Association of the Clinical and Radiographic Findings at Onset With Future Joint Destruction in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objectives: Since inflammation can cause joint destruction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), it is assumed that joints that are symptomatic at onset are at higher risk of joint destruction; however, this theory remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate whether the progression of joint destruction in hands and feet could be predicted from the clinical and radiographic findings at onset.

Methods: This study included 75 patients who visited our hospital within one year after the onset of RA with at least 12 months of follow-up.

Co-exposure of peptidoglycan and heat-inactivated Asian sand dust exacerbates ovalbumin-induced allergic airway inflammation in mice.

Aims: Asian sand dust (ASD) comprises soil particles, microorganisms, and various chemical components. We examined whether peptidoglycan (PGN), a structural cell wall component of Gram-positive bacteria, exacerbates ASD-induced allergic airway inflammation in mice.

Methods: The ASD (median diameter ∼4 µm) used was a certified reference material from the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan, derived from Gobi Desert surface soil collected in 2011.

Modified Anterolateral Approach for Total Ankle Arthroplasty.

Level V.

Co-exposure to lipopolysaccharide and desert dust causes exacerbation of ovalbumin-induced allergic lung inflammation in mice via TLR4/MyD88-dependent and -independent pathways.

Background: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) often presents in high concentrations in particulate matter (PM), few studies have reported the enhancing effects of both LPS and PM on airway inflammation in mice and the role of toll-like receptors (TLRs) in this process. Asian sand dust (ASD) is observed most frequently during the spring. This study aimed to clarify the role of TLRs in murine lung eosinophilia exacerbated by ASD and LPS.

Investigation of inflammation inducing substances in PM2.5 particles by an elimination method using thermal decomposition.

The substances associated with PM2.5-induced inflammatory response were investigated using an elimination method. PM2.

Bone stock reconstruction for huge bone loss using allograft-bones, bone marrow, and teriparatide in an infected total knee arthroplasty.

Bone stock reconstruction using allograft-bones, bone marrow (BM), and teriparatide (TPTD) is reported. Huge and extensive bone losses occurred in the medullary cavity of the femur and tibia of a 55-year-old female rheumatoid arthritis patient with severe osteoporosis after debridement of her infected total knee arthroplasty. Because of the risks of unstable prosthetic fixation and intra-operation fracture, we first reconstructed the bone stock.

Role of iron and oxidative stress in the exacerbation of allergic inflammation in murine lungs caused by urban particulate matter <2.5 μm and desert dust.

Simultaneous exposure of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and urban particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) or desert dust exacerbated murine asthma.

Impact of combining medial capsule interposition with modified scarf osteotomy for hallux valgus.

To clarify the effect of combining medial capsule interposition with modified scarf osteotomy for hallux valgus. A multicenter, retrospective study included 64 cases [59 osteoarthritis patients (excluding rheumatoid arthritis); age 68.8 years, range 40-93 years] of modified scarf osteotomy which were performed from 2013 to 2017 and followed for 26.

Effects of co-exposure of lipopolysaccharide and β-glucan (Zymosan A) in exacerbating murine allergic asthma associated with Asian sand dust.

During the 2000s, Asian sand dust (ASD) was implicated in the increasing prevalence of respiratory disorders, including asthma. We previously demonstrated that a fungus from ASD aerosol exacerbated ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airways inflammation. Exposure to heat-inactivated ASD (H-ASD) and either Zymosan A (ZymA, containing β-glucan) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exacerbated allergic airways inflammation in a mouse model, but the effects of co-exposure of LPS and β-glucan are unclear.

The add-on effectiveness and safety of iguratimod in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who showed an inadequate response to tocilizumab.

To evaluate the effectiveness of add-on iguratimod (IGU) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who showed an inadequate response to tocilizumab (TCZ), especially patients who were intolerant of an effective dose of methotrexate (MTX). Thirty-one patients with RA (22 women, age 62.4 years, disease duration 13.

Co-exposure to zymosan A and heat-inactivated Asian sand dust exacerbates ovalbumin-induced murine lung eosinophilia.

Background: Epidemiological studies have implicated Asian sand dust (ASD) in the increased prevalence of respiratory disorders, including asthma. It has been observed that fungal elements such as β-glucan can be adsorbed onto ASD. In the present study, the exacerbating effect of the combined exposure to zymosan A (ZymA) containing yeast β-glucan and heat-inactivated ASD on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine lung eosinophilia was investigated.

