One-day systemic corticosteroid administration for asthma and future "short bursts" risk in real clinical practice.

Objective: Systemic corticosteroid administration, also called short bursts (SB), is harmful for patients with asthma; however, the actual burden of one-day SB remains unsolved. This study aimed to elucidate the characteristics of patients requiring one-day SB against asthma in clinical practice.

Methods: Consecutive patients who regularly visited our hospital for asthma treatment between January 2019 and December 2020 were reviewed and followed for one year.

Allergy to Omalizumab: Lessons from a Reaction to the Coronavirus 2019 Vaccine.

Omalizumab can cause hypersensitivity reactions. We herein report the first case of an 18-year-old woman with refractory cough-predominant asthma that correlated with allergic reactions caused by omalizumab and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. The patient developed angioedema after taking omalizumab.

Severe eosinophilia and subsequent dermatologic immune-related adverse event with squamous cell carcinoma antigen elevation induced by nivolumab and ipilimumab.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for malignant lesions are associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs), but reports about severe eosinophilia induced by ICIs are scarce. A 73-year-old man with lung squamous cell carcinoma was treated by chemotherapy (carboplatin plus paclitaxel) and ICIs (nivolumab plus ipilimumab). After two cycles of chemotherapy, the ICIs were continued.

Gender Differences in Smoking Initiation and Cessation Associated with the Intergenerational Transfer of Smoking across Three Generations: The Nagahama Study.

Global tobacco policies lowered overall and male smoking rates, but female smoking rates have remained unchanged. Parent-child studies revealed the effects of parental smoking, but gender differences had mixed results. We investigated the effects of long-term smoking behavior in families over three generations in order to clarify gender differences.

Characteristics of patients with frequent systemic corticosteroid bursts for asthma in real clinical practice: are there frequent "short bursts?".

Objective: The data on intermittent systemic corticosteroid therapy for asthma exacerbation, clinically called a "short burst," is limited. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of patients with frequent systemic corticosteroid bursts for asthma in real clinical practice.

Methods: Consecutive patients who regularly visited our hospital for asthma treatment between January 2019 and December 2020 were reviewed.

Drastically Progressive Ethambutol-induced Optic Neuropathy after Withdrawal of Ethambutol: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy (EON) is a well-known complication, although low-dose ethambutol seldom causes EON. An 85-year-old man with non-tuberculous mycobacterial lung disease was taking antibiotics, including low-dose ethambutol. On day 85 of treatment, the diagnosis of EON was made.

Ground-glass opacity as a paradoxical reaction in miliary tuberculosis: A case report and review of the literature.

A paradoxical reaction (PR) is an excessive immune response occurring during antitubercular therapy (ATT), but is rare in patients with miliary tuberculosis. A 78-year-old woman complained of general malaise, loss of appetite, and fever for 10 days. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed diffuse, bilateral, discrete miliary nodules.

Per cent low attenuation volume and fractal dimension of low attenuation clusters on CT predict different long-term outcomes in COPD.

Background: Fractal dimension () characterises the size distribution of low attenuation clusters on CT and assesses the spatial heterogeneity of emphysema that per cent low attenuation volume (%LAV) cannot detect. This study tested the hypothesis that %LAV and have different roles in predicting decline in FEV, exacerbation and mortality in patients with COPD.

Methods: Chest inspiratory CT scans in the baseline and longitudinal follow-up records for FEV, exacerbation and mortality prospectively collected over 10 years in the Hokkaido COPD Cohort Study were examined (n=96).

Drastically progressive lung cavity lesion caused by in a patient undergoing chemoradiotherapy: A case report and literature review.

Pulmonary actinomycosis reportedly forms 15% of all cases of actinomycosis, and pulmonary is particularly rare. A 60-year-old man with a hoarse voice was referred to our hospital. Lung squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed at the clinical tumor-node-metastasis stage of cT2N2M0, and concurrent chemoradiotherapy was initiated.

Can the Sarcoidosis Health Questionnaire predict the long-term outcomes in Japanese sarcoidosis patients?

Rationale: The Sarcoidosis Health Questionnaire (SHQ) is the first sarcoidosis-specific health status questionnaire ever developed. Worse health status, as evaluated by the SHQ, may indicate higher risk for deterioration in the following 5 years.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between SHQ scores and deterioration defined clinically at 5-year follow-up.

