Prolonged high Myl9 levels are associated with the pathogenesis and respiratory symptom of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome: A 6-month follow-up study.

Background: Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS) occurs in some COVID-19 patients long after acute infection and significantly affects patients' health. However, the mechanism by which PACS develops is unknown. Myosin light chain 9 (Myl9), produced by activated platelets, plays a role in immune dysregulation and microthrombi formation during acute COVID-19.

Effects of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy on weight loss and metabolic improvement in subjects aged 65 years or older: a subanalysis of J-SMART study.

Aim: To investigate the effect of weight loss and metabolic improvement after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in older adults aged 65 years or over compared with younger adults in a retrospective analysis.

Methods: The J-SMART study database of 322 Japanese individuals with body mass index (BMI) ≥32 kg/m who underwent LSG between 2011 and 2014 at 10 centers accredited by the Japanese Society for Treatment of Obesity were analyzed. The subjects were classified into two groups: ≥65 age group (range, 65-76 years; n = 25) and <65 age group (range, 22-64 years; n = 297).

Real-world effectiveness of mepolizumab in Japanese asthma patients with diverse backgrounds: Improvements in rhinosinusitis imaging (J-Real-Mepo).

Background: Although randomized controlled trials (RCT) have demonstrated the efficacy of mepolizumab for asthma, they have excluded certain patient subgroups. To bridge the gap between RCT and real-world practice, the effectiveness of mepolizumab in a diverse population, including those potentially excluded from RCT, was assessed. Its effects on imaging findings and symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with asthma were also assessed.

Switching to biological DMARDs versus cycling among JAK inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and with inadequate response to JAK inhibitors: from FIRST registry.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with an inadequate response to Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi-IR) and evaluate the efficacy and safety of subsequent treatments.

Methods: This study included 434 patients with RA who started JAKi treatment. JAKi-IR patients were those who switched to another drug due to inadequate response or did not reach low disease activity within 26 weeks of beginning JAKi.

Impact of quality of life on overall work productivity impairment and activity impairment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: the PEONY study.

Objectives: Even in a lupus low disease activity state (LLDAS), many patients with SLE continue to face residual symptoms and disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the quality of life, activity impairment and overall work productivity impairment among patients in LLDAS. Residual disease burden was also evaluated for patients in LLDAS.

Low Survival Due to Higher Risk of Relapse and Nonrelapse Mortality After Allogeneic HSCT in ATL Compared with AML and ALL.

Background: Patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) are considered to have worse outcomes after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) than patients with other hematological malignancies, owing to high risk of relapse and immunocompromised status. However, no studies have compared transplant outcomes between patients with ATL and those with other hematological malignancies using a large-scale database.

Objectives: To compare transplant outcomes between patients with ATL and those with other leukemias and to identify factors contributing to worse transplant outcomes in ATL patients.

Screening of Aβ and phosphorylated tau status in the cerebrospinal fluid through machine learning analysis of portable electroencephalography data.

Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) through pathological markers is typically costly and invasive. This study aims to find a noninvasive, cost-effective method using portable electroencephalography (EEG) to detect changes in AD-related biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A total of 102 patients, both with and without AD-related biomarker changes (amyloid beta and phosphorylated tau), were recorded using a 2-minute resting-state portable EEG.

Retrospective detection of ITGB7 gene mutation in a Holstein calf with chronic diarrhea that was suspected of hereditary cholesterol deficiency.

A homozygous individual for ITGB7 gene mutation, an autosomal recessive congenital disorder in Holstein cattle, was retrospectively identified by genotyping of 195 stored blood from patients less than 12 months of age. Other 24 patients (12.3%) showed heterozygous.

Development and evaluation of a polymer material-based formulation for non-surgical nasolabial fold reduction.

Objective: Currently, nasolabial folds are mainly removed by invasive procedures, resulting in long-lasting changes, as non-surgical user-implementable alternatives are scarce and inefficient. For example, the use of coating films for this purpose has thus far faced substantial difficulties because such films should combine the antithetical properties of shrinkability and flexibility. Herein, we challenge this status quo by identifying a polymer that simultaneously exhibits shrinkability and flexibility and using this polymer to develop a cosmetic formulation for immediate and non-invasive nasolabial fold removal.

Calculation of the Minimal Clinically Important Difference in Upper and Lower Limb Motor Assessment in Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Objectives: Physical function assessments in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are important indicators for assessing the effectiveness of treatment and changes over time in rehabilitation therapy. However, few reports exist on this indicator. This study calculated the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for assessing motor function in the upper and lower limbs of individuals with SMA to estimate the degree of change within a functional score that is considered clinically meaningful.

[HLA-haploidentical allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation using FluMelTBI conditioning for an elderly patient with fulminant aplastic anemia during treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia].

A 66-year-old woman was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) due to the finding of leukocytosis and started acalabrutinib and obinutuzumab (AO) therapy. After three cycles of AO therapy, she developed severe pancytopenia with hypoplastic bone marrow and was diagnosed with fulminant aplastic anemia (AA) due to neutropenia with no response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. One month after the onset of AA, she received HLA-haploidentical allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-SCT) from a daughter using FluMelTBI (fludarabine 180 mg/m, melphalan 80 mg/m, total body irradiation 4 Gy) as the conditioning regimen and tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis.

Identifying non-responders to cardiac resynchronization therapy in the non-left bundle branch block.

