Posterior cingulate cortex spontaneous activity associated with motor response inhibition in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A resting-state fMRI study.

Recent evidence suggests that broad brain regions, not limited to the fronto-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit, play an important role in motor response inhibition. However, it is still unclear which specific key brain region is responsible for impaired motor response inhibition observed in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We calculated the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) and measured response inhibition ability using the stop-signal task in 41 medication-free patients with OCD and 49 healthy control (HC) participants.

Renal tamponade in a patient with hydronephrosis-related Page kidney.

A 48-year-old woman presented with hyperreninemic hypertension and renal dysfunction and was diagnosed with hydronephrosis-related Page kidney. The pathophysiology was "renal tamponade", in which the kidney was compressed by the renal pelvis and Gerota's fascia, resulting in intrarenal microvascular ischemia. Ureteral stent placement promptly improved the hyperreninemic hypertension and renal dysfunction, and additional perirenal fluid drainage gradually improved these conditions.

Increased functional connectivity between presupplementary motor area and inferior frontal gyrus associated with the ability of motor response inhibition in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Recent evidence suggests that presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) play an important role in response inhibition. However, no study has investigated the relationship between these brain networks at resting-state and response inhibition in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We performed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans and then measured the response inhibition of 41 medication-free OCD patients and 49 healthy control (HC) participants by using the stop-signal task outside the scanner.

Acute Brachial Arterial Embolic Occlusion Following Anticoagulant Discontinuation in a Renal Biopsy of a Nephrotic Syndrome Patient.

A 73-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation treated with rivaroxaban was hospitalized for nephrotic syndrome. After discontinuation of rivaroxaban to lower the risk of hemorrhagic events, a renal biopsy was performed. Rivaroxaban was scheduled to resume a week after the biopsy to prevent renal hemorrhaging.

Vancomycin Intoxication and Cefepime-induced Encephalopathy Treated by Abdominal Drainage of Massive Ascites in Addition to Online Hemodiafiltration.

A patient with recurrent plasmacytoma with massive ascites exhibited vancomycin intoxication and cefepime-induced encephalopathy due to renal dysfunction. The ascitic accumulation of these drugs was suspected because of the refractory intoxicated state. To remove these drugs that had accumulated in the blood and ascites, abdominal drainage was performed in addition to online hemodiafiltration.

A pilot study exploring the association of morphological changes with 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in OCD patients.

Background: Clinical and pharmacological studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have suggested that the serotonergic systems are involved in the pathogenesis, while structural imaging studies have found some neuroanatomical abnormalities in OCD patients. In the etiopathogenesis of OCD, few studies have performed concurrent assessment of genetic and neuroanatomical variables.

Methods: We carried out a two-way ANOVA between a variable number of tandem repeat polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR) in the serotonin transporter gene and gray matter (GM) volumes in 40 OCD patients and 40 healthy controls (HCs).

Biological heterogeneity of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A voxel-based morphometric study based on dimensional assessment.

Aim: Although many neuroimaging studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have reported broad abnormalities in gray matter (GM), their results remain inconsistent. One reason for this inconsistency could be the heterogeneity of OCD. In the present study, we aimed to classify alterations in brain anatomy by OCD subtype.

[A case of thrombotic microangiopathy with glomerular subendothelial IgA deposition due to bevacizumab].

Bevacizumab, an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor, is approved for the treatment of various cancers, but the incidence of proteinuria as a side effect has been reported to be 2-64%. We report a case of renal impairment due to thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) accompanied with glomerular subendothelial deposition of IgA resulting from bevacizumab administration. A 57-year-old female with advanced breast cancer, to whom bevacizumab had been administered from October 2012, developed proteinuria and epithelial casts in her urine about a month later.

Bmp7 maintains undifferentiated kidney progenitor population and determines nephron numbers at birth.

The number of nephrons, the functional units of the kidney, varies among individuals. A low nephron number at birth is associated with a risk of hypertension and the progression of renal insufficiency. The molecular mechanisms determining nephron number during embryogenesis have not yet been clarified.