Serum matrix metalloproteinase levels in polymyositis/dermatomyositis patients with interstitial lung disease.

Objective: We aimed to clarify the clinical significance of serum levels of MMPs in interstitial lung disease (ILD) complicated with PM/DM (PM/DM-ILD).

Methods: We retrospectively analysed serum levels of seven subsets of MMPs in 52 PM/DM-ILD patients diagnosed at Kyoto University Hospital or Tenri Hospital from January 2005 to December 2014. The patients were sub-grouped based on the presence of anti-amimoacyl-tRNA synthetase antibody (anti-ARS antibody), anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 antibody (anti-MDA5 antibody) or lack of the antibodies (ARS-ILD, MDA5-ILD and other-ILD groups, respectively) and independently analysed.

The prevalence and disease burden of severe eosinophilic asthma in Japan.

There are limited data on the prevalence and burden of severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) both in Japan and globally. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and burden of SEA in Japan. This study was a retrospective, observational cohort analysis using health records or health insurance claims from patients with severe asthma treated at Kyoto University Hospital.

Perspectives on End-of-Life Treatment among Patients with COPD: A Multicenter, Cross-sectional Study in Japan.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of mortality. Since patients with severe COPD may experience exacerbations and eventually face mortality, advanced care planning (ACP) has been increasingly emphasized in the recent COPD guidelines. We conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional study to survey the current perspectives of Japanese COPD patients toward ACP.

In Vitro Disease Modeling of Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Type 2 Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Alveolar Organoids.

It has been challenging to generate in vitro models of alveolar lung diseases, as the stable culture of alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells has been difficult. Methods of generating and expanding AT2 cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been established and are expected to be applicable to disease modeling. Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by dysfunction of lysosome-related organelles, such as lamellar bodies (LBs), in AT2 cells.

Induction of airway remodeling and persistent cough by repeated citric acid exposure in a guinea pig cough model.

Background: A previous study involving guinea pigs showed that repeated cough could increase peripheral airway smooth muscle area, which can also aggravate cough. The airway pathologic changes produced by prolonged cough are still unknown.

Objective: To study the airway pathologic changes in prolonged cough models of guinea pigs.

Effects of acupuncture on nutritional state of patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): re-analysis of COPD acupuncture trial, a randomized controlled trial.

Background: There are an increasing number of evidences that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a systemic illness and that bodyweight loss is its prominent manifestation. We focused on the nutritional outcomes to find out the effectiveness of acupuncture on nutritional state of COPD patients and on their prognosis in our previous interventional study.

Methods: The present study is re-analysis of our previous interventional study, COPD Acupuncture Trial (CAT) published in 2012.

Complementary regional heterogeneity information from COPD patients obtained using oxygen-enhanced MRI and chest CT.

Background: The heterogeneous distribution of emphysema is a key feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients that typically is evaluated using high-resolution chest computed tomography (HRCT). Oxygen-enhanced pulmonary magnetic resonance imaging (OEMRI) is a new method to obtain information regarding regional ventilation, diffusion, and perfusion in the lung without radiation exposure. We aimed to compare OEMRI with HRCT for the assessment of heterogeneity in COPD patients.

The Clinical Significance of Body Weight Loss in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients.

Background: The significance of the nutritional status in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is largely unknown. Temporal body weight (BW) change, a dynamic index of nutrition status, can detect the malnutrition more accurately than the conventional single-point body mass index evaluation.

Objective: To investigate how the temporal BW change influences the clinical courses of IPF.

Tiotropium/olodaterol versus tiotropium in Japanese patients with COPD: results from the DYNAGITO study.

Background: The DYNAGITO study was a Phase IIIb, randomized, double-blind, multicenter, active-controlled, parallel-group, 52-week study designed to determine the efficacy and safety of tiotropium and olodaterol combination therapy (TIO+OLO 5/5 μg) versus tiotropium monotherapy (TIO 5 μg) for reducing moderate-to-severe exacerbations of COPD. This is a prespecified analysis of the DYNAGITO data in Japanese patients.

Patients And Methods: Enrolled patients had a diagnosis of COPD with at least one moderate-to-severe exacerbation in the previous 12 months.