Background: Non-response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an important issue in the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and non-left bundle branch block (LBBB). Electrocardiogram-gated myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography imaging (G-MPI SPECT) is typically used to assess left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony. This study aimed to determine whether G-MPI parameters are associated with non-responsiveness to CRT.

Induction of interleukin 21 receptor expression via enhanced intracellular metabolism in B cells and its relevance to the disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To elucidate the association between the changes in intracellular metabolism in the early stage of B cell activation and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis.

Methods: CD19 or CD19CD27 (naïve) cells from the peripheral blood of healthy controls and lupus patients were cultured under different stimuli. The changes in intracellular metabolism and signalling pathways in these cells were evaluated.

Histological Features of Delayed Foreign Body Granuloma With Epithelioid Histiocyte Aggregation and Eosinophilic Reaction due to Hyaluronic Acid Injection.

Dermal fillers such as hyaluronic acid (HA) have been widely used in recent years as a less surgically invasive cosmetic treatment. Although delayed foreign body granuloma may occur as a rare adverse reaction after the procedure, detailed histological reports are still limited. When occurring on the buccal mucosa of the oral cavity, the histopathology may resemble some lesions of minor salivary gland origin due to the material properties of HA.

Performance of ChatGPT-4o on the Japanese Medical Licensing Examination: Evalution of Accuracy in Text-Only and Image-Based Questions.

This study evaluated the performance of ChatGPT with GPT-4 Omni (GPT-4o) on the 118th Japanese Medical Licensing Examination. The study focused on both text-only and image-based questions. The model demonstrated a high level of accuracy overall, with no significant difference in performance between text-only and image-based questions.

Nerve regeneration using a Bio 3D conduit derived from umbilical cord-Derived mesenchymal stem cells in a rat sciatic nerve defect model.

Unlabelled: Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (UC-MSCs), which can be prepared in advance and are presumed to be advantageous for nerve regeneration, have potential as a cell source for Bio 3D conduits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nerve regeneration ability of Bio 3D conduits made from UC-MSCs using a rat sciatic nerve defect model.

Methods: A Bio 3D conduit was fabricated using a Bio 3D printer by placing UC-MSC spheroids into thin needles according to predesigned 3D data.

Evaluation of urinary vanin-1 for the early prediction of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury during neoadjuvant chemotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Purpose: Cisplatin (CDDP) induces acute kidney injury (AKI) as a side effect during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Urinary vanin-1 excretion may increase during CDDP treatment. We investigated whether urinary vanin-1 is an early biomarker for CDDP-induced AKI.

Philadelphia Chromosome as a Clinically Favorable Prognostic Factor of B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in Transplant-Ineligible Elderly Patients in the Era of Molecular-Targeted Therapy.

Background and objective There is scarce data on the treatment outcomes of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma (B-ALL/LBL) in elderly patients in the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), blinatumomab, and inotuzumab ozogamicin. In light of this, we aimed to address this gap in data by conducting this retrospective study. Methods Treatment outcomes were retrospectively evaluated by using data from transplant-ineligible patients aged 65 years or older with newly diagnosed B-ALL/LBL (n=29) at two hospitals in Oita, Japan between 2013 and 2023.

Development of the serotonin release assay with enterochromaffin cell-rich human intestinal organoids for the risk evaluation of drug-induced emesis.

Drug-induced emesis is one of the major symptoms of gastrointestinal toxicity. Preclinical risk assessment of emesis has been challenging owing to the lack of suitable animal models or in vitro assay systems. One of the triggers of emesis is an excessive serotonin (5-HT) release from enterochromaffin (EC) cells in the intestinal tract, which activates the vomiting center in the brain stem and elicits the vomiting reflex.

Myelodysplastic syndromes among atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki: similarities to and differences from de novo and therapy-related cases.

Epidemiological studies for atomic bomb (A-bomb) survivors clearly demonstrated that A-bomb radiation increased the risk of hematological neoplasms, such as acute and chronic leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) among survivors. Several studies on MDS among survivors investigated its characteristics, and it seems that MDS among survivors has different features from those seen in de novo MDS and therapy-related MDS. In this short review, we describe the differences of clinical features, chromosomal alterations and genome aberrations among them.

Being underweight or obese in adolescence may increase the risk of female infertility later in life: The Japan Nurses' Health Study.

Objectives: Underweight or obesity is associated with infertility in women, but large cohort studies with a life course perspective are rare. We explored the association between body mass index (BMI) at age 18 and subsequent infertility among Japanese women.

Study Design: In total, 15,907 married women aged 30-44 years who participated in a prospective cohort baseline survey during 2001-2007 were cross-sectionally analyzed.

Appropriate tourniquet pressure for peripherally inserted central catheter placement in the upper arm.

Purpose: A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement often requires ultrasound guidance. Previous studies using an adult blood pressure cuff have suggested that veins do not easily collapse at the tourniquet pressure from diastolic to systolic blood pressure. When inserting a PICC into the basilic vein of the upper arm, a narrow blood pressure cuff should be used as a tourniquet to avoid concealing the puncture site.

Postpartum multiple vertebral fractures in a patient with osteogenesis imperfecta type I: A case report and literature review.

A 39-year-old woman with type I osteogenesis imperfecta reported experiencing back pain at 35 weeks of gestation. Two days following an elective cesarean section, the patient developed a Th12 vertebral compression fracture; 3 weeks postoperatively, she sustained an L3 vertebral compression fracture. The patient displayed a lumbar spine -score of -1.