in the L2/3 and a fistula in his lower back.

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  • The ABC classification for assessing gastric cancer risk may misclassify high-risk individuals as low-risk due to its reliance on serum H pylori antibody and pepsinogen levels.
  • A new 4-parameter predictive formula was developed using age, serum H pylori antibody, PGI, and PGII to more accurately identify truly uninfected individuals, outperforming the traditional ABC model in sensitivity and specificity.
  • In a study of 788 participants, the predictive formula showed better specificity, especially in older age groups and those with low H pylori antibody levels, enhancing the efficiency of gastric cancer screening.
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  • Radio-Taiso is an exercise program in Japan that might help improve quality of life for older adults with frailty, and a study was conducted to test its effectiveness in this population.
  • A 12-week trial with 226 older adults divided them into groups receiving either Radio-Taiso along with nutritional support or just nutritional support.
  • The results showed that while those doing Radio-Taiso had better agility, endurance, and confidence in exercising, these improvements did not lead to a noticeable change in their overall health-related quality of life.
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