Differential neural network of checking versus washing symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is clinically heterogeneous. The aim of this study was to investigate differential neural responses to a symptom provocation task in drug-free patients who have predominantly aggression/checking symptoms (Checkers) and patients with contamination/washing symptoms (Washers). We compared the Checkers (n=10) and the Washers (n=12) separately to normal controls during the symptom provocation tasks using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging).

fMRI of patients with social anxiety disorder during a social situation task.

Previous functional neuroimaging studies found that the amygdala and other limbic regions may play a substantial role in social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, more widely distributed large-scale brain systems may be involved in cognitive processing in SAD patients when confronted with social situations. We employed functional MRI (fMRI) to investigate local brain activation of patients with SAD (n=6) and healthy controls (HC, n=9) during cognitive work.

Loss of the BMP antagonist USAG-1 ameliorates disease in a mouse model of the progressive hereditary kidney disease Alport syndrome.

The glomerular basement membrane (GBM) is a key component of the filtering unit in the kidney. Mutations involving any of the collagen IV genes (COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5) affect GBM assembly and cause Alport syndrome, a progressive hereditary kidney disease with no definitive therapy. Previously, we have demonstrated that the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonist uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) negatively regulates the renoprotective action of BMP-7 in a mouse model of tubular injury during acute renal failure.

Predictors of treatment response to fluvoxamine in obsessive-compulsive disorder: an fMRI study.

Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may involve more widely distributed large-scale brain systems, including the parietal, occipital, and cerebellar areas, rather than the conventional orbitofronto-striatal model. We hypothesized that not only orbitofrontal cortex and caudate nucleus activities but also posterior brain regions might be associated with subsequent treatment response to serotonin reuptake inhibitors in OCD. The participants were 17 patients with OCD.

Duration effect of obsessive-compulsive disorder on cognitive function: a functional MRI study.

Background: The inconsistency of previous reports examining cognitive function in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) suggests its heterogeneity. In this study, we examined the effect of illness duration on cognitive function in OCD.

Methods: We examined the cognitive function of 32 OCD patients and 16 healthy volunteers by neuropsychological tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed the Stroop and N-back tasks to assess attention and nonverbal memory.

Working memory dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a neuropsychological and functional MRI study.

Previous neuropsychological studies indicate that OCD subtypes such as checking rituals might be associated with a working memory deficit. On the other hand, functional neuroimaging studies found functional abnormalities of the frontal cortex and subcortical structures in OCD. Combined with functional imaging method, we applied neuropsychological batteries to demonstrate a working memory deficit in OCD by comparison with normal controls.

Functional MRI study of brain activation alterations in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder after symptom improvement.

Dysfunction of the frontal-subcortical circuits has been the most common finding in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and recent neuropsychological studies have shown cognitive impairments in OCD. To clarify the pathophysiology of OCD without the confounding effects of medication, we investigated the alterations of brain function in OCD patients and changes after clinical improvement due solely to behavior therapy. The participants were 11 outpatients with OCD and 19 normal controls.

Evaluation of markers to estimate volume status in hemodialysis patients: atrial natriuretic peptide, inferior vena cava diameter, blood volume changes and filtration coefficients of microvasculature.

Relationships among five markers of volume status - cardio-thoracic ratio (CTR), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), inferior vena cava diameter at quiet expiration (IVCe), blood volume change (Delta BV/TUF) during ultrafiltration and filtration coefficients of microvasculature (Lpst) - were investigated. Fifty stable hemodialysis patients were enrolled. The CTR was measured before hemodialysis (HD), and ultrasonic measurement of IVCe and sample collection for ANP were performed shortly after HD.

[Duration effect on neuropsychological function and treatment response of OCD].

Because of inconsistency among previous reports that examined neuropsychological function and treatment response of OCD patients, we here consider the heterogeneity of OCD; for example: symptom-based clusters, degree of insight, age of onset, and comorbid diagnoses. In this study, we examined neuropsychological function and the treatment response of OCD patients. Thirty-two OCD patients participated in this study.