Continuous Treatment with Tofacitinib but Not Filgotinib Is Effective in Non-Responders with Active Ulcerative Colitis: A Propensity Score-Matching Analysis.

Few studies have compared the efficacy and safety of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). We compared the real-world effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib (TOF) and filgotinib (FIL) as induction therapy for UC by propensity score-matching analysis. We enrolled 230 patients with active UC who received either TOF (n = 197) or FIL (n = 33) as induction therapy.

Real-world efficacy and safety of tofacitinib treatment in Asian patients with ulcerative colitis.

Background: Real-world data on tofacitinib (TOF) covering a period of more than 1 year for a sufficient number of Asian patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are scarce.

Aim: To investigate the long-term efficacy and safety of TOF treatment for UC, including clinical issues.

Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center observational analysis of 111 UC patients administered TOF at Hyogo Medical University as a tertiary inflammatory bowel disease center.

Uveitis associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors or BRAF/MEK inhibitors in patients with malignant melanoma.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of uveitis associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) or BRAF/MEK inhibitors (B/MIs) in patients with malignant melanoma. Patients diagnosed with malignant melanoma who underwent radical or local resection for malignant melanoma, regardless of clinical stage or postoperative adjuvant therapy, at Hiroshima University Hospital from January 2015 to June 2021 were enrolled in a retrospective cohort. The medical records of patients were collected to estimate the prevalence of ocular adverse events.

Clinical course of more than 10 years in a patient with extensive skin burns who received cultured epidermal autograft transplantation.

Cultured epidermal autografts (CEAs) are used to treat extensive burns, giant congenital melanocytic nevi, and epidermolysis bullosa, but information about the long-term clinical course after CEA transplantation is scarce. Here we report 10 years' progress of a 7-year-old Japanese girl who suffered from a scald burn injury affecting 80% of her total body surface area and was treated with CEA transplantation. The skin of a child with extensive burns treated with CEAs appeared soft and of a good texture, even after 10 years, and recovery of skin pigmentation and scar condition were better at sites with a combination of CEAs and autologous skin grafts than those with CEAs alone.

Effect of Oral Qing-Dai Medication on Pulmonary Arterial Pressure Levels in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Qing-Dai (QD) treatment of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) sometimes causes pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the relationship of QD treatment to pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP) in patients with UC has not been clarified.

Methods and results: The 27 patients with UC who were screened for PAH by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and underwent repeat TTE at 1 year were analyzed in this prospective observational study.

Rechallenge of programmed cell death 1 inhibitor after an interval with dacarbazine treatment may be effective for advanced malignant melanoma.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been administrated as a standard medication in many cases of malignant melanoma (MM). They may be effective even for MM in advanced stages. However, it is still challenging to reduce the burden of MM, which were or became refractory to ICI, especially those without BRAF gene mutation.

Efficacies and Related Issues of Ustekinumab in Japanese Patients with Crohn's Disease: A Preliminary Study.

Introduction: Ustekinumab (UST) is an antibody to the p40 subunit of interleukins 12 and 23 in Crohn's disease (CD) patients. Few reports are available on CD in the Asian scenario.

Objective: We evaluated UST's efficacy in inducing remission and its maintenance in Japanese CD patients.

, , and genetic variants and thiopurine intolerance among Japanese patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Background/aims: Recent genome-wide analyses have provided strong evidence concerning adverse events caused by thiopurine drugs such as azathioprine (AZA) and 6-mercaptopurine. The strong associations identified between p.Arg139Cys and thiopurine-induced leukopenia and severe hair loss have been studied and confirmed over the last 2 years.

Balloon Cell Malignant Melanoma in a Young Female: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Balloon cell malignant melanoma (BCMM) is a very rare malignant melanoma subtype. The clinical appearance of BCMM varies; it may be nodular, ulcerated, polypoid, papillomatous and often non-pigmented. The tumor cells histologically appear large, polygonal or round and contain abundant granular or vacuolated cytoplasm.

Establishment of a mast cell line, NCL-2, without Kit mutation, derived from NC mouse bone marrow.

Immortal mast cell lines, such as RBL-2H3 and HMC-1 cells, are commonly utilized to investigate the function of mast cells. However, they are tumor cells carrying a gain-of-function mutation of Kit. We established an immortal mast cell line without Kit mutation, NCL-2, derived from NC mouse bone marrow.

Crohn's disease complicated by hepatitis B virus successfully treated with the use of adsorptive depletion of myeloid lineage leucocytes to suppress inflammatory cytokine profile.

Background Aims: In patients with inflammatory bowel disease infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), immunosuppressive therapy required to suppress active inflammatory bowel disease may promote HBV reactivation.

Methods: A 27-year-old corticosteroid-naive woman with Crohn's disease (CD) activity index of 249.8 complicated by HBV infection was offered Entecavir to control HBV reactivation during immunosuppressive therapy for CD.

Prospective postsurgical capsule endoscopy in patients with Crohn's disease.

Aim: To clarify the usefulness of postsurgical capsule endoscopy (CE) in the diagnosis of recurrent small bowel lesions of Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: This prospective study included 19 patients who underwent ileocolectomy or partial ileal resection for CD. CE was performed 2-3 wk after surgery to check for the presence/absence and severity of lesions remaining in the small bowel, and for any recurrence at the anastomosed area.

Surface plasmon resonance for cell-based clinical diagnosis.

Non-invasive real-time observations and the evaluation of living cell conditions and functions are increasingly demanded in life sciences. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors detect the refractive index (RI) changes on the surface of sensor chips in label-free and on a real-time basis. Using SPR sensors, we and other groups have developed techniques to evaluate living cells' reactions in response to stimuli without any labeling in a real-time manner.

Looking for predictive factors of clinical response to adsorptive granulocyte and monocyte apheresis in patients with ulcerative colitis: markers of response to GMA.

Background: Adsorptive granulocyte and monocyte apheresis (GMA) with an Adacolumn in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) has been applied as a non-pharmacological treatment strategy, but the efficacy has been encouraging as well as discouraging, depending on patients' demography at entry. In this study, we looked for predictive factors for clinical response to GMA in patients with UC.

Methods: In a retrospective setting, 43 outpatients who had been treated with GMA for active UC were evaluated.

Applicability of radiocolloids, blue dyes and fluorescent indocyanine green to sentinel node biopsy in melanoma.

Patients with primary cutaneous melanoma underwent sentinel node (SN) mapping and biopsy at 25 facilities in Japan by the combination of radiocolloid with gamma probe and dye. Technetium-99m ((99m)Tc)-tin colloid, (99m)Tc-phytate, 2% patent blue violet (PBV) and 0.4% indigo carmine were used as tracers.