The efficacy and safety of additional administration of tacrolimus in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who showed an inadequate response to tocilizumab.

Objectives: Tocilizumab (TCZ) shows good retention in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but no previous reports demonstrated hopeful treatment options against inadequate response to TCZ. Tacrolimus (TAC) has proved to show efficacy against inadequate response to tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors, yet its add-on effects on TCZ remain unknown.

Methods: Twenty patients with RA (17 women, age 58.

Exposure to bisphenol A enhanced lung eosinophilia in adult male mice.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is useful in many manufacturing processes and is also found in commonly used consumer products. Previous experimental studies have reported that perinatal exposure to BPA promotes the development of allergic lung inflammation in childhood and even into adulthood. In this study, the effects of BPA on allergic lung inflammation in adults were investigated in murine lungs.

Transboundary transport of anthropogenic sulfur in PM2.5 at a coastal site in the Sea of Japan as studied by sulfur isotopic ratio measurement.

Sulfur isotopic ratios (δ(34)S) in size separated aerosol particles (PM2.5 and coarse particles) were measured at Niigata-Maki facing the Sea of Japan. Non-sea salt δ(34)S (δ(34)Snss) in PM2.

Differences in allergic inflammatory responses between urban PM2.5 and fine particle derived from desert-dust in murine lungs.

The biological and chemical natures of materials adsorbed onto fine particulate matter (PM2.5) vary by origin and passage routes. The exacerbating effects of the two samples-urban PM2.

Desert dust induces TLR signaling to trigger Th2-dominant lung allergic inflammation via a MyD88-dependent signaling pathway.

Asian sand dust (ASD) is known to exacerbate asthma, although its mechanism is not yet well understood. In this study, when the effects on inflammatory response by LPS present in ASD was investigated by measuring the gene expression of cytokines and chemokines in RAW264.7 cells treated with ASD and/or polymyxin B (PMB), the ASD effects were attenuated by PMB, but not completely.

PM2.5-rich dust collected from the air in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan, can exacerbate murine lung eosinophilia.

PM2.5 can exacerbate asthma. Organic substances adsorbed on PM2.

Acquired permanent dislocation of the patella in a patient with rheumatoid genu valgum.

A case of acquired permanent dislocation of the patella associated with severe genu valgum in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is herein reported. The pain and genu valgum progressed because of poor RA control. The patient had no history of major trauma of the knee before or after the onset of RA.

Aggravation of ovalbumin-induced murine asthma by co-exposure to desert-dust and organic chemicals: an animal model study.

Background: The organic chemicals present in Asian sand dust (ASD) might contribute to the aggravation of lung eosinophila. Therefore, the aggravating effects of the Tar fraction from ASD on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced lung eosinophilia were investigated.

Methods: The Tar fraction was extracted from ASD collected from the atmosphere in Fukuoka, Japan.

Preoperative morphometric differences in the distal femur are based on skeletal size in Japanese patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to measure the morphometric parameters of preoperative distal femurs to determine the differences by diagnosis and gender after accounting for skeletal size.

Methods: One-hundred and seventy-nine Japanese patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) (25 males and 154 females) were assessed. The anteroposterior length (AP), mediolateral width (ML), aspect ratio (AR), surgical epicondylar axis (SEA) to posterior condylar axis (PCA) angle, and Whiteside to SEA angle were measured on preoperative computed tomography scans.

Silica-carrying particulate matter enhances Bjerkandera adusta-induced murine lung eosinophilia.

Bjerkandera adusta (B. adusta) causes fungus-associated chronic cough. However, the inflammatory response is not yet fully understood.

Enhancement of OVA-induced murine lung eosinophilia by co-exposure to contamination levels of LPS in Asian sand dust and heated dust.

Background: A previous study has shown that the aggravation of Asian sand dust (ASD) on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced lung eosinphilia was more severe in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-rich ASD than in SiO2-rich ASD. Therefore, the effects of different LPS contamination levels in ASD on the aggravation of OVA-induced lung eosinophilia were investigated in the present study.

Methods: Before beginning the in vivo experiment, we investigated whether the ultra-pure LPS would act only on TLR4 or not using bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) of wild-type, TLR2-/-, TLR4-/- and MyD88-/- BALB/c mice.

Disease activity, knee function, and walking ability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis 10 years after primary total knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: To evaluate disease activity, knee function, and walking ability of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over 10 years after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: Four men and 26 women (mean age, 59.9 years) underwent 42 TKAs for RA with a mean duration of 151.